


The Eternal Universe: Takeshi & Kasumi Kiryu (Original version)

by Zeelian



Series: The Eternal Universe [8]
Category: Fantasy - Fandom, Original Work, Science Fiction - Fandom
Genre: Aliens, Alternate Universe, Demonic/Vampiric Feeding, Demons & Angels, F/M, Immortality, Immortality has it's drawbacks, M/M, Magic, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Non-Binary Species, Pansexual Character, Polyamory, Shapeshifting, Soulmates, non-human sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-10-22 06:02:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 100
Words: 657,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10691223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeelian/pseuds/Zeelian
Summary: In a world much like our own an accident on the I-5 sends a newborn boy on a road to becoming the catalyst that forever changes the future.Adopted by the powerful Kiryu family, Takeshi is raised to be a killer, taught about the hidden powers that most humans have no idea are real and trained to use some of them.Blackmailed into service by a corrupt paramilitary organisation he further hones his skills as a killer, and he is forced to look deeply into the depravity of mankind.But he also learns many lessons about friendship, loyalty, honor and love, lessons that in the end also teaches him about betrayal, loss and the all-consuming burn of hatred and vengeance.But fate soon interferes and brings him before the Mother, The Avatar of Life itself who sets him on a different path, a path that sends him walking among legends, Gods and Goddesses, Demons, Angels and creatures of dream and nightmare alike.As time moves on Takeshi learns the hard way just how much of a curse immortality truly is, but he also finds companions able to walk through eternity at his side.





	1. Catalyst

**Author's Note:**

> I am reworking the early chapters and splitting it into several parts that will be posted separately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over the years my writing has evolved quite a bit so with chapter 100 completed the work will be put on hiatus while i rework the earlier chapters and the current work will probably be divided into 3 or 4 parts.

 

#### (¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Catalyst_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 ****  
Los Angeles, USA December 20, 1999 A.D.  
 

The afternoon commute on the I-5 was suddenly interrupted by the screeching sound of breaks and metal grinding against stone followed by a loud crash, soon a handful of vehicles had stopped near the wreck as a few of their passengers braved the heavy downpour to approach the smoldering, twisted heap of metal hoping against odds that perhaps someone was still alive.  
In the background the frantic calls for someone to call 911 went silent as a young woman brought out a cellphone and made the call.  
A middle aged man carefully looked into the driver side window before quickly looking away, there was no way the couple in the car was still alive but just as he was about to walk back to his car he heard the faint cries of a baby.  
He immediately turned all his attention into finding the source of the sound and just as flames erupted from the broken fuel-line he spotted a small infant hidden in its mothers protective embrace.

Soon the scene swarmed with emergency crew as the burning vehicle was extinguished and the infant was looked at by the ambulance crew.  
Miraculously the infant, a boy mere days old had somehow survived the grisly crash that claimed the lives of his parents without as much as a scratch.  
Once the ambulance had left an elderly Japanese couple approached the police officers monitoring the scene and inquired what would happen to the infant now that the parents were dead, they were told the child would be brought to the hospital for observation and they would look for relatives, if none were found he would be put up for adoption.  
After finding out what hospital the boy would be taken to the couple went back to their rental and drove back to the hotel.

 

**December 21, 1999**

Daisuke Kiryu walked up to the hospital reception desk to ask the nurse about the infant boy that had been brought in the day before but was quickly informed that only family was allowed to see the child.  
The next stop was the police station but once again very little information was given, tho he did overhear that the only living relative was an elderly great aunt who had no interest in caring for a child so the boy was to be put up for adoption.  
Instead of calling a cab he decided to walk back to the hotel to give himself time to consider the options available.

There had been an amazingly strong reiki emanating from the vehicle during the accident and he had no doubt that it had been the infant releasing it to protect itself and someone with such extraordinary potential not only deserved to be properly trained but would need it to not become a threat to themselves and others.  
Also, had he not slammed the breaks to avoid hitting the stray cat running across the road the young couple in the car behind would not have crashed, with everything put together he knew he had to make sure that the Kiryu family were the ones to adopt the boy and he knew his wife would agree.

Once back at the hotel he headed up to the room to pick up Misato for lunch and to decide what to do next.  
After a short debate it was agreed that they would call the family law firm and have them put their best at the case and clear them to use all of the Kiryu resources to ensure the boy became theirs.

 

**December 25, 1999**

Daisuke and Misato spent the day walking around the upscale shopping-areas looking at the elaborate window displays before retiring to a quiet restaurant for dinner and the topic soon came to revolve around the boy and their chances of adopting him, the lawyer would be contacting them on Monday for an update and they were feeling somewhat uneasy, as an elderly couple and on top of everything, not citizens, their chances probably were very slim.  
But still they had to at least try and with some luck the large amount of assets held by the Kiryu family might finally come to some real use even if it did feel less than ideal to use money to buy a victory in this case.

 

**December 27, 1999**

The lawyer had informed them that the sole relative of the boy, a great aunt seemed more than willing to make a _deal_ about the boys future and had asked to see them the next day to talk about it and that legal documents were being drawn up to make sure all angels were covered, there would be no going back on this.

 

**December 28, 1999**

The Kiryu couple absolutely detested the woman mere minutes after meeting her and it took all their experience to not let it show, no more had basic greetings been exchanged before she had named her terms, terms that were no more than a price tag.  
A sum of $250.000 was to be paid to an offshore account and the boy would be theirs.  
But at the same time as they disliked her coldness towards her sole family they were somewhat relieved that her terms was so easy to meet, the sum asked was little more than pocket change to them.  
After signing the papers and transferring the money they returned to the hotel and started working on getting documents and tickets to return home and present the boy before the rest of the Kiryu's.

 

**December 29, 1999**

As it turns out, getting hold of all the documents needed to bring the boy back home to Japan took a lot more effort to acquire on such short notice but in the end they had managed it.  
Tickets had been purchased for the next day and they would make it back to Okinawa just in time for the new year.

 

**December 30, 1999**

They had been somewhat hesitant to travel with such a young child, but he had managed the trip much better than they had in the end and had slept calmly most of the time.  
Misato knew that part of the reason was the child's strong reiki and instinctive ability to use it protect itself from stress and harm.

 

**Kiryu family estate, Okinawa Japan, December 31, 1999**

Family and guests had gathered at the great hall of the Kiryu estate for the New Year feast and was enjoying first class food and music while waiting for the traditional speech and fireworks, the debates at the tables however all revolved around the infant that Misato, wife of elder and family head, Daisuke was holding.  
As far as anyone knew none of the Kiryu women had been pregnant recently and the youngest child at the estate should be five-year-old Kasumi, great granddaughter of Daisuke and Misato.  
And once the bell rang it's farewell to the year past, the new year was greeted with the bright colors of fireworks.

 

**January 1 st 2000**

After the last of the fireworks had painted their colors across the night sky Daisuke stepped onto the dais of the reception hall closely followed by his wife holding the infant boy.  
As he turned to address the room it fell to an eerie silence and all eyes and the full attention of over a hundred of the most powerful individuals in the world was trained on the trio.

He raised his voice to carry clear across the room,  
"This day as we step into the new millennium I bring you the next heir to the Kiryu name, despite being graced with many children until now I have had no son to carry my name. Today that changes."  
Holding out his hands to his wife he took the boy and held him out before the guests and proclaimed  
"This is Takeshi, first son of the house Kiryu!"

Voices could be heard from the crowd protesting,  
"Impossible!",  
"Disgrace!"  
But most of all,  
"He is _Gaijin_!"

The protests were ignored as he handed Takeshi back to his wife before they all retired to their private wing of the estate for some well needed rest.

 


	2. Shadows

#### (¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

#### Kiryu estate, Okinawa Japan

 _"Nee-chan!"_  
**" _Neee-chan!"_**  
An excited voice was heard calling out as a 3-year-old boy came barreling through the door to the dojo and ran straight into the 8-year-old girl that was practicing with a pair of _tessen._  
"Look, look!"  
He implored, waving a piece of paper at her all while practically bouncing around her.  
She folded the tessen and tucked them in her obi before reaching for the piece of paper to see what had her brother so worked up.  
On the paper was a couple of crude, but fully intelligible kanji representing the name Takeshi Kiryu.  
"Very good Takeshi! Keep this up and Kimura-sensei will be out of a job in no time."  
She praised while patting his head to try calm him down some more.  
"Takeshi-kun!"  
Kimura-sensei could be heard calling outside.  
"Did you sneak away from your lessons to show me this?"  
Kasumi asked and got an impish nod in reply.  
"Well you better go back before he goes to Misato-bāchan, I trust you recall what she did last time you ran away from Kimura-sensei."  
The terrified look on his face as he ran back toward the small study that served as a classroom made her smile, Misato-bāchan had always been very inventive when disciplining them.

 

 

#### (¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


Daisuke was sitting silently at his desk, only half listening to the tutor complaining about young Takeshi sneaking away from his lessons again, the boy was highly intelligent but bored easily and prone to mischief and after a little over 4 years most of the workers maintaining the house referred to their young master as "Kitsune" after the legendary trickster fox spirits.  
He had been following Takeshi's progress in the lessons for over a year now, it had started with him having picked up snippets of his sisters lessons and now he had caught up to and overtaken Kasumi in math as well as reading & writing both Japanese and English and was showing signs of being increasingly bored.  
"Kimura-sensei, I want you to contact your university contacts and find additional tutors for Takeshi in the sciences, advanced linguistics, financial & business management as well as any other subjects he shows interest in, no resources are to be spared, is that understood?"  
The old teacher immediately bowed his head with a sharp,  
"Hai, Kiryu-sama!"  
And turned to leave the room but paused at the sound of his name  
"Kimura-sensei, please send Hisao-hanshi to my study before you leave."  
Kimura nodded and hurried to the dojo to find the old martial arts master.  
Once the door had slid close Daisuke called the security office and asked for the head of security, Yori Matsui to come to the study and leaned back in his chair thinking.  
His hope was that allowing Takeshi free reigns to study as much as he wanted might make him less prone to causing trouble, also putting the boy into Hisao's care might just keep him to tired to do anything.

A discreet knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts and he called to the guest  
"Enter!"  
It was Hisao, the martial arts master.  
"Hisao-hanshi please, have a seat."  
Daisuke indicated towards the chairs in front of the desk,  
"I called you here to talk about Takeshi, the boy is becoming harder to manage, he is bored with his studies and has shown great aptitude for causing trouble."  
At this the old man chuckled lightly before replying.  
"I have caught the young master hiding in the dojo many times when he should be with Kimura-sensei, I believe he has some interest in the arts."  
Daisuke nodded and continued,  
"I am hoping so, additional tutors are being hired and I am turning the main responsibility for his as well as Kasumi's care over to you, i want you to work the boy as hard as his body can handle, my hope is that an extended curriculum will keep him from trouble."

A short but sharp knock at the door announced the arrival of the head of security who was promptly asked to enter and take a seat next to the old dojo master.  
Daisuke gave Yori a quick rundown of his plans to handle Takeshi before going into what he wanted him to do.  
"Matsui-san i want you to find a suitable instructor for security and tactics to train both Takeshi and Kasumi, as you know there has been many attempts on their lives in the past years and with this there will be more and I need the two of them able to fend for themselves as much as possible as soon as possible."  
Yori nodded solemnly and headed back to the office to find an instructor for the children.

"Is there anyone listening?"  
Daisuke turned to Hisao to make sure they had their privacy.  
The old man closed his eyes for a moment before responding.  
"No, it is safe to speak."  
"Hisao old friend, as you must have noticed that boy possesses a phenomenal reiki and a natural talent to learn anything he sets his mind to, I want you to hone that reiki, make sure he learns not only to use it, but to hide it as well. As he is now he does both instinctively but he must learn control. Other than that the two of them need to learn to work together as one in every sense of the way."  
At this Hisao looked shocked and interrupted  
"Dantai? You want me to train those two as dantai? Are you sure you want to take that risk, even if we can get them to bond we might loose them both if something goes wrong before they are fully trained."  
Daisuke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before continuing  
"I know the risks but I believe it is their only chance in the end, the other families will never accept them as heirs without a fight, Kasumi for being female and Takeshi for being gaijin, I fear I won't be around to protect them much longer".  
Pouring a drink and offering it to Hisao he took another calming breath as he watched the old martial arts master return the favor.  
"Also I want you to see if Ryuken and Takeshi are compatible, Kasumi has already been chosen to wield Arashi & Kuragari and as such Ryuken will not accept her."  
To this Hisao nodded silently before standing and returning to the dojo.

 

  

#### (¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

Takeshi was rapidly absorbing everything his new tutors had to teach him and his control over his reiki was also improving fast, and tho he fell asleep exhausted every night he was enjoying himself immensely, finally he was not feeling restless and unfulfilled at all times.  
But of course it was not to last, about a week before his birthday a group of elderly men arrived at the dojo while he was practicing with his sister and Hisao-hanshi, their presence was setting of warning bells in his rapidly developing ability to sense danger, telling him whatever their reason for being here was it would not be good.  
When one of the maids came to bring him and Kasumi to the small conference-room next to Daisuke-ojīsan's study they both knew something was up and the tense atmosphere in the room confirmed it was bad.

The council of elders were seated at one end of the table with a group of guards in black suits standing behind them while Daisuke and the children were seated on the other end together with Hisao-hanshi, as soon as the maid had left the room one of the elders spoke.  
“Daisuke Kiryu, we the council of elders have come to inform you of the decision we have made in regards to the so-called heirs to the Kiryu house.”  
He turned and glared at Takeshi  
“Takeshi Kiryu, this gaijin”  
He practically spat the word.  
“Is Kiryu in name only but we have deemed him unworthy of both title of heir and the name of Kiryu, however since there is no son of the blood we will allow him to remain under the absolute condition that he becomes Kage to Kasumi”  
At that he slid his eyes over to Kasumi before speaking again.  
“Kasumi Kiryu, tho being of the true Kiryu blood she is female and as such she will not become head, if no other heir is available by the time she marries her husband will be named heir.”  
When he was done speaking all of the elders spoke up as one.  
“This is the will of the council and so it will be done!”  
With that said they left the room followed by their guards.

And so in mere moments Takeshi was doomed to never inherit anything from the Kiryu family, doomed to be Kage, a shadow.  
The “shadow” was to be trained as a shinobi to be both guard and assassin and once fully trained he would have to swear loyalty to Kasumi, and in the future to whomever she married.  
The duty of the Kage was to protect their charge from the shadows and also to do all the deeds that the heir or head of the family could not dirty their own hands with.  
Daisuke placed his hand on Takeshi's shoulder before speaking,  
“I am truly sorry it has come down to this, but at the same time I am happy that they at least have not been able to gain enough support to have you cast out from the family. Please work hard and become the strongest shadow ever and stand always proud at your sisters side even if hidden in darkness.”

After the children had left the room Daisuke crumbled in his seat suddenly feeling a lot older than his years.  
_Dear goods, the boy is only five and they already put him to this path, he might be a genius but will he be able to handle this?_


	3. Shinobi

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shinobi_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Hisao walked into the small room next to his just as the sun was rising and as always Takeshi was looking straight at him from his bed in the corner, that boy always knew as soon as someone set foot into the room.  
His sister stirred a few moments later, no doubt awakened by her brother.  
A bit over a year had passed since Daisuke had ordered him to start training the siblings in the way of Dantai, a form of cooperative where the members were so close that part of their souls merged allowing them to not only always know where the others were but once fully trained they would be capable of telepathic communication and accessing each others senses and even to borrow power.  
As always tho great power came at great risk, if anything happened to either before they had full control of the bond the chock could kill the other, once fully trained they would however be able to block out any negative feedback from the link.

Six months had passed since the council had ordered that Takeshi become Kage, the assassin that was to walk in the shadow of the family head, it had since long past been a way to eliminate extra sons that could be a threat to the heir by giving them a position of power while at the same time making them unable to assume the position of head themselves as such was forbidden for a Kage.  
Hisao had immediately extended the boys training with everything he would need to become shinobi and ultimately Kage.  
As the regular studies had been reduced to free up more time for work in the dojo Takeshi had made fast progress and his body was far more well developed than a child his age should be able to, much of it was due to his reiki being able to re-enforce and heal the damage as he pushed himself beyond what was reasonable, the sooner he completed his training the sooner he would be allowed to go back to regular studies.  
At lunch he poked at his food and scrunched his nose, this however was a drawback, to help his body deal with the strain all his food was made to perfectly cover his needs and it also contained various herbs to help him heal and build faster but as healthy as it was it often left a lot to wish for when it came to taste but he squared his shoulders with determination and cleared his plate and went into the small shrine in the dojo to meditate before the afternoon lessons started.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shinobi_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Two years into his training Takeshi was awakened by Hisao-hanshi just after midnight and told to put on the Shozoku, the traditional garb the shinobi used for night-missions and then come to the gate at the far back of the Kiryu estate.

Kasumi was told that she could come along if she wanted to but she would have to hurry.  
As they arrived at the gate fifteen minutes later the old master was waiting next to a black car and they all got inside.

Hisao took out the bracelets he had prepared in case Kasumi choose to come along, she could not be allowed to influence the tests that was to be performed the next day.  
“Kasumi, Takeshi put these on, they will temporary interfere with the dantai-link.”  
They both protested but he silenced them with a sharp look.  
“It must be done, Takeshi is to be tested and there must be no reason to suspect he had help.”  
At this they both held out their hand so he could put on the spelled bracelets to mute the link.  
A few minutes later they pulled up to a small airport where a plane was waiting on the runway, after they all boarded he suggested to his students that they try to get some more sleep while they were in flight.  
They awoke as the plane started the descent for landing and once on the ground they entered the car that was waiting next to the runway, as they drove off a sign by the entrance read “Nagasaki”.

While the driver took them out of the city Hisao began briefing Takeshi about his test.  
“If you would look at this map please, this is where your target is.”  
He pointed to a location deep in the mountains.  
“There is a cave here, in that cave there is a package that you are to retrieve, you will have one week to get to the cave, retrieve the package and return.”  
He folded the map and handed it to Takeshi before pointing to a small bag on the floor of the car.  
“That pack contains all of the tools you are allowed for this test, you are however allowed to use any tools you are able to acquire along the way.”

Takeshi picked up the lightweight black backpack, a smaller bag was attached below the backpack containing a small climbing equipment complemented by 100 meters of ultra-thin, high-test rope which he quickly inspected and set aside before inspecting the main pack by laying the items out one by one on the seat next to him.  
Fire-steel, a plain tanto with sheath and sharpening-steel, an empty 1-liter water bottle that could be attached to the front of the backpack, 15 water-purification tabs, a foil rescue-blanket, a 1x2 meter lightweight waterproof tarp, a small set of cooking utensils and finally a small but powerful emergency transmitter, it wasn't much but it should be more than enough for him.  
As he was putting the items back into the pack Hisao spoke up.  
“The transmitter will transmit your location and someone will be there within an hour to pick you up should you use it, but keep in mind, if you use it you will have failed the test and will not be allowed to re-take it until next year, and you will not be allowed to start the next step of your training until you have passed it.”

Once they were almost out of the city a blindfold was brought out and secured over Takeshi's eyes to make sure he could not accurately tell where he was taken and as the trip continued in silence he calmly counted his heartbeats, even if he did not know the exact direction he had some idea, and knowing their travel time would at least give a basic idea of where he might be.  
The smooth ride became bumpy as the car turned onto a small dirt-road and continued deeper into the mountain woods before slowing to a stop and the blindfold was removed, Takeshi blinked a few times to allow his eyes to become accustomed to the early morning light and took a look around.  
They had stopped at a clearing opening up at the very end of a tiny dirt-road, in the clearing sat a small hut with a covered well and small garden in front of it.  
The garden was unkempt but it had once been a well stocked herb-garden, he could see several edible herbs as well as those with healing properties among the many weeds.  
There were also a few shriveled fruit-trees showing a meager harvest.  
“Hisao-hanshi, when will my test begin?”  
He asked the old martial artist as he sat down on an old stump to study the map he had been given to try and figure out where he was.  
“It starts now, you have until midnight on the seventh day to return with the item from the cave. From this moment on you will receive no further aid.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shinobi_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Half an hour later Takeshi got up and walked over to the old well and brought up some water, after focusing his reiki on the contents of the bucket for a moment to determine if it was pure he drank his fill and filled up the water bottle, the terms of his test did say he was allowed anything he could acquire himself and a full bottle of pure water without having to waste a tab was a good start.  
Heading back to his backpack he took out the drawstring bag containing the tarp and walked over to the small garden, spread the tarp on the ground and started collecting herbs, fruits and berries that were divided into three sections, those suitable for food, those with medicinal uses to build a small first-aid kit and finally a few that were poisonous and would be used to create a poison to make hunting for meat easier.  
It was a bit past noon when he was done preparing and refolded the tarp and put it into the backpack, the small drawstring bag that had previously held the tarp was now secured to his belt and held a collection of edibles, a herbal first-aid kit wrapped in leafs and tied to one of the strings was a small bark container with the poison he had made.  
Making sure everything was in place he went to the well to drink some more and refill his bottle with fresh water before heading out towards the mountains where he would find the cave.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Shinobi_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Kasumi silently watched as her brother made his preparations and once he had walked out of the clearing and into the forest she turned to Hisao and spoke quietly,  
“Hisao-hanshi, do you believe he will make it? For the council to ask this of him so soon, they want him to fail, to die, don't they?”  
Hisao scratched his chin for a moment before answering with a sad tone to his voice.  
“I'm afraid so, there are many within the branch-families that are hoping to step in and claim a position at the top of the head family and when no male heirs came this hope grew to a possibility. Then from nowhere came a not only a heir but a heir that wasn't of blood relation once again reducing possibilities to hopes and dreams so they do what they can to prevent it.”  
Hisao took a sip of water from a bottle at his side before continuing.  
“Had it been anyone but your brother doing this at age 7 I would have said it was impossible, even at your age I would say chances were very small of success, however, with your brother being who he is I'm convinced he will overcome this test. Already he is doing better than many I have brought here for this test, he headed out in the proper direction, he made sure to drink and eat from the garden before leaving and he also brought as much supplies from the garden as he could, not only food but also medicine and tools for hunting. I'm sure he will make it”.


	4. Mountain Trial

**(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mountain Trial_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

#### Day 1

After leaving the clearing with the hut behind Takeshi had made slow progress towards the mountain peak, he could have moved faster but in order to confirm his position he had to take it slower and double-check his surroundings as daylight was waning it was time to prepare to make camp.  
After pausing for a moment to look at the map he headed in the direction of a mountain creek while picking up firewood along the way, soon the sound of running water could be heard nearby and he headed toward it.  
It didn't take long to set up a simple camp and get a fire started, nights could get cold and he could not afford to take any chances, wild animals was also a risk he had to consider.  
Going down to the creek to collect some more water he noticed movement in a small pocket of calmer water behind a rock, looking closer he spotted a good sized fish standing against the slight current.  
A memory from one of his lessons with Kimura-sensei come to mind, some native cultures used a technique called “tickling” to catch fish with their bare hands and he did have some time to spare and trying to catch dinner was as good a way as any to spend it.  
When the last daylight finally surrendered to darkness the fish was cooked and the remains wrapped in woven grass so it would keep until morning and he sat down and leaned against a rock with the tarp wrapped around him for some extra protection, closing his eyes he counted heartbeats as he willed sleep to claim him.

 

#### Day 2

Takeshi woke up with the sun and prepared to break camp, but first he went down to the water to refill his bottle and wash up a bit.  
As he bent down to fill the bottle he noticed there was a new fish sitting behind the rock so he adjusted his plans for the morning, he could not afford to miss easy food, especially one of fat and protein, vegetables and berries were easy to find this time of year but meat would be harder to get with only a tanto.  
This time it was much less effort to catch the fish and soon it was cooking in the remains of the fire while he ate what was left from last nights catch, once it was done he made sure the fire was out and filled up the water-bottle, luckily the water in the stream was clean enough to not require using one of the purification tabs and he would not be wasting any blessings he found.  
With one last check of the map he headed out towards his target.

Along the way various nuts and berries found their way into the drawstring bag and into pockets in his Shozoku along with feathers and sap.  
A slender sapling along with suitable branches had fallen victim to his tanto, the sapling along with some threads from his clothing would be crafted into a simple bow that should be enough to hunt with.  
To make sure he would have enough light to make it he stopped around noon for some food and to craft the bow, he could make up for lost time in the evening and being able to hunt could prove vital in the end.  
Waiting to make camp until the very last daylight he ended up making good time, he should reach the foot of the mountainside housing the cave by nightfall tomorrow.

#### Day 3

He was pulled from his sleep well before sunrise by the sound of approaching thunder and it sounded like it could be a pretty bad storm and he would have preferred finding shelter and wait it out but he didn’t have the luxury of wasting time so he made a quick break of camp and started walking while eating the last of the fish.  
When noon came around the weather had gone from bad to worse and he was forced to seek shelter in a crevice formed by two fairly large boulders, the tarp spread to keep most of the rain out and the emergency blanket brought out to make sure he stayed warm.

The storm raged long into the night and in the end it cost him nearly a day worth of travel as the massive amounts of rainfall transformed the mountain paths to stream and mud.

 

#### Day 4

After spending most of the day tracking through mud he finally made it to the foot of the cliff he would have to climb to make it to his goal, however it was much to late in the afternoon to risk starting the climb and he needed to try to find some proper food since his extended break due to the weather had cost him most of his supplies.  
After a few hours hunting he had managed to get a nice rabbit and a few small birds, tho not giving much food the birds would provide feathers for fletching more arrows. With his hunger sated and the last sunlight gone there was nothing else to do than sleep.

 

#### Day 5

Once again he woke with the first sunlight and had a small breakfast consisting mostly of sweet berries, the remaining meat would be eaten later, for the moment he would need the fast energy from the berries since the climb up to the cave would not be a an easy one.  
The quickest route to the cave would require a climb just over 300 meters, under normal circumstances this would not have been much, but with limited equipment and no prepared route it would require a bit more work and thou his strength was above a normal adult his small size could prove troublesome when it came to finding holds for the climb.  
It would have been much easier to repel from above the cave, however it would take to long to circle around especially when taken into consideration that he didn't what kind of climbs would be needed to get to the peak above the cave.

About an hour later he had scouted what looked to be a promising route to the cave and had taken the climbing-kit apart and moved it's content into various pockets and hooked them into various hoops in his clothing for easy access.  
To be on the safe side he uncoiled the rope to make sure it was in good condition, he would take no chances here.  
Once satisfied with its condition he re-packed it and walked up to the massive stone wall, this close the wall was rather intimidating but he took a deep breath and started his climb.

The climb was far more taxing than he had anticipated even when taking into account his limited equipment and reach but as twilight set the horizon ablaze he finally pulled himself onto a small shelf outside the mouth of the cave, taking a few calming breaths he allowed his reiki to uncoil and focused all of his senses into the darkness ahead of him, tho he felt no danger he still drew the tanto as he headed into the cave.

The first room of the cave was small and he found no trace of his target, but at the far end he found a small passage leading deeper into the mountain, cursing the fact that he did not think to craft a few torches before climbing to the cave he willed the coils of his reiki to act like the whiskers of a cat, gently brushing against the walls and forming a fine web in front of him, it wasn't the same as seeing but it would warn him of any dangers ahead.  
After a few minutes slow walking the tunnel opened up into a new cave, this one was as far as he could tell very large.

If his target was within this room he might have a hard time finding it and he did not have time to climb down, craft torches and climb back up, he would have to find some other way.  
Taking a seat at the end of the tunnel he opened his pack and found the meat from the rabbit and began eating while trying to figure out what to do.  
When he put the last piece of meat back into the pack the bag containing the rope fell against his leg and an idea sparked to life, quickly he placed one end of the rope on the ground and shifted the large stone he had been sitting so that it kept the rope in place.  
Securing the other end of the rope in his belt he placed his left hand against the closest wall and refocused his reiki to once again act as replacement for his eyes before starting to walk along the wall in a slow but measured pace, counting each step as he moved further into the cave.  
Hopefully he would be able to move around the cave and return to his point of origin without the rope snagging on something or running out, doing so would give him a fairly accurate measure of the size of the cave he was in and it would also tell him if there was anymore connecting tunnels.

When he returned to the starting-point and gathered the rope back in he knew a few more things about the room, the perimeter measured somewhere between 155 and 160 meters, the curve of the room seamed to be fairly constant and there was no other tunnels, finally the rope had been soaked in water telling him there was a pool of water somewhere in the room.  
Using the rope and his body he did some more exploring and came to the conclusion that the cave was man-made or at least had been improved, it was a perfect circle, exactly 50 meters across and in the exact center of the room was a circular pool of water measuring 5 meters across, far to perfect to be natural.  
With this information he used the rope to perform a tight grid search of the room to try and find the item he was sent there to retrieve.  
When the search came up empty he went to the pool of water and refilled the bottle he had just emptied and after testing it with his reiki he dug out one of the purification tabs and dropped into the bottle, the water in the pool had a pretty fast circulation but the cave was home to a small population of bats causing the water to be unsuitable without purification.

Sitting down by the tunnel entrance he went over the information he had to try and figure out if he somehow had managed to go to the wrong cave, but that seemed very unlikely, all landmarks lining up perfectly with his map along with the fact that the cave was not natural told him he was mot probably at the correct place and that there was some other trick to the test.  
Deciding to sleep on it and try in the morning when he was well rested he made his way to the center of the cave and took of his clothes to wash himself, as he entered the water he found that it was shaped like a doughnut and in the middle was a small altar that instead of being raised above the floor lowered into it. He carefully reached into the depression with all senses on high alert, he did not want to risk triggering a trap at the finish-line after all, a smile spread across his face as his hand found cold metal followed by tightly wrapped leather over ray-skin that ended with cold metal again. It was Kashira, Tsukaito, Same and finally ending in Tsuba in other words, the hilt of a blade, he could also feel the Menuki design but was unable to tell what it was.

He carefully closed his hand around the hilt and gave a slight tug, ready to drop it at the first sign of danger but the blade slid loose without incident and he slowly ran his hand along the side of the hilt and found that the blade, a long katana, was sealed tightly within its scabbard with an intricate series of knots, this was not a normal blade, it would be very interesting to see it in the morning.  
He carefully returned to the other edge of the pool and found his clothing, placing the katana on the pile of cloth he quickly finished cleaning himself before getting dressed gain and going to the back of the cavern where he he soon found sleep, the blade still firmly in his grasp.

 

 

 

####  _Dreamscape_

_Takeshi Kiryu found himself dreaming and it was unlike any dream he had ever had, he was still within the round cavern but between him and the pool of water was something he had only ever dreamed he would ever see, it was the very creature whose name he carried._  
_There in all his glory was Kiryu, the demon dragon that was the deity of the Kiryu family._  
_Scales so black that they seemed to actually drain the light from the surroundings, long slender talons graced his feet and his maw was filled with glistening razors, a mane of black flames circled his neck and ran along the spine and ended at the tip of his tail flickering like the flame of a giant candle._  
_**“So you are finally able to hear my voice child?“**_  
_A thundering voice echoed in the cavern._  
_Takeshi moved into dogeza in a single smooth move before responding._  
_“Hai, Kiryu kami-sama! I hear your voice, Lord of the Kiryu line!”_  
_Never before had he felt the need to show anyone this level of respect, but this was a deity, a god of the land and guardian as well as founder of his family and thus for the first time of his admittedly short life he knelt fully, allowing his forehead to touch the ground between his hands._  
_Thunder once again rumbled through the cavern as the Ryujin spoke again._  
_**“Instead of wasting time displaying what I already know is within your heart I suggest you wake up this instant unless you desire to never wake up again”**_  
_With this the dream image flickered showing a group of men wearing Shozuku and night-vision goggles entering the cavern._  
_**“This is what is happening in the word outside of this dreamscape as we speak.”**_  
_With a start Takeshi got to his feet and quickly bowed to the dragon before forcing himself awake and as sleep left his mind he could feel one last rumble of the great dragon's voice._  
_**“By the way boy, I am your Lady, not Lord.”**_  
_He could have sworn he heard laughter in her tone._

 

Awake once again he quickly got to his feet and tried to determine where the opponents was, in the dreamscape he had seen six of them and he had no reason to doubt this was true, focusing he could hear their footsteps, heartbeats and controlled breaths, he still was unable to see tho and his opponents could surely see him.  
Chances were he would not live to see the sunrise but he would be damned if he did not at least try, with new focus and determination he grabbed the hilt of the blade he had retrieved and drew it.  
He could hear the gasps of denial from his opponents when he drew the blade free of its scabbard and once it was free he almost dropped it in surprise, the moment the blade had been freed the room seemed to blaze to life with light but a moment later he realized the room was still dark, the light he was seeing emanated from the men in the room and it sank in, he was seeing the very flame of their life-force.  
He could see them, not one to waste an opportunity he put all his power into a dashing attack and one of the attackers fell to his blade instantly, but these well trained men and the rest of them would not fall as easily.

It felt like he had been fighting for hours as he sank down against the wall, the cave was dark once again as the last of the attackers had fallen before the blade, he knew not how but somehow he had survived, he had bested six armed men after his life.  
But it had cost him, he had several injuries and he had probably never been this tired ever before but he dutifully cleaned the blade that had no doubt saved his life and returned it to its scabbard only to fall into a deep sleep mere moments later.

 

 

 

####  _Dreamscape_

_**“So you made it out alive child, impressive. Seems I wasn't mistaken to test your strength.”** _  
_The thunderous voice was now somehow a lot gentler and the massive dragon shrank to a mere fraction of her previous size and laid down in his lap despite his attempts to protest._  
_**“You are in no shape to resist me now little one, you should just rest and allow me to aid your healing. I might be of demonic origin but I can still use it to restore your body.”**_  
_He could feel his body relaxing as the pain receded and injuries began healing at an amazing rate and he looked down at the now very small dragon that was coiled in his lap._  
_“Kiryu-sama, may I ask a few questions?”_  
_The head tilted and looked him in the eye a moment before responding._  
_**“Ask away little one”.**_  
_“What is happening, why did you help, who were those assassins and how come I could see their life-flame?”_  
_He fired of his questions in a single breath before looking at the dragon expectantly waiting for her answers._  
_She laughed as she spoke._  
_**“So inpatient and to the point. This test was to see if I found you worthy, had I not I would not have assisted you and you would not have found the blade, much less been able to draw and wield it, as for the assassins they were sent by the other families to try and take you out before you had a chance to be tried by me.”**_  
_“And the life-flame, why can I suddenly see them?”_  
_**“Oh that one is easy, your reiki has fully awakened, I expect you will be gaining new abilities rapidly from now on.”**_  
_With this the dragon tucked her head down into his lap and appeared to go to sleep and he slipped out of the dreamscape._

#### Day 6

When he woke up and made his way out of the cave it was still dark outside but when he checked the timer on the emergency transmitter he realized he had lost an entire day to the deep healing sleep, the timer said he had 28 hours to get back to the cabin where he had started from. Could it even be done?  
He looked down the cliff as he considered if he would dare try to go down in the dark, he could see the glinting metal of the hooks he had left in the wall and with a deep breath he made up his mind, this test would be do or die.  
He quickly made his way down and once down he discarded the climbing gear and backpack, he needed to move fast so any weight would just slow him down.  
He ate what herbs and berries he had left in the drawstring bag and tucked the purification tabs and transmitter into it and secured the water bottle at his hip and the sword secured on his back as it was to long for him to carry at the waist, one last look on the map he headed out.  
After spending all that time in the dark cave his eyes seemed to have no problem seeing in the moonlight and his pace increased steadily.

#### Day 7

As dawn broke he was starting to feel desperate as he was still far from his goal, pushing himself to move faster a single thought grew stronger in his mind.  
Faster, faster, must move faster.  
As the sun rose fully a strange sensation was making its way through his body, his pulse was quickening and it felt like a cold fire was pouring through his veins, suddenly the forest around him became a blur and he feared he had pushed himself to far, that he was passing out.  
But the moment stretched longer and the blur faded into clarity, with a shock he realized he was moving fast, insanely fast and he could feel he was on the right track, the clearing with the small cabin like a blazing beacon to his inner eye.  
He guessed it was part of the changes the dragon had predicted he would see now that his reiki had awakened properly.

As the sun began to set he shimmered past the guard at the clearing and stopped in front of Hisao who was sitting on a small stool in front of the cabin door, with a deep breath he presented the sword to his sensei before promptly passing out in the grass.


	5. Worthy

 

 **(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Worthy_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Hisao looked at the blade that had been placed into his hand and then to the boy passed out in the grass in front of him and could barely believe the implications, not only had the boy lived but he had passed the test to retrieve the “item” from the cave and on top of it all he had been tested and found worthy for the true blade that rested in that cave, the first one in over 100 years to have been found worthy by the _Ryujin,_ and bestowed the _Kiryu no Ryuken_ , the dragon-blade of the Kiryu family.  
Like all true Ryuken it was forged in dragon-fire from a dragon's fang, tempered with the blood of a dragon, it's hilt wrapped in dragonhide and the decorative _menuki_ carved from either the scales of a dragon or blood-gems, gems as strong as diamonds formed by the intentional crystallization of a dragon's blood.  
The forging of the blade infused it with a small part of the soul of the dragon that forged it and as such allowed its chosen wielder access to the power and magic of a dragon.  
This particular blade was forged by Kiryu, the demonic Ryujin that gave the Kiryu family their name.  
The Ryujin were revered as gods, guardian deities ruling over territories and sometimes like in this case, families.

That Takeshi was found worthy by the Ryujin did not surprise him, however he had not expected him to be chosen to wield the Ryuken at his first trial.  
He carefully turned Takeshi over and placed the katana in his hands before picking him up and carrying him into the cabin, they would spend the night and head back to Okinawa in the morning.  
Once inside he placed him on one of the small cots and checked him for injuries before tucking him in.  
He found marks from several injuries but they were almost entirely healed and saturated in the massive life-force of a dragon telling him that the healing had been aided which probably meant that the injuries had been serious if not life threatening.

A soft gasp behind him told him that Kasumi had returned from her walk and had seen her brothers injuries,  
”Do not worry, he passed his test and his injuries has been healed with dragon-magic, he will be fine by morning. Go sleep, we will leave early”.

Morning found them sitting in the car heading back to the small airstrip and Hisao found the trip to be odd, the normally silent siblings were chattering non-stop, Kasumi dragging every last detail of the trial out of her brother and it took him a while to realize what was different, ever since they had formed the dantai-bond they had used other means of communication, with a start he remembered that he had not removed the bracelets that blocked the link, maybe he was really starting to get old.  
“Okay kids, give me your hands so I can get those things of you before I go deaf.”  
In a flash both their hands were reaching out to him and as soon as they were removed silence descended upon them.

 

6 months later

Takeshi was beyond tired and he was royally pissed off, it had been 6 months since that insane overgrown lizard had decided he made a good “toy”/”torture-victim” and his life ever since had been a living hell.  
Every day was sixteen hours in the dojo with breaks only to eat, drink and occasionally to get patched up and then eight hours of so-called sleep but as soon as he closed his eyes he was pulled into the dreamscape, a world outside reality where time had little meaning, this particular dreamscape belonged to and was controlled by said crazy lizard.  
Not that he would ever make the mistake of calling her the “L” word when she could hear it again, she had rewarded him for that one by teaching him a lesson in “overcoming pain” that had lasted for months within the dreamscape all condensed into a single night.  
She used the dreamscape as a mean to personally train him while he slept.  
Oh don't misunderstand, he loved the opportunity to get stronger, he just wish he could get a single night of normal sleep, while in the dreamscape his sleeping body would heal and rest, his mind on the other hand was a different story, he would face endless lessons, opponents created from nothingness by a cruel mistress of the realm and he was ready to snap.

On top of it all he was now going to be dragged almost clear across the world for some stupid party, Kasumi had been invited by the head of the Sakamoto family to attend his sons 20th birthday which was held in Rio de Janeiro of all places, the old fool was hoping Kasumi would take a liking to his equally foolish son and thus give him a chance to acquire the assets of the Kiryu by marriage.  
Unfortunately this meant he would have to go as well, tho not fully trained nor sworn to the duty he was still to become a shadow, and a shadow never strayed from what cast it.  
It would be nice to get a break from the training but he would not be getting the break he really wanted, the dragon had already made perfectly clear she would keep up his nightly sessions without break.

He had spoken with Hisao-hanshi about being allowed to stay behind since he was sure if he went it would not end well but he was told there was no getting out of it so now he found himself standing behind Kasumi while the very intoxicated “birthday-boy” was making very inappropriate passes on his sister and his anger kept growing and growing.  
He was at the ends of his wits by the time it was announced that it was time to retire for the night and he was almost looking forward to obliterating endless shadow-creations in the dreamscape, well almost at least.  
As they were about to enter their room their _host_ stumbled over and grabbed Kasumi's hands and pulled her towards him while suggesting the go to his room and “have some fun” when she refused him and tried to to pull her hands free she suddenly cried out as he pushed her roughly against the wall and told her he would not accept no for an answer and that was it.  
Before he had even considered the consequences of his actions Takeshi had closed the distance to the pair in a single flash, pulled Arashi & Kuragari, his sisters twin wakizashi from their place and with a smooth crossing slash forever ended the foolishness that was the Sakamoto heir.  
Dark power crackled against his skin as the blades voiced their displeasure over being handled by anyone other than Kasumi but he barely noticed, for the first time in months he did not feel the anger.

 

1 week later

The incident in Rio had caused quite an uproar, the Sakamoto family was demanding en eye for en eye, meaning his head on a silver platter but in the end the council had been forced to rule in favor of the Kiryu as Takeshi had merely performed his duty as Kage, a duty the council themselves had forced upon him.  
There had been one side effect though, something dark had awakened inside and he often found himself struggling to stay his hand from delivering a killing blow in the dojo and his training in the dreamscape had taken on an entire new aspect as the dragon had started teaching him the way of the blade-dancer, a style that emphasized speed, and cutting your opponent into ribbons.

 

18 months later

It was the night of his 9th birthday and Takeshi sat in the dojo meditating, he had just returned from another one of the councils test, another excuse to try and kill him, he had however bested them yet again.  
This time the assassin sent for his head had not even been able to find him despite being in the same room, Takeshi had learned to harness the dark aspect of his reiki and use it to melt into the shadows and to force part of his will upon others to make them simply not see him, he was in no way invisible they would just not notice he was there.

A small electric pulse from his modified wristwatch told him it was time to go get changed for his party, one of the few times he was allowed a few hours away from training.  
Inspecting his reflection in the mirror he let his mind wander to the past four years, so much had changed, his mind, his soul, his power and his body, the absurd training combined with his reiki and the power of the dragon had changed him in a way no one had expected, he no longer looked like the 9-year-old boy he was but instead the reflection looking back at him appeared to be that of a teen around 15-16 years of age.  
Even Kasumi referred to him as “Nii-san” nowadays since no one who didn't know better would believe he was the younger sibling.  
It had been explained to him that it was a sign of his strength that he had been able to accelerate his body’s maturation in order to be able to withstand the training and according to the dragon he would probably keep growing at an increased rate until his body reached sufficient maturity when it appeared to be somewhere around 20-25 and she had also claimed it would not have any adverse effect to his lifespan, he would simply stop aging until his true age caught up.

 

1 year later

The Kiryu estate was buzzing with activity, a new shinobi was to be given their blade and ink today, the proof that they had passed their training and was ready to take on the tasks of their path.  
But this time it was different, never before had someone so young been given the title of full shinobi and Hisao was proud that his student was the one to accomplish this feat.  
He greeted a small group of guests and brought them to the small reception room where the ceremony would be held and watched as they unpacked a large number of vials onto a low table next to a small elevated futon and started mixing the contents.  
He walked over to the dojo to get Takeshi and make sure he was as ready for his big day as he could be, once inside he found him in his favorite place atop one of the pillars that held up the ceiling beams.  
“Takeshi-san it is time to get dressed.”  
He called out and the boy dropped down silent as a shadow, he could never hear him approach anymore unless he wanted to be heard.

In Takeshi's room a simple cut black Haori and Hakama had been brought for him to wear and he silently donned the clothing with no small amount of trepidation, he only had a vague idea of what to expect during the ceremony today but he knew not everyone survived it.  
Putting on the tabi and zori he stepped out and followed Hisao to the room where the ceremony would be held.  
Even before they entered the room he picked up the scent of Sumi inks telling him that the Irezumi, the tattooers, were getting ready in the room, however the scents of several toxins, potent poisons and venoms from various animals and plants, had him on edge but none of this showed as he entered with his head held high.  
Before him in the room was the council, Daisuke, Misato and a group of Irezumi, he was somewhat surprised that Kasumi was not there but he carefully hid all expressions, he could not afford to give anything away here.

After a short presentation and formal address he was given the title of _Shinobi_ and given a simple but well made katana, it was entirely black, even the blade had been carefully worked so that its finish was a matte black, this was the blade of an assassin made so that it would not reflect light and risk revealing a position.  
After taking the blade he was ordered to remove his clothing and lay down on the elevated futon before the Irezumi, this was the part that had him worried as he had been informed that it was a form of test, if he cried out at any time during the process of receiving the tattoo his life would be forfeit and now that he was here he understood just how much of a challenge that might be, the scent of poisons and venoms he had smelled came from the low table where the inks was being prepared.  
A piece of flat stone with a number of circular indentations in the surface had been placed on the table and a small amount of pigment had been added in each hole and an array of vials holding the potentially deadly substances were lined up beside it.  
As he lowered himself onto the futon he watched the assistant Irezumi added a small amount into the pigment in the first indentation and mixed it with the pigment.

The master Irezumi spoke as he picked up his tools  
“Today you will receive your dragon or die, break your silence before the work is done and your life is forfeit. If you are to weak to withstand the ink, you will die.”  
Takeshi turned his head to Hisao as he asked the question on his mind  
“Hisao-hanshi, what of Kasumi, will she have to bear the pain through the bond?”  
Hisao gave him a small smile and shook his head  
“Do not worry, for this trial she has been sealed away so she can not sense you.”  
Satisfied with the response Takeshi looked to the Irezumi and gave a short nod.  
“Lets do this!”  
Before setting his head down and taking control of his breath and heart.

He could feel a hand on his back and the scent of venom then there was nothing but pain, all consuming, white hot pain that seared his very soul, clamping down the control he held over his body he forced himself to remain still and silent.  
He did not know how long time had passed as the scents of one deadly substance after another was painted into his body and he could feel his control starting to slip but he would be damned if he lost now so with one final push he forced his way into the dreamscape, leaving his body frozen, unable to betray him.

_Dreamscape  
_

_“ **How fitting that you come here to hide from your marking.** ”_  
_The dragon taunted him but he did not take the bait, after all the time spent with her he knew better._  
_“Does it really matter how I beat this final trial? Isn't this world part of the strength I have gained?”_  
_He retorted with a snort._  
_“T **rue enough, tho it will take more than this for you to survive this time. They have once again decided to kill you, the substances mixed with the pigment are normally diluted so that they merely cause pain and kill the weak however they are all at full potency for you.** ”_  
_At this he cursed and prepared to forcefully wake himself and get rid of those that would try to kill him but the old dragon stopped him._  
_“ **Waking will not help you, it would merely hasten your demise. I will feed some of my blood into your body and keep you alive, but be warned, the blood of a dragon is a potent toxin in itself but at least you would have a chance of living through it** ”._

They watched from within the dreamscape as the form of a black dragon crowned with black flames, crimson eyes and blood on its claws was slowly etched into his skin and several times throughout the following days his heart slowed and came close to stopping, but it never did.  
At the evening of the 3rd day the Irezumi rose and informed the witnesses that it was done, that it was now up to the young Shinobi if he woke or perished.  
And with that he was cast out from the dreamscape.

 

Takeshi woke with a pulse of youki from the blood bestowed upon him by the Ryujin named Kiryu as it burned every last trace of the inks from his body and replaced it with youki and the scales of a dragon, a second pulse, reiki this time forced his heart back to its normal rhythm and he opened his eyes to the chocked faces of the Irezumi and council elders.  
Looking the head of council straight in the eye he spoke with force  
“I have passed your trials, now let me place my wows so I can be rid of your presence!”  
He could feel the fear radiating of the elder as he ordered Kasumi to be brought into the room and for once he didn't resist the wicked grin that graced his featured.

One knee to the floor he forever surrendered his name and future to become his sisters shadow.

 

 

 


	6. Conscript

 

 **(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conscript_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Ocean Drive Miami, 2015**

 They had been walking along the Ocean Drive all afternoon and Takeshi was frankly sick and tired of the attention they received, especially the attention Kasumi was receiving.  
Oh, he had tried to talk her into choosing something less eye-catching for their little outing but she had been as stubborn as ever.

Earlier the same day:  
“Meirei da!”  
Kasumi's voice cut like a razor and Takeshi froze slightly before bowing with a glare,  
“As you wish, Kasumi- _sama_!”  
He saw her flinch at the honorific but that was it for their little _argument_ , he hated when she out right ordered him to back down in an argument but he had sworn to be her shadow and as such he could not go against a direct order unless her life was in the balance.  
He had tried to convince her that they should be wearing casual clothes in the typical Miami fashion style but she would not have it.  
She insisted that since this was technically her birthday outing, even though her birthday had been three days prior, they would “dress for the occasion” which put him in a crisp, all white suit and an ankle-length, white coat and her in a skin-tight, black and red Chinese long dress with gold inlays.  
He knew it would be trouble but an order was an order.

The trouble had started before they had even exited the hotel as both their phones started beeping hysterically as NFC-messages arrived with phone numbers, room numbers and various invitations for food and drinks, by the time they had made it through the lobby ha had counted 47 messages on Kasumi's phone and 34 on his own, in addition to those several women had slipped him notes something that the males luckily hadn't dared tried to approach Kasumi for.

 

  
  
**(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conscript_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They had spent the afternoon walking along the boardwalk and Takeshi's mood had been deteriorating as the hours passed by, the constant attention grated on his senses, he preferred to remain hidden even if it was a huge drain on his reiki.  
As the afternoon turned towards evening bad turned towards worse as the human filth of the local nightlife crawled out of the gutters, tactless brutes who believed themselves irresistible, bullies who believed themselves strong and prowling predators seeking prey.  
He let out a small breath of relief as they turned from the main street and headed towards the restaurant where they would dine, it was located of the path but came with excellent recommendations, its seafood supposedly some of the best in the city but without all the hype and fame it was a quiet little place.  
Once inside he took them to a table in the back, the wall mirror in the corner would allow him to keep an eye on what happened in the room without having to place Kasumi in a vulnerable position.

Halfway through their meal a group of soldiers came in and headed for the bar section for some heavy drinking and it didn't take long before the group became rowdy, bragging loudly about their accomplishments as a GCTI special operations unit.

 _GCTI; Global Counter Terrorism Initiative_ , once a private security firm specializing in reconnaissance, recovery and "cleanup" they had managed to secure massive government contracts and connections in the fallout of recent years increase in international terrorism and now held a position as the primary weapon against most forms of international threats.  
Special operations unit under the GCTI meant they were probably mercenaries, military dropouts and general scum, not the kind of people you would want to be associated with, but then again, neither was he.

When dessert was brought to their table one of the soldiers noticed them, stumbled over and tried to push his way to Kasumi in the corner but in an instant Takeshi stood before him and blocked his path,  
“Please leave sir, we do not wish to be disturbed”  
He calmly tried to reason with the man but had little luck.  
Leaning heavily into him the soldier spoke up with a loud voice  
“Hey, hot-stuff! Why don't you loose pretty-boy here and come dance with some real men?”  
Kasumi didn't look up from her dessert as she calmly, coldly responded that she held no interest in socializing with mercenary trash, this of course did not go over well and the soldier called out to his colleagues,  
“Hey boys, this Jank-skank here thinks she's too good for us.”  
Takeshi cursed to himself, this was getting out of hand fast, all of the soldiers were armed and they were not the kind of people to hesitate attacking even what they believed to be unarmed civilians.

“ _Kasumi! Is it really necessary to antagonize them?”_  
At times like this the telepathic link that the dantai-bond granted had some rather obvious advantages,  
_“There is only ten of them, shouldn't be any problem for my dear brother turned shadow? After all, you are properly armed thanks to my insistence on the choice of wardrobe.”_  
Her response made him curse again, so this was how she intended to get even for him using -sama with her earlier in the day.

Movement from the soldier in attempt to grab Kasumi brought his attention fully back to the situation at hand and he took hold of the arm reaching out and twisted it around before giving him a shove toward his friends,  
“Leave! I have no interest in fighting you.”  
But by now the remaining soldiers had all risen and walked over to them and were quite obviously looking for a fight, at Kasumi's telepathic order he allowed the first two soldier to grab his arms and subdue him while the others surrounded the table where his sister was still calmly eating her dessert.

“Come on missy, dance with us and we will forget about this little misunderstanding here”, “Yeah, just a dance”,  
“We are heroes, the least you can do is dance with us!”  
They all spoke over each other but Kasumi payed them no heed and just kept eating.  
The one closest lost his calm and grabbed her arm, pulling her up from her seat and into his arms. “You will dance with us and you will play nice or pretty-boy over there will find himself missing something important!”  
He hissed, at this one of the men holding Takeshi pulled out a large knife and put its edge tight against his throat.  
At this Kasumi looked up with a smile playing on her face.  
He knew this smile, it was one of those smiles that would send men who knew its meaning running for their lives, it was a smile spelling death.  
Looking over he shoulder at the soldier holding her she replied  
“Dance you say? I guess a dance would be acceptable. Brother, why don't you take the first **dance**?”  
As she spoke a single word echoed in his mind  
_“Iku!”_  
The order to act in her defense.

The sound of metal against metal sang out into the room followed by the thuds of two bodies hitting the floor, gasps and attempted shouts of orders were cut short by the song of a blade as a flurry of movement was followed by eerie silence.  
A flick of a wrist and steel was once again sheathed.  
Startled cries broke the silence as other guests noticed the ten bodies on the floor and realized what had happened.  
From behind him Kasumi spoke up,  
“Why is it _blade-dancer_ , that you always manage to cover me in blood while never getting as much as a single drop on yourself?”  
He ignored her jibe and reached for her hand,  
“It's time we leave unless you wish to spend the rest of the night in police holding.”  
She didn't resist him and none of the guests dared try to stop them from leaving.

 

 

  
**(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conscript_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Once back at the hotel Takeshi tossed his coat over the back of the couch and removed his katana before flopping into said couch and turning on the news.  
As expected the incident was on every channel and he began flipping between them while waiting for Kasumi to finish her bath.

” _Terrorists strikes against Miami restaurant.”  
_ -Click-  
_”Terrorist attack against GCTI off duty personnel in Miami.”  
_ -Click-  
_”Several dead in bloody attack against restaurant.”  
_ -Click-  
_”_ _ **Breaking News!**_ _Local authorities have released the death-toll from the Miami restaurant attack. A total of 34 dead, 10 soldiers, 16 restaurant guests and the 8 employees working at the time of the incident. This makes it the biggest attack on US soil since Boston.”_  
-Crash-  
The remote was crushed in his grip as he stared at the text listing the civilian victims.

34, that wasn't right, it should be 10 soldiers no more.  
_”The victims were brutally gunned down before the place was set on fire”_  
Again the information did not match.  
The GCTI!  
For some reason they were covering up the real story.  
“Nani? What the hell are they up to?”  
He looked over his shoulder at Kasumi's sudden exclamation but looked back just as quick at the sight of her state of dress, or rather undress.  
“Ehm, Kasumi, I believe you forgot something when you left the bathroom.”  
She had probably picked up on his emotions and come out to see what had him riled up.  
He heard her walk up behind him and leaned over the back of the couch, he could hear her smirk as she spoke,  
“Aw, poor brother, so easily embarrassed.”  
She patted him on the head before taking his coat and donning it as a bathrobe, slipping over the back of the couch she sat down beside him.

After calling room-service for a new remote they spent the night watching the various news reports, they needed all the information they could get to figure this out, they could both feel a storm brewing on the horizon but there was more to it, he could feel something much deeper and the dragon-blood tattoo was burning his skin, something he intentionally was hiding from Kasumi.  
The feeling of destiny hung heavy in the air and somehow he knew that once again the future had shifted onto an unseen path.

 

  
**(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conscript_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

3 days later the incident was starting to fade from the news, false descriptions of suspects had been displayed and equally false reports stating that the culprits had been caught had followed soon after.  
The GCTI had turned it into a major PR stunt, exploiting every angel to gain more funding, more power.  
There was still something going on behind the curtains and Takeshi did not like it, getting information from within the GCTI was hard work.

 

  
**(** **¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conscript_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

On the 4th day after the fateful evening they were coming back up to the hotel room but as Takeshi opened the door he froze, someone was in their room, sitting on the couch as if he belonged there was a middle aged man in a simple suit.  
With practiced ease he drew his blade and closed the distance in the blink of an eye and placed the edge against the intruders throat and applied a slight pressure as a threat, however the intruder remained calm as he spoke up.  
“I would advise against that course of action Takeshi, if I die here the GCTI will present evidence proving that the Kiryu family is behind a series of terror attacks throughout Europe and the US and I trust you would not like that.”  
The pressure of the blade lessened as Takeshi moved it to rest at the man's shoulder instead, a sign that he was willing to listen but still considered the man an enemy.

With a smile the man took a deep breath and started talking again,  
“Since I already know your names I guess it would be rude not to introduce myself, I am Tom Addams and I am an independent recruiter for the GCTI.”  
As Tom spoke a silent conversation of sorts was taking place between Takeshi and Kasumi, thoughts melding, blending together until they themselves couldn't really tell what part was Kasumi and what part was Takeshi  
_"He is lying."  
__"Yes, I know."  
"The identity he is giving is probably false."  
_ “I was called in after your little stunt at the restaurant, you made quite an impression Takeshi, the big-shots wants you, or rather your skills as a killer and it's my job to make sure you sign up.”  
Tom kept on while looking expectantly at Takeshi,  
“Oh, I understand that you are probably not interested but unfortunately for you you have no choice, if you do not sign up as a voluntary recruit the Kiryu family will be made to look like terrorists and evidence placing sweet little Kasumi here at the restaurant will resurface.”  
At this the keen edge of the katana was once again pressed against a vulnerable throat and Takeshi spoke up for the first time since he entered the room.  
“Even if I had wanted to it is impossible for me to comply with this demand, no person under the age of 20 can join the GCTI and despite how I appear I am in fact only 15”  
This information brought a brief flash of fear and chock across Toms's eyes before he spoke with a smile,  
“Ah, I see they didn't give me the proper intel before sending me here. Oh well, no matter, you wouldn't be the first young talent acquired with some special assistance.”  
Tom slowly reached into his pocket and brought out an envelope and emptied on the table before pointing toward a passport and photo ID,  
“I suggest you look at that.”  
_“Kasumi, check it please.”_  
An unspoken request passed between them and she walked up to the table and picked up the items for a closer look

 **Name:** Takeshi, Kiryu  
**Date of birth:** December 17, 1992  
**Citizenship:** United States of America

There was also a paper detailing the application process for GCTI service.

She held the ID and passport up to her brother and he quickly looked them over before turning his eyes back on the intruder,  
“So, a false identity to make it possible to sign up and equally false evidence to assure I don't consider the option to refuse.”  
He sheathed his blade before he spoke again,  
“That leaves me with no options but to do as asked, but be warned, heads will roll for this and yours will be one of the first. Now, get lost!”  
At this the intruder, Tom, laughed and left the hotel room.  
 

Trouble indeed, but he had no choice but to comply or he would be putting both Kasumi and all of the Kiryu at risk.

 


	7. Boot Camp - GCTI Style

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Boot Camp - GCTI Style_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**GCTI Special Environments Survival Training facility, Death Valley, California**

Takeshi was sitting in the shade underneath the old Airbus CN-235 that had brought them to this particular corner of hell.  
Even in the shadow the heat was blistering, but at least it was better than out there in the sun.  
-"Hey Take, where the hell are you off hiding this time?"  
He heard Daniels calling for him but ignored her, he needed time to meditate to get his body temperature down before the drill sarge got him killed, he had been made to run non-stop since sunrise and his body could only handle so much.  
So instead of responding he refocused a small amount of his reiki into hiding his presence and the rest on recovering the damage caused by heat and dehydration.  
That drill sarge had been out to get him from day one, he smiled as he recalled their first meeting.

It had been the 3rd day of his forced service to the GCTI, he had been brought along with about twenty-five other young “recruits” to a training facility outside Miami where they were introduced to “The Sarge”, a retired black ops specialist that had been hired by the GCTI to train their “special cases”.  
During the introduction he had walked over to Takeshi and tried to stare him down as he commented.  
“So this is the trash that killed my boys huh?”  
Leaning in closer he hooked his swagger stick under Takeshi's long braid and pulled it out from beneath the shirt.  
“Looks like a sissy girl to me!”  
And with that he had pulled out a combat knife and tried to cut the braid at the neck.  
As a result of the attack the Sarge had spent two weeks in hospital with several broken bones, four fractured ribs, dislocated shoulder, dislocated jaw and several other minor injuries, and of course Takeshi still had his braid tucked in its usual place.

”Take! I know you can hear me! Get your skinny ass over here or I’ll find you and drag you back to camp by that fancy braid of yours!”  
He sighed deeply, Daniels was okay but she could be a bit high spirited for his taste.  
“ **TAAAAKEEE!** ”  
Not to mention loud.  
He stood up and walked out from underneath the plane since it was obvious the woman wouldn't give up on finding him anytime soon and his head was hurting bad enough without her yelling.  
”Take, come on dude, Sarge is gonna frigging flog us both if I don't get you back to camp before the evening session starts.”  
This time the tone of her voice held a pleading note and he knew she was being serious and he had no desire to see her whipped for something he did so he walked up behind her and whispered in her ear  
“Well, I can't let that happened now can I, _sweetie_?”  
She spun around with a shriek and slapped him, hard, across the face.  
He could of course have avoided it, but that would just make her temper even worse and it wasn't like she could do any real damage anyway.  
“Take! How many times do I have to tell you don't frigging sneak up on me like that! One of these times I might carry a knife or something you know.”  
At this he merely smiled and nodded  
“Hai hai, _sweetie_.”  
She glared at him and responded with an impressive growl.  
“And don't you sweetie me you jerk! Oh, and cut the Japanese while were at it!”  
He ignored her outburst and started walking towards the small camp that was their home in hell.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Boot Camp - GCTI Style_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Out of the twenty-five youths forced into the “Special Talents” training unit only ten remained, a few had been moved to regular units after being considered to be to “normal” for the special unit.  
The others had perished along the way, some to accidents during training, others had been deemed “uncontrollable” and had been eliminated.  
The two year “basic” training, including everything from weapons training and martial arts to learning to pilot the more common aircraft they could expect to come across as well as parachuting, free-diving, diving with tanks, tactical driving, medical training and a number of other skills that could be useful had now been completed and what remained of the unit was moved on to what was referred to as “Special Environments Survival Training”.  
This training took place at some of the most extreme locations the planet had to offer and first out had been “Hell”, high temperature environment training in Death Valley, California.  
He knew that the next location would be “Heaven”, high altitude, cold weather training at Mount McKinley, Alaska.

Though his presence here was forced his thirst for knowledge had made sure the time spent wasn't to bad and he had to admit that most of the instructors had been decent enough people, the drill sarge tho had become just another name on the list of people that would find themselves missing their heads once he was able to move freely again.  
Walking into the small tent camp he gave the other nine members of the unit a quick look to check their condition, the medical training they had received had been easy to incorporate into his reiki abilities making him able to detect problems long before they became serious enough to cause symptoms.  
Ramirez, the Spanish _explosives and demolition expert,_ or more precisely a safe-cracker who was offered GCTI service instead of a very long prison sentence, was perfectly fine with the heat as always same with Adannaya, she was used to these kinds of conditions.  
Eriksson on the other hand was most definitely not, the Swedish _acquisitions expert,_ a nice way of saying, pickpocket, car-thief and notorious cat-burglar, had been suffering badly from the heat even back in Miami and she was now showing signs of heat exhaustion, the other six were hot and tired but nothing that would threaten their health.  
As he walked past them to his spot he tossed Eriksson a water bottle.  
“Eriksson, you’re out for this one. Get your ass to the freezer and get some rest.”  
She merely nodded and walked of toward the plane and inside of it, the “freezer”, a small air-conditioned compartment with a handful of small cots that mainly served as a medical facility.  
“ **Hey Kiryu!** **What the hell do you think you're doing?** ”  
Sarge yelled at him and he calmly took his position before he replied.  
“For all intents and purposes I am the commanding officer of this unit during training operations, and as such it is my duty to see to the health of my men. After all, what good would the unit be if I allowed my acquisitions officer to be taken out of commission or even killed from heat-stroke while having the means to prevent it?”  
In response a sharp pain stung his cheek and Takeshi longed for the day when he would feed him that swagger stick before taking his head.  
Another sharp sting, the other cheek this time and a muttered curse.  
“I will break you, you useless piece of shit!”  
But as usual the abuse rewarded him no reaction at all save for the slightly amused looks from the rest of the unit, but those were not to his benefit.  
“Get out of here losers, you have your orders now scram!”

The assignment this time was a simple search and destroy, a terrorist weapons depot was located somewhere in the “frying pan”, the hottest part of this godforsaken place, their job was to find it and destroy it.  
Sounded simple enough but once you took the extreme heat and lack of water into account it was actually a pretty dangerous assignment, one he knew the unit was in no condition for as the others simply did not have the resilience to survive the heat under those conditions.  
As they walked toward the target location the old tracker, Hertz, walked up to his side and looked at the marks on his face.  
“You gotta teach me how to do that someday kiddo. Those blows must have hurt like crazy and you never flinch in the least.”  
To this Takeshi merely smirked and replied with a jibe.  
“You know what they say about teaching old dogs gramps”  
Sure Hertz wasn't by far that old but with his 29 he was the oldest in their group and his habit of calling everyone “kid” had earned him his name.

The group chatted along as they kept walking until sunset, a small camp was set up and everyone was getting ready to get some sleep when Takeshi called them to attention.  
“Ramirez, Adannaya and I will do this one on our own, the rest of you will stay here and take it easy. With the access to water being as restricted as it is the rest of you simply won't be able to withstand it without serious risk.”  
The others mumbled and nodded their acceptance of the plan, not only did they trust his tactical sense but the idea of pulling several all-day walks was not a tempting one, so they settled in and watched as two young men and a woman walked of into the night.

 

**1 year later GCTI Miami headquarters**

The training was finally over after three years of hell, out of the twenty-five that had been forcefully recruited into the “Special Talents” unit only five remained and today they graduated into GCTI active service.  
Through no little work on Takeshi's side it had been decided that they were to remain as a unit and placed under the command of one of the more experienced units and so began his work as a government sponsored assassin.

He didn't really mind the work, most of the targets would easily fall into the classification “scum of the earth” and he never did have any qualms about killing, the problem was the amount of work they were given, they were barely out of debriefing before they were called in for their next mission-briefing.  
He could handle the stress thanks to his ability to heal and rejuvenate his body using reiki along with his dreamscape training that allowed him to gain hours worth of mental rest in mere minutes of meditation, his team however were starting to bend under the pressure and if they were not able to get some proper rest soon they would break, with that in mind he set his aim for the coordinators office.

After a long negotiation session he had managed to talk the coordinator into giving his team a one week of-base leave, it wasn't much but at least it would let them get some proper sleep and food for once.  
Since none of the others had any nearby connections, Daniels, the only US citizen in the group was from Los Angeles and she had no connections there after her forced recruitment, it was decided that they would stay at the Miami beachfront mansion that Kasumi had purchased for part of the trust fund she received access to at her 20th birthday.  
It would be nice to see his sister again and have a proper conversation, they had been separated far to much the past three and a half years for the dantai-bond to allow proper communication and he rarely had an opportunity to call her without their call being monitored by the GCTI.

 

**Kasumi Kiryu Miami estate**

As the limousine passed the gates to the community Daniels could no longer contain herself, “Damn, Take! I heard your family was well of, but this? Just how frigging loaded are you guys?”.  
“Oh, this does not belong to the family, it's my sisters private estate where she goes whenever she feels like having some time to herself.”  
Takeshi replied with a smirk, he had never been much for bragging but Daniels's reaction was just to amusing to resist, even the ever levelheaded Adannaya was looking like a kid on Christmas.  
Though, after three and a half years cooped up in training and endless missions getting time off could unhinge anyone.

With half an ear he listened in on Ramirez and Eriksson debating what kind of security they might find in a place like this, a discussion that quickly drew in Daniels as well as they asked for her expertise in electronic and computerized systems.  
Of course those three would end up on that track, they did after all have similar backgrounds, Daniels was one of the world's most skilled hackers, Ramirez made his living as a top of the line safe-cracker and Eriksson was a highly skilled cat-burglar and pickpocket that could steal pretty much anything she was able to carry, she was also a highly skilled driver and car-thief.  
Apart from him that left Adannaya, a highly skilled tracker and hunter with a knowledge of natural remedies and toxins that surpassed even his own.

Passing another large gate they were finally at his sister's estate and he allowed himself to relax a bit, he could sense guards hidden throughout the property, all of them familiar from the Kiryu main estate and it felt good to have someone else he could trust to detect any threats.  
The limousine had barely stopped before the door was ripped open and he was yanked out by the collar and brought into a crushing hug.  
“ **Takeshi!** Hisashiburi desu!”  
As always Kasumi reverted to Japanese when she got excited,  
“Oi! Long time no see Nee-chan, but take it easy with your poor baby brother, are you _trying_ to kill me or something?”  
He carefully peeled himself out of the hug and placed her on the ground in front of him before continuing,  
“As much as I missed you as well I do prefer being able to breathe, not to mention I rather take this somewhere less open.”  
“Aw, Nii-san don't be like that, it's just a hug, or have you gone all weak in the past three years?”  
She jibed as she grabbed his hand and started pulling him along.  
He looked over his shoulder at his companions that were looking at the rather amusing scene before them,  
“Hey guys, I suggest you get moving and keep up cause once my sister gets moving nothing is going to stop her, don't worry about the bags the driver will take care of them”.

 

Soon after they all found themselves seated on a luxurious deck surrounding a large pool in an ridiculously large yard while a light supper was being served.  
Kasumi looked at her guests with her usual curiosity.  
“So, Takeshi, aren't you going to introduce your friends here?”  
With a deep sigh he went about the task of introducing his unit to his sister.

“The crazy looking redhead is Emelie Daniels, also known as the hacker D-Rex, there's no computer system she can't crack open.”  
He swiftly caught the bottle headed for his head.  
“As you can see she has a bit of a temper.”  
He added with a grin.

“Mr Hot Latino over there is Luis Ramirez, don't let him close to the safe or you might just find it empty.”  
Ramirez instantly voiced his objections to the introduction.  
“Hey Take, you hurt my feelings here, I would never rob such a beautiful lady!”  
Takeshi just shook his head and moved on to the next person.

“The blonde bombshell is Maria Eriksson, best damn thief I have ever seen, she even manages to pick **my** pockets every now and then”  
A statement that brought out laughter.

“Miss Nairobi over there is Shani Adannaya, on top of shooting the wings of a fly she'll track a fish across the ocean and could probably cook up a hundred remedies and poisons on top of a decent dinner from whatever grows in that flowerbed.”  
He nodded his head towards the small flowerbed next to the deck.

“Everyone, this is my sister Kasumi, you better not piss her off cause if she can't kick your ass herself, she might just order me to do it, and unlike orders from the idiots of GCTI, I always follow hers”.  
To this Ramirez paled and nodded while the others laughed.

 

As the evening had turned into night the others had slipped of to the guestrooms leaving Takeshi and Kasumi silently contemplating each other in a small sitting-room, no words were spoken, but it was many years since they had any use for words.  
_“Brother, how long do you intend to allow those idiots to order you around? How long do you intend to shirk your responsibilities and vows?”_  
“Kasumi, you know I can't leave without putting you and the entire family at risk, I need some more time to gather enough leverage to assure they won't dare act against us.”  
“Fine, brother! But I won't stand for them keeping us apart much longer, you better make sure you get more leave from now on unless you want me to tag along for your missions.”  
“Hai, hai Kasumi, I'll do what I can.”

 

One week unfortunately passed much to fast and they found themselves back in a non-stop schedule once again and as the months quickly passed by they marked their first year of service and moved into their second, but at least now he had managed to negotiate one solid week of leave every two months, leave that was spent either at Kasumi's Miami estate or the Kiryu Hawaii vacation home.

As time was getting close to Takeshi's 20 th  birthday arrangements were made to make sure he and the unit got leave for the occasion, there would be a big party at the Kiryu estate in Okinawa as he would be formally considered a full adult.

 

**Kiryu estate, Okinawa Japan, Dec 17 2019**

Takeshi sighed as he looked across the grand reception hall, there were well over a hundred guests, most of them wanted him dead, but at least after this he would have no need to have anymore contact with them.  
“Hey, Take, how much longer are we going to just sit around?”  
Daniels was the first to voice her boredom as usual and he promptly replied before she could start nagging him,  
“A few more hours, the main presentation will be once the sun has fully set, once that is done we can get out of here. So just sit down and enjoy the food for now.”

Once the sun had fully set and lanterns had been lit throughout the place Daisuke and Misato joined Takeshi at the dais for the traditional speech, once that was over they called Hisao-hanshi to approach.  
This was the moment Takeshi was waiting for, more precisely he was awaiting the contents of the bamboo box that Hisao was carrying on outstretched arms.  
He knew exactly what that long slender box contained and he was eagerly looking forward to the moment when the guests realized just what it contained.  
Of course they knew it contained a katana, but they did not know **what** katana it held.

Hisao knelt down and bowed his head before he spoke  
“Takeshi Kiryu, although as one of the Kage you will never hold the title of heir, on this day you are still to receive the full responsibilities and remaining rights as an adult member and eldest son of the Kiryu house and as such it is my duty and honor to present you with a proper blade.”  
He opened the box and raised it toward Takeshi  
“It is now time for you to draw the blade that will guide your future!”.

And so Takeshi reached for the blade, brought it from the box and freed the blade from its sheath before raising it high over his head.  
“Kiryu no Ryuken, I accept you as mine, now accept me, Takeshi of the Kiryu as yours!”  
With that he brought the edge of the blade against his left palm and let it cut deep enough to draw blood and paint the length of the blade in red, moments later the black flames of the demonic Ryujin engulfed the blade and burned of every trace of blood while leaving him unharmed.  
As Takeshi returned the blade to its sheath Hisao spoke up.  
“It is done, the blade that chose is now bound, until the day he dies Takeshi is the wielder of the Ryuken and as such he is second only to Head and Heir!”  
Taking a few steps to stand at Takeshi's side he gave a quick nod that it was once again his turn to speak.

The room had exploded into protests.  
“Impossible, he is _Gaijin!”,_  
“There must be some kind of a trick!”  
“A Kage with a Ryuken, preposterous!”

Takeshi took another step forward and raised his voice to carry clear across the protests being voiced by the ones before him and spoke with an edge of ice in his tone.  
“ **SILENCE!** By the laws that govern the families sworn to the great dragons you are beneath me, the wielder of one of the Ryuken. So **know your** **place**!”  
As the final words rang out with a pulse of his reiki and the youki of the ryujin the floor became a flurry of activity, the guests kneeling down into kowtow, foreheads touching the floor.  
Takeshi turned to the members of his unit who had been seated at a small table behind him,  
“Well, guess we are done here, what do you say we hit town for some proper partying?”  
With eager nods they all joined him, Kasumi included and headed out for the local bars.

 

Two days later they found themselves back at the GCTI headquarters in Miami, this time in one of the small conference-rooms as they were informed that their unit was to be separated from the larger unit they had been working under and would from now on be an independent unit led by Takeshi and under the direct command of the GCTI directorate.  
_“Finally I can start acting more freely.”  
_ Takeshi thought as he was congratulated by his unit, his friends, on his new promotion.

 


	8. Knowledge is Power

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Knowledge is Power_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Classified location, Pakistani mountains, June 2021**

Takeshi took a sip from his canteen before turning his attention back to the mountain road leading into the small village below, his unit had been watching this place for the past three weeks now and he was getting bored.  
So far they had counted over 100 armed men and 17 large weapon and equipment deliveries but still their orders remained, "Stay, Watch, Update" and his patience was wearing thin, he wished they would just give the order to attack already.

A small tingle of electricity against the skin behind his right ear alerted him of an incoming communication (as much as he hated the com-implant he had to admit it had its uses), he activated the device and was greeted by the voice of Daniels,  
“Take, we got an update, Shani spotted a group of large vehicles coming up towards the east passage, ETA two hours. It has a big escort so this might be what we are looking for, also they are too large for the passage so they will have to move the cargo out of the vehicles to get it to the village. Might be a good time to get a look at what they are bringing in.”  
He paused for a moment to evaluate the new information before opening a channel to the rest of the unit.  
“Okay guys, the new transports has priority, move to the base of the east passage but be careful, we still have two hours so no need to rush things.”  
The others quickly gave their confirmation before the link went dead again and he began moving toward the location.

Two hours later the unit was spread around the small plateau that served as a loading ground for transports coming up the east entrance to the small village, the final approach was a rather narrow road meaning most transports had to be reloaded to ox-carts for the last bit.  
The large covered trucks had finally come to a stop on the flattened dirt and a flurry of activity started as a group of men started unloading them to the waiting carts.  
Takeshi was taking notes of the contents he could see being loaded, mostly electronics and computer parts with a few smaller firearms mixed in when the com-implant came alive with an emergency transmission from Ramirez.  
“Rad Casks! Please confirm. I have multiple class A Rad Casks being unloaded on the south side”.  
He immediately turned his attention to the south side of the plateau and could confirm Ramirez report, several “Radiation Casks”, specialized containers used for transporting high grade radioactive materials, were being moved from the truck and as one of them was swung around while being placed on a cart he caught a glimpse of the labeling sporting a bold, red A, meaning the materials inside was weapons-grade.

Takeshi cursed to himself, this was not good, based on previous deliveries to the village he couldn't afford to wait for further orders, not that he really cared about orders anyway, chances were that they had missiles standing by to be fitted with nuclear warheads, a task that could be completed within hours if the technicians knew what they were doing and he wouldn't be able to get a mission update in time.  
Putting the com to a general call he quickly gave orders to initiate one of the attack-plans he had prepared, it was a variation of their standard attack plan that basically meant that Adannaya gave long range cover while Daniels, Ramirez and Eriksson created as much chaos and diversion as they could manage and he went in on his own and took out the targets.

Of course the others were fully capable as well but he had made up his mind when taking command of the unit that he would take the blood on his own hands and keep the others as clean as he could manage, apart from him Adannaya was the only one who had ever killed someone prior to their recruitment, and even then it had been purely self-defense in her case.  
He on the other hand had the blood of many on his hand, some killed in self-defense, some in defense of Kasumi and yet some in cold blood.

Less than an hour later the “terrorist” presence in the village and its surrounding area had been eliminated and all that remained was to guard the Rad Casks until a nuclear retrieval unit arrived, but hopefully one of the regular GCTI-units would be sent in to relieve them now that the enemy combatants had been cleared out.  
As predicted it took less than three hours before a Hercules plane and its escort came into view, dropping of 40 standard paratroopers to guard the site and a tech-unit to check the casks and prepare them for transport, the coordinator informed them that a sky-crane was being diverted to collect the casks in a few days, they were also informed that a Black Hawk had been dispatched from a carrier in the Arabian Sea to pick them up.  
If the GTCI went through all of that trouble rather than have them go home with the rest of the troops there had to be another mission lined up for them, and here he had been hoping for a breather.

 

**GCTI “Liberty”, Arabian Sea**

After a seven hour flight they finally landed on the “Liberty”, a recommissioned US super-carrier under GCTI command and the current base of operations in the area.  
They were immediately escorted to a meeting room for debriefing and to receive their new orders, the mission this time was a VIP escort that had specifically requested their unit for the job.  
This made Takeshi curious, not many knew of the existence of his unit and for them to be assigned escort duty by request whoever the VIP was it had to be a pretty big fish.

“Aw crap, not a VIP babysit, look at this briefing, they expect us to dress to “Black Tie” for crying out loud! And look at the locations, we are gonna get cooked!”  
Ramirez was the first to voice his opinion of the assignment but he was quickly shut down by the rest of the unit as the female members rejoiced at the chance to go shopping for formal-wear on GCTI's bill.  
Takeshi couldn't resist a big smirk at the thought of letting loose the “ladies” at the Kiryu family tailor followed by a visit to the jeweler, the GCTI would want his head when they spotted the bill but since they had given him free hands when it came to equipment for his unit they would have to pay and this time he would make the most of it.  
A quick chat with the coordinator and they were on a flight to Japan to “acquire the required equipment” also known as an insane shopping-spree in one of the most exclusive shopping districts in the world.

 

**Tokyo, Japan**

When they landed in Tokyo a black stretch limousine was waiting, taking them to a classy hotel in the Ginza shopping district and after showing everyone their rooms Takeshi brought them to a small pub off the main street to relax and make some plans for their shopping.  
They had barely found their seats before a tiny old woman came barreling toward their booth  
_“Takeshi-san! It's really you! Where have you been all these years?”_  
_“Sasaki-Ob_ _āsan, lively as always.”_  
He greeted her in Japanese before continuing in English  
“But if you don't mind, my friends here fail to grasp the finer points of the Japanese language so could we please stick to English?”  
“Sure, sure Takeshi-san, where is Kasumi? And who are these lovely ladies you got here?”  
As always old lady Sasaki fired of her 20-questions routine and as always he ignored them in favor of ordering food.  
“Sasaki-Obāsan, just get us whatever you got plenty of and some nice saké”.

A few minutes later bowls of steamed rice was brought out along with several trays containing a wide variety of sashimi and sushi.  
Several pitchers of ice cold water was also placed on the table, one of them held slices of lemon, another cucumber slices and one held strawberries, there was also two pitchers of plain water. About ten minutes later small bowls with various hot side-dishes was brought out to the table along with a bottle of saké.  
The others were looking rather wide-eyed at the selection but he was rather used to it, this was after all one of Kasumi's favorite places so he had eaten here many times before.

Once Takeshi had his fill he went over the plans for their stay with the others,  
“Tonight we will eat, drink and rest, tomorrow I will take you to a tailor that does a lot of work for the Kiryu family to have tuxedo and formal dresses made for the lot of you”  
As expected Ramirez once again voiced his objections to the idea of formal-wear  
“Hell no Take, don't even consider slipping this one!”  
Takeshi voiced a chuckle as he gave Ramirez a placating wave.  
“Don't worry Ramirez, I'm getting a new one as well, my old ones won't fit me anymore, it's been seven years since I last wore formal-wear after all”.  
“But enough about that, the next stop will be a jeweler to have suitable accessories made, some of these will also act as backup weapons and communication-devices. So Daniels, I need you to take apart a few of the spare coms and cut away any unnecessary bulk to make them easier to incorporate into jewelry”  
Daniels nodded and he could tell she was already making plans and designs, she always did have a love for customizing equipment.  
“Once that is done we will head to Hokkaido to acquire some additional weapons. I know a weaponsmith there who specializes in hidden weapons.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Knowledge is Power_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The following day the group found themselves at a small tailor store getting their measurements taken, looking through dress designs and selecting colors. _  
“Kiryu-sama, all white is really not appropriate for a black-tie event, you know this perfectly well.”  
_ The old tailor was once again lecturing him on his choice of colors.  
_“I am perfectly aware of that, but nevertheless I will be wearing all white.”  
_ To this the tailor merely shook his head and tutted.  
Eriksson came up behind him and tapped his elbow  
“What was that about Take?”,  
“Oh, just the master tailor objecting to my lack of decorum as I insist on an all white tuxedo.”  
He replied with a crooked smile.  
As they left Takeshi stopped for a moment to talk to the master tailor, '  
_“With the allotted time, is it possible to have the garments made from Kumo-silk?”  
_ The old tailor scratched his chin as he considered the question before nodding,  
_“It is, but it will be close, it will be very expensive, and it will upset some other customers as I will have to use my current stock as well, but for you, I will make it happen.”_  
Takeshi nodded and thanked the old man before joining the others outside the store.  
Kumo-silk was, just as the name indicated, a fabric made from spider-silk, the technique was new and it was still hard to make any quantities of the fabric but the properties of the silk made it ideal for this, it was lightweight and stronger than Kevlar, in the hands of a skilled artisan it could be processed to mimic almost any fabric.

Later that night Daniels was brought out of her tinkering by a sharp knock on the hotel-room door and she knew that knock anywhere,  
“Just come in Take, kind of have my hands full at the moment”  
The door opened and closed silently and as always she could not make out the sound of his footsteps, unless he wanted her to of course.  
She watched in the corner of her eye as he walked over and dropped into the Lazy Boy style recliner next to the small table that she had turned into a work-space.

Takeshi watched Daniels work for a while before cutting down to business.  
“Daniels, are you done modifying the equipment?”  
Instead of answering she merely used the soldering iron to point towards a paper box at the side of the table, upon closer inspection said box contained a wide selection of stripped down equipment.  
“Excellent, this should do just fine.”  
He waited for her to complete the soldering she was working on before moving on to the next point of the agenda.  
“Have you been able to obtain any more information on that _special project_ of mine?”  
He asked and Daniels looked up with a sigh before reaching for a small tablet-computer and handing it to him.  
“Everything I got is on here, there are still a few directories on the mainframe I haven't been able to access but I'm working on it, also it seems a large section of data is kept on hard-copy only, and that would be more of Luis or Maria's area of expertise.”  
He quickly flipped through a few of the files to determine the usefulness of the information, as always it was good stuff.  
“Good work as always, _sweetie_ , just a little more and I have the information I need to keep those GCTI bastards away from Kasumi.”  
Daniels just shook her head silently, she knew, they all knew, as soon as Takeshi was able to make sure that the GCTI could not touch Kasumi or the Kiryu family he would leave them, and heads would roll.  
She had occasionally heard him going through his “hit list” and it might just as well have been _'Who is who: A guide to GCTI brass'_.  
She startled when she felt his hands on her shoulders, again she had not noticed him move.  
“Don't worry _sweetie_ , I intend to get you guys clear of the GCTI before I do anything more, _drastic_.”  
And with that he left her room, presumably returning to his own and as always his touch left a lingering sensation, like lightning running across her skin  
 _Dammit all, she was NOT falling for him, not possible, she couldn't, she wouldn't!_  
She already had...

Takeshi sat atop the hotel roof overlooking the Ginza nightlife while going through the information on the tablet, cursing to himself as it still was not enough to ensure a safe execution of his plans, he would have to wait longer still, and from the look of things he would have to put even more risk on the team to acquire the hard-copies Daniels mentioned.  
But in the end it would be worth it if it meant he could take down the GCTI once and for all. Pocketing the small tablet he returned down to his room, they would have an early morning the next day.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Knowledge is Power_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

One week later they had ordered everything they needed and now all that remained was for them to be completed, they would have to return a few times to the tailor and jeweler to make sure everything was a perfect fit.  
Three weeks remained before they were to begin the assignment and Takeshi spent the time making sure the teams hand-to-hand combat was up to date, and also giving them some extra lessons in using the hidden weapons that they would be using as backup weapons.

All spare time was spent researching the VIP they would be guarding the next six months, his name was Gerard Roberts, being “old money” as sole heir to a massive fortune and an accomplished player on the stock-market made him a major player, he was one of the biggest financial backers of the GCTI and the biggest none-government contributor.  
As such he had access to a lot of information meaning that this assignment might turn out to be most fortuitous.  
The main issue would be getting close enough to get hold of that information, but based on what they had found out about Roberts they might have an easy way in, however it was one Takeshi did not want to use.  
Roberts had a reputation as a “ladies man” and was said to have a preference for big chested blondes, this suited Eriksson perfect, and she was the best at getting information the good old way, but there was a backside to all of it, as much as Roberts was known as a “ladies man” there was less than pleasing rumors in the shadows, rumors of women matching his preferences, especially young ones, vanishing wherever he had been.  
These rumors of course never made it into the light of media or law-enforcement but there was traces of it in the GCTI files they had received to ensure they knew everything needed to properly do their jobs.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Knowledge is Power_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

One month after their arrival in Tokyo they had everything they needed, including a bit of a vacation and the limousine took them back to the airport where a small plane was waiting to take them back to the “Liberty” where they would meet up with their VIP to begin their 6 month “babysitting” assignment, but to Takeshi this assignment was much more, it was a chance to finally break free of the GCTI.

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Beneath the Surface

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Beneath the Surface_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 **The Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, August 2021**  


The hall fell silent as a group of six entered the stage, the middle aged man in the group approached the microphone stand and the remaining five took up positions around him forming a circle.  
The speech was the main event of a three-day fundraiser event aimed to alleviate humanitarian disasters in certain areas, areas known to be breeding grounds for discontent and ultimately ideal areas for recruiting impressionable and desperate youths for various terrorist organizations.  
The idea was to put large aid-efforts into these areas to cut away the access to easy recruits.  


The speech was a great success and on a large electric board numbers were flying by, showing of the donations as they came in all accompanied by a deafening roar of cheers and applause.  
Mr Roberts thanked the crowd with a slight bow before signaling his escorts that they were leaving, as they approached the smaller theater where a small event was to be held for select members of the press Takeshi gave a short order over the com before detaching from the group and vanishing into the darkness behind a hidden door.  
A narrow flight of stairs took him to a low crawl space with access-panels leading to the catwalks that formed a grid pattern high above the scene and seats.  
After removing his blade Takeshi took a seat at the edge of one of the walkways and placed the weapon across his lap before entering a shallow state of meditation, the meditative state allowed him to enhance and focus his senses far above what was considered humanly possible.  
Closing his eyes he counted his breaths and heartbeats and slowly their sounds faded from his awareness allowing him to focus fully on the room below and the sounds from his team and Mr Roberts.  
Once he had a solid fix on them he slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath before tapping the com twice, the signal that he was ready and for the team to open the doors and start letting the guests in.  


High profile journalists, columnists and other big names in various media filed in one by one, as each one entered they were subjected to a electronics scan by Daniels before being thoroughly patted down by Eriksson.  
Takeshi watched as each one entered, looking, and _feeling_ for anything suspicious as yet another high profile journalist entered he allowed part of his mind to wander into memories, memories of all the times he had secured a room this way for Kasumi, he missed those times, it was simpler when Kasumi was his only concern, now he had an entire team to watch out for while trying to find a way to prevent the GCTI from being able to target the Kiryu and most of all, prevent them from ever touching his sister.  
A scent from below caught his attention and brought him out of his thoughts, a young woman representing the international news magazine “Watchers” was going through the electronics scan, but as Eriksson stepped up to search her Takeshi dropped down from the catwalk with a sharp order.  


“Maria, Stop!”  
His team instantly took defensive positions, at edge, not knowing just what about the woman had set him of.  
“Take?”  
Eriksson's voice held a slight nervous tinge as she held perfectly still while trying to establish eye-contact.  
“Step back from her, her skin and clothes are covered in poison”  
As soon as the words left his lips the woman's face contorted into rage and she charged towards him, her hands reaching for his unprotected neck and face but before she could touch him she found herself with her back trapped against his chest and held by impossibly strong arms.  
As she desperately tried to grab for any exposed skin Takeshi pulled her tight against his chest with one arm while using his other hand to secure her neck and head.  
As soon as he touched her neck she started laughing  
“Ha, fool, enjoy your swift death!”.  
“Sorry to break it to you _missy_ , but just like you I am immune to the poison you have been covered with, so stop struggling before I snap this little neck of yours!”  
As she realized her captor was not dropping dead as expected she went limp in his arms.  
“Ramirez, get a hazmat unit over here and make sure no one touches her without B-level suits.”  
“And you _Ms LaBelle_ will sit down over here and not move if you want to keep that pretty head of yours attached”.  


No further incidents disturbed the event and the group retreated to their transportation, an extended Conquest Knight XV with Eriksson taking the wheel, Daniels and Adannaya joined Mr Roberts in the passenger compartment while Takeshi and Ramirez mounted the two high power motorcycles complete with state of the art armored fairing.  
VIP babysitting did bring some nice benefits when it came to “toys” and Takeshi had made sure to take maximum advantage of it once he had secured a deal that the unit could keep whatever materials and equipment that remained once the mission was over.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Beneath the Surface_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Once they arrived at their hotel a private elevator took them from the secure garage up to the reserved VIP floor where yet another event awaited them, this time a very private one with the top brass of GCTI, a long list of names of the fortune 500, heavy political backers as well as a number of more _shady_ elements from the world's underground markets.  
As they entered Takeshi instantly realized _this_ was what he had been looking for, finally he had somewhere solid to focus his attentions.  
A quick tap on the com opened a channel to the others,  
“Listen up, I will be initializing an information sweep for my _special project_. I need names, faces, prints and DNA if you can get it, priority is anyone not on the list of official backers, keep in mind, this is personal and NOT an order, are you with me?”  
As suspected they all nodded their agreement.  
Switching the com to a private link he turned his attention toward Eriksson.  
“Are you sure you are okay with the plan? You know the intel we dug up on that bastard”  
He asked, to this she gave a short nod,  
“I know Take, if it's what it takes to take them down I'll gladly do it a hundred times over, besides I know you, there is no way you would let it get **that** far”.  
“Okay, but be careful _sweetie_ , even I can't be at two places as the same time and I will not have you getting injured, or _worse, '_ cause of me”.  


While researching Gerard Roberts, looking for anything that could be a weakness they found that not only was he connected to every major underground organization and market, ranging from weapons to drugs and human trafficking, he had a _type_ , tall, blonde with blue eyes and well _shaped_ , and wherever he went there was cases of women matching his _type_ disappearing only to be found weeks, sometimes months later, beaten, raped, tortured and mutilated, of course there was never anything tying the cases to him.  
Eriksson matched his type perfectly and he had put the moves on her from day one but this plan was risky, her being a part of his guard detail would probably not stop him from doing his _thing_ if he got a chance, hell, with the underground backing he was pulling in for GCTI they might just _give_ her to him.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Beneath the Surface_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

After a long night the team was happy to retreat to their suite for some rest, tho with Eriksson not joining them they were all worried and in the end it was agreed that while they rested Takeshi would stay close to the secure suite that housed Mr Roberts in case Eriksson needed backup.  


Takeshi took a seat outside the suite and entered his usual _“surveillance-mode”_ , a meditative state that allowed him to filter out his own presence and enhance his senses as well as increasing his reflexes.  
Once the sound of his own heartbeat had faded he focused on the two heartbeats in the suite behind him, listening for the unique patterns that would tell him which one was Eriksson, once he had a lock on her he allowed his mind to drift.  
Slowly he began to pick apart the information that had been gathered during the nights events, mentally filing away faces, matching them with names and hopefully the others would have prints and maybe even some DNA to go with them.  
Half way through “filing” he felt the familiar pull from deep within, the pull from _dreamscape,_ apparently **she** had something to say.  


 

_Dreamscape  
_

“ _ **You worry, child. For the girl, and yet you allow her to take such risks?”  
**__The great Ryujin towered him within the dreamscape and her voice thundered, pressuring his very mind with it's dark presence.  
“It's been a while now since I was considered a child, even by you, so why now?”  
He questioned her while watching her body slowly becoming smaller, her presence and voice less daunting.  
“_ _ **You are questioning yourself, your path, your choices. You have not done that for many years now**_ _”  
Now the size of a small dog the dragon crawled into his lap and rested her head on his knee. With a weary note to his voice he put his worries into words,  
“She is in there playing _ nice _with that sadistic savage because of my mistakes in Miami, because_ _ **I**_ _need information to undo the threat to Kasumi and the Kiryu that_ _ **I**_ _created”.  
“_ _ **Enough, you are not thinking clearly Kage, the GCTI had already recruited them, had you not been there they might not have made it through training, and the one you worry for now, how many times did you save her life during training? From perishing to the heat of Death Valley, from being smashed against the frozen cliffs of a remote mountain in Alaska or being crushed by the dark cold depths of the Abyss”.  
**__“Any of those deaths would be preferred a hundred times over to the things that_ thing _in there would do to her if he believes he can get away with it” he snapped back with aggravation lacing his voice.  
“_ _ **Easy, mind your breathing, mind you soul lest you lose awareness of the happenings within that room.**_ _”  
She watched him as he struggled to regain his calm before she spoke again.  
“_ _ **If I was to enter her dreams and ask her, would she truly choose an easy death never having known you over whatever horrors that one would bring her?**_ _”  
Moments stretched in silence before he replied with a sigh,  
“No, she wouldn't, none of them would”.  
__**“Takeshi, you might have been sacrificed to the shadows but you are a natural leader, you were born for this kind of life, I have tasted the potential within your heart, it is why I choose you in the first place”**_ _,  
For once the dragon's voice held none of its usual teasing tone.  
__**“You care for them, nearly as much as you do for Kasumi, more than you do for any other than her. I know where your thoughts have been wandering and you are not wrong, the fools that carry my name would condemn you eternally for such an action, to teach our secrets to**_ **outsiders** _ **, to the**_ **unworthy** _ **, but I give my blessing. Do what you are considering, they are all worthy.”  
**__She knew, of course she knew, what had he been thinking?  
Had he really allowed this to mess with him so badly?  
Slowly he bowed his head,  
“Thank you Ryujin-sama, thank you for opening my eyes to the path as I was lost, thank you for giving your blessing to proceed with my intentions. Thank you for being here when needed even tho I had not realized...”  
__**“Sleep Takeshi, let your mind and body get the rest you need, I will watch over your body as well as your charge inside the room”  
**__As the last words faded from the dreamscape Takeshi slipped into the blissful darkness of a deep dreamless sleep._

 

Takeshi woke to the soft footsteps of a young woman wearing the hotel uniform, no doubt there to wake up the VIP guests, he swiftly stood and returned to the suite his unit shared before she noticed him.  
As he stepped into the room he found Ramirez, Adannaya and Daniels with their heads together over the large table in the middle of the room, the surface covered with an assortment of printed pages, flexes, tablets and various sample-containers.  
He picked up one of the flex pages, startling his team,  
“So, did you guys actually get any sleep?”  
Ramirez scratched the back of his head with an impish smile,  
“I'm sure I nodded of a moment or two sometime around sunrise.”  
Causing the others to chuckle and nod.  
Takeshi merely shook his head.  
“Eriksson will be back any minute now for debriefing, let's get this mess of yours sorted while we wait.”

 


	10. Fading Into Darkness

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fading Into Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

****  
GCTI carrier "Liberty", Sargasso Sea, December 2021  


Takeshi and his team had been called to the main briefing-room for a new assignment and they were all looking forward to finally be rid of babysitting Mr Roberts.  
As they entered the room they all cursed under their breaths, there, right next to the GCTI top brass was the sadistic bastard they all knew and hated.  


Once they were seated Commander Matthews spoke up,  
"Sergeant Kiryu, your unit will continue your assignment as Mr Roberts personal guard. Mr Roberts will be using his reputation to approach underground organizations suspected to aid terrorist organizations either with funds or arms. They will be approached under the guise of Mr Roberts wanting a piece of the action by funneling funds into suitable projects. As I'm sure you all understand GCTI can not be connected to this assignment in any way. Your cover will be a mercenary group operating out of Yemen. You will receive a full briefing at noon, then you have 1 week to get your asses ready to move out!"  


Takeshi rose from his seat and walked up to the table where the brass was seated.  
"Matthews, this is not the kind of assignment we want to rush into, as well trained as my unit is they lack training specific to undercover work and to pass as a mercenary unit of the level that would be required to make this credible they will need to learn how to move, how to talk. I will not jeopardize the mission and my unit because you are in a hurry and won't give the proper time to prepare."  


After a moment's silence Matthews spoke up.  
"Your opinion has merit Sergeant, how long would you need to properly prepare your unit?"  
Takeshi weighed his options and made a quick estimate, he could have them trained in 3 months, but of course he would not tell them that.  
"I would have preferred a year, but I'm guessing that won't be possible. 6 months is the fastest it can be done and to do that I need to take them to a secure location for the full duration."  
This caused some murmurs at the table before Matthews replied.  
"Acceptable, anything else you need?".  
"I need a VTOL-capable _Blackout_ and backdoor access to the global refueling network, to do this we need to go completely underground, no distractions. Daniels will arrange new identities and we will return to the Liberty on July 1st 2022 for an updated briefing".  
It took some control to resist smirking when he heard the objections being whispered at the table, about his audacity to make demands, about his lack of respect for the commander, but as expected Matthews nodded.  
"Granted, get moving!"  
Takeshi turned his back to them with a short _'Hai!'_ and nodded for the team that they were leaving, as they left he heard Matthews silence the other brass in the room.  
"That dam kid is the best I have ever seen, so what if he doesn't follow protocol or has an _attitude_ , he has earned that attitude!"  
Matthews was one of the few of the GCTI brass he actually liked, sure he knew of the true agenda of GCTI but unlike most of the others he genuinely wanted to make a difference rather than just grab as much as he could for himself.  


10 hours later he found himself at the controls of a _Blackout,_ a small jet aircraft specially designed to be untraceable, invisible to all known forms of radar, thermal and satellite detection and when flown at night, near invisible both to the naked eye as well as night-vision and laser-enhanced optics.  
The others were chatting away behind him and he heard Adannaya's soft footsteps coming up behind him,  
“Take, if you don't mind me asking, where are we headed?”  
He nodded for her to take a seat in the co-pilots seat  
“We are headed to an old Kiryu safe-house at Mount Fuji, but first we are making a few stops to pick up gear and supplies, Matthews was generous enough to leave his wallet in the glove-compartment”  
He smirked and waved a no-limit gold card with a Post-It reading _'Have fun kids!'_ attached to it.  
Adannaya laughed and grabbed the card before going back to the others waving the card,  
“Look here girls, shopping time!”

 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fading Into Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  
  


After a 2 day 'shopping spree' the Blackout was stocked with all the supplies they needed for their 6 month retreat from civilization and Takeshi took them up to a hidden cave at Mount Fuji.  
A tough landing later the plane was taken into a large cavern and the active camouflage deactivated.  
Once all supplies had been moved into various storerooms Takeshi took the team into a small meeting room housed in the deeper parts of the cave system.  


“Hey, Take! What did you bring us to this place for anyway?”  
Daniels ever the impatient one was the first to voice her questions.  
He ignored her in favor of taking a seat and wait for the others to sit as well.  
“You have all asked me at one time or another how I do some of the things I do.”  
Silent nods was all the response offered.  
“Over the next few months I will be teaching you as much as possible of it, you will of course not come anywhere near my level, but you will be able to do things most would deem impossible. But first, there is something you all need to see.”  
Takeshi brought out a small wooden box that opened to reveal four crystal vials, one of them much smaller than the others, picking up the smaller vial he turned to Adannaya and tossed it to her.  
“Shani, I trust you carry your dream-essence with you?”  
She caught it with a startled look  
“Eh, yes, of course I do, but how did you...?”  
“That vial contains the _essence_ you will need to find your way.”  
He interrupted her without answering her question,  
“For the rest of you the contents of these vials will do the trick.”  
He quickly gave each of them a vial before continuing.  
“Once you drink those you will fell into a very deep sleep so get comfortable, I will tell you more once it's done”.  
“What about you kiddo?”  
Ramirez voiced his questions with his usual lack of decorum.  
“I don't need any aid to enter the _dreamscape_ , never did”  
His statement caused a raised eyebrow from Adannaya but she held her questions for the moment.  


Takeshi watched as they all emptied their vials, Shani after mixing her smaller vial with the contents of a vial she wore around her neck, the effect was near instant and a mere minute later they were all in a deep sleep.  
He leaned back and took a calming breath before slipping into a meditative sleep and entering the _dreamscape_.  


 

_Shared Dreamscape  
_

_He watched as the shadows of his team slowly started to rouse within the dreamscape, as expected Shani was the first to fully awake due to having past experience with dream-questing.  
“Take, this place, it is unlike any I have ever seen before during my dream-quests, what is it?”  
“This is a dreamscape that is unique to the Kiryu family, I will explain once the others are awake.”  
Once the others were awake the dreamscape shifted from a dark version of the room the had been in into the cave where he had first encountered dreamscape and the Ryujin, the cave from his mountain trial.  
Shani was silently observing the surroundings while the others were showering him with questions, what had happened, where were they and so on.  
“ **Oi!** , Enough chatter and listen up!”  
They gathered around, eager for answers.  
“First of, this place is called a dreamscape, a pocket of reality that exists outside of our own, many things are different here, for starters the saying _'Mind over Matter' _isn't just words here, it is what defines this entire realm so mind yourself, do not let your thoughts wander to far. Time is something fluid, optional, weeks worth of training can be accomplished in here with mere hours passing outside”._  
“Cool, so that's how you manage to learn everything so damn fast, you just go in here and train!”  
Daniels interrupted him.  
“It is part of the reason, but the main reason for being able to do much of what I is about to reveal itself, I suggest you at least try to stay calm, she is not to fond of yelling and chaos”.  
“She?”  
“She, who?”  
“Ain't nobody here but us.”  
All of them looking around trying to see who he was talking about.  
**“That She would be Me!”  
A** ll traces of light vanished from the room as a thundering voice filled it and made everyone save for Takeshi freeze.  
“No need to try to scare the living daylight out of them, you are the one who told me to bring them here after all.”  
Takeshi spoke calmly into the darkness surrounding them.  
“And please, enough with the theatrics, I would like to get introductions over with so we can move on to training.”  
**“Aww, so impatient my dear little shadow. Never time to alleviate me from my boredom”  
A** s she spoke the volume of her voice dimmed and the lights returned to the cavern revealing the black scaled dragon, scales glistening like gems under the reflections of a mane of black flames.  
“Holy Fucking Shit! Is that a fucking DRAGON?! As in genuine, honest to god fire-breathing piece of living myth!?”  
Ramirez was the first to recover and find his voice and as always he did not mince his words.  
**“Observant one isn't he?”  
** The voice held a mocking amusement  
**“I am Kiryu, Ryujin to the Kiryu family and yes, I am a 'fucking dragon' as you so eloquently put it. And who may you be?”  
** A head crowned with horns and flames leaned in and an hand armed with glistening scales and razor sharp talons extended toward him  
“Ah,... I'm Luis, Luis Ramirez, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lady Kiryu”  
With a smile he reached out and placed a kiss on the scale covered hand, carefully avoiding the deadly talons.  
**“Heart, and guts. Acceptable. Attitude might need some work though.”  
** “Bah, he is just being his usual perverted self, he'd chase after anything female”  
Daniels choose that moment to come to her senses and voice her opinion of Ramirez' antics.  
**“Speaking from experience I take, little one?”  
** “Indeed, but don't worry, just give him a good ass-kicking and he will behave.”  
Daniels replied without missing a beat.  
“Hey, now I'm hurt here, I always behave!”  
Ramirez called out, all while trying to keep an innocent look on his face  
“Yeah, like a grade A pervert!”  
Eriksson joined their bickering, totally forgetting what was happening around them.  
And moments later Shani had been dragged into the mess as well.

“ **An energetic bunch you have there Takeshi”**  
The dragon now the size of a squirrel perched on his shoulder, watching the antics of his unit with a snicker.  
“Only when they feel safe, they rarely get to goof of like this.”  
He sounded so much older than he was and for a moment his passenger looked almost worried before giving him a nudge with her head,  
**“Do not worry, you will find a way, a path to the future, I have no doubts that you have it within you”**.

“ _Oi! Enough playing around, we have a job to to, remember?”, instantly they scrambled to line up in front of him._  
“Yes Sir!”  
Holding out his hand he introduced the dragon sitting in his palm,  
“This is Kiryu-sama, the Ryujin, Dragon God, that gave my family their name. She is also the source of much of their power. To allow you to be able to use some of that power she will lend you a small piece of herself in a similar manner as she did with me”  
After asking Kiryu to 'return his hand' Takeshi removed his clothing, much to the amusement of the females present, once his entire tattoo was revealed he spoke again,  
“This tattoo looks normal, but that is only an illusion”  
As he spoke the illusion faded and the scales and flames erupted from his skin.  
“It is in fact a sign that I have been infused with the blood of a dragon. You will all be infused with a small amount of dragon blood, a single drop from the source as well as one of the scales from my body, this will give you access to some of our strength as well as allow us to form a bond known as Dantai”.

 

When they awoke from the _dreamscape_ their watches told them only 8 hours had passed, but inside the _dreamscape_ they had received more than 4 weeks worth of training and had grown accustomed to the new connection.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fading Into Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It had been a rather _interesting_ experience to say the least, at first the others had been unable to shield their thoughts and emotions from him, or each other.  
He knew of course that Adannaya and Ramirez were an item, he didn't really care as long as it didn't affect their performance, and they kept it from the rest of the GCTI.  
He also knew that Daniels harbored certain affections for him, never one to keep her silence she had told him as much, however with her mind open to him they proved to be much stronger than she had admitted to.  
The big surprise was Eriksson, she had always been rather reserved but with mental and emotional shields down they found she held a raging inferno at bay behind a facade of ice.  
Adannaya and Ramirez were not really affected much by it, but Takeshi and Daniels however was a different story, Eriksson's inferno pulling at them, making their bond unstable.  
In the end Kiryu had lost her temper and after dousing the three of them in a lust-inducing toxin she secluded them in a dream within the dream until they had _'sorted it out'_.

When they emerged 4 days later the bond was stable and they had learned quite a few things about each other including the fact that Takeshi's stamina and _performance_ apparently included other things than just fighting.  
The look on Adannaya and Ramirez faces told them that the entire thing had been broadcast loud and clear over the bond.  


The night in _dreamscape_ was followed by two weeks of strict physical training, that was the drawback, while in _dreamscape_ the body rested, so any arts learned would have to be rehearsed once awake to train the body to perform them properly.  
Also, since the others were unable to enter the _dreamscape_ without the aid of _dream-essence_ , a psychoactive substance derived from various herbs and plants.  
Although effective it was also highly toxic and he could not risk exposing them to it more frequently than once every two weeks.  


 

4 months was spent at Mount Fuji training the unit, teaching them as much as he could, and also reinforcing and testing the bond to assure it would remain stable.  
Another month was spent in Yemen to learn more about local customs as well as polishing up on the unique aspects of the Yemeni Arabic language.  
The final month was spent in the Kiryu family Los Angeles estate before returning to the Liberty.  


 

 **GCTI carrier "Liberty", South Atlantic Ocean, July 2022**  


“So, the useless brat actually has the guts to show up.”  
One of the officers sneered,  
“Brats like those shouldn't be allowed on such an important assignment.”  
His companion replied  
“They only got it cause that blonde bimbo has a nice rack and ass.”  
The first one spoke again.  
Takeshi took note of their names and ranks as he passed, just two more names to a very long list of soon to be dead people.  
At the same time he could feel the inferno that was Eriksson roar to life behind her usual walls of ice, maybe he should let her have them when the time came.  
  
“Kiryu, I don't even wanna ask what you have been up to, but dam! You sure made 'em look the part.”  
Matthews was his usual loud self as he greeted them before sitting down to start the briefing.  
“The tactical situation is pretty much the same as when you left for training, a few minor changes in some areas but nothing that will affect the mission so you will be heading out right away and you can read up on the changes on your way to your first target.”  
With that Matthews waved them off but Takeshi caught up with him outside the briefing-room.  
“One small thing Matthews, I request that we retain use of the _Blackout._ During preparations of our covers I secured the cooperation of one of the more notorious oil-princes in Yemen, he will swear to anyone that asks that we saved his life and as repayment he gifted us with a Blackout. Its tactical value should be rather obvious for this assignment and with the backstory it will act as confirmation to our skill.”  
“Small thing? Dang kid you are a strange one. But what the hell, knock yourself out, just don't lose the damn thing or they will take it out'a MY ass!”  
With nothing further to say Matthews disappeared into his private office.  


And with that they were sent out into the darkness that is the underground world.

 


	11. Light at the end of the Tunnel

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Light at the end of the Tunnel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

_Dreamscape_

_Takeshi was tearing apart yet another army of nightmare constructs, much to the amusement of a certain dragon_  
_**“My, my Takeshi, so much rage, so much frustration. I take it that your plans are not moving along as desired?”**_  
_“That would be putting it mildly!” he spit out the reply with a distasteful tone as he tore into his opponents with bare hands,_  
_“We have gathered so much information, so much proof and yet there is a piece of the puzzle missing, that one key piece to link it all together. Without it what we have is useless.”_  
_It had been over 2 years since they had left the Liberty with the assignment to act as Mr Roberts personal mercenary guards and now they had received an 'emergency mission recall', something big was going down and their unit was called in to get the job done._  
_“Take, you need to return, we will be landing in 5 minutes and we need you to set us down”_  
_Adannaya's voice cut into the dreamscape calling the events outside to his attention._  
_“I have a bad feeling about this one Kiryu-sama, the blood burns within, I have had this feeling before, and it has always been bad.”_  
_**“What you feel is the shifting of destiny, not necessarily a bad thing, merely that a big change is coming. Trust in your strength to overcome and adapt and any destiny will be a good one.”  
** With those words the dreamscape faded away._

**GTCI carrier “Liberty”, Gulf of Alaska, November 2024**

Takeshi awoke to a hand shaking his shoulder  
“Hai, hai Shani, I'm here.”  
With a quick stretch he took back the controls of the Blackout, a quick look on the instruments told him they were just passing Kodiak island and entering the Gulf of Alaska, the severe weather however made that impossible to confirm visually.  
“Okay, get buckled up everyone, it's gonna be a rough landing”  
Even a carrier as large as the Liberty would be tossing pretty bad in these conditions and it didn't take much wind to throw a craft as small as the Blackout of it's landing pattern despite its VTOL capacity.  
“Daniels, get the HUD online and input the Liberty beacon and all the weather data you can get”  
A HUD flashed to life as data was added and updated showing local weather conditions as accurately as possible  
“Eriksson, divert all power from stealth to shielding, engines and stabilizers, priority on stabilizers.”  
Disabling the stealth-systems caused a number of alarms to trigger and as soon as the alarms went off, so did their _dear_ passenger Mr Roberts  
“Are you trying to get us killed you idiot?!”  
Between the sirens and Mr Roberts there was a deafening noise cutting through his focus.  
“And someone please shut those dam sirens down including the asshole so I can focus!”  
“With pleasure!”  
Ramirez response held a unmistakable tone of glee as he knocked Mr Roberts out with a swift blow to the back of the head.  
Once silence settled over the cockpit the landing was quickly over with, bumpy, but no damage.

They were quickly ushered into a briefing-room by a group of armed guards, once inside Takeshi noticed that none of the usual brass was present,  
“Excuse me, but where is Commander Matthews and SO Davids?”  
“Matthews and Davids are no longer assigned to the Liberty, Commander Henderson has command.”  
Yet another thing to be concerned about.  
A few minutes later Henderson, one of the top brass from headquarters stepped in with a handful of security guards.  
“We have located the information broker _Wolf_ , your team is to go in, confirm the target and **terminate with extreme prejudice** , Barrow from intel will continue this briefing”  
With that Henderson left the room, but the added security stayed behind, this set Takeshi's senses on full alert, something was going on.  
_“Be alert, something is wrong here”_  
The benefits of the bond once again proving itself immensely useful as it allowed communication without alerting the guards.  
After a 9 hour briefing they were brought to separate quarters and armed guards stationed outside their doors with clear orders that no one was to leave their rooms until mission launch at 08:00 the following morning.

The intel on _Wolf_ indicated that he had a compound hidden deep within the Alaskan wilderness.  
The provided coordinates put it in the Brook Range, almost due north of Fairbanks.  
They would fly in to Fairbanks posing as extreme wildlife survivalists, acquire basic cold-weather gear, basic hunting weapons as well as dog-sleds and other typical survivalist gear and supplies.  
They would then travel towards Fort Yukon and resupply there before heading northwest into the Brook Range and search out _Wolf_.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Light at the end of the Tunnel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 They landed at noon on Fairbanks airport and immediately set about acquiring the equipment and supplies they would need, first out was suitable clothing as the crisp cold bit through their clothing and it would only get colder as they headed further north.  
After a long day of shopping and ordering goods including large amounts of high quality kumo-silk from the Kiryu family tailors in order to craft harnesses, ganglines and any other equipment that needed to be lightweight and durable, they found themselves in a small hostel at the edge of town.  
While looking for lodging Adannaya had come across a trapper who had some good quality caribou furs and polar bear hides that were quickly purchased and made into clothing and sleeping-furs.  
They estimated it would take a week for all the goods to arrive, another week to complete the crafting of harnesses and ganglines for the the sleds as well as weather resistant tents and other equipment from the kumo-silk.  
Another 2 weeks were estimated for fitting and testing the equipment and getting some training in with the sleds.

Acquiring sufficient amount of dogs proved to be the hardest part of the preparations, they were expensive and few were willing to actually sell them rather than renting them out but after long negotiations and making full use the Kiryu family name and reputation, which he could thankfully use here as they were posing as civilians, they were able to make a deal with a reputed breeder specializing in Alaskan Malamute, tho slower than the Siberian and Alaskan Husky, their power and stamina made them the ideal choice for this mission.  
It would take a lot of work to keep supplies up for 5 teams each consisting of 16 active dogs and 4 spares, a staggering 100 dogs in total, but between himself and Adannaya they should have no problems finding enough food for both themselves and the dogs.

In the end it was just after new years before they headed out towards Fort Yukon, a roughly 230km cross country trek.  
Between a relaxed pace, frequent need to hunt and getting used to setting trails of their own they arrived at Fort Yukon a week later and after picking up the mountain gear and modified sleds that had been air-dropped there as well as restocking some supplies they set their heading into the Brook Range to find their target.  
From here on things would not be as easy, the mountains a maze of treacherous snow overhangs, deep ravines and rivers hidden under ice and snow.

After 2 weeks searching the foothills without any trace of their target they made camp at the bottom of a small frozen waterfall to get a few days rest and to discuss what to do next.  
“If I was the _Wolf_ I would be seeking shelter within the massive cave-systems higher up in the mountains”  
Adannaya tossed her opinion into the fray and the other quickly nodded their agreements while looking at Takeshi for confirmation.  
“I agree.”  
Takeshi brought out the flex maps and brought up the topographic and seismographic mapping of the area.  
“The caves is the only location that makes sense for a long-term base that offers protection not only from the elements but from the eyes in the sky. I would suggest we follow this river towards its source while looking for any indication of entrances to the cave systems.”  
Scanning through the various maps Takeshi muttered a low curse.  
“The maps unfortunately gives a reasonable good layout of the caves themselves but no indication of how to get inside. The access-points most lightly consists of narrow cracks and other small, hard to spot entrances. But chances are that flowing water might have eroded the stone enough to give us a reliable access-point.”  
He briefed his team of his findings and theories before ordering a 2 days stay for rest and restocking meat and fish before heading out.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Light at the end of the Tunnel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

After nearly 3 weeks of making trails, hoisting dogs and sleds up steep cliffs and crossing the treacherous ice of the river several times as well as fighting a blizzard from the frozen depths of hell, they had finally reached the source of the river hidden away in a deep ravine.  
Halfway up the side of the cliff at the end of the ravine water flowed from within the mountain, forming a wall of frozen water and behind the wall a deep blackness indicated the presence of a cave.  
“Take! A cave, behind the waterfall.”  
Adannaya called out from the front of the caravan.  
“Hold up!”  
Takeshi's voice cut through the ravine.  
One by one the sleds came to an halt and Takeshi brought up the binoculars to take a better look at the area before approaching the cave.  
“It's a cave alright, a big one. With some luck it's connected to the main cave-system.”  
Making one more sweep of the area before putting the binoculars back in his pack he called out  
“Head out, but keep your eyes open, I didn't see anything but something feels off.”  
Upon reaching an outcropping offering some cover about 200 meters from the ice-fall the sleds were swiftly unloaded and the dogs released to rest.

Once unpacked Takeshi and his team began a slow approach toward the cave, when they were almost halfway to the ice-fall all Takeshi's senses screamed ' **Danger!'** and the world erupted into pain and chaos as massive explosions shook the ravine and shattered the ice-fall into a flurry of blocks and razor sharp shrapnel.  
The physical pain of the shock-wave and shrapnel was quickly replaced by a mental pain as the pain of his team burned through the bond and before he could focus on dimming it out a soul-searing agony tore through him as one of the bonds shattered.  
“ **Shani!** ”  
He heard his own voice call out, knowing that he would not get a reply, there was only one way a bond would shatter once formed, and that was the death of one of the bonded.  
Only moments later Ramirez and Daniels vanished from his senses as their bonds shattered with their deaths.  
He could still feel Eriksson on the edge of his senses, the bond clouded with pain and shock but he could tell that her injuries were fatal.  
_“Maria, sweetie. Focus on my voice.”  
“I can't, the pain, everything hurts. The others, I could feel it, they are gone, aren't they? All dead?”  
_ The mental response was strained and unfocused and he could feel her struggle to breathe.  
_“Yes, they are dead.”_  
There was no point in lying to her  
_”I am sorry sweetie, you won't make it either. I can feel your injuries, feel the bond weakening. I will bear your pain, it is all I can do now.”  
_ For a long moment there was nothing but silence, pain and sorrow from the bond as it quickly faded away as her life faded from her, with one final effort her thoughts carried through the bond.  
_“I never mentioned this to anyone, but back in Sweden, I have a daughter, Emelie.”_  
She paused for a moment  
_“Daniels always reminded me of her, same name, same eyes. My Emelie will be 10 this summer. My parents took custody of her when I was sent to the GCTI. Find her please, protect her and when she is old enough, please make sure she knows the truth.”  
_ It was an easy decision, he would do what he could. _  
“You have my word, I will do everything in my power to see to that it is done.”  
_ For a long time there was no reaction from Eriksson and just as the bond began to waver and break one last fractured thought carried through.  
_“Don't let them get away with this. We all, we all loved you in our own way, please remember us.”_  
“I will never forget! I will avenge you all! By my Name, my Blood and my Blade, I swear this!”  
He swore the oath as the bond finally crumbled and he was alone in his mind for the first time in nearly a year.

“ _ **Takeshi!”  
**_ He could hear the dragon call for him, but his mind was numb, still in shock from the death of his dantai.  
It was always a risk of the bond, the loss of a bonded could call death upon the survivors.  
_**“Takeshi! Snap out of it!”  
**_ He blinked slowly and tried to get a bearing on his surroundings, the still falling debris told him that despite feeling like an eternity in fact mere moments had passed since the explosion, he tried to stand but pain shot from his leg all the way through his body and he could feel the darkness closing in.  
Looking down revealed the cause, a block of ice had hit his legs just below the knees, breaking the bones in several places.  
_**“Takeshi! You need to move NOW! Another missile is inbound, you need to get into the cave or you will not live to fulfill that oath of yours.”  
**_ There was fear in the dragon's voice and somehow the unfamiliar sound finally snapped him out of the daze. _ **  
**__“I can't, both my legs are broken, the aftershocks of loosing the bonds, I can't focus.”_  
He tried to drag himself towards the cave but every move pushed him closer to the darkness.  
_“Kiryu, please! I won't make it, I can't stay awake! T_ _ **asukete!**_ _”_  
His mind cried out in desperation, begging her to help him, to save him.  
As the darkness finally overcame him he felt her presence fill him completely, beyond anything he had experienced before.  
  
**“I will, rest now child and put your trust in me. Your Name is my Name your Blood holds mine, your Blade is of me, your oath is mine to honor!”**

 


	12. New Beginnings

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New beginnings_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi slowly woke up and found himself in darkness, a soft warmth with a scent that reminded him of the malamutes surrounded him.  
With a twinge of pain he reminded himself that it was all gone now, he could feel the gaping emptiness at the back of his mind where the presence of his bonded should be, Kasumi was still there, faint and inaccessible due to a wast distance separating them, but still there at least, without that he was sure he would have lost himself.  
Focusing his senses he could hear movement close by and the sounds of breathing and heartbeats but the darkness was total.  
Slowly he tried to sit up but a sharp pain from his legs reminded him that they were broken, if not shattered and the total blackness had him worried that his eyes had somehow been injured, blinding him.  
As he laid back down he heard shuffling and whining close to his head and soon he was lavished with eager licks from a tiny tongue as a puppy of some sort was greeting him in its own way before crawling onto his stomach and curling into a ball and promptly falling asleep and Takeshi soon joined it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New beginnings_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

A rustling sound brought a warm light into the room as someone moved heavy furs away from a doorway and a male voice called out softly.  
“So, you are still alive pup? Feared you would become the next meal for the pack, but I guess you are stronger than you look.”  
The man approached slowly while lighting small lamps along the walls of what turned out to be a small cave, he looked neither young nor old and even in the dim light of the room he could tell that the man was of native heritage.  
He winced slightly as the man removed the soft fur covering his legs and began to poke and prod none to gently at the injuries.  
“You heal well for one not blessed by the Mother & the Moon, another two or three moons and you should be fully healed, half the time of a normal person, but still much slower than the Blessed.”  
The man's voice faded into mumbling in a language Takeshi did not understand as he helped him into a seated position, propped up by bundles of furs.  
“Blessed?”  
Takeshi's confusion was obvious in his voice.  
“That, pup, is a story for another day.”  
The man told him before pushing a bowl containing some kind of broth into his hands and telling him to eat.  
As the man began to walk away Takeshi called out after him.  
“I am Takeshi, Kage of the Kiryu and I give my gratitude for the aid I have been given. How may I address my host?”  
The words were formal, but they gave a feeling of familiarity and for some reason it felt right to address this man with the respect of formality.  
The man paused for a moment and then called over his shoulder as he exited the room,  
“I am Amarok, the ones that hold your leash calls me 'Wolf', you may call me either.”

Takeshi turned his attention toward the bowl of warm broth and tested its scent before tasting it carefully, the feeling of respect towards Amarok did not mean he trusted him, the man was after all _Wolf_ and his team had been killed in his domain.  
After deeming the broth to be safe, he quickly consumed what turned out to be a rich dish of caribou meat, savory herbs and juniper berries, thickened with a mix of grains and roots that he could not identify and topped of with chunks of cracklings still laden with fat.  
He had barely had time to put the bowl to the side before Amarok appeared at the doorway carrying a tray holding a steaming pitcher and several small baskets smelling strongly of various herbs.  
Putting the tray down he turned to Takeshi and pulled away the furs that were covering his legs and began unwrapping the bandage.  
“Let's take care of those legs of yours pup”  
Unwrapping the soft leather revealed fresh herbs and under the herbs a strong smelling poultice covered wounds where bone had broken through skin as well as cuts from sharp ice.  
Once the wounds were unwrapped he carefully washed them with warm water from the pitcher, the scent however told Takeshi that it was not just water.  
Not wanting to be treated without being sure of what was used he sniffed lightly and started asking about the items on the tray.  
“That water, it has Yarrow in it? Yarrow and honey? And something else I don't recognize.”  
Amarok paused and looked like he was considering if he should answer the questions or not, after a few seconds he put the pitcher down and spoke.  
“You have a keen nose on you pup. It is indeed Yarrow and honey, as well as Willow bark. Now pup, do you know what those do?”  
Takeshi was a bit surprised at the counter question but replied without much thought.  
“Honey prevents infections, Yarrow also prevents infections but also stems bleeding, Willow bark acts as a painkiller, but it is also anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning.”  
“Good, good. You have some knowledge of how to survive at least, pup.”  
Amarok grumbled with a satisfied tone.  
“How about this one, can you tell what it is?”  
He asks while handing Takeshi a handful of leaves.  
“Fresh scent, almost like cucumber. Given the circumstances I would guess it is comfrey, also known as Boneset or Knitbone for its traditional use to aid in mending bones.”  
Takeshi quickly responded, the lessons in herb-lore from the old miko at the family shrine quickly coming to mind.  
“Excellent! Anything else you would use to treat yourself in your current predicament?” Amarok looked at Takeshi expectantly.  
“Let me think for a moment.”  
Takeshi paused as he recalled his lessons with the miko.  
“Externally I would add cloves for their anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties and rosemary, also anti-inflammatory as well as antifungal and antiseptic. Willow bark tea with ginger, cinnamon and turmeric to reduce pain and help reduce risk of infections”  
  
“I am however not familiar enough with the local flora to tell what would actually be available here, perhaps you could teach me?”  
He added after a short pause.  
Amarok just kept mumbling to himself while reapplying a thick layer of comfrey poultice and wrapping it in large leafs and soft leather strips before looking up with a smile.  
“The pup is wise to ask for guidance when he lacks in knowledge, I may yet make a proper wolf out of you”  
With those words he handed Takeshi a cup of fragrant herbal tea and a water-skin that at closer inspection revealed its contents to be willow bark tea.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New beginnings_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The lack of daylight made it hard to tell the exact passage of time but Takeshi's internal clock told him about two days had passed since he woke up.  
Amarok had returned several times to give him food and herbal tea as well as refilling the willow-bark tea and check on his wounds.  
He was also given a bucket of warm water, some rags and some sort of herbal soap to clean himself with and an old water-skin to use to relieve himself had also been provided.  
His _other_ need to relieve himself had taken a bit more effort as he was unable to move much without assistance, but it had been dealt with while preserving as much of his dignity as possible under the circumstances.  
Based on how much his wounds had healed he must have been there for nearly a week before waking up.  
He had meditated and entered the dreamscape but found no trace of the Ryujin, he could still feel her power within but much like his bond with Kasumi it was muted and held a distant feeling.  
Unable to move about and unable to pass time in the dreamscape Takeshi quickly grew bored and restless, there was no sign of Amarok and the only thing that ever happened was the occasional dog sneaking in or out of the room, the adults would stay away from him but the pups would come over to play and snuggle.  
When Amarok finally showed up with food and the usual tray of herbs and tools Takeshi was about ready to crawl out of his skin out of sheer boredom.  
While Amarok tended to his legs he polished of his meal and started to ask some question about the current situation.  
“Amarok, if you don't mind me asking, where exactly are we?”  
“We are not far away from where you and your pack were attacked”  
Amarok replied quietly.  
“My team, I know they are dead, but their bodies, have they been properly buried?”  
“I am afraid not pup, the second explosion brought down a massive avalanche as well as a large part of the mountainside, you barely made it into the deeper part of the cave before the front collapsed and now the tunnel and the cave is gone. It would be a 2 day trek from the nearest exit to get to the ravine and only the Mother knows how long it would take to search the snow masses to find their remains.”  
Amarok looked pensive as he answered the question.  
“For what it's worth tho, they are safe from scavengers where they are, I left a few of the pack there to keep away any that would disturb their remains and once you have healed you can go there and search for them yourself.”  
Takeshi thought about the information for a while as Amarok worked on wrapping his legs back up.  
“You said that you estimated that it would take another 2-3 months for my legs to heal, is there any way to speed that up? You mentioned something about it being slow compared to a _Blessed_ , but you never did answer just what a _Blessed_ was. I will lose what little sanity I posses if I am to just sit in this room for months with nothing to do.”  
Amarok looked at him silently for a long time before standing up and gathering the supplies, as he walked of he spoke silently.  
“Sleep now pup, tomorrow I will give you the answers you seek.”  
With nothing else to do Takeshi didn't have much of a choice but to do as suggested.

Takeshi woke up as Amarok came in with the usual breakfast and supplies, after helping him get cleaned up Amarok started caring for the injuries while Takeshi slowly ate the food provided.  
“So, pup, you wish to know what it means to be blessed by The mother and the Moon.”  
There was a long pause before he continued, as if searching for words.  
“Many would believe what I am about to tell you to be nothing but fairy tales and superstitions, but I have a feeling that you will recognize it for the truth it is.”  
After securing the last strip of leather Amarok put the supplies aside and sat down on the fur-covered pallet next to the one that served as Takeshi's bed before continuing.  
“As you are surely aware of there are things in this world that can not be easily explained, the nature of the Mothers blessing is one of those things. My pack that you have seen move about in the cave are among those blessed. While they appear to be merely unusually large wolves they are so much more, they are smarter, faster and stronger than any other wolves out there. In a matter of days, even hours they can heal from wounds that would kill an ordinary wolf. And the oldest wolf in this pack is over 400 years old.”  
Takeshi listened silently as Amarok spoke, he had no reason to distrust the man's words, after all, his body while growing up was proof that many strange things was possible.  
But to further discern between truth, lies and the many gray areas in between Takeshi allowed his Qi to swell up from within and gently wrap around them, carefully touching Amarok's aura to search for any hint of deception.  
“Ah, I knew you had it in you. Such a strong aura is not often found in a mere pup like yourself. Others might have taken offense to your searching, but I will not, a wise wolf does not blindly trust.”  
Amarok chuckled with a gleam in his eyes.  
“A few of my pack, myself included are not only blessed by the Mother, but also by the Moon, and onto those blessed by the Moon comes the gift of the skinwalker.”  
“Wait, skinwalker, as in shapeshifter, lycanthrope. Werewolf?”  
Takeshi interrupted.  
“Yes.”  
Amarok answered plainly, no trace of falsehood in his aura.  
“Werewolf would be the least accurate of those. although my mother is indeed blessed with wolf-blood she is also blessed by the lynx, and my father carried the blood of the Kodiak bear”  
Still there was no trace of lies in Amarok's aura.  
“Even tho I am sure you can sense that I am being truthful I can still see your lingering doubts, so let me put them to rest once and for all.”  
With that Amarok rose and walked to the middle of the room and turned toward Takeshi.  
“Keep your senses open pup.”  
It began as a slight tremble, almost like a shimmer in Amarok's aura, then his eyes lighted up with an unearthly glow as they became those of a wolf.  
Teeth lengthened into fangs and the jaws and nose grew into the muzzle of a wolf and ears moving to the top the head.  
Nails grew into claws before his body began to twist and contorted, arms lengthened and grew a thick covering of gray fur.  
The joints of his legs moved and changed, taking on the form of the hind legs of a wolf, a tail growing out behind him and for a moment he stood before Takeshi as half man, half wolf.  
Moments later he seemed to shrink in on himself and fall forward and shortly after there was only a large gray wolf.  
_“So, is this enough settle your doubts once and for all, pup?”_  
A tone rang through Takeshi's mind much like that of the dragon, the voice of Amarok the wolf spoken directly to his mind.  
“Yes, I do believe it is.”  
Takeshi responded with a hint of humor, it was indeed rather compelling proof.  
After that Amarok spent hours telling the known history of the blessed as well as legends going back to the very first humans to set foot in the harsh lands.

  
 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New beginnings_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The next morning Amarok once again sat down and spoke to him after taking care of their morning routine.  
“Now you know what me and my pack are. You carry great potential and you have been greatly wronged by those supposed to guide and protect. I can feel your desire for vengeance.”  
“Not mere desire! I swore an oath on my name, my blood and my blade that I would avenge their deaths, that vow is burned into my very soul, I **will** avenge them or die trying, only the life of Kasumi stands above that task!”  
Takeshi interrupted vehemently.  
“Such passion, such fiery resolution. Hold on to that pup and you might just survive what I intend to offer you.”  
Amarok spoke grimly.  
“Offer?”  
“Yes, offer. There are many way one can gain the blessing, me and the pack have our blessing by birth, others have earned it through years of struggle and devotion to the Mother and the Moon. You however do not have that time if it is to be of any use to you, so I am going to offer you the third and final way to gain the blessing, to be tainted by a blood-curse. This is a most dangerous thing to try, most do not survive and from those that do many lose their sanity. But I see strength in you, I can feel that you have already been tested and found worthy by powers beyond our realm.”  
“A dragon, the one who tested me and found me worthy was a Dragon God, a Ryujin by the name of Kiryu, she marked me with her blood, bound herself into my very soul. However, she is distant and silent now, I know not why.”  
For some reason Takeshi felt that he should tell Amarok, that it might be relevant to the offer being made.  
“Hmm, so that was the great power that moved you and protected you as the mountain came down around us.”  
Amarok hummed.  
“I am by no means an expert, but I believe that your Ryujin weakened herself greatly when she saved you, and she weakened you greatly as well, you were at death's door for over a week before you woke up. Perhaps she is merely distant to allow both of you rest to recover from the event?”  
Amarok's words rang true somehow and Takeshi nodded slowly.  
“Will it affect the offer?”  
He asked with slight hesitation in his voice, this was all new to him, he was rarely so far beyond his abilities and knowledge.  
“It will, but don't worry, it is to your benefit. Your body has already accepted such a change once that will make it easier to accept it again.”  
Amarok put his worries to rest as he began to explain what needed to be done,. In the end it amounted to a blood transfusion of sorts, Amarok would bleed himself into a bowl, mix it with a mix of herbs and a ritual would be performed cursing the blood and then finally Takeshi would have to drink it all.  
After that it would be up to his strength and determination if he could survive and keep his sanity.  
“So are you ready to be reborn as a blessed?”  
Amarok asked him.  
“Hai!”  
There were no other words needed.

 Amarok left and returned shortly with a tray of supplies and began preparing for the ritual.  
“You should find your center pup, reach out for whatever thought, whatever entity that might help you steel yourself against pain, anything to help anchor your soul and sanity.”  
He spoke quietly as he worked on the preparations.  
Takeshi merely nodded as he slipped into a meditative state and carefully tugged on his bond with Kasumi, bringing it into the forefront of his mind, he carefully added the memories of his unit.  
Ramirez cocky smile and quick wit, Daniels quick temper and teasing laugh, Adannaya's deep balance and gentle voice and finally Eriksson's fiery passion and her dying wish that he avenge them and find her daughter to bring her the truth.  
He carefully wrapped it all up in the shadowy flames of the Ryujin and brought it into the very core of his soul, he was as ready as he would ever be.  
A bowl was carefully placed into his hands and a distant voice he felt he should trust urged him to drink it all, so he did.  
The moment the last drop left the bowl an all-consuming pain shot through him and the world faded to darkness.

He did not know how long he had been out, he remembered the pain, he remembered loosing himself, but he did not remember anything after that.  
Slowly he opened his eyes and winced with a groan as the light seemed to pierce through his skull and he decided he would wait a bit before trying that again.  
Suddenly a voice boomed at his side making him wince once again as it hurt his ears.

“Congratulations on surviving and welcome to your new life pup!”

 


	13. A Blessing and a Curse

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Blessing and a Curse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The first thing Takeshi noticed when he woke up from Amarok's gentle calling of his name was that his already heightened senses had kicked into overdrive, the slightest sound was like thunder to his ears and the scents he would normally barely would have noticed now made his stomach turn, and the light, the infernal light, even the dim oil-lamps in the cave hurt his eyes as if he was staring into the midday sun.  
The second thing he noticed was that his legs were suddenly fully healed, no trace remained of his injuries.  
And finally he found something new within his soul, a deep calm pool of power with the crisp feeling of a clear winter night surrounded by the gentle warmth of a spring day, he guessed that would be _The Moon_ and _The Mother_ and in the darkest shadows of himself he could feel something prowling, something untamed, a predator just waiting for its time.

Amarok had not spoken again since the first greeting, calmly waiting for Takeshi to get some semblance of control over his new senses, hours passed before Takeshi carefully opened his eyes again and looked around, still squinting slightly but no longer wincing at the dim light.  
_“Feeling better?”  
_ Amarok asked, using the telepathic voice of his animal form to spare Takeshi the strain of adjusting his hearing for now.  
“Hai.”  
Takeshi's voice was little more than a whisper and yet he winced at the volume.  
_“Easy, reach within for the voice of your mind. You spoke of being able to communicate silently with your bonded, this should not be so different.”_  
Amarok instructed him silently.  
It took nearly an hour before Takeshi figured out how to communicate telepathically with someone he was not bonded to but once he did he had many questions for Amarok.

“ _Are my senses really supposed to be like this? The smells burn my nose and turn my stomach, even the sound of our heartbeats and breathing roar like thunder in my head, the slightest light burns like the sun.”_  
The thoughts were tainted by pain as he was finally able to ask Amarok about the changes to his senses.  
_“It is different for everyone, as I told you, few survive and even fewer manage to keep their sanity. Your senses were extremely strong for a human before your blessing, I would guess that they are now extremely strong for a Blessed. But worry not, they can be controlled, like turning the volume dial on a radio the power of a Blessed can be tuned down until needed. I will leave you to your meditation, come join me in the next room when you feel ready.”_  
With that Amarok stood and walked out silently while Takeshi drifted back into his meditation to try and gain some control.

 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Blessing and a Curse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

In the end it was hunger that drove Takeshi into the next room, the pain from the light and sounds made him dizzy but the hunger would simply not let him wait any longer and it seemed that getting breakfast in bed was no longer a service offered.  
As he entered the room a mouthwatering scent hit him and he quickly followed his nose, all else forgotten until he came across Amarok in a small annex.  
On a small table there was a plate piled high with raw meat and Takeshi instantly zeroed in on the still warm slabs of meat.  
Amarok grinned as he watched Takeshi focus on the food and when a low growl was heard he burst into laughter.  
“I see your hunger got the better of you pup. Your new body will demand a lot of food, especially fresh meat and even more so if you have recently recovered from an injury.”  
He kept grinning as he stepped aside to allow Takeshi his meal.  
“By the way pup, it is rather rude to growl at the person giving you food.”  
The growling instantly stopped and Takeshi looked at Amarok with a startled look on his face.  
“Wait, I was actually growling?”  
“Indeed you were, like a rowdy pup guarding its favorite toy.”  
Amarok wheezed out between laughs.  
“But don't worry, you will get a hang of keeping those new instincts and reactions under control, now eat before you fall over.”  
Takeshi did not need to be told again as he all but inhaled the large pile of meat, it was not until he was standing there, carefully licking the blood from the plate and then his finger, that he realized he had just consumed nearly 5 kilo of raw meat, blood and all.  
“Am I going to eat like this often?”  
He asked a still grinning Amarok.  
“Not unless you get seriously injured often. You will find that your tastes might swing more towards the meats than before, and that your preference will run towards _very_ rare rather than well done. Other than that not much will change, maybe you will eat a bit more than before, but you did have a rather healthy appetite so it might not be much of a change.”  
Amarok replied, still struggling to keep his laughter at bay.  
“Really, is watching me eat that amusing?”  
Takeshi asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
“No, I can't say that it is.”  
Amarok responded soberly and then broke down into guffawing and continued with tears in his eyes.  
“However watching you walk around with your ears swiveling on top of your head and a tail wagging away behind you is.”  
Takeshi instantly brought his hands to his head, and true to Amarok's words he found a pair of wolf ears on top of his head and a slow look behind him confirmed the presence of a large black tail slowly swishing from side to side.  
With an internal groan he looked back at Amarok.  
“Instead of laughing **your** _tail_ off how about you tell me how to fix this mess?”  
Amarok sobered up slightly but was still shaking with repressed laughter,  
“Don't worry, partial transformations are not uncommon in young pups, once you learn some control over your new abilities it should stop. Now stop twitching and let me have a look at you!”

Amarok slowly walked around Takeshi as he evaluated his new _looks_ , earning himself as few growls and snarls as he poked and prodded.  
“Hmm, a well balanced partial transformation. The joints of the legs slightly shifted, enough to enhance speed and jumping ability but still easy to hide under a pair of wide pants. The tail enhances balance but it should be no great loss to remove it, from the way you move you obviously have a well trained balance.”  
Taking one of Takeshi's hands he carefully turned it over and inspected his nails.  
“Nails slightly elongated and clawed, extremely sharp and seems to be almost metallic in nature, how odd, perhaps a gift from your dragon?”  
Pulling at his lips to get a closer look at the teeth earned Amarok another growl but Takeshi managed to resist the rather compelling urge to bite him.  
“Elongated canines, clearly fanged and slightly altered dental structure with a double set of canines in both jaws, inner set less prominent. Nothing that should attract to much attention unless you you flash someone an extra wide smile.”  
Locking eyes with him earned him a low rumbling growl and a slight shift in stance as Takeshi fought a sudden urge to fight, to force submission, _to_ _dominate_?  
“Easy pup, I am no threat and I have no intention to fight.”  
Amarok soothed him while looking away and the growling slowly subsided and Takeshi's posture relaxed.  
“All these new urges, they are hard to control, before when you looked at my teeth there was this near overwhelming urge to bite, and just now all I could think was to force you to submit.”  
Takeshi tried to focus on his breathing as he spoke.  
“I know, it's the instincts of the wolf making themselves known, to look someone in the eye can be a challenge, especially in a situation like this. You are a lone wolf, deep within the territory of an established pack, faced with the Alpha of that pack. Most would feel the urge to submit to avoid a fight, but you are strong, a leader and an Alpha in your own right and you instinctively know that you are stronger than me, my only advantage right now is my greater experience in using the blessing. This gives you the urge to try to make me submit, to best me and claim my pack as your own.”  
Amarok spoke with soft tones and averted his eyes to allow Takeshi to regain control over his new instincts and once he was calm he continued.  
“Let's do this again, I am going to look you in the eyes, try not to show any reaction even if the urge is there, do try to to tell me off instead of attacking if it becomes to much though.”  
Once again Takeshi felt the urge to fight, but this time he was ready for it and managed to keep himself under control as Amarok looked closely at his eyes.  
“Hmm, slit pupils, almost like a cat or a reptile, the pattern of the iris is clearly reptilian, the color however is unlike anything I have ever seen, it is like the corona of the sun, bright golds, deep oranges and even dark reds, all glowing and shifting like fire, I guess this might be another dragon trait shining through.”  
Amarok shook his head slightly as he moved on to the ears, reaching up and tweaking them which made them twitch and earned him another low growl, but this time the growl was more controlled, intentional rather than a slipped instinct.  
“These will most definitely have to go unless you intend to suffer the discomfort of covering them wherever you go.”  
Amarok stepped back and took one last look.  
“Well balanced, strong, a few oddities here and there, but all in all an excellent specimen of a black wolfling.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Blessing and a Curse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They walked back into the main room and Amarok instructed Takeshi to take a seat on a pile of furs in the middle of the room.  
“How about we start with the basics right away? The sooner we can get you ready to head out and reclaim the remains of your pack the sooner you can start some real training.”  
Takeshi gave a sharp nod and the customary  
“Hai Sensei!”  
Amarok chuckled at the reaction as he took a seat in front of Takeshi.  
“Let's start by getting that transformation sorted. Beginning with those ears, focus your inner eye on how you look, now narrow your focus on your ears, see yourself with human ears, enforce your will into this image, will yourself to become what you see with your mind's eye.”  
The effect was near instant as the wolf-ears seemed to melt away and human ears re-appeared in their proper place.  
“Good good! No problems there, slightly pointy looking but not much. Let's move on to the tail, will it away.”  
Takeshi did as asked without much effort and waited quietly for the next task.  
“You look human enough for now, let's see if we can't head in the other direction. Picture a wolf, large and black. Once you have a good picture in your mind you simply will yourself to become it the same way you willed yourself to look more human again.”  
As Takeshi focused on building the image of a wolf he could feel the presence in the back of his mind begin to stir and from the shadows emerged a huge black wolf, the beast would have to be over 100kg if it had actually had a body.  
Taking in its appearance he quickly shifted his focus and willed his body to take its form and then there was chaos.  
He could feel his body shift and twist, he knew the transformation was a success but somehow he found himself locked away, he could hear Amarok's alarmed exclamations and he could see himself move closer but he had no control.  
He could feel whatever was in control, it was like a rabid beast, out of control and out for blood.  
Takeshi desperately tried to regain control before his body could injure or kill Amarok or any of the wolves but he was unable to get a hold of the entity controlling his body and as a last ditch effort he grabbed at the bond within and pulled hard as he cried out in desperation.  
_“Kiryu!”  
_

There was a moment of stillness and then his mind seemed to explode as the full force of the bond with the dragon returned and with the bond, her form returned within his mind.  
_**“Stay back!”**_  
She roared as she charged the beast that was controlling him, fangs snapping she landed with clawed feet over its back and forced it to the floor, flames roaring to life as she sang incantations of dragon-magic.  
Flames became chains and soon the snarling beast was muzzled and bound tightly as Kiryu locked it away within the powers of the blessing.  
As soon as the blessing enclosed the beast he found himself in control of his body, standing face to face with a rather alarmed Amarok.  
“Hey! Pup are you with us?”  
Amarok questioned tensely.  
“ _I am. My apologies, it seems I gained something troublesome, a beast in the form of a wolf, I assume appearing as I do. It somehow took control when I changed my form and I was unable to get it back, but Kiryu was able to subdue and bind it.”  
_ He quickly explain what had happened.  
“Ah, I have never heard of such a thing before, but you are hardly a normal human to begin with.”  
Amarok nodded slowly.  
“So she is back than, that dragon of yours?”  
Takeshi nodded, finding the motion to be awkward in the form of a wolf.  
“Excellent. Now how about you keep still so I can have a look at you?”  
Takeshi huffed and did as asked, and once again Amarok poked and prodded, pulled at his fur, tail and ears all while mumbling his observations with a pleased tone.  
When he finally stepped back he had a wide grin on his face.  
“Not only are you the biggest wolf, blessed or not, I have ever seen, you seem to be in extraordinary good health and as far as I can tell, perfect in every way.”  
Amarok tried to reach to scratch behind Takeshi's ear while he spoke, once again earning himself a growl.  
_“Glad you approve. Now is there anything else you want me to do, or can we go find my team?”_  
Takeshi asked with a hint of a snarl in his tone.  
“Nothing much, just try to move around a bit to get a feel for your body and balance in that form. Meanwhile I will go gather your clothing, you will need it unless you intend to try and remain in that form for the entire time out there. As you surely noted your clothes changes when you do, natural materials such as cloth, plant fibers, leather and unrefined stone and ores can be stored within the blessing, some of the more skilled skin-walkers are able to store other things as well, such as weapons crafted from refined metals.”  
After a quick explanation Amarok walked into the room where Takeshi had spent his previous time.  
_“Weapons will not be any issue, the only weapon I need is my Ryuken and that is stored within my soul.”_  
Takeshi sent his thoughts after Amarok's retreating back.

A few minutes later Amarok walked back into the main room with a bundle of cloth and fur in his arms.  
“Luckily I was able to salvage your clothes as nothing I have is big enough for you, you are quite large in any form. Here, put them on so we can get going.”  
He tossed the bundle on a low pallet before taking a seat.  
“Let's see how you do with returning to looking human.”  
Takeshi focused on the internal image of himself and the change was swift, as soon as he was himself again he put his warm clothing on.  
“Hmm, still not entire human that form.”  
Amarok noted from his seat as Takeshi secured the last items of clothing and then returned to the wolf form.  
He almost instantly returned to a human form and checked his clothing before going back to wolf, and yet again to human, this time with much less clothing.  
“Interesting, it seems I don't actually need to bring all the items back when I return to this form, this could be most useful.”  
_“Great Mother, just what have you encouraged me to create?”_  
Amarok thought to himself, but to Takeshi he merely nodded his agreement.  
  
“Let's go and let us find your pack and properly send them into the eternal grace of the Mother”.

 


	14. Walking the Beyond

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Walking the Beyond_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

After nearly 2 days of walking through dark caves and tunnels even the light of the crescent moon reflected of the snow was enough to momentarily blind Takeshi as they stepped out from a narrow cave hidden in the mountainside and an icy wind brought a shiver down his spine.  
The rustling of fur at his side brought his attention to Amarok who had just stepped out from behind him and he greeted him with a slight nod as he watched the gray wolf turn into a man wearing caribou fur clothing.  
“Are you okay pup? You look uncomfortable.”  
Amarok asked him once the transformation was completed.  
“I'm fine. I just need a moment to adjust to the light.”  
Takeshi grumbled back, he did not like how the new level of his senses disrupted his focus.  
“The light, it feels strange somehow, can't put my finger on it.”  
He mumbled half to himself, half to Amarok.  
“It's the moon, with the blessing you are bound to it, the power of the blessing flows with it, like a tide it is pulled and pushed by the phases of the moon. With the waning crescent our strength is flowing away from us and during the dark moon it is at its lowest.”  
Amarok began to explain.  
“But the same is true in the opposite, as the moon waxes we grow stronger and we peak with the full moon. A close moon makes us stronger and a distant one weaker, the eclipses also affect us as well as a range of rare lunar events, but that is a lesson for another day. For now we rest, go out there and enjoy the moonlight, but make sure you get some rest, we will head out early and there won't be much time to rest.”  
With that Amarok returned into the shelter of the caves to rest, leaving Takeshi to his own musings.  
Takeshi reached for the new power within and stepped away from the cave opening in the shape of the wolf and began to slowly explore the immediate vicinity.

The predawn painted the world in blues as the sounds of Amarok moving around called Takeshi from his slumber.  
“Good morning pup, ready to get moving?”  
He asked as he shoved a big bowl of gruel with pieces of mushrooms, salmon strips, some herbs and chunks of bear fat into Takeshi's hands.  
Takeshi mumbled a _Good morning_ as he quickly emptied the bowl before nodding.  
“As ready as I'll ever be.”  
“Go ahead and shift and wait for me outside.”  
Amarok told him as he walked of into a small annex near the cave exit.  
Take did as asked and was joined by a few of the other wolves that had decided to come along, after a few minutes Amarok came out dragging a large but simple travois stacked with hides and on the top, a few smaller travois were folded up.  
“Come here pup so I can strap you in”  
He called out with a smile.  
_“So I am to become a sled-dog now, am I?”_  
Takeshi asked with equal parts annoyance and humor.  
“With your size and strength you should be able to pull all of this easily, and we do need some kind of shelter to rest during the dead of the night, and after the attack I am uncertain of the condition of any natural shelters. We also need some way to transport the bodies of your pack if we manage to find them.”  
_“_ _ **When**_ _we find them!”_  
Takeshi interrupted with a growl.  
“Fine fine, **when** we find them.”  
Amarok chuckled as he fastened the contraption over Takeshi's withers and around his chest.  
“There, try to move around a bit and tell me how it fits.”  
Takeshi slowly circled the clearing to get used to the feeling before breaking into a run, finding the contraption to be surprisingly comfortable he let Amarok know so.  
“Good, let me know if anything changes and I will try to adjust it.”  
Amarok did one last check to make sure everything was secured tightly before shifting into his wolf form and calling out to the pack with a series of baying barks as he took off running, Takeshi at his heels and the rest of the pack falling in behind them.

Around midday the pack became agitated as they caught the scent of moose and the anticipation of a hunt infected them, after an hour of tracking the large animal came into sight and Amarok released Takeshi from the travois before the real hunt started.  
As Amarok was about to explain the basics of hunting as a wolf Takeshi interrupted him,  
_“I have hunted as a human child with nothing but my bare hands, I think I am capable of doing so as a wolf.”_  
The hunt was surprisingly easy and was quickly over as the pack ushered the moose into the ambush where Takeshi and Amarok lay in waiting.  
Takeshi felt an unfamiliar thrill run through his body as he launched himself at the moose and the force of his charge and sheer size of his body knocked it of balance, making it easy to close his maw over the sensitive throat and clamp down, effectively cutting of air and blood.  
With a vicious twist of his body he snapped the neck of his prey and howled his victory to the skies.  
The pack quickly had their fill before returning to the travois, once it was secured they headed back to the kill to collect the remaining meat and bring it with them.

The cold night was spent in a shelter of hides hidden between a few small trees, Takeshi and Amarok only returning to their human forms long enough to raise the shelter, their wolf bodies much better adapted to the climate.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Walking the Beyond_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

  
It was late afternoon the second day when Takeshi spotted a small group of the malamutes that had pulled the sleds as they were trying to capture a fleet footed rabbit dashing through the snow.  
_“Good to see that at least some of them seem to be doing okay, we had 100 dogs total”  
_ He told Amarok as he tried to see if he could catch any familiar scents.  
Shortly after he picked up a very familiar scent, the scent of his favorite mint-blend tea, it had been left in his sled when they had moved toward the ice-fall to inspect the possible entrance to the caves.  
Takeshi ran toward the scent as fast as the travois would let him while Amarok and the rest of the wolves had a hard time keeping up.  
Shortly after he arrived at the sheltered spot where they had left the gear and dogs.  
The dogs were long gone, but the sleds and gear was mostly unharmed, only the food-containers were damaged as the dogs had torn them apart to get to the precious food.  
_“Get me out of this blasted contraption!”  
_ He impatiently called to Amarok who was just arriving.  
_“Calm down pup,_ I'm not as fast as you are _.”_  
Amarok's response came mid transformation and he immediately began removing the harness that secured the travois and Takeshi shrugged out of it and transformed before he'd had a chance to undo all the ties.  
Takeshi quickly assessed the condition of the sleds and equipment and found them all to be in excellent condition.  
“Do you think the wolves would be willing to pull the sleds?”  
Takeshi asked once he was done with his inspection.  
“They would do it gladly to please you, in case you haven't noticed you have usurped my position as _Alpha_ without even trying. And I haven't even started training you properly. They understand true power, not just strength but wisdom and spirit to make proper use of it. To them the fact that I am still alive despite you being stronger means that you are a clever leader who values the knowledge of those before you and does not waste the power and knowledge of a pack elder.”  
The response was not what Takeshi had expected, he knew the wolves liked him, but he did not think they considered him _Alpha_ , pack leader.  
“How many wolves would you reckon it would take to comfortably pull the sleds? If at all possible I would like to salvage all of them, the materials can be re-purposed into quite a few useful things.”  
“Indeed, metals are precious out here."  
Amarok nodded his agreement.  
"Why don't you start searching the area and find the wolves I left as guards, they might have an idea where your pack-mates are and I will sort out how to get the sleds back to the den. To get all six of them back I will have to send for more wolves anyway, even if I count the ones left here that will be coming back with us.”  
Amarok pointed in the direction of the ice-fall.  
“I will, thank you.”  
Takeshi nodded as he transformed once again.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Walking the Beyond_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

 

It was late evening before Takeshi returned with the guards to eat and rest, he had confirmed the locations of Ramirez and Daniels, though they were buried in the snow masses and would take some work to dig out.  
The wolves believed they knew the location of one more body but he had been unable to confirm it, as clouds had covered the moon it was much too dark to risk approaching the unstable cliff and snow masses where it was believed to be buried.  
“How did it go pup?”  
Amarok asked as he handed him a cup of tea, his own mint tea.  
“We have found Ramirez and Daniels, one more location is known, I don't know who, but based on the location I believe it might be Adannaya. That leaves only Eriksson and I believe she might be located closer to the ice-fall, depends on how much the avalanche moved things up there.”  
He replied solemnly as he sipped the tea, a blend that Kasumi had given him last time he had seen her.  
“She must be getting worried by now.”  
He muttered to himself.  
“Who? Got a mate hidden away out there?”  
Amarok asked with a teasing smile.  
“My sister. I usually don't go this long without contacting her in some way.”  
“Ah, you believe she fears you dead?”  
“No, she knows I am alive, the bond is muted due to the distance, but should one of us die it would beak completely.”  
Takeshi quickly explained.  
“You have mentioned this bond before, that you shared it with your pack, if you don't mind, could you explain a bit about it?”  
Taking a deep breath Takeshi considered the request, _Dantai_ was a well kept secret, but then again, he had already violated that secret by training his team in the way.  
“The bond is something my people call _Dantai_ , it is a special method of training warriors that in the end creates a bond so strong that one can feel what the other feel, even see and hear through their eyes and ears and communicate without words. The downside of this is that if a bonded dies it causes a tremendous pain in the other, not only do they feel the pain of death and every feeling of their bonded, the shattering of the bond itself can be enough to kill a person.”  
Takeshi explained calmly.  
“And you felt four of those bonds break almost at once? How in the world are you still alive pup?”  
The shock was clear in Amarok's voice.  
“My bond to Kasumi as well as Kiryu protected me, the dragon has quite a will when she is in the mood, and she has no intentions of allowing me to die.”  
Takeshi stoked the fire and added more fresh snow into the small kettle before continuing.  
“I think she actually took over my body, forcing it to move despite the injuries, I remember the first missile hitting the ice-fall, feeling Adannaya's death and then a few moments later the bonds with Ramirez and Daniels shattered as well. Then I could feel Eriksson's bond falter and for a moment I was focused on protecting her from the pain of the others, then I could feel her injuries and knew she would not live. I swore an oath, on my name, my blade and my blood that I would avenge them. Then she died and Kiryu called out to me that a second attack was incoming, I tried to move into the cave but found I was unable to as debris had broken my legs, I tried to move anyway but all went black, the next ting I remember is waking up in your den.”  
Takeshi stared into the fire as he spoke, only pausing briefly to prepare more tea.  
When Takeshi said no more Amarok stood up and silently placed a hand on his shoulder before he walked into the simple lean-to that had been constructed out of hides to give shelter from the harsh weather.  
“Don't stay up all night contemplating that fire pup.”  
He offered no words of comfort, only the simple touch.

When morning came around the clouds had lifted, leaving behind a thick layer of powder snow and clear skies cast the familiar deep blue of the pre-dawn.  
After a quick bowl of gruel the travois was loaded up with the supplies needed for the day as well as the smaller travois and the group headed out to the closest location to retrieve Ramirez body.  
Once they arrived and the travois was removed Takeshi and Amarok began to assess just how deep they would have to dig to reach their goal.  
“It's rather deep here, I would guess about 2 meters of hard packed avalanche on top of him.” Amarok quickly concluded.  
“Well, we better get digging then.”  
Takeshi replied dryly as he shifted and began to use strong legs and large paws to kick away the snow.  
_“Step back pup, I have a better way”_  
Amarok called and as Takeshi turned to look he fell on his haunches as it was not the familiar gray wolf standing there but instead a huge Kodiak bear.  
_“I told you did I not? That my father's blessing was that of the bear and my mother carried the wolf-blood. I rarely use this form though, bears are solitary animals and its form is not very practical in a wolf den.”  
_ The laughter was clear in Amarok's tone as he stepped forward and began to shovel the snow away.  
_“Just, please. Be careful.”_  
Takeshi silently pleaded as he watched the bear tear through the snow masses.  
By midday both Ramirez and Adannaya's bodies had been recovered and they had begun the recovery of Daniels when Amarok called out to Takeshi.  
_“Why don't you take a few of the wolves and head up to the ice-fall and see if you find any trace of the last girl. I will make make sure this one is brought safely to the camp.”_  
Takeshi nodded and called to the pack, but he still had a lot to learn about communicating with the wolves of the pack, though their high intelligence helped and after a few minutes he was able to split the group into two and bring half of them with him to search for Eriksson.

When they finally found the location of Eriksson's body they had spent nearly a week searching the ravine and it took another two days to dig her out as the snow was mixed with large rocks that took quite a bit of effort to move without risking to cause further damage to the body.  
They returned to the den with the bodies and the sleds three weeks after they left.  
“Do you have any special wishes or funeral rites to be performed for them?”  
Amarok asked him from across the flames of the small hearth.  
“I will retrieve the scale each of them has embedded in their skin, it was once a part of the dragon that marks my body and it holds a small piece of their spirit. Once that is done I only ask that they are treated with dignity.”  
Takeshi paused for a moment as he recalled that Adannaya's amulet had been lost in the snow and with it her vial of dream-essence.  
“I will need to prepare some dream-essence for Shani, I don't know much about her people's traditions but I do know that it's considered a very bad omen to be sent into the afterlife without dream-herbs or essence.”  
Amarok nodded briefly before responding  
“You are welcome to whatever you need from the stores, but first I want you to come with me. I believe I have a place that would be suitable as a final resting place for your pack”  
He walked over to a small tunnel leading deeper into the mountain and waved for Takeshi to follow before grabbing and lighting a small torch.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Walking the Beyond_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As they walked deeper into the mountain it became warmer and after nearly half an hour of walking through maze like tunnels Amarok placed the torch in a small holder in the tunnel wall.  
“Out of respect for the Mother and her children there will be no fire or man made light beyond this point.”  
He explained as he pushed a series of hides out of the way, they acted like an airlock, but for the light of the torch and as Takeshi walked past the last one he found himself in a larger tunnel that defied anything he had ever seen or heard of.  
The walls and sides of the floor were covered in coral growths and from crystalline tubes in the ceiling drop like growths appeared and the path was overgrown with a rich soft moss.  
But as beautiful as all that was the most amazing part was the light, everything seemed to be bioluminescent, even the crystals were glowing.  
As they walked deeper into the tunnel anemones began to grow among the corals, all of them emitting their own light as tiny fireflies buzzed around them.  
Takeshi walked silently behind Amarok and was so taken by the sights he failed to notice that Amarok had stopped and almost lost his balance when he walked into his back.  
“Quite a sight isn't it?”  
Amarok asked him with a grin.  
“But this is just the beginning, the path to the Mother, beyond this bend lies the Sanctuary of the Mother, that is where the true wonders can be witnessed.”  
With that Amarok signaled for Takeshi to step forward around the corner.  
Takeshi stepped around the corner and into a huge cavern, the same bioluminescent growths were present everywhere and toward the back of the cave was a pool of the clearest water he had ever seen.  
Around the edges of the pool there was trees growing, beautiful weeping willows, every leaf appeared as if cut from emeralds, peridots and green garnets, gently swaying as if rustled by a breeze.  
Closer to the entrance there was a few gnarled sakura covered in blossoms in the pink hues of rose quartz, morganite and kunzite, a few magnolias competing with their beauty.  
Other than the moss creeping across the floor and over the trunks of the trees every plant seemed to be cut from gemstones, countless colors of lilies, clinging bushes covered with a rainbow of roses, all the colors on the same bush.  
Takeshi could spot insects of living crystal flitting about, various spiders, praying mantis, beetles and even some stick insects moving around and in the air was a wide selection of dragonflies and butterflies with crystal wings.  
As they moved toward the pool he could see small birds of paradise resting in the branches, even tiny peafowl displaying their colors, as he got close he could see that there were hundreds of birds in the trees, all of them tiny like hummingbirds and like everything else he has seen so far in this cave they appeared as if cut from gemstones.  
At the very edge of the pool crabs crawled around and in its clear waters thousands of tiny crystal fish swam around, hiding under the pads of the waterlilies.  
“Come, there is one more thing for you to see, a place I think would make a fine final resting place for your pack”  
Amarok guided him toward an annex at the back of the cave, inside the annex a large wisteria spread its branches across the ceiling, glowing flowers of every color hanging down and casting a gentle light over the lush moss covering the floor.  
“The Mother will permit them to be laid to rest here, beneath the soul-tree, would that be acceptable?”  
“Yes, more than, it is perfect. I can feel there is power in this tree, pure life. It would be an honor to have them rest here and for what remains of their life to feed the strength of this tree.”  
Takeshi replied distractedly and after a few moment he felt compelled to address the tree directly.  
“I am Takeshi, Kage of the Kiryu and I am honored to place the mortal shells of my bonded into your care.”  
He greeted the tree with a deep bow, one knee to the ground, and as his words ended the flowers rustled in non existing wind, causing them to sing like wind chimes and thousands of tiny crystal bells.  
“Come pup, let us retrieve and prepare you pack-mates for their final journey.”  
Amarok called softly from the entrance to the annex.

As they walked back through the cavern Amarok stopped by a small copse of flowers and inspected them.  
“Pup, this _dream-essence_ of yours, would it be similar to the herbs used for vision quests?”  
“I'm not sure, I could test them and see if they are similar enough.”  
“Well come here then, you will have to pick it yourself.”  
Amarok said as he pointed toward a small tree with what looked like small star fruits only they were crystalline and glowing a pale blue, and upon closer inspection there was a deep purple and silver liquid swirling inside.  
“Pick the one that feels right.”  
Amarok told him as he took a step back to allow Takeshi easy access to the small tree and its odd fruits.  
Takeshi thought on it for a moment before sitting down and slipping into a meditative state, and once there he reached out with his Qi, inspecting the fruits, but they all seemed silent, tiny blue flames flickering before his senses but just as he was about to try some other method one of the fruits seemed to respond, the pale blue flame flickering for a moment before growing into a larger flame and taking a deep purple, almost black, hue that reminded him of Kiryu's flaming mane and without thinking he reached out and picked the fruit.  
“This one, I don't even need to test it, Shani will be buried with this one.”  
Takeshi quickly reached back and used a sharp claw to cut some hair from the back of his head and braided it into a simple string and secured the small fruit to it, creating a simple pendant.  
“Good, now pick a flower or fruit for each of them so that they may all be buried equal.”   
Amarok told him with a slight nod amd a gentle push.  
After about an hour of searching the cave he had found one item each for them, a lovely ice blue rose halfway opened and inside the remaining bud was a flickering red like a small flame, it reminded him of Eriksson's passion hidden behind a cool surface.  
For Daniels he had found a lovely water lily, deep pinks, purples and blues at the center and fading into a pure milky white at the edges.  
As for Ramirez it was not a plant in the end, but a feather, one of the long tail feathers of one of the small peacocks, the tiny bird had simply walked up to where Takeshi was sitting and plucked one of the feathers, dropping it on the ground next to him, it immediately brought to mind Ramirez occasionally somewhat flamboyant personality .  
“I know you said flower or fruit, but that feather, would it be acceptable to take it for Luis?”  
He asked Amarok without touching it, he did not want to do anything to desecrate the obviously sacred place.  
“Yes, it was given freely by the bird, I would say it is a gift from the Mother for that very purpose.”  
Amarok nodded with a pleased smile.  
“Let's go then, the bodies needs to be prepared for the ritual”.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Walking the Beyond_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The next day they returned to the cave of the Mother, four of the elder wolves joining them, each pulling a simple travois with the bodies of the team and some wolf fur clothes.  
The bodies had been washed with herbal waters but before being dressed they would be washed again in the clear waters of the pool inside the cave.  
Once washed they were dressed in the furs and taken into the annex with the wisteria.  
When Takeshi stepped into the annex he could hear the chiming of the flowers and before his eyes the moss covering the floor pulled away like a carpet being rolled up to the side of a room and revealing four shallow graves.  
Amarok had once again stopped outside the annex and so had the wolves and when Takeshi turned around with a questioning look Amarok explained.  
“Only those chosen by the Mother may enter the chamber of the soul-tree without her expressed permission, I might be one of the blessed, but I am not one of Her chosen. From here on you will have to complete the rituals yourself while the pack sings its songs from outside.”  
Takeshi nodded silently and stepped over to the first travois and bent down to pick up Ramirez body and carried it to the first grave and gently put it down.  
He worked silently to place each of the bodies into the graves and once done he kneeled by each of the graves and used a clawed hand to retrieve the small dragon scale embedded in the skin at the top of the sternum, and as he took the scale he replaced it with the gifts that had been selected the previous day.  
Once done he stepped back, unsure what would happen next, the moment he did he heard Amarok speak up from the entrance.  
“We offer these, bonded pack of the Chosen, into your eternal care so that their souls may forever rest with you as their mortal shells becomes one with the nature that brought them to life.”  
As soon as Amarok had finished the small speech the wolves raised their voices in an eerie howl and the moss slowly crept back, covering the graves as if they had never been there.  
The sound of the flowers suddenly changed from a simple chime into a voice.  
_**“Step forward my Chosen and say your last farewell to your bonded”  
**_ As the words were spoken Takeshi could see the ghostly images of his unit form above the graves and somehow he knew, this was no mere image, this was indeed the souls of his team, standing before him one last time.  
Without thinking he fell to his knees and bowed as he pulled out the Kiryu no Ryuken and placed the blade in front of himself.  
“I failed you all and it cost you your lives. But I swear by my Name, my Blood and my Blade that I will do all in my power to avenge your deaths and bring truth and justice to your memories”  
He almost faltered as he saw a small black flame leap from the blade and in to the moss, slowly growing and taking the form of the dragon next to him.  
_**“I, Kiryu, Ryujin of the shadow-flame stand witness to the oath sworn by the one who wields my blade and by his will my full power will given to this task.”  
**_ As the voice of the dragon faded the chimes of the tree picked up once again.  
_**“I, Mother of all and my mate, the Moon stand witness to the oath sworn by our chosen and by his will the power of the blessed is given to this task”**_  
When the chimes toned down the souls of his team stepped forward one by one, each of them touching his shoulder and through that touch he could hear and feel their acceptance of his vow as well as their farewells, Eriksson was the last one to step forward and with her farewell was also her gratitude for the promise to find and protect her daughter as well as make sure she knew the truth of her mother.  
When they had returned to stand above their graves the voice of the Mother once again rang out from the soul-tree.  
_**“Those scales, bring them to the tree and place them within the hollow of the trunk”  
**_ Takeshi hesitated for a moment but after a slight nod from Kiryu he stepped forward and placed the four scales in a small hollow of the trunk.  
_**“Now remove one scale from your body and one from that of the dragon by your side as well and place them in the hollow.”**_  
Takeshi looked at Kiryu for a moment and the dragon once again nodded her consent and plucked a small scale form her body and gave it to him and he reached back and tore loose one of the scales of his tattoo and placed both scales next to the other four.  
_**“Now place this flower in the hollow and step back.”**_  
As the voice spoke one of the clusters of flowers fell from the wisteria and into Takeshi's hands and he stepped up and placed it above the scales.  
When he stepped back wines, moss and wolf lichen quickly covered the hollow in the trunk and moments later flowers began to sprout from the moss and and buds quickly formed and matured, and as they opened up to reveal four perfect, orange lilies, the spirit images of his unit faded away.  
Each petal formed of a bright orange crystal, the color alive and flickering like a flame and when looking closer Takeshi found that each of the dark stamen was a tiny flicker of Kiryu's black flames.  
_**“Take them and place them over your heart, against the tattoo of your dragon.”  
**_ Takeshi did as he was told and the moment he touched them he could feel that this was the scales given a new form, and when the flowers touched his skin they were absorbed into his body and became part of the tattoo, four vivid flowers held above his heart.  
“ _Sayuri_ , the orange lily, while lilies carry many meanings, the fiery _Sayuri_ symbolizes revenge.”  
Takeshi spoke quietly.  
“My gratitude Great Mother for granting the memories of my bonded this most fitting form”  
He bowed toward the tree before turning around, sheathing his blade and stepping out of the annex, something within telling him that it was done.  
A final chime from the wisteria called softly from behind.  
**“Now my chosen, learn to live with the lands, learn the ways of my children, the great beasts that roam the land, the raptors of the skies and hunters that rule the great waters, know them all and truly become the chosen one and walk the path beyond.”**

 


	15. Becoming

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Becoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi sat crouched down on a small ledge high on the cliff-side, watching, listening, _feeling_ , not far below was his _target_ , a large nest resting securely on a deep ledge, protected by outcroppings and low bushes that rooted deep into the crevices of the cliff. 

He had spent over two months on his small ledge, watching a pair of eagles nest below.  
He had watched them repair the nest, lay their eggs and he had watched as all three eggs had hatched and the parents had began the constant effort to feed their young.  
A quiet yip from above told him that his _take-out_ had arrived, his lookout spot gave a great view of the nesting eagles, but made it harder to get food and water and if he climbed out to restock it would disturb the nesting eagles below which could put risk to the eaglets so instead one of the wolves would come by and drop down a packet of food and water.  
Luckily his new body didn't need much water as long as he ate enough fresh, raw meat, the packs also contained Amarok's version of a trail bar, nuts, grains, dried fruits and herbs mixed with rendered bear fat.  
Amarok had tried to convince him that he was on a fool's errand, that there was no way he could learn to become an eagle, or any other animal and that the only reason he was able to become both wolf and bear was because Amarok's parents had both bloods and that Amarok's blood had been used to turn him, thus allowing him both forms, but Takeshi remembered the final words of the Mother as he left the annex where his team had been laid to rest.

“ _Now my chosen, learn to live with the lands, learn the ways of my children, the great beasts that roam the land, the raptors of the skies and hunters that rule the great waters, know them all and truly become the chosen one and walk the path beyond.”_ _ **  
**_

To Takeshi those final words could only mean one thing, that by studying, training and learning the ways of other animals he would be able take their forms as well.  
So when he had spotted a pair of eagles beginning to repair an old nest he decided to study them.  
It had taken days to find a suitable spot that gave a good view of the nest without disturbing the birds and once he found one he had prepared a nest of his own and began to spend more and more time there to allow the eagles to get used to him being there and now that the eggs had hatched he hadn't moved at all and he would stay until the eaglets left the nest. **  
** He watched as the eaglets grew, and he watched as the weakest of the three succumbed to the competition for food, as much was to be expected, rarely does more than one eaglet survive. Two weeks later the smaller of the survivors was killed and eaten by its sibling, leaving just the strongest one to grow rapidly when there was no competition for the food.  
When the eaglet finally left the nest and began to hunt on its own Takeshi returned to the den and resumed his lessons with Amarok, learning about living with the lands.

Takeshi also spent a lot of time foraging for all what nature had to offer, he could live purely on the fresh meat that the pack hunted, but Takeshi found that he still preferred a more mixed diet. So he had wandered the mountains and the plains together with a few of the wolves, collecting wild nuts, seeds, roots and grains.  
In the spring he and Amarok had collected the sap of trees and made syrup as well as a solid sugar.  
He had harvested herbs and berries, he had taken the pack to the great salmon run where he had practiced fishing in the form of the Kodiak bear, salt mined from a hidden cave deep within the caves of the den had been used to cure salmon and skeins of roe as well as a variety of lean meats before smoking and drying, berries were also dried along with herbs, mushrooms and a variety of small, hardy fruits.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Becoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As winter came around again Takeshi's studies shifted towards the Mother, the Moon and the Blessing as well as many things about the ways of Amarok's people and other tribes with shapeshifters. 

He would spend weeks meditating under the soul-tree in the sanctuary of the Mother and he would spend the full moons in the pool in the sanctuary after he learned that the pool radiated and amplified the effects of the moon, he could feel the power seeping into his very soul and as time passed the representations of the Mother and the Moon within him changed shapes into the sanctuary, difference was that on the opposite side of the annex that held the soul-tree there was another annex gated by layers of barriers.  
Outermost was the crystalline wines of the sanctuary, behind those a moon gate sealed tight with multiple crescent moons forming an iris like shutter, behind that was an elaborately grated gate formed of his own reiki and finally the black flames of Kiryu's youki.  
Behind those barriers rested the still bound form of the beast and Takeshi knew that one day he would have to face it and find a way to release it without it controlling him, until that day his strength as a blessed would be a mere fraction of his potential.

Much to Amarok's surprise and worry Takeshi managed to assume the form of several other animals during the winter, including lynx and arctic fox.  
Though it seemed the Mother was somehow preventing him from assuming the form of the eagle or any other birds, whenever he tried he could feel her chiming voice within telling him he should learn to run and swim before trying to fly.  
He could see the wisdom in that, assuming the form of an eagle was probably easy while learning to fly was probably a lot harder, not to mention hazardous.  
So he studied and trained relentlessly to master every form he could, but once that was done he found himself returning to his oath and making plans for how to fulfill it and a few days after new years he asked Amarok to join him in the Sanctuary as he meditated in the pool as he had made his habit to do during the full moon.

“Amarok, there is nothing more for me to learn here, what remains to learn can only be taught by time itself so now it is time I honor my oath and put plans into motion. I need information, I need to know the movements of the GCTI and I need a way to contact Kasumi when the time is right.”  
Amarok nodded silently for a moment before speaking up,  
“You want access to my network of informants and spies.”  
It was not a question, merely a statement of fact.  
“Yes and no. Not just access, I will become the _Wolf_. I will accompany you to your meetings in my wolf form and learn the trade, you will arrange a meeting with the GCTI under the guise of demanding compensation for destroying part of your _base_. You will demand that they send Thomas Matthews, tell them you will speak to no one else. Now go and see to it.”  
The dismissal was clear in Takeshi's voice and for a moment it made Amarok want to refuse but just as he was about to voice his refusal Takeshi spoke up again,  
“ **You Will Obey!** ”  
His voice carried a strange vibrating overtone and Amarok could feel how his own will gave way to Takeshi's and there was no choice but obedience.

 

**Fairbanks, Alaska, March 3 rd 2026**

“So this is the famous _Wolf_ is it?”  
A cocky voice called out in a thick southern dialect as a rather fat man in a poorly fitting GCTI uniform approached the table where Amarok sat, once he was a few steps away he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as an enormous black wolf stepped out from behind the sofa and growled low at him.  
“I suggest you don't step any closer if you wish to keep all your parts attached.”  
Amarok told him coldly before turning towards Takeshi's wolf form.  
“Yakone, check him!”  
Takeshi shook his head internally as he stepped up to the GCTI man and started sniffing around for any weapons, marking with a growl when he found one.  
“The weapons, drop them, and don't think for a second you can get anything past Yakone, that beast has the best nose there is”  
Amarok barked sharply and once all the weapons had been put away he told _Yakone_ to come lay down.  
_“Seriously, Yakone? Red Aurora is the best name you can think of?”_  
Takeshi grumbled silently to Amarok.  
_“I was thinking more of another meaning, snow that has been reddened by the spilling of blood, but Red Aurora does fit your eyes well. And I believe it might raise some eyebrows & red flags should I call you Takeshi don't you think?”_  
To that Takeshi huffed his agreement, perhaps the name was more fitting than he had first thought.  
“I am..”  
The GCTI man started but was interrupted by Amarok as well as a growl from Takeshi.  
“I do not care who you are. You are GCTI but not the one I seek, you will return to your masters and tell them to send Thomas Matthews, previous commander of the Liberty. He will travel here in a Blackout, the Blackout will be left here as my payment for the destruction the GCTI attack caused to my territory. If he is not here within one month the _Wolf_ will howl.”  
With that Amarok stood and began to walk away.  
“Yakone, don't eat the messenger!”  
He called out with a smirk as Takeshi flashed a full fanged snarl toward the GCTI man when he walked past.  
They listened the man's panicked report to his superiors,  
“And tell him to watch out for the dam beast, the _Wolf_ has a real dam wolf with him and I swear that thing is the size of pony!”

One week later one of Amarok's contacts informed him that Matthews had landed in a Blackout and that he was staying at a local hotel, a courier was promptly sent of with details of a meeting the next evening in a secure location.  
“So, Takeshi, how do you intend to do this?”  
Amarok asked him between bites.  
“We go in the same way as last meeting. Once I confirm that it is Matthews and that he is clean I will reveal myself and explain the situation.”  
The reply was slightly distracted as Takeshi was partially focused on the small computer in front of him, working on the bots he had set up to crawl the web and collect the information he needed without setting of any alarms, a now familiar tingling radiated from one of the lilies on his chest.  
It turned out that when the Mother had changed the scales into the lilies it had enhanced the power of the scales and he was able to access Daniels's skill for hacking, he knew everything she had known, and as the hacker _D-Rex_ she was still considered the best ever.  
“And you are certain he can be trusted?”  
Amarok prodded.  
“No, I'm not, but I have ways to ensure he cannot turn against us.”  
Once again there was dismissal in Takeshi's tone and Amarok sighed to himself.  
_“Oh, Mother, what does this pup have in his future to need a power like this?”  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Becoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Matthews was confused and he did not like that.  
One week ago General Harris had summoned him to the Liberty for a classified briefing.  
He had been ordered to take a Blackout and fly to Fairbanks, Alaska to meet with the information broker _Wolf_ , this was usually handled by one of Barrow's lackeys but apparently _Wolf_ had asked for him by name and demanded that he was the one to handle the _negotiations_.  
He looked at the short briefing that really didn't tell him much, only three short points and a note.

1: The _Wolf_ had demanded a Blackout as payment for “property damage”.  
2: The _Wolf_ had demanded that Commander Matthews handle the contact.  
3: The _Wolf_ will spread an unknown amount of information if demands are not met, information assumed to be of a negative nature for the GCTI.  
Note: Beware of abnormally large and aggressive pet wolf apparently trained in detecting weapons and probably used for personal defense.

On top of everything the Blackout he had been assigned was Takeshi's Blackout, they had never been able to get all of Daniels's hacking out of the systems so now they choose to dump it and cut their losses, it felt wrong to Matthews, that plane was Takeshi's, the unit was listed as MIA and every shred of information was classified and Matthews had not been able to get into the files.

Now he found himself sitting in a small but obviously expensive pub waiting for his meeting with the _Wolf_.  
After about an hour of waiting a server approached him and told him that _Amarok_ would see him now.  
Matthews followed the server to a small ornate door leading into a VIP reception area and was showed to a large desk with an armed guard on each side and a tiny receptionist, she was no more than 150 cm tall and very slender but her voice was all ice and cold steel when she spoke.  
“Leave all your weapons, electronics, communications and recording equipment here!”  
She pointed toward a metal box.  
Matthews did as he was told and then hesitated for a moment before reaching behind his ear and removing the transmitter and power-pin from his com-implant and placing those in the box as well.  
“Smart move. Get him out of here!”  
She nodded to the guards who quickly led him to an elevator door and ordered him inside and once the door closed the elevator began to move down.  
There was no sign of any controls so he figured there was a security room somewhere that monitored and controlled it.  
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened he was once again faced with a pair of guards, these were however unarmed which caused Matthews to raise a questioning eyebrow.  
“No weapons allowed in the VIP area, that includes the guards, so don't think you can steal one and cause trouble.”  
One of the guards sneered at him.  
Matthew raised his hands slowly in a placating motion  
“No trouble intended.”  
“Smart, now come here!”  
The guard motioned for him to move in front of the pair and showed him to a door and pushed a button on a com-panel.  
“You guest has arrived Sir.”  
There was a moment's silence before a small click was heard and the door opened.  
The guards quickly ushered him in and slammed the door behind him with a nervous glance into the room.  
A low growl behind him made Matthews turn around and the reason for the guards fear was instantly obvious as the source of the sound revealed itself to be a huge black wolf.  
“Step forward and allow _Yakone_ to check you for weapons.”  
A voice called from a shaded corner of the small private room.  
Matthews did as instructed and the wolf began to sniff around and much to his surprise he could feel that it checked the com implant as well, it was frighteningly well trained.  
“I am Amarok, the one you call the _Wolf_. Please Mr Matthews, have a seat.”  
Amarok told him and pointed to a comfortable looking armchair.  
Matthews took a quick glance toward the wolf but the beast seemed to ignore him at the moment so he slowly took a seat.  
“Please, call me Thomas, or Commander Matthews. I must say, I am confused as to why you have requested me for this meeting, I don't work with intel.”  
He asked as he sat down.  
“Quite understandable, however I am not the one that asked you to be here.”  
Amarok answered him.  
“If not you, then who?”  
Matthews asked as he looked around trying to see if there was anyone else in the room but could only see the two of them and the wolf.  
“A mutual friend I think I dare say.”  
Amarok paused for a moment before looking at the wolf.  
“Your turn _Yakone_.”  
Matthews eyes widened as the wolf stepped forward and began to _change_ , moments later a eerily familiar young man stood before him in a sharp black suit and the hilt of a sword peeking up over the shoulder.  
“Ta, Takeshi?”  
Matthews shook his head in disbelief  
“Is that really you?”  
“How many others do you know with the habit of carrying a katana?”  
The man in front of him replied with a cocky grin.  
“Takeshi Kiryu! You sneaky little bastard, where have you been!”  
Matthews couldn't resist giving him a crushing hug.  
“They have you and your unit flagged as MIA and quite frankly I was starting to get worried. What have you guys been up to? And where are the others hiding?”  
Matthews voice trailed of as he could feel the atmosphere of the room shift and a cold rage emanate from Takeshi.  
There was no doubt in Matthews's mind what would cause that reaction, the others were dead.  
“Oh no, Take. What happened?”  
He asked as he sat down heavily.  
“The GCTI is what happened! We were sent to find the _Wolf_ , once we reached the entrance to the caves a missile strike hit us, Shani died instantly, Luis and Emelie moments later. Maria lasted long enough to ask me to find her daughter.”  
Takeshi's voice shook with the effort to maintain control but as he pulled his clothes to aside to show the addition to his tattoo it slipped and claws, fangs and eyes manifested themselves and a slight growl reverbed in his voice as he spoke .  
“I swore an oath that I will avenge them, I swore on my **Name** , my **Blood** and my **Blade**! There is no going back, the GCTI **will** fall and anyone with a hand in their death will die!”  
Takeshi's voice faded as he took deep breaths to regain control, but a low growl could still be heard.

Mathews sighed deeply.  
“Of course you did. Wouldn't be you if you didn't. Please tell me you were at least able to give them a proper burial?”  
Matthews asked solemnly.  
“Yes, they have been buried with honor and respect in a place where they will never be desecrated. Now how about we talk about why I brought you here?”  
The cold fury was slowly fading from Takeshi's voice but Matthews could still hear it.  
“Of course, but before that, mind explaining the wolf thing? And the claws and fangs? Not to mention those seriously freaky eyes?”  
Matthews noticed that Takeshi looked at the other man, Amarok, the _Wolf_  for a moment before he nodded and began explaining what was going on and if he hadn't seen a wolf turn into a man he would have assumed that Takeshi had lost his mind along with his unit.  
But a part of him wasn't so sure he hadn't, if there was one thing ha had always liked about the boy it was his loyalty, there was nothing he wouldn't do for those he considered friends, or otherwise worthy.  
After a few hours of talking about Takeshi's plans a server came in with a cart holding several trays of food but Matthews found himself unable to eat as he watched Takeshi swiftly consume a large plate piled high with raw meat before he seemed to realize there where others in the room.  
“Ah, sorry about that Commander. I have gotten used to only having Amarok around and he does not mind my occasional cravings.”  
Takeshi told him while licking the blood from clawed fingers and flashing him a fanged smile before getting back to the plans in the making.  
It was long into the morning before they were done and Matthews was escorted from the VIP rooms by a pair of guards.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Becoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“How about we go have a look at the Blackout? Matthews mentioned that is was the same one I used to use.”  
Takeshi looked towards Amarok who simply nodded as he got up and by the time the door opened he was once again flanked by the wolf he had dubbed _Yakone_.  
Much to Takeshi's delight all of Daniels's modifications were intact, it appeared that GCTI techs didn't know how to get it out of there without risking ruining the aircraft so it had been left alone.  
With a few mental commands he instructed Amarok how to initiate the security scans to make sure there were no eyes or ears added before shifting back to a form better suited for typing.  
Once again he could feel Daniels's mark tingle as he tapped into her gift to thoroughly check all systems and add a few more security protocols before moving it to a small hangar that Amarok rented.  
When it was securely stored they headed back toward the den to train, to make preparations, to wait for the right time to put his plan into action.

Matthews returned to his Miami office but found himself to be distracted, he knew GCTI didn't always play by the rules, he knew about the blackmail against Takeshi, threatening his sister and family, he knew that they had faked his information in order to recruit the at the time 15 year old boy and put him through hell.  
But to set up such a trap and send a missile strike against one of their own teams just for being good at what they did was just too much.  
Matthews truly hoped that Takeshi would be able to become the one to take GCTI down once and for all, he didn't even care that many would surely die in the progress.

 


	16. Reunion

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Reunion_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Kasumi Kiryu Estate, Miami. February 2030  
**

 A group of guards approached the poolside porch escorting a pair of GCTI officers in formal uniform.  
“Ojousama!”  
The guards bowed sharply to the woman resting on a pool chair and waited to be acknowledged before introducing the visitors.  
“Ojou-sama, these GCTI officers are here to deliver a personal message.”  
Another nod and the guards allowed the men were allowed to step forward.  
“Are you miss Kasumi Kiryu?”  
The older of the two men asked her.  
“I am. Now why are GCTI scum sullying my afternoon?”  
She snapped at him.  
The man seemed confused for a moment before gathering himself and with a nervous glance at the armed guards he stated his business.  
“Miss, I am sorry to inform you that your brother, Takeshi Kiryu, has been killed during a mission in Alaska. And it is with my deepest condolences I must also inform you that we have not been able to bring his body home.”  
He expected her to react violently, the Kiryu heir was well known for her explosive temper.  
He did not expect her to merely close her eyes and take a deep breath and then sigh with relief.

When she heard the message Kasumi quickly reached within and desperately searched for the bond with Takeshi, he had been so far away for so long the bond was barely detectable and although she had not felt it break there was a risk that its weakened state had caused her to not feel it.  
She found the faint bond still intact and gave it a hard tug and when she felt a small answering tug she breathed out a sigh of relief.  
“You have delivered your message, now **Get Out!** ”  
The guards instantly began to usher the men towards the main gate and Kasumi could hear them talking as they walked away.  
“Odd, she seemed relieved to find out her brother is dead”  
The younger one asked his companion.  
“Sergeant Kiryu has been listed as missing for five years, I believe it would be a relief to finally know for sure.”  
“I guess you are right, with her reputation I kind of expected a different reaction.”  
The rest of the conversation faded away as the guards escorted them around the corner of the house towards the main gate and Kasumi could not help wonder what they were up to.  
Takeshi was obviously not dead, not only was the bond still there, but for the first time in five years she had felt a clear response when she tugged on it.  
Quickly she grabbed Arashi and Kuragari as well as the simple obi from under the chair and headed to her study.  
With some luck this meant that the GCTI truly believed Takeshi to be dead and if they did that meant he was in the clear and would probably contact her soon so she needed to make preparations so that she was ready if that happened.

 

**Meanwhile in Brooks Range Alaska**

Takeshi narrowly avoided getting sliced by Amarok's claws when he felt the tug in his soul, the bond with Kasumi carried a faint sensation of worry, but no pain or fear so he guessed that the GCTI had delivered the _news_ of his demise, it was finally time to get things moving.  
“Isso, is everything okay? You seem distracted.”  
Amarok had shifted out of his bear-form when he noticed that Takeshi wasn't paying attention to their sparring.  
“Yes, fine. Just Kasumi pulling at my leash a bit. It seems Matthews information was spot on as usual. It's time to prepare for having a guest.”  
Takeshi answered distractedly, there was so much to do now.  
“Yes Isso. I will prepare one of the annex chambers, do you think she would prefer the larger one next to the whelping room, or the smaller one by the springs? Never mind, I will prepare both and she can pick herself.”  
Takeshi smiled to himself as he listened to Amarok worry like an old lady.  
He had been living with the pack for five years and it had taken three before Amarok had stopped calling him “pup” and instead began calling him _Isso_ , it was short for _Issorartuyok_ which was quite a mouthful and translated roughly to _pack leader_ , Alpha.  
In the end what changed it was Takeshi losing control of the Beast during training and nearly beat Amarok to death before regaining control, something in Amarok's spirit had broken with that defeat and ever since he would defer to, and act submissive to, Takeshi and he began to address him as _Isso_ instead of _pup_.  
Takeshi thought back to the events of the past few years as he walked toward the Sanctuary to retrieve the packages he had left there where it was safe from pests.  
The first year was a bit of a blur, it had taken time to recover from the death of his unit, the second year had been consumed by making plans, the third year he trained to learn to take more forms, the fourth year he had finally been able to gain some control of the beast, it was still locked away but the chain of dragon-magic was no longer needed .  
Last year he had finally been able to take the shape of an eagle and learn to fly.  
And now he would finally have a chance to get his plans moving, and to see Kasumi again.

Once inside the annex of the soul-tree he picked up a pile of fur and hide clothing wrapped in a large bearskin.  
After securing the package on his back he picked up the the crystal container holding a wisteria bonsai made from the soul-tree, using the blessing he had been able to shape the wines into a tree with its roots sprawling over a crystal cluster and around the base of the cluster was a ring of tiny camellia bushes sporting yellow and white flowers.  
It was the Mother that had suggested he use the art of bonsai to practice control of his new abilities, he was gifted with a few mature pods from the soul-tree, normally the tree was frozen in a permanent state of bloom, never wilting so these pods had intentionally been made to mature.  
The seedlings had grown at a remarkable rate and he had soon figured out how to use his qi to shape them, coax them into growing the way he wanted them to and to grow into perfect miniatures with thousands of tiny flowers and just like the soul-tree they would remain in a permanent state of bloom, but unlike the natural wisteria both the soul-tree and his bonsai held both leaves and flowers at the same time.  
Once confident in his ability to shape the plants he had asked permission to harvest one of the dark amethyst clusters to create a pot and later camellias and moss were collected and added to create a small garden.  
He had chosen the white and yellow camellias for their symbolism according to _Hanakotoba_ , the traditional Japanese language of flowers where the yellow camellia symbolizes longing and the white ones waiting.  
Much like how the fiery orange lilies above his heart represented revenge.  
Once back in the main area of the den Takeshi found Amarok running back and forth with piles of furs and various pieces of wooden furniture.  
“Amarok, I'm heading to Fairbanks to have these sent to Kasumi, I should return within two weeks.”  
Amarok stopped for a moment and when he noticed the things Takeshi was carrying he quickly took the bearskin pack holding the clothes.  
“Understood Isso, I will prepare and pack a sled. “  
Takeshi stopped him before he could run off,  
“Prepare the small sled, I will pull it myself. And I will take Sesi with me, she will be gifted to my sister.”  
“Yes, as you wish Isso.”  
Amarok nodded and walked of to prepare the sled that had been re-designed to allow Takeshi to easily pull it by himself.  
Takeshi put the bonsai down and went to the whelping room where a litter of pups were playing with their _babysitters_ , the moment he entered all of them came running to greet and play with their Alpha.  
All but one, staying behind the litter of gray puffs of fur was a single pup with pure white fur, unlike the other pups she was not a Blessed, her mother was a regular wolf that had wandered into the caves severely weakened and when Takeshi found her she was already whelping stillborn pups, only the last one born had been alive, a pure white female pup.  
The moment she had whelped and cleaned her last pup the mother had simply looked at him then laid down her head and died, much to weakened to survive the birth of her litter.  
Takeshi had named the pup _Sesi_ , snow, and brought her to the den and laid her with the newly born pups of the pack and had stayed with them for several weeks to make sure the pup got a chance to feed and grow.  
Now she had grown into a shy little thing with pure white fur tinged with an almost blue tint that made her seem even whiter and icy-blue eyes.  
After ruffling the pups in greeting he sat down and called the white pup to him and picked her up, when he got up to leave a hesitant growl was heard from the mother of the pups and he quickly reassured her that no harm would come to her adopted pup, that he would bring her to someone who would care for her and that she would return soon. 

The next morning Takeshi put the pup into a bundle of warm furs on top of the sled and told her to stay, tho not as intelligent as the blessed wolves she was still a clever one and knew to obey her Alpha.  
After shifting he stepped into the harness that had been designed specifically so that he could put it on and take it of on his own while in wolf-form and headed out.  
About an hour later he heard a soft whimpering from the sled and stopped to allow Sesi a short break to eat, drink and relieve herself.  
There would be many short stops to make sure the pup remained comfortable and didn't get bored, he would walk slowly with the sled to allow her to run along and play, but she would tire fast and wanted to go back to the warm comfort of the furs.  
Once he reached Fairbanks he used the contacts he had obtained when he took Amarok's place as the information broker known as _Wolf_ to hire a courier and smuggler working out of Seattle.  
The woman was renowned for her love for animals and her skill in transporting them safely and comfortably.  
Once a meeting was arranged outside of Seattle Takeshi waited for nightfall and flew there in the Blackout, when he landed at the small field he found the courier waiting for him with a large RV bus and after giving instructions for delivering the packages as well as the pup to Kasumi's estate in Miami he handed her the agreed payment as well an an extra bonus to reward the suitable travel method chosen.  
After returning to Fairbanks he hired guides in Fairbanks and Anchorage to keep an eye out for Kasumi and assist her in getting to Fort Yukon.  
Once she reached Fort Yukon she would be picked up by Amarok and brought to the den.

 

**Kasumi Kiryu Estate, Miami**

Ten days after the GCTI had delivered the _news_ of Takeshi's demise a woman in a large RV bus pulled up to the main gate and informed the guard that she had an important delivery for Kasumi, she had handed the guard a note with Takeshi's kanji as well as a code word to ensure there was no doubts who sent her.  
She was promptly let in and after a quick security check the guards assisted her in bringing a set of boxes to Kasumi's study while she carried a white wolf pup.  
“I am Kasumi, I was told you have a delivery for me.”  
The woman in the study told her as she motioned for her to sit down.  
“Yes, I was hired to deliver these packages as well as this pup to Kasumi Kiryu and I was asked to confirm your identity by a code phrase.”  
The woman stated in a polite but sharp tone, she was obviously a professional who had done this many times before.  
“The one who sent you will have given you a _key_ , give it to me.”  
Kasumi extended her hand toward the courier and was promptly handed the note with Takeshi's kanji as well as the kanji for _Arashi_ , storm, it was the name of one of her blades and she quickly wrote down _Kuragari_ and handed to the courier.  
“The counter is Kuragari. Now that we have proven to be who we claim to be would you be so kind as to deliver your cargo?”  
The woman nodded and quietly asked the guard to bring the first box, the large flat box contained a beautiful caribou parka trimmed with wolf fur and matching pants.  
The second box held a heavy bearskin coat with matching boots and mittens.  
A smaller box held an assortment of jewelry crafted from a variety of bones, fangs, claws and feathers.  
But it was the fourth box that held the true wonder, the large square box opened up to reveal an amazing wisteria bonsai, it's roots crawling over a cluster of dark amethyst crystals, it even had tiny camellias growing around it and when she leaned in closer her breath caused the tiny flowers to ring like bells, every leaf and flower perfectly carved from beautiful crystals.  
But when she carefully touched the trunk she was chocked to feel the life-force flowing through it, this was not a decoration carved from dead crystal, this was a living plant, the small note attached to the pot confirmed that and also held instructions for its care.  
Next she was handed the squirming wolf pup and told that her name was _Sesi_ , snow.  
The final object was a sealed envelope with her name on it, when she opened it revealed a simple note with a set of numbers, latitude and longitude, coordinates to where ever her brother was staying she assumed.  
“That was all, If you would please have one of the guards escort me out and I will be on my way”  
The courier stood and gave a short bow.  
Kasumi placed the envelope in a hidden pocket before turning to the courier again  
“You are welcome to stay the night to rest before you leave, you have traveled a long way.”  
With a nod she signaled for the guard to see to that their guest was taken care of.

Later that evening Kasumi arranged a private flight to Fairbanks and set about making arrangement for an extended period away from her estate.  
Instructions were given to her attorney along with the required documents to give her power of attorney to manage the necessary affairs regarding the estate and Kasumi's holdings.  
As expected the elders quickly found out about her plans and demanded she, _Stop that foolishness_ and that even tho it was honorable of her to want to find the body of her Kage it was more important that she find a suitable husband.  
The Elders had been trying to force her to marry for years now in order to secure a male heir for the Kiryu name but Kasumi had refused, always finding some fault with the would be suitors.  
If she managed to stay unwed they would ultimately be forced to either abandon their silly rule of only males being heir and grant her the title or allow for a Kage to be heir and re-instate Takeshi as heir.  
She believed they would allow females to be heir rather than to allow a Kage to be heir since making someone a Kage was a common way to get rid of an unwanted heir.  
Making use of a few of her most trusted guards she disobeyed the orders of the elders and headed to Alaska.

When she landed at the airport in Fairbanks she was met by a local guide who handed her a coded message from Takeshi telling her to allow the guide to take her to Fort Yukon where someone would meet her and bring her to his location.  
She quickly gathered her luggage and followed the guide to a heavy duty SUV, the guide drove her to a small hotel where he arranged for a room and food for her and the wolf pup before informing her that they would leave in the morning.  
The following evening Kasumi found herself in a small but comfortable room with a promise that someone would be there within the next couple of days to pick her up.  
True to the promise a man knocked at her door two days later and introduced himself as _Amarok_ before handing her one of Takeshi's coded notes once again telling her to follow the person in front of her, she also noticed that the wolf pup seemed to know this person and he greeted the pup as Sesi.  
Once outside her luggage was quickly stowed onto a dogsled, upon closer inspection she noticed that the gang-lines and harnesses were crafted from kumo-silk, another indication that she was indeed on the right track.  
The sound of an eerily authentic sounding howl from her new guide startled her out of her musings and soon a pack of dogs came running, as they came close it became obvious that they were not dogs, but very large gray wolves and shortly after she was asked to take a seat and the man, Amarok, stepped up behind her and with a sharp bark the sled began moving and they headed north.  
She soon found that Amarok did not seem to be much of a conversationalist but he was attentive and polite as he made sure she was comfortable during the trip, as darkness fell they stopped and made camp, her internal clock said that it was still only afternoon but it was to dark to safely navigate the terrain.  
“We will be able to travel after sunset tomorrow, the area here is too treacherous to risk it.”  
Amarok told her as he handed her a steaming bowl containing some kind of meat in a dark broth and a piece of hardtack to soak in the broth.  
The food was surprisingly good despite its simplicity and with the wolves packed tight around her she slept well, safe from the biting cold outside the small hide shelter.

 

It was late evening when the sled pulled up to the entrance of a cave hidden in the mountainside and Amarok helped her carry her luggage inside and down a winding tunnel, they stopped for a moment as her bags was put away into a cave of the side of the tunnel before they moved into a larger cavern where she could sense Takeshi's presence but could not see him.  
“Isso, your guest has arrived.”  
Amarok called into the room and Kasumi noticed movement from a pile of furs as the familiar tattooed back of her brother appeared and she ran into the room.  
“ **Aniki!** “  
She called out and he turned to her with that blasted smirk of his all over his face.  
“Hisashiburi, Nee-chan.”  
“ **Baka!** ”  
She yelled at him as she reached him and gave him a hard slap before throwing herself around his neck into a choking hug.

 


	17. New Paths

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Paths_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ **Baka!** ”  
Takeshi had expected as much for a greeting, but he had somewhat forgotten just how hard Kasumi could hit when she was upset.  
So now he found himself with a stinging cheek and Kasumi wrapped around his neck, not entirely sure if she was hugging him or trying to choke him.  
“Shush, _nakanaide_. Don't cry.”  
He slowly stroked her back as she broke down into sobs.  
“Baka.. I was worried, the bond was getting so weak I could barely feel it, I was afraid it would vanish altogether.”  
She sobbed against his chest.  
In response he carefully called on his Qi and wrapped it like a cocoon around her, feeding it into the bond to strengthen it.  
“It's okay, it's over now. We are not going anywhere until we are ready.”  
He soothed and she looked up for a moment before stepping back and reaching out to straighten his gi.  
Pausing for a moment she pulled it to the side, revealing the orange lilies over his heart, slowly she covered them with her hand.  
“ _Sayuri_ , four of them. So they are gone then, your dantai.”  
After a moment's pause a single word escaped her as a whisper.  
“ _Fukushuu.”  
_ Steeling herself she looked into Takeshi's eyes as she spoke,  
“Kage, has the oath of vengeance been sworn?”  
Takeshi knew that at this very moment it was not Kasumi his sister before him but Kasumi, acting Heir to the house of Kiryu.  
“ _ **Kotaeru!**_ ”  
She commanded with a forceful tone, demanding that he answer her.  
“Hai, the oath has been sworn and witnessed. Name, Blood and Blade, sworn before the souls of the departed as they were sent to the afterlife. Kiryu, Ryujin of the shadow-flame stands as my witness, as does the Mother and her mate, the Moon, guardians of The Blessed. Together they gifted me with the _Sayuri_ as proof of my oath.”  
Takeshi straightened as he gave his reply, since he was Kage his oath could be refused, Kasumi could deny him the rights of Name and Blood, leaving nothing but his Blade.  
“So she stands behind you in this, the Ryujin?”  
She asked solemnly.  
“Yes, she swore her full power to my will in this task. As the Mother did the power of the blessing”  
He nodded calmly  
“The Mother, the Moon and this blessing, you will tell me of them before I decide if the house of Kiryu will stand behind your presumptuous oath, Kage.”  
And with that the moment ended, Kasumi was once again just his sister whom he had not seen for over 5 years, and barely seen for another 10 before that.  
“We might as well get that over with. Amarok, could you make sure there is a meal prepared for Kasumi when we get back?”  
He called for Amarok as he signaled for Kasumi to follow him.  
“Yes, of course Isso”  
Amarok's answer came as Takeshi lead Kasumi into the tunnel that lead towards the sanctuary.

“Eeto, why does he call you Isso?”  
Kasumi wondered as she followed him through the tunnels.  
“Isso is short for Issorartuyok, it would translate as lead dog, pack leader, or in short, alpha. It is his way of showing respect.”  
Takeshi explain before continuing with a laugh,  
“You know, he called me _pup_ for a good three years, it wasn't until I nearly killed him during training that he stopped.”  
That finally brought a true smile to her face as she joined him in laughing.  
“Where are we going?”  
She asked as she peeked around him down the dark tunnel.  
“To the sanctuary of the Mother, once there I will explain as well as I can what it all means.”  
Once they reached the hides that marked the entrance to the sanctuary he placed the small torch in the wall mount and gave Kasumi a slight push down the tunnel.  
“Why are we leaving the torch?”  
She asked with her usual curiosity.  
“You will understand once we get inside.”  
Was his only reply as he gave her a slight nudge in the back to keep moving.  
“Demo, Nii-san...”  
She complained for a moment before passing the final hide and falling silent.  
Walking down the tunnel she merely nodded silently and when they entered the main cave she reached out and touched the trunk of one of the sakura trees.  
“They are just like the bonsai you sent me, all crystal but yet alive and growing”  
She nearly whispered with marvel in her voice.  
“They bonsai was grown from a seed from one of the plants in here, the soul-tree.”  
He told her and as they reached the entrance to the annex Takeshi motioned for Kasumi to wait.  
“Only the blessed are allowed to enter here without explicit permission.”  
She nodded her understanding and watched as Takeshi kneeled down in front of the trunk of the wisteria that dominated the room, she was slightly surprised to see him draw his blade and place it in front of him with the edge towards him as he bowed his head silently.  
Then she heard the crystal flowers chime as if rustled by a wind, but suddenly she could hear a voice in the chimes.  
_**“Step inside Kasumi, sister in name and heart to our chosen.”  
**_ Over the bond she could feel Takeshi letting her know it was okay to enter so she stepped in and walked up to him and with a gentle prodding over the bond she kneeled down beside him and introduced herself.  
“I am Kasumi, acting heir to the house of Kiryu, chosen wielder of Arashi and Kuragari. I offer my gratitude to the one who aided my Kage, my brother.”  
_**“You will teach her and you will test her. If she is found worthy she will be given the trial of blood so that she might earn the blessing.”  
**_ While the presence faded from the annex Takeshi turned toward Kasumi.  
“That was the voice of the Mother, in lack of other explanations she is simply Nature, Life and she can bestow the gift of the blessing.”  
With that he allowed his features slip from the carefully maintained human look into the mixed traits he had adapted after gaining the blessing.  
After a short moment he continued to shift into the half-form and Kasumi snickered at him as fur replaced clothes and when he finally stood before her in the form of the wolf she smirked.  
“My, my. Now **this** is what I call a decent pet!”  
Takeshi huffed and gave her a good shove with his head causing her to fall over.  
_“Will you please be serious, if you are found worthy you will be given a chance to gain the blessing as well. And trust me, it would be a great benefit if you did.”_

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Paths_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Having Kasumi around made life in the den rather, _interesting_.  
While having her close meant there was no longer an aching hole in his soul due to the weakened bond it also meant he was exposed to her whimsical moods again, for a woman of 37 she could be positively infantile in her childish antics.  
After spending the better part of two years teaching her the ways of the Mother he could understand why Hisao-hanshi had always seemed so tired, but finally the Mother has said to prepare for the trial of blood, while less risky than the blood-curse that had been used on him it still carried risks and the rituals in preparing for it was rather elaborate, weeks of seclusion, purification and meditation.  
It was two days left to the new moon and the beginning of the trial when the wolf-sentinels that roamed the territory alerted him that a stranger had entered their territory and was approaching the entrance to the caves.  
Takeshi went out to meet the intruder, he had to make sure there was no interruptions or interference to the trial.  
But when he found the intruder it was not what he had expected, it was a petite young woman, maybe 20-25 years old with dark ebony skin and tiny braids decorated with bone beads cascading down her back, reaching well below her knees.  
The black hair glinting with blue reflexes in the slight moonlight.  
Golden eyes with slit pupils only acted as confirmation to what he was feeling, she was blessed not just by the Mother, but by the Moon.  
As he was about to speak she bowed her head and addressed him.  
“Chosen one, I am Sarisha, last of the Sabre-tribe, Blessed by Mother and Moon and I have been summoned by the Mother to administer the Trial of Blood.”  
Takeshi nodded and slowly shifted into the form of the wolf before addressing her.  
_“I am Takeshi, Kage of the Kiryu, wielder of Kiryu-no-Ryuken, chosen of Mother and Moon. As I reveal myself under the moon so will you!”_  
It was all rituals and tradition, he did not mind.  
The woman, Sarisha, nodded and began to shift, short black fur began to cover her body and in the light of the moon the markings of a leopard faintly reflected.  
As her teeth grew into long, slightly curved fangs it became obvious that the tribe she had mentioned, the _Sabre_ referred to the sabre-toothed cats of ancient times.  
Though she was obviously a hybrid as she lacked the stocky build of the sabre-toothed cats and her fangs also reflected this with their slender appearance.  
He mentally nodded and welcomed her into the den and the Sanctuary of the Mother before shifting back and stepping inside.  
Once they reached the main part of the den Sarisha had asked to bathe before joining Kasumi in the sanctuary.

On the night of the new moon Sarisha had tried to make Takeshi leave the sanctuary and only the intervention of the Mother had made her relent and allow him to be present for the trial.  
He noted both similarities and differences in the rituals for the trial and the rituals for the curse used on him, the herbs used were the same, blood was mixed into the herbal draught, what was different was that for him there had been large amounts of Amarok's blood while for Kasumi there was only a few drops of blood, both hers and Sarisha's.  
The main difference was that where he had ingested the mixture this mixture was poured into a shallow hole in the ground next to the soul-tree and a crystal seed dropped into it before covering it, moments later a single vine grew from the seed and soon it held one of the small starfruit vials, but unlike the one he had picked for Shani this one was a deep blood red and the glow radiated the power of pure life.  
Sarisha picked the vial from the vine and as she did the voice of the Mother chimed in the flowers of the wisteria.  
**“Chosen one, come, grant your blood to the blessed vine.”  
** Takeshi did as She asked of him, drawing his palm over the the edge of his Ryuken he allowed the blood to fall to the ground, painting the twisted stem and roots of the vine in red.  
As the crystalline plant greedily absorbed the blood a second fruit grew, this time a shimmering white opal that made him think of the arctic winter.  
**“Take it and infuse it with your soul.”  
** Carefully picking the fruit he reached within and wrapped the vial in his Qi, slowly pushing it into the liquid within, as the energy settled the opaline crystal began to emit a pale blue glow and a pleased note could be felt more than heard from the old tree.  
Sarisha handed her vial to Kasumi and nodded for her to drink its contents, once the vial was emptied she nodded for Takeshi to do the same and soon both vials were empty and Kasumi fell into a deep sleep in the soft moss covering the ground under the tree.  
**“It is done, now she will rest here in the inner sanctuary and on the night of the full moon she will either perish, or awaken as one of the Blessed. And I am sorry my chosen, but until the full moon rises your presence will not be permitted.”**  
Takeshi gave a slight bow as he and Sarisha exited the annex and the moment they stepped outside the entrance sealed up behind them, thick vines covering it completely.  
“She is strong, I have no doubt she will awaken as one of us.”  
He could feel Sarisha's hand on his shoulder as she spoke, offering what support she was able to.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Paths_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

By his guess it was around midnight when a careful knock on the small bone plate that hung by the entrance to the cavern that he had made his “room” interrupted his meditation, reaching out with his senses he could feel Sarisha standing there, her scent, thick with embarrassment and apprehension awoke his curiosity and made him wonder what brought her to his room.  
After a few moments he called for her to enter and as she did his jaw nearly dropped as she stood before him as bare as the day she was born.  
She walked up to the fur covered shelf that served as his bed and knelt down in front of him, her eyes were still downcast as she spoke up.  
“Chosen one, as the last of the Saber-tribe I come before you to ask a great favor. Will you hear my plea?”  
She sat silently waiting for his response and he found himself wondering just what kind of favor would bring this kind of behavior.  
“Speak.”  
He gave her a slight nod when she raised her head to look at him.  
“As I have told you I am the last of the Sabers, the blood has been lost and even in me it is faint.”  
He nodded for her to continue.  
“Since my birth the elders have searched for a suitable mate, but none has been found, no one that carried the blood needed, for I alone can not continue the bloodline, unless a mate can be found to strengthen my blood the blood of my children will not be strong enough to carry the form of the Sabre-cat.”  
As her voice carried of into nervous ramblings Takeshi began to suspect what she would ask of him and he would be lying to himself if he said he was not willing to grant her favor if it was indeed what he suspected.  
“Calm yourself and ask what you came to ask.”  
He fought to suppress a smirk as her scent spiked with nervousness.  
“You are the Chosen, the Mother has given your blood the strength of all her children. If you...” Her voice trailed of and she shook her head and steeled herself before speaking up again.  
“If you were to sire a child by me that child would be a true, full-blooded Saber. Able to carry on the bloodline to its own offspring. So I offer my body to you, hoping for a fruitful joining.”  
Her words carried the tone of ritual formality and she fidgeted slightly as she waited for his response, carefully watching him, trying to gauge his reaction.  
Takeshi leaned back against the cave wall, bringing forth the Ryuken he placed it across his legs and closed his eyes as he considered Sarisha's request, and offer.  
She was a beautiful young woman and he had not had the opportunity for that kind of intimacy for several years so it was a very tempting offer, but he had doubts, concerns that she might not be entirely willing, merely acting out of obligation and duty.  
Taking a deep breath he wrapped her in his Qi to ensure that he would sense any falsehood or hesitation before voicing his concern.  
“I know the weight of duty, and this is not something that should be done out of obligation. So answer me honestly, do you truly wish to offer yourself to me, out of desire, not obligation?”  
He could feel her emotions shifting through her aura before settling on determination tainted by embarrassment as she began to shift into her beast-form.  
_“The Blessing allows for no falsehood as one soul speaks to another. It is true that obligation motivates me to offer what I would not have otherwise, but it is also true that my reasons for not offering it would not be a lack of desire.”_  
Her voice was light, like a silver bell in his mind and he knew her words to be true.  
“Then come, let's bring the Sabers back to life.”  
He beckoned her with a smirk and as she climbed into the furs her scent spiked with a heady spice that instincts knew to be desire.

As the days passed it quickly became obvious that their joinings bore fruit and Takeshi learned that females blessed by the Moon not only shared gestation period with their animal forms but also tended to bear _litters_ if they did.  
Sarisha was already showing her pregnancy and the tiny life-flames told him that she was carrying triplets, twin boys and a girl.

 


	18. Rebirth

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Rebirth_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As the eve of the full moon came Takeshi and Sarisha walked down the tunnels leading to the Sanctuary and Takeshi could not help but to worry.  
Kasumi was strong, but strength was not the only thing needed to survive this trial, and though less risky than his own blood-curse there was still a very real risk that she might not awaken.  
When they entered the inner sanctuary the sight of Kasumi made him pause for a moment, during the past 16 days she had changed, as if someone had turned back time.  
She looked just like how he remembered her that fateful day when it all had started, when they had celebrated her 20th birthday in Miami.  
Her hair that would normally end mid back now curled around her ankles and the previously rather flat, black color had deepened and taken on a slightly blueish tint.  
Sarisha walked over to Kasumi and carefully turned her over and after a quick inspection she turned to Takeshi.  
“I believe she will wake soon, these changes would not have manifested if she had failed the trial.”  
Takeshi took a seat under the wisteria, his back leaning against the gnarled, twisted trunk and carefully pulled Kasumi into his lap to wait for her to awaken.  
As he looked at her he could see her features shifting subtlety, her cheekbones became slightly sharper and her lashes grew longer.  
Nails became more claw-like and took on a silvery hue with purple tint and the slight shift of her jaw and lips told him that her teeth was changing into a more fanged appearance.

Kasumi groaned as a rhythmical pounding sound drew her from her sleep and an overpowering floral scent invaded her senses, but below it she could smell the spicy musk and warm woods that she knew to be Takeshi.  
Opening her eyes caused instant regret as the light blinded her and she quickly covered her eyes with her hands and tried to sit up straight, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her and held her still.  
_“Easy nee-chan, remember, it takes a while to get used to the new senses. Don't try to speak out loud yet.”  
_ Strong but gentle hands carefully moved her hands from her face and cradled her head, covering her ears. _  
“Start with your hearing, listen to the sound of our hearts, our breathing. Focus on the sounds and push them to the back of your mind, like turning down the volume on the speakers.”  
_ Kasumi was suddenly very grateful for the silent communication as she realized that the loud pounding she was hearing was actually hers and Takeshi's heartbeats and that the slightly fainter one must be Sarisha.  
He had told her about the stronger senses but she had not realized that it would be this loud, this bright and that even the subtle scents of the Sanctuary burned her nose and made her want to sneeze.  
_“Everything is so loud, overwhelming.”_  
Her thoughts carried a pleading tone and Takeshi wrapped his aura around her to help her focus and block out everything else.  
_“Ssh, ochitsuite. Focus on our heartbeats, remember when Hisao-hanshi taught us how to synchronize our pulse and breathing.”  
_ As Takeshi held on to Kasumi he could feel her pulse slowing down and matching his own.  
_“Good, now listen to the sounds of our hearts, our breath, push them to the back of your mind, make them fade away.”_  
After a while he could feel her relax and she slowly nodded.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Rebirth_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 I took several hours before Kasumi was able to speak and move around without becoming overwhelmed by the intensity of her new senses and Takeshi had inspected, and teased, her much in the same was as Amarok had done to him when he first awoke from his own rebirth. He found that Kasumi had adopted more feline aspects and her first transformation had revealed a large, but slender, black cat.  
Unlike his wolf form her form showed clear signs of being a hybrid, showing traits from cheetah, jaguar, leopard and cougar in her slender form and solid black coloring, and the slender fangs was longer than any of the great cats, much to Sarisha's delight as it proved that the trial of blood had passed the Saber-blood onto Kasumi, effectively making her one of the Saber-tribe.

“You both truly are a blessing to us, not only have you sired a new generation of true Sabers, but the trial has blessed us with another fertile female.”  
Sarisha was all but glowing in her joy over the events of the past few weeks.  
**“Nani!?”**  
Kasumi spun around and looked at them with wide eyes.  
“You slept with him?”  
She asked Sarisha while pointing rather rudely at Takeshi and without waiting for a reply she turned on him.  
“You knocked her up?”  
Both Takeshi and Sarisha nodded with a smile, though Takeshi's was more of a smirk if anything .  
“I don't believe it, here I go away for two weeks and when I get back they tell me I'm gonna be an aunt.”  
Kasumi was ranting to herself while pacing back and forth, suddenly she stopped with a wide grin,  
“I'm gonna be an aunt!”  
She cried as she threw herself around Takeshi's neck before suddenly stepping back and slapping him, hard, with her new strength it was enough to knock him to the ground and he looked up to to find himself face to face with a furious snarling face, part human, part saber-toothed cat.  
“ **Hentai!** What the hell are you thinking! She is much too young!”  
Her claws was digging deep wounds in his shoulders and fangs were snapping at his face, but the feeling he was getting through the bond was not rage or even anger but fear bordering on panic and he realized she must be going through something similar to what he did, losing control to the new power inside her.  
“Get back, she is losing herself!”  
He warned Sarisha as he shifted halfway and knocked Kasumi over, quickly using his bulk and strength to keep her down.  
_“Gomen...”_  
A silent plea for forgiveness was all he gave before using the bond to force his way into Kasumi's mind and instantly the struggle ceased.

Takeshi found Kasumi's mindscape in turmoil, the usually tranquil Japanese garden was being savagely torn at by a raging storm.  
The dark clouds covered the stars and moon, the only light came from the frequent lightning-bolts cutting across the scene, but even they were tainted with darkness.  
In the distance he could see an enormous black cat trying to tear down the pagoda in the center of the garden and as it got closer the lightning intensified and seemed to drive it back for a moment.  
Suddenly he wanted to slap himself.  
The sudden darkness, the raging storm, it was the manifestation of Arashi and Kuragari, Kasumi's twin wakizashi and they were indeed trying to protect the pagoda from the beast.  
_“Kiryu-sama.”  
_ He called for the dragon as he began moving towards the pagoda, his aura began to flare around him as he released the seals that bound it, if Arashi and Kuragari did not recognize him their energies would lash out against him as well.  
As he drew the Ryuken he could feel Kiryu manifest behind him.  
_**“Easy there whelp, the beast must be subdued without harming it, any harm done to it is done to Kasumi as well.”**_  
The dragon cautioned him as he moved closer with his blade drawn.  
_“I know, but I will_ _ **not**_ _see her consumed by that beast, I would rather she died by my hand than suffer that fate!”  
_ The dragon huffed as she placed a clawed hand on his shoulder.  
_**“Easy, you are not thinking clearly. That beast is just like your own, a manifestation of your dark impulses and the power you have been given. You are still thinking as Takeshi, Kage to Kasumi Kiryu. That is not all you are, you need to think as Takeshi, the one chosen by The Mother. Fight fire with fire, whelp!”**_  
Takeshi paused for a moment to consider Kiryu's words and suddenly he understood.  
The blessed had a strict hierarchy of dominance and submission, challenges of power determined who became dominant and who would submit and accept the stronger as their leader.  
If he used his own beast to challenge Kasumi's beast and force it to submit it would obey his commands, at least for a while before trying to challenge him again.  
_“Domo, Kiryu-sama”_  
Reaching into himself he pushed some of his Qi against the seals that kept the beast locked up and steeled himself as the primal force poured out from his soul and into Kasumi's mindscape.  
Turning towards the shadowy beast he wrapped it in his Qi, forcing it to look at him.  
“Subdue it and make it submit, but try not to cause undue harm as it is linked to my sister and make sure that building is not damaged.”  
The beast looked at him for a moment before it nodded and he could feel its agreement, tho it had proven itself capable of speech it rarely ever spoke.  
As the beast charged its counterpart, knocking it over and away from the pagoda, Takeshi ran toward the small building and the life-flame he could clearly see inside.  
As he entered he found Kasumi cowering behind the small shrine at the back and as she noticed him enter she threw herself around his neck.  
“ **Yokatta!** What the hell is that thing? How can it be here, in my mindscape?”  
There was both relief and panic in her voice, but that was understandable, nothing was supposed to be able to enter ones mindscape, he was only able to do so because of the bond they shared as dantai.  
“Easy, calm, focus on your breathing.”  
Once her breath slowed down and she focused he began explaining what was happening.  
“It's a manifestation of the darker side of the blessing, it seems it only manifests in rare cases, in those that already possess powers beyond those of a normal person.”  
Takeshi paused with a growl as a searing pain tore through his shoulder, looking outside he spotted his beast getting up with blood pouring from a smoldering wound on its shoulder.  
He knew this feeling though, it was the energy of Arashi, his beast must have been struck by the lightning generated by Kasumi's weapon.  
“Kasumi, you need to recall Arashi and Kuragari, they can't recognize that the beast is a part of me and they are striking indiscriminately.”  
Another strike forced him to his knees and he turned to Kasumi with a snarl.  
“Now Kasumi! Any damage done to those beasts is damage done to us!”  
With a gasp she ran to the doorway and raised her hands, calling out to her blades they began to take form in her hands and the raging storm abated, but the beasts continued their battle with renewed vigor.  
And then, as suddenly as it had started it was over, his beast standing over its opponent, fangs covering its neck and a deep growl demanding submission.

When he withdrew from Kasumi's mindscape he was greeted by a very worried Sarisha as well as Amarok and a few of the wolves.  
“See girl, I told you they would be fine. The Chosen possessed power beyond most blessed even as he was dropped on my doorstep, even as his soul was well on its way back to The Mother”  
Amarok turned and looked at Kasumi's still sleeping form.  
“I am curious however as to why she developed a beast as well, the Trial of Blood should not have caused something like that to happened.”  
A deep exhale from Takeshi drew the attention back to him before he spoke in response to Amarok's query.  
“It's nothing with the rituals causing it, it never was. It is our weapons that is the cause.”  
To emphasize his words Takeshi drew his blade out of the air in front of him and placed it in his lap.  
“This is Kiryu no Ryuken, Dragon-blade of the Kiryu and Kiryu-sama is the Ryujin of the Shadow-flame. And although she is referred to as a Ryujin, dragon-god, she is in fact not entirely dragon, her mother was a dragon, her father a shadow, one of the oldest species of elemental demons.”  
As Amarok and Sarisha sat down in front of him he lifted the Ryuken and summoned its power setting it aflame with the black flames of the dragon.  
“This blade is forged from the very body of Kiryu-sama, her bones, scales, claws and fangs, using her blood and flames they bonded with brightmetal, demonic silver, one of the few metals that can harm all forms of demonic creatures, including lesser gods.”  
Takeshi drew his hand along the razor-sharp edge, cutting into his palm and painting the blade with his blood.  
“The blade carries a small part of its creators demonic spirit within, together they choose the wielder and once chosen the spirit of the blade merges with the very soul of its wielder. This taint of demon spirit when exposed to the pure life-force that is The Mother and the pure power of transformation that is The Moon created something new, a creature of darkness and pure instinct.”  
Holding the blade in front of him he called the flames again, burning away the blood before sheathing the blade back into nothingness and looking at the two in front of him.  
“But Isso..”  
Amarok started and then paused for a moment before continuing.  
“Isso, that explains why a beast formed within you, but that does not explain your sister.”  
Takeshi turned to Kasumi's sleeping form and carefully drew her blades from her soul, growling low as their energies crackled and burned his hands before he placed them on her torso and the blades settled down.  
“She has not drawn her blades since coming here, but she too wields demonic blades. They are Arashi and Kuragari, Storm and Darkness. “  
With a deep breath he began to tell the legend of the blades.

There was once two powerful demons that courted the same female, as a true Lilim, a daughter born of Lilith, she was a highly sought after bride and to gain her favor they each forged a soul-blade for her.  
Arashi, forged by a Tempest it holds the aspects of wind and lightning.  
Kuragari, forged by a Shadow it holds the aspects of darkness.  
In the end she took them both as mates and the blades became twins.

Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths he continued.  
“I'm not sure though the exact aspect that causes it, if any form of demonic weapon or taint would cause it, or if it is linked specifically to the shadow aspect since both Kasumi's Kuragari and my Kiryu no Ryuken carries that aspect, and the beasts do carry many similarities with lesser shadow-demons.”  
Amarok nodded and lost himself in thought while Sarisha chose to speak up.  
“Have you asked The Mother about this?”  
“I have, many times. But She tells me that some answers lie beyond even her realm and that I will have to find them myself.”  
With that Takeshi dismissed her and turned to Kasumi, touching her blades he dismissed them back to her soul before picking her up and carrying her to her room.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Rebirth_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Aniki..?”  
Kasumi's head hurt and she felt weaker than she had ever before, her senses were muddled and she could not pinpoint Takeshi's presence.  
Takeshi was roused from his meditation by Kasumi's voice calling for him, carrying a hint of confusion and fear.  
“Easy sleepyhead, I am right here.”  
He pulled in his aura that had been blanketing Kasumi while she slept as he got up and moved over to sit on her pallet.  
“It's okay, you are safe.”  
He helped her sit and pushed some of his aura through the bond to help alleviate the pain that was pulsing through the connection.  
“What was that? I thought the trial was supposed to be safer, that those beasts could only be created by the blood-curse.”  
As expected Kasumi wanted answers and with a deep breath he told her what she needed to know.  
“That's what we believed, turns out it had nothing to do with the how, it's all about the who. We gained those beasts because our souls carry a demonic taint from our blades. The pure life-force of the Blessing somehow caused that tainted spark to come alive. As far as I can tell the taint has become lesser shadow-demons. Primal, driven by instinct and dark emotions. We will always have to work on controlling them or they will be able to control us. The stronger we grow the stronger they will grow.”  
Takeshi picked Kasumi up and shifted on her pallet so he was sitting at the head-end, leaning against the cave wall he pulled her into his lap.  
“Sleep now, I will help you recover. Tomorrow we start the real training”.

 


	19. The Promise

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Promise_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 **Alaska July 14 2035**  


Two shadows stalked through the underbrush, slowly creeping up on the unsuspecting moose, a sudden rush of activity and one life was extinguished to sustain another.  
_“Aniki, you stole the kill again.”  
_ Her thoughts held a distinct tone of a pout.  
_“Only because you are such a slowpoke Sis, you need to make better use of those claws of yours. Not to mention those oversized daggers you got stuck in your maw.”_  
Powerful jaws clamped down and pulled the carcass to a nearby clearing and onto the travois that waited there before he shimmied into the harness and began to pull it towards the den.

“Isso, Kasumi, welcome back!”  
Amarok called out with a smile as they returned to the den with their prey, he quickly grabbed the harness from Takeshi and pulled the sled to the side and began to prepare the large bull for the feast.  
It was Kasumi's 40th birthday and Takeshi had made some plans for the evening, a large fire-pit had been dug the previous day and dressed with stones, a fire had been burning all day and all night to heat the stones and produce a good coal bed for the cooking.  
Amarok quickly gutted and skinned the carcass, taking care of everything that could be used. Various cuts of meat were wrapped in herbs and grass before being loaded into the fire-pit and the pit covered with heavy hides and sand, at the top of the pit fish and various vegetables that requires shorter cooking were piled.  
As the food was almost ready Takeshi went into the sanctuary to fetch the drinks. During his first year Amarok had taught him how to brew a simple mead from honey and wild yeasts and since he had made his own variations using various herbs, fruits and berries as well as wild grains and roots.  
They could easily have gone to Fairbanks to buy things but this was their last night at the sanctuary, come Monday they would be leaving for “civilization” so they had decided to have a more traditional party, entirely of the land.

He had been living with Amarok and the pack for a little over 10 years and it was now time to fulfill his promises, first out would be his promise to Maria, to make sure her daughter knew the truth of her mother.  
With the help of Matthews he had located her and found that her grandparents had adopted her as far as the information they found went she believed them to be her birth-parents.  
As her 20th birthday was coming up at the 28th, an age where she by the Kiryu standards would be considered fully adult,Takeshi figured it was as good a time as any to find her and tell her the truth.  
So they would be leaving for Seattle where they would stash the Blackout, obtain new identities, make hotel reservations and then continue to Gothenburg on a commercial flight.  
“Aniki? What's taking so long?”  
Kasumi's voice calling from the entrance of the Sanctuary brought him out of his musings and he quickly gathered up the bottles from the pool where they had been stored to keep them cold.  
“Coming, just grabbing the drinks.”  
He called back as he started walking toward the tunnel.  
“Hmph, and you call me a slowpoke.”  
She teased as she grabbed a few of the bottles from his arms and began walking back toward the cave exit and the waiting feast.  


 

 **Gothenburg, Sweden July 19 2035**  


Clear blue skies with the occasional white cloud greeted them as the plane touched down in Gothenburg and they decided to have a courier bring their luggage to the hotel and walk there themselves, enjoying the weather and the ocean breeze, since combustion engines had been banned within the city limits 8 years ago unless with a special, very expensive permit, the air was now clean and crisp and the gentle scent of the ocean could be sensed even in the central parts of the city.  
After a few hours wandering around the city they went to the hotel to get some rest and make plans for confronting Maria's daughter, Emelie Eriksson.  
They knew where she lived and thanks to various social media sites they had recent pictures so they knew what to look for, but Takeshi was still unsure how to approach her, it was no easy thing to tell someone a thing like this.  
Takeshi spent the better part of a week stalking, studying, learning everything he could about her and her grandparents before approaching her.  


 

 **July 26 2035**  


“Emelie? Emelie Eriksson?”  
He called out as he approached the young woman sitting on the bench.  
She looked up with a smile and looked slightly surprised for a moment before responding.  
“Vem undrar?”  
His Swedish was horrible but he recalled enough of what Maria had taught him to know she had asked who he was.  
“I am Takeshi Kiryu but you can call me Take, and I have something important I need to talk to you about, about your family.”  
She looked startled for a moment before continuing in English,  
“I don't know you so how do you know me?”  
Suspicion obvious in her voice and posture and a distinct scent of worry filled the air around them.  
“Is there a café or restaurant nearby where we can talk a bit more privately?”  
He knew of course there was the perfect place just a block away, a place where she went nearly every day and he was hoping she would suggest it as the familiar place would make her feel safer and make this easier.  
She was silent for a while as she was thinking about it, Takeshi guessed she was trying to decide if he could be trusted or not.  
“I understand that you are hesitant to trust me since you don't know me, If you prefer we can talk here, but what I have to say is of a rather personal nature so somewhere a bit more private would be preferred.”  
A few more moments of silence and then she pointed toward the café  
“There's a café about a block away that way, we could go there.”  
Takeshi nodded and gestured for her to show the way and she began walking but then stopped for a moment before adding over her shoulder,  
“And by the way, you're buying”  
“Hai Hai...”  
His response caused her to turn with a puzzled look  
“Ah sorry, I tend to slip back to Japanese on occasion. Yes, of course I will take the bill.”  
He quickly explained.  
“How is that? Your name is Japanese and you apparently speak Japanese but you don't look very Japanese?”  
Of all the things she could have asked this was one question he was not prepared for and it made him laugh.  
“Simple, I'm adopted. I was born in LA but my parents were killed in an accident and I was adopted by a Japanese couple who took me to Okinawa and raised me as their own.”  
“Odd, I thought the US banned international adoptions back in 2006, pretty sure I read about it in school.”  
“Lets just say I look pretty damn good for my age.”  
He retorted with a smirk as he held open the café door for her.

After ordering a light meal they sat down at a secluded table in a small inner yard at the back of the café.  
“So, what is it you need to tell me that's so important?”  
She was blunt and straight to the point, much like her mother had been.  
“First of, how much do you know about your family?”  
He had to find out if they had told her anything about her birth mother or anything about what had really happened when Maria was forced into GCTI service.  
She hesitated for a while, poking at her food before deciding to trust him  
“Well, it's me, my mom Anneli, and my dad Stefan. I have a sister, Maria, somewhere but no one knows if she's even alive anymore. Mom had her when she was very young and I came a lot later, apparently she couldn't handle getting a sister at 22 so she stole all the money and jewelry in the house and took of with dad's car, no one has heard from her after that.”  
It took everything Takeshi had to maintain his fully human form and not to growl when he heard the lies her grandparents had told her.  
“What I have to tell will not be easy hear but I want you to listen without interrupting and I'm telling you beforehand that I have the proof to support what I'm about to tell you.”  
He took the tablet out of his bag and placed it between them on the table.  
“And for what it's worth, I am truly sorry about this.”  
There really was no way to say this gently so he decided to be blunt and handle the fallout once he was done.  
“Maria is dead, she was murdered 10 years ago. But she was not your sister, she was your mother.”  
At this Emelie was about to voice her protest but he interrupted her  
“Please, let me finish.”  
She backed down but was glaring at him as he continued.  
“It is true that Maria was a thief, and a damn good one. But she did not steal from your grandparents. That skill however is why she had to leave, the GCTI became interested in her and wanted to recruit her but she was refusing them, when you were born they used you to blackmail her into joining. Your grandparents adopted you and moved from Stockholm to Gothenburg and it seems they never told anyone you were adopted.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath to steady himself, it was harder than he had thought to tell this story.  
“I had been recruited much the same way and met her during training, as time went on she became a good friend and a member of my team, 10 years ago we were sent on a mission in Alaska but it was a trap, we had become to good and the GCTI feared what they had created and decided to kill us. They set us up and the rest of the team was killed, your mother begged me with her dying breath, made me promise to find you and make sure you knew the truth.”  
“Wait.”  
This time he did not stop her but let her ask what was on her mind.  
“If she died 10 years ago then why are you here now? Why didn't you come earlier?”  
This was questions he had expected and he gave her the answers she was seeking.  
“I also promised her to make sure you were safe, and seeking you out before I was sure the GCTI truly believed us to be dead would put you at risk. There was also a threat against my family that I had to keep in mind.”  
As he spoke Emelie reached for the tablet and began reading through the documents on it, all the dirty little secrets, all the lies that had been told.  
Once she was done reading she put it down and sat in silence for a long time, he could feel the turmoil in her aura and he reached out with his own, wrapping it around her to offer what comfort he could while she tried to digest what she had found out.  
Half an hour later he could feel her aura shift into determination and she looked up at him.  
“I need to talk to them, ask what they have to say, confront them with the evidence you brought. Will you come with me? I don't think I can do it on my own.”  
She looked so fragile sitting there, he could smell the unshed tears and pain, but he could also feel the same strength and determination her mother had always carried.  
“Of course I will, whatever you need, I will do whatever I can to help, I promised I would protect you and I intend to keep that promise to the best of my ability.”  
They left the café and took a tram to the suburb where her grandparents lived.  
As Emelie confronted her 'parents' with the truth Takeshi stood back at the doorway, waiting, watching, listening to them trying to maintain the lie, even when she showed the evidence they kept denying it, kept telling lies about Maria and he was about to lose control when Emelie did and demanded they proved to her that they were really her parents by submitting to a DNA test, their adamant refusal to do so telling her all she needed to know and she told them so before storming out and Takeshi followed her to a small copse of trees behind the house.  
As she sat down on a large rock he could smell her tears finally falling and he sat down next to her, offering his support should she want it and as she leaned into him he realized just how small she was, she had her mother's shapes and blonde hair, her eyes more of a greenish blue rather than her mother's sky-blue hue, but where Maria had been tall Emelie was petite and as her crying became more desperate he lifted her into his lap and found that she fit easily into his lap and there, shielded by his arms and his aura the pain of betrayal and loss poured from her very soul.  


 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Promise_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 

It was a while since the sun had set when Emelie began to stir in his lap where she had fallen asleep from exhaustion, she looked disoriented for a moment before the day's events came back to her and she groaned.  
“I need somewhere to sleep, I can't go back in there. Could you take me back into the city and help me find a cheap hotel for the night?”  
“Of course, but might I make a suggestion? My sister and I have a large suite at one of the hotels by the coast, you can stay the night with us and then we can worry about what to do in the morning.”  
He offered and hoped that she would accept, he wanted to keep an eye on her and it would be easier if she was at their hotel than if he had to hide and watch her from the shadows.  
“Hmm, maybe it would be a good idea not to be alone tonight. I guess I could if it is okay with you and your sister.”  
“It's settled then. Is there anything you want from your house before we go?”  
“My tablet, but I'm not going to go in there to get it, I'm so **not** ready for that.”  
She sighed, her emotional exhaustion clear in her voice.  
“I can get it for you, it's in your room, right?”  
“Yeah, it is. But how are you going to get in without them noticing, I'm sure they armed the security system by now and I would bet they have already locked my code out, dad, em, grandpa, is really big on sec...”  
Whatever she was going to say next was lost as she squealed when Takeshi suddenly stood up, bringing her with him before setting her back down on the rock.  
“Don't worry about that, there is a reason after all why GCTI forced me into their service, and I did learn quite a few things about breaking into places from your mother and one of the other members of my unit was very good with electronic security. Trust me, they won't know I was there.”  
He dropped his jacket over her shoulders before slipping away into the dark night.  
The Sayuri burned as he tapped into Daniels's computer skills to bypass the electronic surveillance system and after a moment's consideration he also placed a back door into the system, it would allow him to remotely access their home network and computers.  
Once the system was offline it only took a few moments to get into Emelie's room and grab her tablet, he also grabbed one of her jackets from the wardrobe, it could get chilly on the way to the hotel.

Emelie jumped slightly and cursed at him in Swedish when he suddenly appeared in front of her and handed her her tablet and the jacket.  
“Thanks, I didn't even think of that.”  
She handed his jacket back and wrapped herself in her own before suddenly blushing as her body loudly reminded them that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and even then she had barely touched her food.  
“How about we find you something to eat first?”  
He smiled as she sputtered before finding her voice, and the proper language.  
“You are horrible, you know that?”  
His only response was to reach out his hand with a smirk and she took it while shaking her head at him and he pulled her up from the rock.  
She followed him toward the tram stop and they sat in silence waiting for the next tram back into the inner city.  
As they walked up to the steakhouse that Takeshi had found a few days prior Emelie suddenly hesitated.  
“This place? Are you sure? It's like super expensive.”  
“Don't worry about the cost, My wallet can handle it. And unless you feel like fast-food, and quite frankly, I rather not, there isn't much to choose from at this hour.”  
Takeshi had tried the place a few days earlier after hearing that it supposedly served good quality meat and that there was no problem getting it cooked to taste, even if you wanted it served blue, or even tartar.  
He found it to be beyond expectations and when he asked to thank his chef in person for a meal perfectly done he found, much to his amusement, that the head chef was a lycan, one of many variants of shapeshifters blessed by the moon.  
Once they had been seated and given the menu he noticed Emelie glancing at the price listings for every item in there and he quickly grabbed it from her hands, took out the paper insert and folded it to hide the prices and tucked the paper back before giving it back to her.  
“Order whatever you want, don't even think about the price.”  
She sighed and went ahead and ordered her food, she looked a bit surprised when Takeshi asked her if she was alright with him eating his meal tartar.  
“Why wouldn't I be? It's you eating it, not me.”  
With that he made his order and while they ate he answered whatever questions Emelie had, about him, her mother, about the GCTI.  


 

Another tram ride and a short walk later they found themselves at the hotel where Takeshi and Kasumi were staying.  
“So this is the daughter? She looks like her mother, but I must say, she is smaller than I thought she would be.”  
Kasumi's voice greeted them in the reception area as she came over to greet them.  
Giving Emelie a hug she whispered assurances to her, telling her that Takeshi would find a way to make it all right in the end, that he would do anything in his power to keep his promise.

 


	20. Coming of Age

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Coming of Age_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They spent the rest of the night talking and crying, cursing and laughing as Takeshi told Emelie various stories about her mother, the unit and all the crazy stuff they had been through.  
They sat on the balcony and watched the sun rise, they watched as a few small fishing vessels left the nearby harbor.  
In the end Emelie had fallen asleep in his lap again and he carried her into the smaller of the two bedrooms connected to their suite before taking a seat in the sofa in the main area, meditating and waiting for her to wake.

In the afternoon they found themselves walking around the city as Emelie showed them the hidden sights that only the locals knew about.  
But their day was cut short as she received an email from her grandparents, it was short and to the point, telling her that her things had been moved to a storage unit in her name with one month fee paid and for her not to contact them again.  
They had disowned her.  
In the end Takeshi had been forced to use his ability to force his will onto others in order to calm her down so they could get her back to the hotel.  
Takeshi then spent the better part of the afternoon and the entire evening once again holding her as she cried, wrapping her in his Qi to soothe her, to keep her mind and soul from shattering under the weight of her pain and he swore then that unless she directly told him not to he would make sure her grandparents paid.  
Paid for the lies they had told and for turning their backs on her when she needed them.

As she finally calmed a bit and fell into a fitful sleep he kept her in his lap, putting all his focus into soothing her pain.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Coming of Age_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“How are you feeling?”  
Takeshi asked her as he placed a plate of eggs on toast in front of her.  
“It's my birthday and I refuse let all this ruin it.”  
She said between bites as she wolfed down her breakfast.  
“I am going to get dressed, go to town and pick up my clothes from the shop and get ready. I'm gonna meet my friends at Liseberg and have one hell of a time. And then you are going to find some decent place to take me to dinner since my pare, my **grand** parents have canceled the reservation we had.”  
“Sounds like a plan, anything in particular you want to eat?”  
He asked with a laugh.  
“Well, it might sound silly to you, but we were going to have sushi at this tiny place out on one of the islands, they are known for two things, their fresh seafood and their sushi. Their chef is a real Sushi-master from Japan, Matsui something.”  
The name of _Matsui_ made Takeshi look up with a slight start .  
“Wait, did you say Matsui, **Hiro** Matsui?”  
She looked confused for a moment before picking up her tab.  
“I don't know, I'll check.”  
She quickly brought up a webpage and showed him.  
“Yeah, Hiro Matsui. How did you know?”  
“ **Kasumi!** ”  
He called out for his sister before focusing back on Emelie.  
“I think we can help you get that sushi after all. The Matsui family has a close relationship to the Kiryu family.”  
“What's going on?”  
Kasumi asked as she entered the room.  
Takeshi handed her the tab,  
“I need you to call this place and hire their sushi-master for tonight.”  
“Hey, isn't this Matsui-bucho's nephew?”  
“It is, that's why I'm leaving this to you. **They** canceled the reservations for her birthday dinner, reservations at Matsui-sensei's restaurant.”  
“Okay, I'll see to it. I heard she is going out with her friends today, so what will you be doing, brother?”  
Before Takeshi got a chance to answer her Emelie spoke up.  
“He's coming with me. I am soo having a date for my birthday this year.”  
Giving him a once over she tapped her chin for a moment.  
“I hope you have something in your wardrobe that looks less “runaway lawyer” and more “hot stuff” or you're coming with me shopping”  
Kasumi laughed, and Takeshi groaned.

After being dragged through various stores Takeshi found himself wearing something he could have been seen in back when he was with GCTI.  
Military style cargo-pants with a dark black camo pattern and a tightly fitted sleeveless V-neck, boots and a jacket matching the pants.  
Emelie seemed to be determined to show of his size and build as best as she could.  
And based on how heads were turning and the whispered comments as they waited outside Liseberg for her friends to arrive she had managed pretty well.  
Combined with her asymmetric halterneck dress showing of her shapes and the sheer difference in size between them they made quite an image.  
As her friends arrived he had to resist the urge to wince at the volume and pitch of their greetings, he picked up a few words here and there and based on the looks they were giving him and the blush on Emelie's face he had a few guesses as to what they were saying.  
He could tell that she told them he didn't speak Swedish and moment later one of the pushier females turned to him and blurted out,  
“So have you guys done it yet?”  
Emelie instantly turned beet red and began to splutter in an embarrassed outrage and Takeshi couldn't resist teasing her a bit.  
Leaning in he gave her a quick kiss to silence her and then turned to her friends with a smirk,  
“A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell”.  
Emelie finally snapped out of her stupor and slapped his arm with a rather impressive growl,  
“You. Are...”  
“Horrible? So you keep telling me, _sweetie_. But somehow I have a feeling you don't really mean that.”  
He interrupted her with a smile and she slumped against him with a frustrated sigh and a shake of her head that caused her friends to snicker at them.  
He gently nudged her towards the entrance and paid for tickets for himself and a ride-pass for Emelie as her annual pass was admittance only.  
And after a hard tug on his braid and a whisper that told him in no uncertain terms that he would be joining her on the rides he bought one for himself as well.

He was actually having quite a good time, this was the kind of thing he never had a chance to do while growing up and he did take the opportunity to enjoy himself, not only for his own sake though, but to ensure Emelie had a good time.  
Shortly after lunch Kasumi had called and told them that she had convinced Hiro to come and cook for them at the hotel later in the evening so now they were just having as much fun as they could manage until then.  
As they left the park Takeshi called for a taxi van to take them, and all the stuffed animals that Emelie had talked him into winning for her, back to the hotel.

When Hiro arrived at the hotel Takeshi took him aside to make sure he would not say anything about him still being alive before helping him carry his things up to the suite.  
After a long dinner that was equal parts, food, art and showmanship they retired to the balcony with their drinks.  
“Take, there is something I have been meaning to ask you.”  
Emelie hesitated as she spoke but seemed to steel herself as she continued,  
“You will be returning to Japan soon won't you? When you do, would it be possible for me to join you? I don't want to stay here anymore.”  
Takeshi looked at her silently, taking in her defeated look and decided to tell her the rest of the story and then let her choose, if she still wanted to come with them he would see to it.  
“We won't be going to Japan anytime soon, but we will be returning to the states, however there are a few things you need to know before making that choice, but if you still want that after I am done telling you what you need to know I will bring you with me.”  
“You have got to be **kidding** me, there is more to this?”  
Her wide eyed look made him smile as he eased her worries  
“Don't worry, this is not about you as much as it is about me, you need to know what you would be getting yourself into by following me, it would not be easy, I can't guarantee it would be safe.”  
Putting his drink down he moved to stand next to her by the railing of the balcony.  
“I promised your mother I would keep you safe but at the same time I can't keep you locked up, you need to be allowed to choose your own path.”  
And so he told her about _Fukushuu_ , the oath of vengeance, that he would be going up against the GCTI to avenge his unit and all those wronged in similar ways.  
He told her about his promise to make her grandparents pay for what they had done, for the lies. And finally he showed her what he had become in order to live, to be able to carry out his oath.

Takeshi watched her as she stood by the railing looking out over the water and the distant flashes of a thunderstorm building at sea.  
She had been standing there silently for several hours now but he was not worried, there was a calm to her aura that told him she was handling it well.  
If she needed time to think he would give her all the time she needed.  
He could hear the thunder now and smell ozone and rain on the winds as they began to pick up.  
As the skies opened he took the umbrella that Kasumi had given him and moved to stand behind Emelie, but he didn't resist when she pushed it aside and left them standing in the rain, watching the lightning cut across the night sky.  
When she stepped back and leaned against him he put his arms around her and wrapped his Qi around her, keeping her from becoming chilled.  
As the storm moved away inland she finally turned around and spoke.  
“I'll be coming with you. I never knew her but she was still my mom and like you said, she needs to be avenged, the honor of her memory restored. I don't understand this _Dantai_ , but I understand you were pretty close and that you need to do this. My grandparents however, they will pay, but they will pay by my hands not yours!”  
He looked into her eyes and saw the truth of her decision there and nodded.  
“As you wish.”  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Coming of Age_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The next morning Takeshi gave Emelie a necklace, a white tessen, war-fan, hung from a simple braided string.  
As she carefully folded and unfolded the tiny fan she suddenly looked up at him  
“What's it made from? It almost feels alive somehow.”  
“That's because it is.”  
He smiled wide and pointed to the missing canine in his upper jaw.  
“Wait, it's made from your tooth? But won't you miss it?”  
“Don't worry, it will have grown back by tonight, if I really need it for some reason I can force it to grow back in seconds.”  
When he touched the tessen it glowed with a fiery orange and gold for a moment before the glow settled into each of the spines of the fan in the form tiny, perfect kanji.  
“Wow, it's gonna take some getting used seeing things like that.”  
She carefully poked the tessen to make sure it was safe.  
“So, what did you do? It looked kinda like your eyes.”  
“That was my aura, life-force, Qi. It has many names but in essence it's what makes me, me. It is the source of my power, my very life. By infusing it into an item I can make a charm of sorts, others with powers will be able to feel it and know you are protected. Parts of my body are easier to infuse permanently, most would just use hair since it's one of the few parts of the body that can be removed without causing harm. My abilities makes it easier, and allows me to make things like this.”  
He took the necklace and put it around her neck before tying the string and securing it by putting some of his Qi into it.  
“There, it won't come of or break unless you want it to.”  
Stepping back in front of her he kneeled down and took her hands into his.  
“This is also a symbol of a promise I am about to make. I promise to teach you to protect yourself and once you have learned I will see to that you get real weapons.”  
He sat down and leaned against the railing and motioned for her to have a seat,  
“In the Kiryu family a youth is considered fully adult on their 20th birthday and as proof their coming of age they are given their blade. This is usually an ornate katana, ritual rather than a weapon for combat, my own was an exception as I was formally presented with the Kiryu no Ryuken”  
As he spoke he drew the Ryuken from within his soul and showed it to her before placing it back.  
“Wait, did you just cut yourself before putting it away?”  
She took his hand and turned it over to look at his thumb but the small cut had already healed.  
“I did, the Ryuken is a demonic blade and like many of it's kind it demands a price for being drawn, a price to be paid in blood, if not that of my opponent then mine.”  
She nodded and pulled a bit on pendant,  
“Can you tie it a bit shorter please?”  
She suddenly asked him  
“Hmm? Oh, you can do that yourself, touch the pendant and focus on how long you want it to be.”  
He watched as she closed her eyes and a slight glow emanated from the string as it adjusted to her will.  
“Wow, I need this for my clothes!”  
She laughed as the pendant fell to rest in its new position.  
“On the matter of clothes, I could use a hand in getting to that storage unit and sorting through my stuff.”  
“Of course, but remember, you don't have to, whatever you need we can go buy, either here or when we get to the states.”  
He stood and reached out his hand to help her up.  
“I know, and I'm grateful for everything, but some of that stuff has sentimental value.”  
“Then how about we just get it over with?”  
She had been through alot in the past few days and Takeshi just wanted it to be done so she could move on.  
“Sure, why not, just lemme grab a quick shower before we go.”  
She turned and headed towards her room and the ensuite bathroom without waiting for a reply.  
“You take your time and I'll go scare up a rental van so we don't have to worry about having to carry stuff with us on the tram.”  
He called after her and he could hear a muffled response asking him to grab some breakfast from the sandwich shop by the tram station while he was at it.

When he pulled up to the hotel an hour later Emelie was sitting in the small park in front of the main entrance and she quickly came running when she spotted him.  
“Ah, breakfast!”  
She exclaimed as she began digging through the bag that had been sitting in the passenger seat.  
“Salmon and tzatziki, how did you know that's my favorite!?”  
He looked over as she she instantly dug in after unwrapping the sub, **his** sub.  
“Oi! That's mine! The chicken curry one is yours!”  
He reached over to grab it but she twisted away, blocking him with her body  
“Nu-uh, this one's is mine!”  
Takeshi shook his head with a smile and grabbed the other sub as he drew off toward the storage-facility where Emelie's belongings had been moved.  
  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Coming of Age_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi watched as she tore through her things like a miniature tornado, tossing clothes and various items over her shoulder and occasionally throwing an item at him to be put into one of the boxes by the doorway, making a sport of trying to actually hit him with the items.  
After a while he noticed that her searching became more frantic and he could hear her mumbling in Swedish.  
“ _Fan, fan, fan, var är det!_ ”  
As he focused on her voice he could tell she was cursing and he walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.  
“Whats wrong?”  
“It's not here! Mom's ID tag isn't here. I had her ID tag, of course I believed it was my sisters, but when I saw grandpa throw it away I took it and kept it in my jewelry box but I can't find it anywhere, they must have taken it. Please it's the only thing I have that was hers!”  
As she began sobbing and rambling in Swedish he pulled her into his arms to soothe her.  
“Ssh, I understand, grab what you need fast and we will go to your grandparents house and find out where it is, I'll see to that the rest of this stuff is packed for shipping and sent to Miami.”  
They quickly packed the boxes into the van and drove of to her grandparents house in silence.

Once there Takeshi once again stood back, watching, listening. Emelie did the talking, he was just looking for the lies.  
_“Var är mammas ID bricka? Den låg i mitt smyckesskrin.”  
_ She had been asking the same questions oven and over, trying to get them to tell her why the tag was not in her jewelry box, but her grandparents still refused to answer her and Takeshi was getting bored and decided to intervene and stepped forward.  
“I don't know exactly how much you know, but know this, I was Maria's commanding officer in the GCTI, I earned that rank for a very good reason. So I suggest you answer her questions.”  
_“Vad pratar du om? Min ID bricka ligger i bankfacket där den alltid legat.”  
_ Her grandmother the first to answer  
“Truth.”  
Was all Takeshi said, he did not need to understand what was said to know a lie, but Emelie turned to him,  
“She said that **her** tag is in the safety deposit box, she never answered where mom's tag is”.  
She turned back to her grandmother and confronted her with the fact that she knew about who her true mother was.  
_“Försök inte, jag vet att du är min mormor, inte min mamma. Vad har ni gjort med mammas bricka?”  
“Jag vet inte vad du pratar om!”  
_ “Lie.”  
The grandmother glared at him as he spoke up again  
_“Du kan inte lura honom, var är brickan?”  
_ They kept going back and forth, and Takeshi told Emelie after each answer if it was truth or lie.  
As emotions began to run high he suddenly picked up a spike of pain and rage from Emelie and asked what had been said, her words as she translated what her grandfather had said sent him to the brink of control as the beast within howled in fury.  
“Take, you are getting kinda scary, and you're growling...”  
Emelie started to sound worried and he struggled to get himself under control, the last thing he wanted to do was to scare her but he could feel his control slipping under the rage of the beast.  
“Remember the beast I told you about, their lies are unleashing its wrath. If I can't contain it it will break free, take over control of my body and use my abilities to extract what it feels to be justice, it will kill them, it might turn on you.”  
She looked at him for a moment before putting her right hand over his heart.  
“I trust you.”  
He could feel it in her aura and he let go with a silent plea to the beast within.  
_“Please don't harm her.”  
_ This time was different, there was no pain as the beast took control.  
He was normally pushed back into the cage within his mind rather violently and the pain would be intense.  
But this time when the barriers fell the beast merely brushed past him and he could hear its response to his plea.  
__**“She is pack!”  
** Somehow that last thought from the beast allowed him to relax as his body shifted and took on more of the beasts attributes.  
A clawed hand carefully turned Emelie's face and she looked up into glowing eyes and as the beast now controlling the body spoke the words seemed awkward as fangs grew larger before her eyes and its voice more of a low growl.  
**“Stay, do not look.”  
** She nodded and closed her eyes as the beast turned its back on her and moved toward her grandparents.

Takeshi could feel the beast as it turned around, pride.  
Pride in her trust and obedience, but also pride in him, for letting go and allowing it to do what needed be done instead of trying to control it.  
He watched from within as the beast turned on the grandparents who voiced their terror upon seeing it's transformed features but a growled out order carrying the haunting infra-sound of c _ommand_ instantly silenced them.  
Takeshi had found that by using certain sounds in the infra-range in combination with a push of his aura he could force others to obey him, using only the sound part would act as a very strong _suggestion_ and most of the time those exposed would do as suggested, but he had found that unlike with _command_ it allowed them to refuse if asked to do something they absolutely did not want to.  
For _suggestion_ to work the person had to **want** to do it at some level, conscious or sub-conscious, also a strong willed person would be able to resist it, that might be possible with _command_ as well but so far he had not found anyone able to resist him when he used it.  
But the beast was using _command_ , and in a very forceful way, there was no way they could go against it no matter what it demanded of them.  
It's next order was for the ID tag to be brought to it and Emelie's grandfather silently walked away and when he returned he handed it to the beast.  
What came next surprised Takeshi a bit, he had expected the beast to tear them apart itself but instead it had leaned over and whispered commands, the end result would be the same, their deaths but without the beast spilling their blood.  
As it did, Takeshi could hear a single thought from the beast  
**“Unworthy”  
** And he understood, the beast considered them to be so far beneath it that they did not deserve to die by its claws, that their blood would sully it.  
Dismissing the grandparents after giving its commands it carefully picked Emelie up, being mindful of its claws it surprised Takeshi a bit, he had never known the beast to gentle in any way.  
Then suddenly the world seemed to twist around itself for a moment and they were standing in the shade under a large oak at the edge of the clearing with the stone and Takeshi realized that the beast had shadow-traveled, stepping into a shadow inside the house and then a mere moment later stepping out from the shadow cast by the large oak.  
This was not something a shadow-beast, a lesser shadow-demon, should be able to do, at least not while carrying someone.  
It was an ability only the greater shadow-demons possessed and it made Takeshi wonder if he might not have to re-evaluate the beast. He decided he would discuss it with the Ryujin once they were safely back at the hotel and he was sure Emelie was okay.  
Then the beast was by his side inside the mindscape and walked back into its cage without any resistance and he could feel himself slipping back into control and before he faded into the outside world he sent the beast his gratitude and was rewarded with a chuckle as it laid down and the seals closed between them.

“Emelie, _sweetie_. You can open your eyes now.”  
When she looked up at him he gave her the ID tag and she pulled it over her head and tucked it inside her top.  
“Are they dead?”  
Her voice held very little emotion but her aura betrayed her inner conflict.  
“Not yet, but they will be soon. The beast forced his will on them and his will was for them to die. I am sorry I was not able to keep my promise, I was not able to stop the beast from claiming the vengeance that was yours.”  
He offered his hand and she took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet.  
“It's okay, can we just go back to the hotel please? I need a shower and a shopping-spree, and after that you are taking me somewhere to get drunk.”  
Takeshi shook his head at her with a smile as he questioned the sanity, and availability of her plan on a Sunday afternoon.

 


	21. Finding Home

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Finding Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Miami, August 12 2035**

“Damn, did the plane take a wrong turn and land in hell?”  
Emelie groaned as they stepped out from the cool, air-conditioned terminal into the sweltering heat of the sidewalk.  
The weather was unusually hot and humid and much like her mother Emelie did not handle it well.  
“Don't worry, we will be heading up to Alaska in a week so hang in there. And who knows, maybe you will get to see a proper Miami thunderstorm. Besides there will be AC and a big pool where we are going.”  
Kasumi soothed her as the large luxury sedan stopped in front of them and the driver stepped out to help them get in to the car.  
Takeshi, in a slightly smaller version of his wolf-form, growled as the driver tried to take his leash from Emelie and instead walked around him and jumped into the back seat and moved over to make room for her to sit as well while Kasumi took a seat in the front.  
They had decided that it would be safer to conceal the fact that Takeshi was still alive even from the rest of the Kiryu family but they needed to tie up some loose ends at Kasumi's estate so Takeshi had assumed his wolf-form and with some practice he had been able to make himself a bit smaller and with some forgery and hacking he now posed as Emelie's pet dog.  
Even Kasumi had to make some adjustments since the Blessing had changed her, making her look 20 rather than of 40, she had managed to cover most of the change by focusing on her transformation much like how Takeshi had forced his wolf-form to become smaller but it was very draining especially since she lacked Takeshi's extreme reserve of spiritual energy.

They needed money and a lot of it to to move on to the next step of their plan to take down the GCTI and while Takeshi had used Amarok's contacts to have significant amounts of raw gold and platinum mined from within the pack's territory refined, verified and turned into private mint bullion rounds they wanted to keep those as a backup.  
So Kasumi had contacted her attorney and instructed her to start liquidate funds and assets into gold, she had sold her Miami estate and they were going there now to oversee the packing of the remaining furniture and art, some would be moved to shipping containers and sent to Hawaii where a new property would bee purchased in Emelie's name.  
The rest would be put up with an auction house.  
They needed somewhere where they could move more freely so a new estate would be constructed on the Hawaii property and new staff would be recruited, they could not risk using the Kiryu guards or other staff since they might recognize Takeshi, and they would be very confused by the suddenly younger Kasumi and to have to constantly hide would not be feasible.

Emelie spent most of her time hiding away in Kasumi's private library where both temperature and humidity was kept low to protect the books, Takeshi kept her company but to say he was unhappy about the situation would be a gross understatement, she was still recovering from the events of the past weeks and in his current form he could not offer as much support as he would like to.  
It was only in the evening she would venture outside to explore the area together with Takeshi.  
It was on the 3rd day of their stay that the abnormal weather finally broke, unleashing an intense thunderstorm that raged long into the night and Takeshi spent the time together with Emelie in the glass gazebo looking at the forces of nature being unleashed.  
On the 4th day the temperature was down to a more comfortable level and they finally left the estate to explore the city and Emelie seemed to enjoy herself as she dragged him between stores, though most of them would not allow him inside and Emelie refused to leave him outside to go inside on her own so a lot of time was spent window shopping and looking for stores that would allow him inside.  
At the moment he found himself sitting next to her at a bench overlooking Ocean Drive, she was making quick work of a large ice cream while talking to him in hushed tones, complaining about him not being able to answer her.  
Takeshi agreed with her wholeheartedly, he had tried using the telepathic communication he usually used while transformed but it seemed like it only worked with other Blessed.  
When they got back to Alaska he intended to bring Emelie before the Mother and see if there was some way teach her to use the telepathic communication of the Blessed without her having to go through the entire process of becoming one of them, or if he could learn to use it to at least be able to “transmit” to others, while he had no plans of ending up in a situation like this again you never knew and if there was one thing he had learned it was that _Better safe than sorry_ was a good philosophy.  
He could always train her as dantai, but he was not ready for that yet, he could not risk the pain of another loss, not this soon, perhaps if she became one of the Blessed he would eventually form that bond if she wanted to.  
But right now all he wanted was to soothe the pain and confusion he could feel in her soul and just wrapping her in his Qi only did so much when he couldn't speak with her.  
He had considered resuming his human form somewhere away from the estate but the risks were to great, he had a constant feeling of being watched ever since they landed in Miami and he guessed it was Kiryu guards loyal to the council keeping an eye on Kasumi's unexpected guest, especially since Kasumi was funneling large amounts of funds to Emelie and buying things in her name.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Finding Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It was two weeks after their arrival when they finally left for Seattle, finalizing the sale of the estate had taken longer than planned as the council tried to interfere but they were now on their way and Takeshi found himself once again stuck in a crate in the cargo-hold of a plane, not his favorite method of travel but once they landed in Seattle they would be switching to the Blackout and he would finally be able to shed this form in favor of his original one.  
The stay in Alaska would be a short one before heading to Hawaii to plan and oversee the construction of a new estate, in the end they had purchased a much larger plot of land than intended when the opportunity to acquire an entire island with a significant area of the surrounding sea included had appeared and they took it.  
A mobile housing unit had been ordered along with a high yield mobile power plant fitted with a satellite communications base station and the estimated time to get them constructed and readied on site was a month, until then they would stay with Amarok in the den.

Once inside the Blackout Kasumi triggered the security protocols by Takeshi's instructions and once the screens showed all clear he resumed his human form and after helping Emelie strap in he took the controls.  
A 2 hour flight later Takeshi set the Blackout down on the small landing-pad near the den, they could have made it here in half the time but he didn't want to chance going supersonic since Emelie had little experience with flying.  
During the past few years they had worked on re-opening the cave that was destroyed in the missile attack that claimed the lives of his unit, widening the cave to be able to fit the Blackout and the materials removed had been used to create the landing-pad.  
The waterfall still hid the entrance to the cave but an overhang protected the opening making it possible to move the Blackout in and out of the cave without having to move it through the waterfall.  
With the help of the Mother Takeshi had managed to re-enforce the cave using crystalline growths similar to those of the Sanctuary not only providing structural strength but also acting as simple lighting.  
It was the first time it was actually used though, they figured it would be a bit of a hassle to transport both the luggage and Emelie cross country when there was no snow for sleds so they choose to use it despite it not being entirely completed yet, growing the crystals was very slow work and took a lot of energy to direct them to grow as needed.  
It was Matthews who had made it possible though, he had brought information to Takeshi about a new type of engine that could be fitted to a Blackout, the engine was designed around a new type of fuel cell that eliminated the need to worry about having access to high grade aviation fuel.  
It had taken nearly a year to arrange but they had managed to get the system fitted to his Blackout.

Emelie was ecstatic as they walked through the tunnels from the hangar to the den and both Kasumi and Takeshi was laughing at her antics as she almost tripped over the gaggle of pups running around their feet.  
They had unusually many pups this year as all of the females from Sesi's first litter had their first litters along with two of the Blessed so there were five litters of pups, a grand total of 39 pups.  
Most of them were regular wolves so they would not live as long as their Blessed pack-mates and most would probably leave as they got older, but right now it was chaos.  
Once their bags had been placed in the den and the pups ushered into the whelping chamber and back under the watchful eye of their mother's they had a quick bite to eat and a few hours of rest before Takeshi asked Emelie to follow him.  
The look on Emelie's face when they entered the tunnel leading to the Sanctuary was priceless.  
“This place is amazing! It's all crystal, but alive, and glowing.”  
She stopped and studied one of the creatures that looked very much like a Christmas tree worm and after a few moments she reached out and carefully touched the feathery spiral and squeaked when it instantly vanished into the safety of its tube.  
“You know, some of these creatures carry quite deadly toxins.”  
Takeshi cautioned her as she was about to poke another of them.  
“Like you would let me touch one that could hurt me.”  
She countered with total confidence, and of course she was correct, had she tried to touch something that could harm her he would have stopped her.  
These creatures might posses extremely deadly toxins but they also knew if something was prey or a threat and they did not harm things that didn't fall into those categories so she was quite safe.  
But that didn't mean he couldn't tease her a bit.  
Once inside the Sanctuary she quickly found her way to the various insects and other animals and there was pure joy pouring from her aura as a flock of tiny hummingbirds with long shimmering tails flitted over and had a closer look at her, some of them even landing on her hand when she held it out.  
While Emelie was distracted with watching the fish and capturing the tiny crabs Takeshi went to the Soul-tree to ask permission for her to enter the annex, a permission that was granted before he was even done asking.  
**“Of course she may enter, there is after all someone here that has been waiting for a long time for a chance to meet her.”  
** Takeshi realized that the Mother was referring to Maria's soul, the souls of his team clung to this world, refusing to pass on before his oaths had been fulfilled.  
“Emelie, would you come over here please.”  
He called for her and when she came walking up to him she was still surrounded by the hummingbirds and she was carrying a small frilled lizard.  
“I see you found some friends”  
He laughed as she put the lizard on a nearby branch.  
“These are amazing, you were right when you said words could not do this place justice”  
She hesitated for a moment as she looked into the annex  
“So this is the place isn't it, where mom is buried?”  
Sorrow began to flow through her aura again as she took a hesitant step closer to the entrance.  
“It is, it is also the inner Sanctuary of the Mother, and this wisteria is the Soul-tree. If you come inside there is someone here who has waited a long time to meet you.”  
Emelie looked confused by his words as she entered the annex and followed him to the gnarled stem of the wisteria and stopped in front of him.  
She gasped in shock as the ghostly figure of Maria stepped out from behind the tree.  
When the spirit reached out toward her she scrambled back, crashing into Takeshi's chest and her scent spiked with fear.  
“Easy, that is your mother's soul, she has been waiting a long time for this, but she is no longer able to speak. The only way she can talk to you is if you allow her to touch you. Trust me, you will be safe.”  
She still hesitated to step away from him so he put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle nudge and she stepped forward, but not enough to step out of his reach so he kept his hands on her shoulders as she reached out to Maria's spirit.  
He could feel the moment the spirit touched her but he did not expect her to go limp and he quickly caught her before she could fall and carefully sat down with her still form in his lap.  
While Emelie spoke with her mothers spirit Takeshi spoke with the Mother, asking her if there was an easy way to solve the communication problem while he was in animal form. Unfortunately there was no easy way, the only way anyone not blessed would be able to hear him was if they carried telepathic abilities, latent or active did not matter as long as the ability was there.  
Emelie however did not posses this ability but the Mother had a suggestion, she could spawn a creature to act as a familiar, it would be created from Emelie's blood, and through that blood it would be bonded to Emelie and that bond would make it able to communicate with her, and the creature would be one of the blessed so Takeshi would be able to communicate with it and it would relay it to Emelie, and if needed it could relay her thoughts to Takeshi or Kasumi.

“ _ **Do you intend to grant her the Blessings?”**_  
The Mother's question surprised Takeshi for a moment,  
_“But, those are yours and The Moon's alone to grant, are they not?”  
__**“You are our Chosen, one of the reasons we chose you was for you to go into the world and return The Blessing to those who can no longer hear our voices. This world is dying, the humans' greed and lust for power is destroying the planet, and as it is damaged so am I for I am its very life-force.”  
**_ Takeshi could feel the burn in his blood and he knew his fate was once again about to shift.  
_**“The end has already begun and as a last resort this world will try to purge itself of what is harming it. Natural disasters will become more frequent and more severe, plagues will spread across the world. I can't control this anymore than a human can control their immune system.”**_  
Takeshi nodded his understanding, he had a feeling he would not like what came next.  
_**“Your duty in this will be twofold. You will try to sway mankind into caring for the survival of this world over their greed. But more importantly you will find those who are worthy and grant them the Blessing, train them and protect them. If things do not change mankind will be wiped out only those blessed in some way will survive.”**_  
Her choice of words made him wonder,  
_“There are other Blessed?”  
__**“There are many forms of blessings, among humans there those who carry the blood of creatures not of this realm, many would call them 'Tainted' carrying the blood of demons, dragons and other creatures in their veins but this blood blesses them with a strength beyond that of a human, it will help protect them. And many demons will rise to protect those that carry their blood. This will allow enough to survive to begin again and hopefully remember the mistakes of their predecessors.”  
**__“I assume that if it comes to that, trying to ensure they remember and don't repeat their mistakes will be one of my duties as well?”_  
**“Indeed it will. But for now I believe your charge is done speaking with her mother.”  
** True to her words he could feel Emelie begin to move again so he turned his attention back to her.

“Welcome back, how was you chat with your mother?”  
“It was, odd... But I am grateful I got the chance even if it was just her ghost. She told me many things but most of all I could feel it, what she was feeling...”  
She turned into him and buried her face as the tears began to fall but now the pain had faded somewhat, there was grief but not the searing pain that had been there before and there was now relief and hope there as well.  
A movement in the corner of his eye made Takeshi look up and he was somewhat surprised to see Maria's spirit still standing there, reaching out her hand toward him, asking his permission to touch him and he nodded his consent.  
Her touch carried her gratitude and as she faded away he could feel the last remnants of her life-force flow through him and settle in one of the Sayuri over his heart, and apparently Emelie felt something as well because she lifted her head and pulled apart the top of his gi to reveal the tattoos.  
“Look, one of them has changed, the colors are different.”  
It was not a big change but the colors were brighter, more vivid and the innermost part of each petal had taken on a more golden hue.  
He could feel the change as well, deeming his oath fulfilled Maria had been able to move on and the Sayuri had changed to reflected that.  
“That one is your mother's, she is at peace now.”

They both sat in silence until the chiming of the wisteria signaled the Mother's presence.  
_**“Young one, my Chosen has told me it troubles you that you are unable to hear him when he takes the form of the beast.”  
**_ Emelie looked around trying to figure out what the voice was and where it was coming from.  
“That is the voice of the Mother, it would be rather rude not to answer her in her own house, wouldn't it?”  
Takeshi explain and encouraged her to answer.  
“Yes.”  
Her voice held a slight tremble and she swallowed before continuing.  
“I didn't like that I couldn't understand what he was trying to say, I know he tried but I just couldn't hear him.”  
_**“I can help you change that if you are willing to give up some of your blood. I can use it to give birth to a creature that would be a part of you in a sense and it would also be a Blessed able to speak freely both with you and the Blessed.”  
**_ Emelie looked at Takeshi for guidance and he could feel the beast stir and once again he could feel that it was pleased with her for trusting him and for looking to him for guidance, but this was not something he could help her with.  
“This is something you have to chose for yourself, but I can promise you that while it will cause some pain it will not harm you.”  
Emelie was silent for a while before looking up at the wisteria,  
“You said you would birth a _creature_ from my blood, what kind of creature?”  
_**“Even I do not know that, it would be your soul that determines what would be born from your blood.”**_  
“Oh, and it is safe?”  
_**“You have my word you will not be harmed outside of what is needed to obtain your blood.”**_  
“Okay, I'll do it. So, what do I have to do?”  
Laughter rang through the chimes as a vine began to climb the trunk of the wisteria and soon there was a small pitcher plant hanging in front of them.  
__**“You will need to fill that with your blood.”  
** Emelie held out her hand toward Takeshi.  
“Please, I can't do it on my own.”  
He took her hand and allowed one of his clawed nails to grow longer and sharper and used it to cut into her palm, he found that her whimper and the scent of her blood was highly unsettling but he pushed the feeling aside and held her hand above the plant until her blood had filled the plant.  
A sudden strong impulse from the beast made him lick the cut and to his surprise is instantly healed, this was something that would come in handy to know.  
“Thanks.”  
She pulled her hand back and inspected it  
“That's amazing, it's completely healed.”  
They watched as the pitcher plant closed and began to glow, growing larger before their eyes. A few minutes later the glow faded and the Mother told Emelie to reach inside and claim her familiar.  
As she reached inside she could feel something slide against her hand and then circle around her wrist,  
“It's a snake!”  
She exclaimed with a smile as she pulled out her hand to reveal an emerald snake, deep ruby eyes and markings contrasting against the vivid green.  
Its slender body reminded him of a vine snake but it had the hood of a cobra and a heart shaped head.  
When he reached out for it it flicked its tongue a few times before opening its jaws wide and displaying long fangs dripping with venom.  
**“Careful there, the serpents venom will kill even a Blessed in a matter of seconds. She is the only one its bite will not harm.”  
** Takeshi quickly pulled his hand back but couldn't help smiling as Emelie scolded the serpent, telling it that he was her friend and that it was not allowed to bite him.  
It hung its head for a moment before it began to slither up her arm and as it did it began to shrink and moments later it was coiled around her upper arm like a bracelet and as it stilled its skin changed slightly making it look entirely like a piece of jewelry.  
“Thank you, she is beautiful, perfect!”  
Emelie's aura radiated joy as she expressed her gratitude.  
**“I merely gave life to the image in your soul, you are the one who gave her form. You have already proven yourself able to alter that image to suit your needs, have my Chosen train you and you will be able to make her anything you need her to be.”  
** With that they could feel Her presence leave the annex and Takeshi could feel one last thought touch his mind, telling him to return with Emelie when they were ready to leave for Hawaii.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Finding Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi sat on his pallet meditating, trying to calm the beast that was pacing its cage.  
Emelie's blood had set it off somehow and it was far to agitated for him to be able to communicate with it so all he could was to try to calm it enough to be able to understand it.  
A presence at the entrance to his chamber called his attention back to the outside world and as he left he noticed that the beast had stopped pacing and was now focused on tapping in to his senses, that on its own would have been enough to tell him that it was Emelie waiting outside. He waited for her to knock but she didn't and he could sense her increasing hesitancy, something was obviously on her mind but she was losing her nerve so he decided to call out for her.  
“Emelie _sweetie,_ come inside.”  
A few seconds later the hides were pushed aside and she slipped inside.  
“I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you.”  
She sat down on the pallet next to him.  
“It's okay, you didn't. And even if you did it would still be okay. Now, what is bothering you?”  
She blushed for a moment before barely whispering.  
“I can't sleep.”  
He could tell it was not the entire reason, probably not even the true reason why she had come, but if she was not ready to tell him he would not pressure her to.  
It was not uncommon that she came to him to sleep, in the few weeks he had known her she had spent more nights sleeping in his lap than in her own bed, and even the nights she did sleep in her bed she had fallen asleep on him and he had carried her to her room.  
He shook his head with a sigh and a smile as he stood up.  
“Get in, I'll be right back.”  
She nodded with a bright smile and scurried in under the covers while he went to relieve himself, when he got back she had crawled up against the wall and was waiting for him and the moment he joined her she wiggled up against him and used his arm for a pillow.  
“Is there any point in getting you your own bed?”  
He teased her as he adjusted her slightly so he could place his other arm around her in a more comfortable position.  
“Not if I have any say in the matter.”  
She mumbled and moments later she was sleeping.  
He returned to his meditation to see if he could get any answers from the beast and this time he found it at rest, radiating contentment and after some coaxing he managed to get an idea of what was going on.  
The beast considered Emelie to be _pack_ , and _pack_ was to be protected, it agreed that sometimes inflicting pain in order to protect was unavoidable but it still went against every instinct to hurt a pack-mate.  
That she came to them for comfort despite what had happened soothed those instincts and allowed the beast to relax again.  
Takeshi tried to get it to explain just what _pack_ was but it refused to give him a straight answer only telling him that he would understand when he was ready to truly be an _Alpha_.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Finding Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi spent the days training Emelie, teaching her meditation and controlling her familiar which was not an easy task as she rather spend her time playing with the pups or exploring the wonders of the Sanctuary.  
But two weeks later it was his turn to be the distracted one as he was awakened by cursing in Swedish and the muted scent of Emelie's blood.  
“What's the matter?”  
At first she blushed and sputtered then she hid her face under the covers before answering with a groan.  
“It's my period...”  
Takeshi of course already knew this, the scent was easy to recognize, what he did not understand was why she was cursing about it.  
“I wasn't supposed to need a booster shot for another 6 months minimum.”  
She complained as she curled into herself.  
“Booster shoot?”  
He sounded confused and Emelie sighed.  
“Men! My _blockers_ of course!”  
Takeshi felt rather stupid for a moment as he realized what she was referring to, _Blockers_ was the nickname given to a very popular contraceptive that not only prevented pregnancies but it also completely removed the females periods for as long as it lasted and an injection would last for about 6 years so most would take booster shots every 5 years.  
If they wanted to get pregnant before that all they needed was a different injection and within a month their cycle and fertility would be back to normal.  
He should have realized it sooner as all the female GCTI personnel took the injections.  
“I was gonna get a booster shot when we got to Hawaii but now I'm going to have to wait a year before I can get a new shot.”  
She groaned and clutched her stomach for a moment before new curses could be heard.  
“That's it, I'm going to the hot-spring, and you better find me some painkillers and something sweet by the time I get out of there!”  
Takeshi just nodded and headed out to find something for her, it was obvious she suffered cramps and he had no intention of risking the temper of a female while she was in this condition.  
So while Emelie relaxed in the hot water he found some fruits and berries in the storeroom and a bar of chocolate from his rations, it wasn't the best chocolate by far, but by combining it with birch sugar and then separate it into batches and mix it with peppermint, fennel seed and hot peppers he was able to enhance the taste.  
By dipping the fruits and berries in the different chocolate mixes he was able to create a selection of simple chocolate sweets.  
A bottle of blackcurrant juice was heated and honey, cinnamon, cloves and ginger was added along with yarrow to help reduce pain and cramping, he had considered adding willow bark but its blood-thinning properties would be less desirable at the moment.  
He brought it to her in the hot-spring and she didn't even yell at him for walking in on her while she was taking a bath, much to focused on the treats he brought her to bother.  
“When you feel better we will go to the Sanctuary, we should be able to find something to help you there.”  
A distracted humming was the only response he got as she made short work of the sweets and he simply sat down by the entrance and waited for her.  
She seemed to have totally forgotten that he was actually in the chamber as she got out of the water and he quickly turned his back to give her some privacy.  
“Okay, I'm done, let's go! I wanna get this over with like yesterday if possible.”  
She brushed past him and grabbed his hand as she did and began to pull him along.  
Emelie waited outside the annex as Takeshi spoke to the Mother about the problem and a few minutes later he came back outside and handed her two small vials, one blue and one green.  
“Drink the green one now, it will help minimize the problems this time. The blue one is for your serpent, it will allow her to produce a venom that has similar effects as the injections and she will simply have to bite you for it to work.”  
She nodded and emptied the green liquid before carefully feeding the blue one to the serpent.  
“Hey, Take. Is it okay if I just stay here today? I really don't feel like training.”  
“Of course.”  
He was just about to suggest the same himself but he was glad she beat him to it, this way he would not have to make excuses.  
The scent of her blood had the beast riled up and it was quite frankly driving him up the walls as well.  
“I need to go hunting anyway so you just stay here and relax and we will get back to training when you feel better.”  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Finding Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

One month passed fast and they were now getting ready to leave and head for Hawaii, while Kasumi brought the last items on board the Blackout, Takeshi and Emelie were heading down to the Soul-tree as requested.  
_**“Enter Emelie, I have a task for you.”  
**_ The voice of The Mother called from inside the annex and Emelie stepped inside.  
_**“As you leave this place I would like you to carry this seed to your new home, place it at the center of the island and it will in time become a new Sanctuary from where I can speak to the Blessed”**_  
As She spoke the moss pulled back and revealed a crystalline bulb, drop shaped and the size of a large ostrich egg with a rainbow of colors swirling within.  
“But, Takeshi is your Chosen, I'm not even one of the Blessed. Shouldn't he be the one to carry it?”  
Emelie's objections caused a laugh to chime through the wisteria.  
_**“Indeed he is, Chosen, Warrior, Scholar and Guardian. But for all the things he is and can be there is one thing he can never be, and that is a Mother. Only a Mother may carry the Seed of Life from one place to another, only a Mother can awaken it once placed in its new home. So this task I entrust to you Emelie.”  
**_ “But I'm not a mother...”  
__**“You may still be untouched, but your essence is still that of a Mother.”**  
Emelie suddenly blushed a vivid scarlet and began to splutter  
“Gee, thanks. Tell everyone I'm a 20 year old virgin will you.”  
**“Oh, him? He already knows.”  
** A bell like laughter rang through the annex.  
“What? How?”  
She turned to face Takeshi as she questioned him.  
He just smiled and tapped his his nose.  
“You can smell it?!”  
To say she was mortified would be a gross understatement.  
He focused on his Qi, bringing it forth so that she would be able to see it before touching her aura, the touch causing it to become visible to her.  
“Even if I couldn't smell it, your aura practically screams it to anyone who can see or feel.”  
She groaned and turned back toward the wisteria and looked at the seed sitting on the ground, looking over her shoulder she silently asked him for guidance.  
Takeshi just nodded for her to take the seed and she carefully lifted it, surprised at how heavy it was.  
“It's heavier than it looks, and so warm. So alive...”  
She carefully stroked the seed before gently clutching it against her chest.  
**“Do not worry, it is not fragile, however it needs warmth and touch, as long as you hold on to it it will be fine. Now go, face your destiny.”  
**

Meanwhile another conversation was going on in Takeshi's mind as She explained to him that from now on he would be the one to chose who would join him as a Blessed, and since it would take years for the new Sanctuary to be completed the Trial would not be a viable path, and the Curse much to risky.  
And with the twisted humor only She was capable of Her power flowed through him and She told him that all it would take from now on was his intent, and a bite.  
Like some mainstream werewolf story, as he protested She laughed and asked him just where he thought the legends behind such stories came from before telling him it was time for them to go.

“Come on Take, let's go!”  
Emelie was back to her usual excitable self and Takeshi just shook his head with a laugh.  
“Hai hai _sweetie_.”  
As they left a final voice whispered through his mind.  
**“The container by the doorway holds a little parting gift for her, something to remember this place by while the Seed grows.”  
** Takeshi just shrugged and grabbed the leather pack as he left the annex, when he put it over his shoulder he could feel the tiny auras inside and understood what it was, some of the creatures were coming with them.  
Once they reached the Blackout he secured the pack with the rest of the cargo and then helped Emelie get strapped in as her precious cargo made it hard for her to do it herself and she did not want to risk trying.

5 hours later he set the Blackout down on the small landing-pad that had been prepared by the beach on the island that would be their home from now on.

 


	22. Designs

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designs_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Hawaii October 1 st 2035**

While Kasumi brought their luggage from the Blackout to the mobile housing unit Takeshi brought Emelie to the center of the island.  
He had spent some time during the flight to map the coordinates and now he was following the GPS in his watch while carrying her in his arms, it was quite a trek to the center of the island.  
Emelie was a bit apprehensive about not being able to do what she was supposed to once they got there but he was sure that once they got close she would know what to do, over the years he had learned that instincts could be a powerful thing.  
“This is where we need to be, now relax and it will come to you. She would not have have given you this task if you didn't have what it takes.”  
Emelie slowly walked up to the area he pointed out as the center of the island and began to pace after a few minutes she suddenly stopped and pointed to a spot on the ground.  
“Take, I need to bury it here, can you dig a hole for me? Right here, pretty deep, like a meter or so.”  
He changed his form into that of the bear and used powerful paws to tear away roots and dirt where she pointed, when he was done she walked up to the edge.  
“Help me down please.”  
_“Your wish is my command.”_  
He teased as he carefully lifted her into the hole, mindful of the large claws of the bear-form.  
She carefully set the seed down and used one hand to balance it while using the other to carefully bank some of the soil around it to help keep it balanced.  
Sitting down she placed both hands on the seed and closed her eyes and slowly it began to glow and crystal roots buried into the soil before she removed her hands and asked him to help her up and cover the hole up.  
Once the hole was covered the glow covered the ground for a moment and the vegetation returned and moments later there was no trace that anything had ever been buried there and a seedling began to sprout, soon a small jacaranda tree stood before them.  
It was only a normal tree, but it still marked the spot clearly, and Takeshi was sure that once the Hawaii Sanctuary was complete they would find a crystal jacaranda as the Soul-tree instead of a wisteria like the Alaska Sanctuary.  
“Come, there is something waiting for you back at the Blackout.”  
He waited for her to join him before heading back.  
They took the pack from the Blackout and went to the house that would be their home until the new estate was ready to move in to and once in the main room he placed it on the low table and began opening it.  
“The Mother told me to bring this for you as something to remember the Sanctuary by while the new one grows.”

Opening it up revealed a number of smaller containers carefully sorted into the larger one, the fit so perfect that no filling materials had been needed to keep the contents from shifting.  
Only a thin opaque substance covered the surface of each container, most lightly only there to conceal the contents.  
After carefully removing all the smaller containers and pulling away the thin covering from the large one they found that it was in fact designed to be a vivarium, complete with a pair of sliding doors.  
Out of curiosity Takeshi placed his hand against the perfectly transparent surface and pushed his aura into it, as he suspected a crystalline structure became visible and he could feel it shift under his energies, he would be able to manipulate its size and shape rather extensively.  
Moving on to the second largest container revealed another transparent crystal box filled with small crystal plants, hundreds of tiny seedlings packed into moss.  
Much like the previous one the next one contained small fragments of the coral like growths found in the crystal cavern of the Sanctuary.  
The third one was much heavier than the previous ones and once opened was revealed to be filled with water and a wide selection of the aquatic plants of the pool, closer inspection also revealed clusters of eggs clinging to the plants.  
Takeshi could feel them radiating a slight power, as far as he could tell its purpose was to protect them so that the plants could be handled without damaging them as well as keep them in suspended animation until a habitat was ready for them to hatch.  
Opening more containers revealed insects, reptiles, various birds as well as crabs and other creatures, all of them carefully packed and protected in suspended animation.  
The final container held small packets of seeds and a fine sand that Takeshi would be able to turn into larger crystals that would be used to create a substrate for the plants and creatures to grow in, it also contained several small round crystals that pulsed with power, these would give all the plants and creatures the energy they needed to live, unlike normal animals they did not need to eat as long as they were close to these nodes.  
  
Emelie was overjoyed and immediately began looking for a suitable place to put the vivarium and begin to prepare for the creatures and plants.  
Takeshi however managed to convince her to only bring a few of them out of the suspended animation and wait until the estate was done before waking the rest, they would be perfectly safe for years in their current state.  
In the end they created a vivarium that held a small body of water at the bottom, a few water lilies and other aquatic plants, some crabs, frogs and salamanders made the pond their home.  
Along the back a small waterfall provided moisture to the habitat that contained mostly moss and fern like plants as well as some of the corals and a few of the tube worms with their feathery appendages.  
The largest of the smaller containers had after some careful manipulation been shaped into a round dome cage, the honeycomb mesh of iridescent crystal covering a weeping cherry tree with white, pink and purple flowers and among the branches a small flock of hummingbirds flitted around, the mesh while not fine enough to prevent them from exiting the cage would keep predators from entering it.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designs_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

One week later Takeshi and Emelie headed to Honolulu to meet with the architects that wanted to design the buildings for the estate, they had made requests via several agencies to try to find the prefect design for what would be their main home for a long time.

Takeshi tossed another concept sketch aside with a muttered curse, finding an architect to build the main house for the new estate was harder than anticipated and they had looked at hundreds of sketches and ideas but none of them felt right.  
They had all agreed that they wanted something that would blend into the environment with minimum impact.  
Already the had many great designs for power generation, waste disposal and other forms of resource management, once completed the estate would be fully self sufficient but so far none of the designs for the main house had been even close to what they wanted.  
They had spent nearly two weeks in Honolulu meeting with a long list of architects but yet another sketch of a steel and glass monstrosity found it's way to the junk pile and as the architect that had presented it walked out of the small office they were renting Takeshi found himself fighting an urge to get out and just kill something.  
Emelie's hands on his shoulders dispelled the urge for a moment as she leaned forward and whispered in his ear  
“Take, you're growling again.”  
He sighed and focused on getting himself under control, things like these had been happening more and more lately, growling, his transformation slipping and to make matters worse the beast was constantly pulling and poking at him.  
He had tried to get it to tell him why but it kept refusing, only telling him that _Everyone is blind when they refuse to see,_ and at those moments he could swear he heard Hisao-hanshi in it's voice.  
A short knock brought his attention back to the door and the next prospect, with an internal sigh he asked them to enter.  
Another handful of horrible designs later it was finally time to close up for the day and return to the hotel.

Once again Takeshi woke up in the middle of the night with fire in his veins, not the all consuming burn of fate but a much more mundane fire, Emelie's continued inability to sleep on her own had brought on an all new predicament.  
She had tried repeatedly to sleep without him but she suffered debilitating nightmares whenever he was not there, so until they could stop those she would be sleeping with him.  
They had tried everything they could think of, he had tried just wrapping her in his aura and while it did lessen the nightmares they were still far too intense for her to be able to sleep properly.  
They had tried having her share with Kasumi but apparently only his presence would do.  
He had even tried to enter her dreamscape to find out what the nightmares were manifesting, hoping that by helping her remember them and find the cause they might be able to find a way to stop them but the moment he entered her dreamscape they would vanish, and his presence there was almost as much stress on her as the nightmares so that wouldn't do either.  
At first he had been fine sharing a bed with her, sure she was quite an attractive woman but he had no problems suppressing his baser urges, but lately there had been a new development, she was dreaming again, while he didn't know exactly what she was dreaming one thing was obvious, they were erotic dreams, and they caused her body to spike with arousal and release pheromones that wreaked havoc on his enhanced senses.  
To make matters even worse he couldn't even sneak away and take care of things without her nightmares returning, he could wake her but that really wasn't a viable option.  
He found himself wanting her, badly, but he refused to allow himself to act on it.  
She was young, innocent and completely inexperienced while he was not and it would simply not be right to claim her out of nothing but lust, she deserved more than that.  
And so he once again found himself trying to shift into a slightly more comfortable position while trying to will himself down without waking her.  
When the alarm finally beeped Takeshi was of to the shower in a hurry, hoping to get his _problem_ back under control before Emelie noticed just what was bothering him.  
Her grin and pointed look when he returned however told him he had not been quite fast enough.  
“Guess there is no need to worry about a lack of _hot_ water is there?”  
She teased with a snicker.  
Lately she had been picking up more and more of his mannerism and habits and he wasn't sure if he should be flattered, or run for the hills.  
He could hear her whistling away in the shower and he hurried to get dressed and order up some breakfast so they could get down to the office in time for the first appointment of the day.  
Just as the days before this one brought nothing but disappointments and as lunch came about he stood at the window trying to find his balance again when a knock at the door brought him out of his musings.  
“Excuse me sir, my name is Ethan Wright, I know I don't have an appointment but I was hoping you would be willing to have a look at my design proposal anyway.”  
Takeshi ignored the young man at the door until Emelie put a hand on his arm and whispered to him that they might as well take a look before eating.  
“Fine, make if fast!”  
Takeshi snapped as he turned around and went back to the desk.

Ethan was agitated as he knocked on the frame of the open door, looking inside he spotted a man by the window that he assumed was the client and the sight did nothing to help him relax, the man was big and obviously very tense but this was his one shot at presenting his idea so he took a deep breath and introduce himself.  
He startled slightly as he realized he hadn't noticed the woman in the room until she walked up to the guy and said something to him.  
He was even more surprised when they turned around and he realized they were his age, the woman maybe 2 or 3 years younger than him and the guy looked to be about as much older.  
When the man snapped at him he hurried over to the desk and began his presentation.

Takeshi and Emelie looked at the sketches and they liked what the were seeing right away and the young man, Ethan, quickly explained that it was just a concept sketch, that for the final design he would have to see the construction site to make sure it would blend into the surroundings properly.  
_“Take, I think we have a winner here.”_  
The serpent relayed Emelie's thoughts to him as they looked closer at the sketches spread out on the desk.  
_“It does indeed look promising”_  
He agreed before speaking up  
“Emelie, let the guard know we are heading out for lunch.”  
As she hurried to do as asked he turned to the young man across the desk.  
“And you, Ethan was it? You will be joining us for lunch.”  
A nervous nod was the only reply he received.  
They picked a restaurant by the waterfront and ordered a wide selection of seafood, Ethan was rather wide eyed both at the amount of food and Takeshi's total lack of regard for the cost.  
“So, Ethan, how did you hear about this request?”  
Emelie was the one asking questions as Takeshi seemed to make him too nervous to answer with anything but a nervous stuttering.  
“Well, I'm an intern at my father's firm and when the firm received your request I made this suggestion but no one would even look at it so I decided to take a chance on my own. I talked dad into bringing me along as his assistant for his presentation and here I am.”  
While they ate Takeshi and Emelie had their own little silent conversation, deciding how to proceed.  
“Ethan, we have two more days of meetings booked before we return to the island. We would like you to come with us when we return. Travel and housing arrangements will be made on our expense.”  
When Takeshi spoke up Ethan visibly jumped in his chair, that was something they would need to work on if he was to be the architect designing the buildings for the estate.  
“When you joined your father's firm as an intern did you sign the standard contract?”  
There was a few things Takeshi wanted to find out before deciding exactly how to proceed.  
“Yes I did, so yes, my design will belong to the firm but under my name as designer.”  
This could be a bit of an issue, but it was a good sign that Ethan understood why he was asking. Takeshi would rather work directly with Ethan since he obviously had a very good understanding of just what they were trying to accomplish with the design.  
“Does your firm's design come anywhere near what we are looking for?”  
“I don't think so.”  
“If that is the case I have an offer for you. We would prefer to work directly with you, but as long as you are bound by your intern contract that will not be possible. However, if your father as the head of the firm, states, on the record, that your idea has nothing to do with the firm they would loose any claim to it.”  
“Dad is pretty sharp, I doubt he would say anything like that, even off the records. Especially not in front of a potential client”  
“Let me worry about that part, just make sure to bring your work with you to the meeting.”  
“Okay, I will.”  
Takeshi had no issues with using his abilities to make the father deny any claims to Ethan's design.

Unethical?  
Definitely.  
But that really didn't bother him much since no one really got hurt, the firm was well off even if they didn't hire them, and Ethan would benefit greatly if they hired him without the firm being involved.

Legal?  
Hell no!  
But good luck proving anything.

Besides, being trained as an assassin kind of took away any real care about what the laws and ethics of society had to say.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designs_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The afternoon meetings was yet another set of disappointments, as was the the next day, the only difference was that Takeshi was starting to feel the lack of sleep, he didn't need much sleep but he was nearing two weeks with very little sleep and it was wearing him down, he could feel his control slipping and there had been several incidents where Emelie had pointed out to him that he was growling, or that his transformation was slipping, luckily no one else seemed to have noticed.  
It was the last day of their stay and finally time for the Wright firm to make their presentation, so far Ethan's sketched had been the only ones they liked and his father's ideas turned out to be just as bad as the rest.  
Careful weaving of infrasound and pushes of his aura formed a web of _command_ over the older Wright and when the time was right he gave Emelie a nudge and she asked about the documents that Ethan was holding, prompting his father to state that those were just the silly doodles of a daydreamer and had nothing to do with his firm or their suggested design.  
Ethan was wide eyed as he realized just what his father had said, the design was now entirely his and the firm couldn't make any claims on it.  
Since the clients insisted that the meetings were recorded there would be no way to deny it.  
And there, in front of his father he presented his plans once again and it was a surprisingly good feeling to see the look on his fathers face when the client told him he was hired.  
Takeshi told Ethan to go pack his things and be ready for them to pick him up in the afternoon when they headed back to the island.

“Why are we heading to the airport?”  
Ethan sounded confused when Takeshi turned the rental on to the road heading for the airport and Emelie answered him with a laugh.  
“Well, we really can't drive there, now can we?”  
“Eh, guess so, I just kinda assumed we would be going by boat.”  
He sounded slightly nervous  
“Nah, we are flying. And don't worry, Take is a great pilot. Just don't tell him to _'Hit It!'_ cause he just might and that damn plane of his is fast.”  
Takeshi chuckled at her complaint, on the way to Honolulu he had taken the _scenic route_ and given her her first experience of a supersonic flight, she was a bit less than amused, though maybe he _should_ have given her a warning first.  
His chuckle was quickly rewarded with a slap on the arm and Emelie telling him once again how _Horrible_ he was.  
“Hai hai _sweetie._ ”  
He teased back.  
After returning the rental car to the agency they walked over to the private airstrip and into the hangar that Takeshi rented, Ethan's reaction once inside made both Takeshi and Emelie laugh.  
“Holy crap! That thing looks military!”  
“That would be because it is.”  
Takeshi deadpanned causing Emelie to laugh even harder.  
“Damn, how..?”  
“You will learn that sometimes it's easier to just accept things and not ask questions when it comes to Take.”  
Emelie interrupted with a laugh as she climbed inside the Blackout and hopped into the co-pilot seat and began strapping herself in while Takeshi put the luggage away before making sure Ethan got strapped in properly.  
Taking the pilot's seat he quickly got them ready for take-off and once he got clearance they were headed back to the island and a short flight later they set down at the small landing-pad.

While Takeshi carried their bags up to the house Emelie showed Ethan down to the lagoon where a small houseboat lay moored.  
“This will be your home during your stay at the island.”  
At the nearby floating dock a few water-scooters were tied up and she pointed at them,  
“The green one is yours to use for getting to and from the boat.”  
“Ehm, I don't know how to drive one of those.”  
Ethan squirmed a bit while looking at it.  
“Don't worry, it's easy. I'll teach you after we eat something, you can leave your bags in the shed for now.”  
She showed him where to get water and a few other things before bringing him up to the house for some food.  
“Sumi-chan!”  
She waved to Kasumi who was currently manning the fire pit making the last preparations for cooking the wide selection of sea-foods, vegetables and fruits as well as a few slabs of meat  
Kasumi shook her head at the nickname before giving a quick wave.  
“Ethan, this is Take's sister, Kasumi. Kasumi, Ethan, the architect.”  
Kasumi merely nodded before turning her attention back to the food.  
“Come on, let's have a seat.”  
Emelie pulled Ethan along to the table and pushed him into one of the chairs.  
“Are all your meals this extravagant?”  
He wondered while looking at the food wide-eyed.  
“Pretty much, you'll get used to it, besides Take puts away most of it, he can eat for five but don't ask me where the heck he puts it all cause he never gains any weight the bastard...”  
Ethan jumped slightly when Takeshi spoke up from behind them, once again he had failed to notice his approach.  
“Starting to look a bit green there, _sweetie_.”  
The only response he received was a snort as she turned her back on him rather pointedly.  
He just chuckled at her and went to grab a plate of food before taking a seat.  
Ethan was looking rather pale as he watched Takeshi take thin strips of meat and just dip them in various sauces before consuming them raw.  
“Like I said before, some things are easier to just accept and get used to.”  
Emelie knew Takeshi was doing it on purpose since normally there would be either meat or seafood, not both.  
“Take's eating habits would be one of those things.”  
Kasumi laughed and Emelie could see Takeshi's trademark smirk forming and the glint in his eyes told her he was just getting started.  
“So, Ethan, how do you like your housing arrangements?”  
Kasumi tried to distract him a bit with some more mundane topics.  
“I haven't really had a look yet.”  
“Oh, why not?”  
“He can't drive the scooters, honestly, he looked kinda scared of it.”  
Emelie quipped before Ethan had a chance to reply.  
“I'm gonna teach him when we're done here.”  
The meal continued with the usual antics, teasing and occasional mock argument over some piece of food or another.  
Ethan looked absolutely bewildered but he did manage to eat a few bites at least before Emelie dragged him of to teach him how to operate the water-scooter.  
As the sun began to set he was able to get himself from the dock to the boat without incident but it was still obvious he did not like the scooter.  
“Can't you just get me a waterproof bag and a small raft that I can pull while swimming?”  
“I'll have a word with Take and I'm sure he will arrange something for you. But is is a bit of a swim, you sure?”  
“I was on the swim team, this is barely a warm up.”  
“Okay, I'll talk to him, if he can't come up with something quick we will just have to head back to Honolulu for some shopping.”  
She waved a quick goodbye before taking her own smaller jet ski back to the beach.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designs_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The next morning when Ethan came up to the house to start working on the final designs he was greeted by Takeshi who tossed him a small drawstring bag, inside was a rolled up waterproof bag.  
“That should do for now, it will take a few days to make a proper raft.”  
He pointed to the piece of Wiliwili wood that he was currently working on.  
“It needs to be shaped and treated to become waterproof.”  
Ethan just nodded and stuttered out a _'Thank you'_   before taking his equipment and began working on his sketches.  
After dinner they looked at the work so far and after a few suggestions back and forth Ethan returned to the boat to work on the changes.  
A week into his stay Ethan was handed a small raft that seemed to be a cross between a basket boat and a dugout canoe, roughly 50cm wide and a meter long and at the bow a ring connected to a thin but strong piece of rope and it was covered by a small piece of tarp.  
“You are quite the artisan.”  
Ethan expressed while feeling the smooth finish and looking at the grain of the wood.  
“I spent some time in the middle of nowhere without much else to pass my time with.”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep from smirking at Ethan's continued nervousness around him, it was improving but he was still acting like he would run for the hills at any moment.  
It seemed that he on some instinctual level could sense just how dangerous Takeshi actually was, but lacked the understanding of what he was feeling.  
“Do you have time to go through some ideas for the designs? I was looking around yesterday and I had an idea but I want to check with you before I put any more work into it.”  
Takeshi nodded and called for Emelie to join them, as the estate was technically hers he made sure she was present for the entire process.  
“So, what's this new idea of yours?”  
“Well, before I begin I'd like to ask a few questions. It would be a waste of time if I explain it first and then turns out it's not feasible to start with.”  
Both Takeshi and Emelie just nodded to this.  
“I was wondering if the location for the main house is set in stone or if you would be willing to consider a different location?”  
He looked at them expectantly.  
“The only requirements are that there is easy access to the coast and somewhere nearby suitable to construct a landing-pad for the Blackout. The ground also has to be suitable to construct a full basement as well as a secondary sub-level section for waste management and power generation.”  
“So changing locations mainly depends on what the geological survey says?”  
A short nod confirmed his conclusion.  
He quickly brought up the large map of the island and spread it over the table and then took out his tablet to show them pictures of the area he was pointing at.  
“This region has some nice cliff sides, especially this area here forms an almost perfect three-quarter circle with the peak at the middle of the circumference. If the house was constructed across the center line here you would get a sheltered inner garden and plenty of room to make a larger front garden.”  
Looking at the map and the photos they had to admit it was a nice location and an excellent idea.  
“Also a pump system could be built here pulling water up the cliff to create a waterfall down the cliff here, I wasn't able to climb up to confirm but based on the topographic map it might be possible to crate a small basin at the top as well to help maintain the water flow.”  
Emelie was beaming at the idea and using the serpent to transmit her thoughts she practically begged Takeshi to go with it.  
“We will have to do a more thorough survey of the area, but if it is suitable for the construction we will use this.”

 

A week later the survey was completed and Ethan had begun to turn the concept sketches into workable building plans and on Takeshi's request he had also started working on putting together a work crew for the build, Takeshi had insisted he only hire the best.  
He estimated that the final plans would be done in a month and another month after that before construction could begin.

 


	23. Heated Interlude

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi was officially losing it, the lack of sleep was really starting to get to him, the occasional nap he managed to sneak in during the days was not enough to balance up the near total absence of sleep during the nights, meditating helped but only so much.  
The scent of Emelie's arousal saturated every part of their room, even the other rooms had begun to carry her scent as the air circulated the trailer home and it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore its effects, to make matters worse her dreams were increasing in both frequency and intensity, releasing even more of the potent pheromones.  
He had seriously considered going to Honolulu, have Kasumi take Emelie out for the night while he found some _assistance_ with his _problem_.  
However that blasted shadow-beast made it perfectly clear it would not tolerate that and if he tried it would end with a battle for control, and in his current state he was sure to lose if the beast really wanted to take control.  
He was running out of options, he had tried talking some sense into the beast but it refused to listen. He didn't want to even consider actually sleeping with Emelie, she deserved better than some lust driven romp, especially since it would be her first.  
Deciding that if it got any worse he would talk to her about it, maybe they could find a solution that did not include him taking her innocence, he shifted slightly and tried to get some more sleep.

  

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 Emelie woke up at sunrise again, all hot and bothered from the dreams she couldn't seem to remember, the constant closeness to Takeshi was really messing with her and she could tell from how tense he was lately that she wasn't the only one affected.  
Considering how sensitive his sense of smell was she was sure he could smell exactly what she was dreaming about and how it was making her body react.  
Scrambling out of bed she hurried to the bathroom to take a shower and try to relieve herself of the smoldering heat that plagued her body, but it did little to solve her problem, and seeing Takeshi working all day in nothing but a pair of cargo shorts really did **not** help.  
There was only one solution to this; She needed to get laid!  
Problem was there was not many potential partners available, sure Ethan was kind of cute, but despite being three years older than her his meek disposition made him feel like a younger sibling, someone to protect, to guide, not a potential partner.  
She had considered talking to Kasumi about helping her, but the thought of a female partner while she was curious and Kasumi was a very good looking woman it just didn't feel like it would give her what she needed, maybe in the future.  
There was of course the workers that were working on clearing the construction site and preparing it for the build, but while most of them seemed like decent guys, and did have some rather delicious looking bodies she didn't want just a one night stand with some stranger and most of them would be leaving in a few weeks when the land clearing was completed so that took them out of consideration.  
Then there was Takeshi, he had her rather confused at this point, he had always been a bit of a flirt, always teasing but lately there had been more to it, touches lingering longer than before, a glint of something more, but he would always turn away from her almost forcefully before she could explore just what that glint was.  
With an internal sigh she realized that it was Takeshi she wanted, badly. It was not that she was falling for him or anything, this want was physical, pure lust.  
If things got worse she would simply have to bite the bullet and talk to him about it, maybe he would be willing to help her after all.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Kasumi and Ethan sat at the table watching Takeshi and Emelie hurry away to the construction site and as they disappeared into the trees Ethan turned to Kasumi.  
“Is everything okay with those two? They seem kinda tense.”  
“Oh they are fine, or well, will be once they stop being stubborn. I am kind of curious who will break first.”  
She replied with a wicked smile  
“It's a shame they have been fighting, they make such a good match.”  
Ethan looked and sounded so concerned that Kasumi couldn't help laughing.  
“Indeed they do, too bad neither of them seem to realize that.”  
“Wait, **what**?! Are you saying they are **not** together?”  
Ethan questioned with a rather stupefied look.  
“Exactly.”  
“But, they always seem so close, even sharing bed and everything.”  
“They have their reasons for that, but such a waste, all that time sleeping together and not a single tryst.”  
Kasumi shook her head with a theatrical sigh.  
“But seriously, it's not that they have been fighting, those two just _**really**_ need to get laid, sooner rather than later and preferably with each other before they both snap.”  
Kasumi's beast while not as active as Takeshi's was more prone to explanations, with the condition that she didn't let Takeshi know what it had said and it had told her that there was no way his beast would tolerate him sleeping with another female while there was one it considered _pack_ available.  
It would also react strongly against a pack female looking for a partner outside the pack and would try to _discourage_ any males from approaching her while also trying to encourage her to seek such comforts inside the pack and well, there was only one male in the pack.  
All in all, Takeshi and Emelie were pretty much doomed to either lose it big times, or end up together in bed for more than just sleeping.  
Part of her almost felt sorry for them, but the part of her that was looking forward to seeing the fallout of the current situation quickly silenced it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Emelie sat in the shade of a tree and watched as Takeshi helped the workers clear the land.  
They had opted to do the work manually rather than have heavy machinery transported there, while it would save time, the cost would be about the same and it would do a lot more damage to the surrounding area.  
She turned to the large tablet next to her and looked over the interactive design plan before checking another tree as cleared.  
The work was moving along faster than anticipated, partially due to Takeshi taking his frustration out on the local flora that needed to be cleared before they could begin to dig for the sub-levels and foundation.  
As she watched them work her mind began to drift toward the past few weeks and the problems caused by her dreams.  
Finding out the truth about her family and the events that followed had caused her to suffer intense nightmares and the only thing that kept them at bay was Takeshi's presence, forcing her to share his bed if she wanted to be able to sleep at all, not that she minded, she had never slept so well before.  
They had tried to find a way to end the nightmares but nothing had worked.  
Then during their stay in Alaska she had begun to have other dreams, intensely erotic dreams. She still could not remember any details but the highly aroused state she found herself in when waking from them told her all she needed to know.  
As time passed they became more frequent, and more intense, past two weeks she had been dreaming every night, even going as far as multiple dreams in one night.  
Even now she could feel it, a constant state of arousal.  
It was nowhere as intense as it would be when she woke from a dream but it was there and it was tiring.  
On top of it all it seemed Takeshi wasn't the only one picking up on it as she was getting a lot of attention from the workers, something that seemed to put Takeshi even more on edge, though she had a hard time figuring out if he was just being protective or if there was more to it, he was seriously confusing her lately, one moment he was all fire only to flip to ice the next.  
She couldn't help thinking about some of the recent incidents and on that train of thought her mind skipped over to how he would hold her at night, she would use his arm as a pillow and as she curled into him he would place his other arm around her, carefully, gently, as if she was a fragile doll that could break at the slightest touch.  
But her mind was conjuring up ideas of how it would feel to truly be held, tightly, possessively, passionately, to truly be wrapped in that strength.  
As soon as her mind skipped to that track she could feel the heat build in her belly and seconds later she could feel Takeshi's gaze shift to her and it set her on edge in a way it never had before.

Takeshi was focusing on the work, hoping that some good old physical labor would take the edge off but it really wasn't doing as much good as he had hoped.  
To make matters worse the other workers seemed to begin to pick up on Emelie's aroused state and that made the beast highly agitated, roaring at him to keep the _outsiders_ away from the _pack female,_ when Emelie's scent suddenly spiked along with her aura he nearly lost it.  
The beast demanded he go to her, take her somewhere private and bring her, and himself, relief.  
And he found that he very much wanted to just give in to its demands and it took everything he had to resist it.  
To make things even harder the beast insisted on its own version of daydreaming, conjuring up vivid images and echoes of sensations that showed in great detail just what it wanted to do with Emelie.  
Checking his watch he decided to take a break, get a quick shower and have some food.  
“Em, _sweetie._ How about we go get some lunch?”  
“Sure!”  
The beast had made perfectly clear it would not allow him to leave without her.  
As they walked toward their temporary home he noticed that Emelie was fidgeting slightly, beginning to say something and then changing her mind, her aura radiated agitation and beneath the surface he could feel her fatigue, for a moment he also detected something dark, but it slipped away like smoke when he tried to have a closer look.  
This worried him, he would have to do a much more thorough investigation of her aura, but to do that she needed to be relaxed and it would take a degree of privacy that was not available at their current home.  
He would simply have to bring her somewhere a bit more isolated and have a proper look at her aura to see what that darkness was.  
Tomorrow was Friday and then the workers would leave for the weekend so there would be no need to keep an eye on them.  
He decided he would try to take her on a short trip over the weekend, maybe take a boat and visit one of the small atolls that littered the area, that should give him enough time to find out just what that smoky darkness was.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Another restless night and they found themselves at the construction site for the last shift for the week, it was a comfortable day and work was moving along at a high pace when Takeshi suddenly picked up on a spike of pure terror coming from Emelie and before anyone had even seen him move he was at her side, to his relief she had ' _only'_ fallen asleep and was suffering her usual nightmares.  
“Em _sweetie_ , wake up. Ssh, it's okay, it's just a dream.”  
He gently shook her and she darted up with a strangled cry before throwing herself around his neck.  
She was obviously exhausted and had fallen asleep in the shade of the trees.  
“Let's go Em, you need sleep before you get seriously sick.”  
She merely gave a weak nod and curled into him when he picked her up.  
As he walked he called out to the workers that he was cutting the day short, they would still receive full pay but he wanted them of the Island within the hour, he had barely started to move away when he noticed that Emelie had fallen asleep.  
Walking toward toward the house he tapped into the bond with Kasumi and asked her to prepare a weekend bag for Emelie, his own was packed and ready sitting in the Blackout as always, his stint with the GCTI had taught him a few useful habits.  
After picking up their bags and using the Blackout's computers to check the upcoming weather he headed down to the lagoon and the boats moored there and headed for the small catamaran, while the lack of headroom made it unsuitable for longer cruises it would be plenty enough for a couple of nights and was easily handled by him alone and its shallow draft would allow them to enter most of the Atolls with ease.  
Carefully shifting her weight without waking her he focused on his shape-shift, further altering his legs to allow for greater jumping power before leaping over to the deck of the catamaran.  
After some shifting around trying to find a position where he could navigate the boat while still holding on to her he gave up and carefully nudged her awake.  
“Sweetie, think you can stay awake for a few minutes while I take us out of the lagoon?”  
Once they reached open waters he could set the autopilot and allow it to take them to Atoll chain, while the state of the art system had no problems navigating open waters or well chartered canals it would occasionally lock up on the shallow reefs of the lagoon surrounding the island so he preferred to take it out manually.  
She groaned some complaints in Swedish but crawled out of his lap and into the seat next to him, blinking a few times she seemed to clear up a bit.  
“Huh, why are we on the boat, where are we going?”  
“We are going on a little weekend vacation.”  
“Hmm, where to?”  
“I was thinking we find a nice secluded atoll somewhere and anchor there and spend the weekend just being lazy.”  
“Sounds fine as long as I get to sleep all day.”  
Takeshi just hummed in response as he took them out on open water and engaged the autopilot.  
Once it was set Emelie quickly crawled back into his lap and promptly fell asleep, picking her up he moved to the couch seat and and settled down, he wouldn't sleep but at least he could get some rest now that the beast seemed to have settled down a bit.

Half an hour later he was brought out of his meditative state as Emelie began to stir and her scent once again spiked and he found himself fighting the influence of her pheromones he could swear that they were getting more potent for every day.  
The beast was stirring and refused to back down until he snarled at it that he would not betray her trust by doing such things without her consent and most definitely not while she was sleeping.  
It was with an internal sigh he realized that his determination to not be the one to claim her innocence was quickly eroding away under the onslaught of her pheromones, never before had any female had such an effect on him.  
A groan and some rather colorful use of the Swedish language told him that Emelie was once again awake and moments later she began to shift around before sitting up.  
“Ugh, so much for sleeping all day.”  
After shifting around she leaned back into his chest and sat in silence looking at the islands as they passed by them.  
“This lack of sleep, it getting dangerous, isn't it?”  
The sudden question had him slightly of balance for a moment.  
He was silent for a moment before answering her, she deserved the truth.  
“It is, you are starting to show clear signs of sleep deprivation and there is an increasing fatigue in your aura. Maybe a week or so more before you begin to become sick from it, and in a month or so it may well prove fatal.”  
“And I guess sleeping pills and such won't help?”  
“It may help extend how long you can last, but the real problem is your dreams, unless we can find a way to manage those it won't do any good, while your body might get the rest it needs you spirit and soul will continue to grow more fatigued and that will eventually kill you.”  
Another silence followed as she digested what he had said, there was no surprise in her aura and Takeshi guessed she had suspected it and he had just confirmed it.  
“You know, I have been thinking a bit on all of this and...”  
Her voice trailed of and he picked up on her embarrassment both in her scent and her aura.  
“And...”  
Another silence.  
“...”  
“Em _sweetie_ , it's okay. Just speak your mind.”  
“When it was just the nightmares I was doing okay, at least as long as you were there but these new dreams, they just keep getting worse. And I was thinking...”  
She trailed of again and this time Takeshi just waited for her to gather her nerve, he had his suspicions what she was getting at and she was probably right.  
“Maybe these new dreams are caused by always sleeping with you...”  
She suddenly blushed vividly, he could feel the heat and see the tips of her ears turn bright red and he couldn't resist a slight chuckle which made her groan and call him horrible again.  
“Between that, your constant teasing and well, being a living human being. Could it just be that I'm sexually frustrated, my body's way of trying to tell me I need to get laid?”  
If possible her blush became even more vivid as she blurted out the last part.  
“It could very well be the case. Even if it is not, _getting laid_ as you put it might still help reduce the dreams to a level where you can get enough sleep to stave of any serious issues.”  
Taking a moment to steel himself he continued.  
“You say you have been thinking about this, have you thought as far as to the fact it takes two to tango?”  
He almost chuckled again as her embarrassment began to shift into mortification but as fast as it had it began to shift into determination and a calm settled into her aura.  
“I have, quite a lot actually.”  
She took a few steadying breaths as she bit the proverbial bullet  
“Ethan while cute is like a baby brother, there are a few of the workers that are pretty good looking, but I don't know them, I don't trust them, and I would prefer more than just a one night stand even if it might not be a romantic relationship.”  
As she turned slightly toward him he knew what she was about to say and he knew it would further break his resolve.  
“Take, I want it to be you...”

With a sigh he pulled her closer and placed his chin on top of her head.  
“Are you really sure you want to go there? ”  
He asked her but did not wait for her to answer before moving on  
“You deserve better, you deserve love, not lust.”  
Another deep sigh filled his senses with her scent.  
“I am a killer, most would consider me a monster, a demon beast lives within me and if we do this it **will** get involved.”  
With another deep breath he pressed on  
“Even a moment's loss of focus and I could hurt you seriously, and no matter what happens there will be pain, quite a bit of it I am afraid.”  
He could feel a slight shift in her aura, her determination wavering for a moment.  
“Not to mention that despite my looks I am still a lot older, old enough to have been with your mother...”  
He could tell from the shifting of her aura that she was considering what he had said, he wasn't sure how long it was before her aura finally settled and she placed her hand over his heart as she spoke.  
“I don't care that you are a killer, I never did. I have seen **you** , but never seen this monster you speak of, I know you would never hurt me if you could avoid it, even that beast of yours while terrifying I still know it won't intentionally harm me, I don't know why or how, but I trust you, all of you.”  
As she spoke he could feel the beast stir and radiate a smug pride as well as a very clear _Told you so_ and part of him felt a great relief at her words.  
“And who cares if you are older?”  
She questioned him before pushing on.  
“Besides, according to The Mother you're pretty much gonna live forever, think you might have to get used to the idea of sleeping with younger women.”  
At that he couldn't resist a chuckle that grew into a laugh.  
“If that truly is what you want.”  
Emelie glared at him for a moment as she could feel the geas of his voice and aura take hold, making it impossible for her to speak anything but the truth.  
“It is.”  
While he had not intended to use _command,_ it had been the beasts influence that did it, he found it to be a relief as the undeniable truth of her statement washed through him and it took every ounce of self control not to give in and bed her on the spot.  
_“Your wish is my command.”_  
Somehow the serpent managed to relay the teasing tone of his thoughts to Emelie which earned him a slap on the arm and a hissed complaint about him being as horrible as ever.  
“Let's find somewhere to anchor and see where this all will take us.”  
She just nodded in response as they moved up to the steering console and Takeshi brought up the map data for the area and after tapping in to Daniel's gift he quickly gained access to normally restricted information before turning the screen over to Emelie to allow her to choose their destination.  
The atoll she picked was large enough for its lagoon to comfortably hold the boat and allow for a rich selection of fish and other seafood as well as decent selection of edible plants for easy meals without having to rely on the supplies stowed in the pantry but still small enough to ensure they were alone.

  

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heated Interlude_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As they approached the shallow reefs Takeshi took down the sails and retracted the mast before navigating into the lagoon on thrusters, once they were securely anchored and the solar-panel float was fully deployed they spent the rest of the afternoon diving along the reef and in the lagoon.  
Though, Emelie did complain how unfair it was that she had to stay strapped into the breathing unit while he swam around without it, the Blessing allowing him to literary grow gills.  
While the state of the art military type breather was a lot less bulky than any civilian gear out there she still complained about it getting in the way.  
Takeshi could understand her, he had never liked the damned things, when possible he would rather hold his breath than use one, and now when he could breathe like a fish he had a new fondness for exploring the underwater world around them.  
Turning towards the deeper inner section of the atoll he reached for the cool well of power within and shed his human form in favor of borrowing the form of the Spotted Eagle Rays gliding nearby, next to the small juveniles he looked even larger than he was and as he swam over to Emelie she looked rather wide eyed before sensing it was him, carefully gliding under her he told her to grab on.  
Feeling that she had a good grip he began to go deeper into the lagoon and soon the group of young rays followed them down to the bottom slowly skimming along the sand.  
He took every opportunity to tease her, gentle touches, seeking out her sensitive spots, weaving his aura into hers he could read her reactions to the slightest stimuli.  
By the time the sun began to set they had eaten and now lounged on the deck as the setting sun painted the sky in fire but neither of them really paid much attention to it as they explored an entirely different fire.

As any modern woman Emelie knew fairly well what to expect but she had never imagined anything like this, her nerves tingled as if there was lightning dancing over her skin, fire flowing through her veins.  
She suspected it was not what would be considered normal.  
Takeshi's enhanced senses and his ability to read her aura allowed him to gauge her responses with near perfect accuracy, something he made good use of to ensure she would receive a most pleasurable experience.  
He was struggling though, her scent was driving him to the edge of control and the beasts constant presence almost made him lose it several times before he managed to get it to back of a bit by explaining that they needed to be careful with her in order to not hurt her more than absolutely necessary and to do that he would need all the control he was capable of, with that it reluctantly backed off a bit, but it still lingered in his senses, just without pushing.

“Take! Please! I...”  
The desperate note in her voice pulled on his focus and as her aura and scent told him she was ready he took all that she offered while giving all that she asked for, and there under the stars she truly became a woman under his touch.

 


	24. A Demon Within

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Demon Within_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When Takeshi woke up he realized it was nearly noon, he could not recall the last time he had slept that late and still he was feeling not just tired but completely drained.  
The second thing he realized was that Emelie's scent had drastically changed during the night, he was prepared for a slight change, as was normal in a female once she became sexually active, but that change was usually subtle where the scent of innocence was replaced by the subtle spice of maturity.  
Emelie's scent however had changed so completely that every last trace of the warm summer flowers and sea breeze that had been her was gone, in it's place there was now water lilies and blue lotus accented by the crisp scent just before snowfall, it was a cold, relaxing scent and he found that he liked it.  
After checking on her aura he found that almost all traces of fatigue was gone from it so he choose to wake her up so they could find something to eat.  
There was more he wanted to talk to her about now that her energies seemed to be stable once again.

“Em, _sweetie_. Time to wake up.”  
He whispered in her ear before kissing the sensitive spot just behind it and he was instantly rewarded with a dazzling peppermint that he quickly realized was the scent of her arousal, not only had her base scent changed, but the pheromones that indicated her emotions had changed as well, something that should not be possible.  
“Mm. G'morning”  
She practically chirped as she rolled out from underneath him.  
“Well, someone's feeling energetic today.”  
He called after her as she disappeared below deck for her morning routine.  
Once breakfast, or rather brunch was ready Takeshi decided to bring up what had been bothering him ever since they left their island, the shadow he had sensed in her aura.  
“ _Sweetie_ , when we have eaten there is something I would like to ask your permission to do. Back on the island when I checked your aura there was a darkness in it, it might just have been fatigue, but when I tried to take a closer look it vanished like smoke. I would like to have a closer look to be sure just what it was and if it is gone now.”  
She nodded silently as he continued.  
“To do this I would have to look into the very core of your aura, your soul and this is something very intimate.”  
“And last night wasn't?”  
Her voice teasing and he once again picked up the spicy mint.  
“By comparison, not really.”  
She looked rather wide eyed as he began to explain.  
“Normally when I check someones aura I just brush my own along the surface, barely touching it. Even the deeper scans I have done on you so far only interacts with the outermost layer.”  
As he spoke he called up his aura and touched hers to make it visible to her and showed her before allowing it to recede.  
“For this however I will have to push into the very core of your aura, this can be very unpleasant and it will give me access to your deepest secrets and memories, even ones you might not even be aware of yourself.”  
“I trust you, if you think it's the only way to be sure then go ahead.”  
He had suspected that would be her answer so once their meal was done he asked her to join him at the bow where they laid out pillows to allow for comfortable seating.

Sitting down facing each other Takeshi guided her into a deep state of meditation that would help protect her mind as he invaded her aura searching for the darkness.  
Carefully wrapping her aura within his own he began to search it, layer by layer not allowing anything to slip past his examination.  
Several times he came across wisps of the darkness but they would vanish as his energies came closer but as he dug deeper they became more frequent, it seemed almost as if they were trying to hide deeper inside her aura.  
Finally he found himself just at the edge of her innermost core and with a whispered apology he prepared to push inside, but the moment he breached it he was violently expelled from her aura as the darkness exploded out from it.  
The smoke like aura expanded nearly 10 meters in every direction before it began to collapse in on itself and as it did it began to solidify around her and before his eyes her aura formed an armor of sorts around her, pulsing with a deep purple glow.  
Moments later it began to expand again, but this time it began to form distinct shapes, two pairs of horns curling almost like a helmet formed from her head, large bat-like wings sprouted from her back, claws formed on her hands and wings and finally a long slender tail with a spearhead tip formed behind her.  
As the tail reached for him and began to curl around his arm she suddenly fell forward and he quickly caught her and after a bit of struggling with the semi-corporeal wings he managed to lay her down on the pillows.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Demon Within_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Once she seemed comfortable he turned to the beast within that had radiated curiosity and wonder ever since her aura had broken free.  
_“What the hell just happened?”  
H_ e questioned the beast as it seemed to know.  
_**“She is Succubus, and a strong one at that. That explains a lot.”  
**__“She's a half demon?”_  
_**“Not with this aura, this is the aura of a pure-blood demon.”**_  
_“How can that be? I know for sure that Maria was entirely human, the Ryujin would have been able to tell if she wasn't.”_  
_**“There is one way that is possible, that is if she is the offspring of a Lilim, 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **generation or maybe even 2**_ _ **nd**_ _ **generation.”  
**__“And that means just what?”_  
Takeshi was getting frustrated as the beasts words were making very little sense to him.  
_**“It means that whoever her father is he is a demon, an Incubus and that either his mother or grandmother is Lilith, progenitor to all things demonic.”**_  
As it spoke its energy seeped through Takeshi's aura and the aura covering Emelie's body seemed to rise in greeting.  
_**“When a demon begets offspring with a human it normally becomes a half-blood, how prominent the demonic traits becomes depends both on power and gender of the demonic parent.”**_  
It seemed to sense that Takeshi had no knowledge of such matters and for once it chose to explain properly.  
_**“A child from a human mother and demon father usually ends up with more human traits than demon ones because a human female is unable to properly nourish a demon fetus. When the mother is demon however the child tends to become mostly demonic because that is the only way it can survive exposure to its demonic mother.”**_  
Takeshi nodded his understanding.  
_**“But with Lilim it's different, If born from a Lilim mother the child is either entirely demon, or stillborn as a human fetus cannot survive being exposed to the power of a Lilim. When the mother is human the child is always born human, but when it reaches the age of maturity it will either remain human or begin to manifest demon traits.”**_  
_“The nightmares and the erotic dreams, those are both traits of a Succubi, aren't they?_  
_**“They are, the same goes for her fatigue, a Succubi needs to feed regularly, either on sexual energy, or life force. As the power within her began to wake the need to feed woke with it. It was a good thing she chose you though, a lesser male would probably have been killed by her hunger.”  
**__“Killed? How?”_  
_**“If the partner of a Succubi is unable to release enough sexual energy, simply put unable to satisfy her, her hunger will turn to their life force instead, usually draining them completely and leaving nothing but a withered husk.**_ _**Had that happened it would probably have killed her as well, the energy needed for the transformation would have been taken from her human life-force, killing her before the demon one could fully awaken.”  
**_ It was a lot to take in and Takeshi sat in silence for a while before asking one thing that was on his mind.  
_“Wouldn't that mean that most of the demonic offspring dies during the transformation?”  
__**“Normally when a Lilim Incubus fathers such a child it would be watched over and if the child begins to manifest demonic properties, a guide would be chosen to bring them through the transformation, a demon able to easily feed them the energy needed.”  
**__“So where is her father then? Should he not have been here to help her?”  
_ There was anger brewing within him, that someone would abandon a child when there was a risk it would need special guidance not to perish. _  
__**“Lilim are highly protective of their offspring as they are much less prolific than other demons. The only reasons I can think of for him not be be here is that he is either dead or trapped in one of the demon-realms, unable to make his way here. Though even trapped he would try to keep an eye on his offspring and see to have a guide ready for her just in case.”  
**_ Moments later it added as an afterthought, _ **  
“Though, there is a third possibility, maybe you were chosen to be her guide, you are strong and already close to her, and our instincts would rebel against an outsider coming close to a pack female in such a way.”  
**__“Wouldn't that mean that some has been watching us, without any of us noticing?”_  
**“There are many ways to look between the worlds, especially for the Lilim.”  
** It would seem he had run out of explanations for now.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Demon Within_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

He watched as Emelie began to wake and as she did her aura shifted, fading until it was only visible to his enhanced senses and it lost it solidity, once again becoming just energy, but even in its non-corporeal state it would bend and adapt to the environment, the wings folded tightly against her back and the tail coiled several times around her waist before the tip reached out and wrapped around his wrist again, to anyone not able to see auras she once again looked like a regular human woman.  
He did notice a few physical changes, her hair was longer and the color seemed more vibrant, her eyes now sported slitted pupils and no longer greenish blue but a vivid emerald green.  
Her nails longer and looked very sharp, the shifting colors brought anodized titanium to mind.  
“Welcome back _sweetie_ , how are you feeling?”  
She blinked at him a few times before bouncing up with a smile  
“I feel great! Did you find whatever you were looking for?”  
“In a sense, I found it but it was something entirely different than I believed it would be.”  
She spun around and nearly pounced on him  
“Oh, good or bad different?”  
Before he had a chance to answer her he felt a yank on his arm and a moment later she yelped and fell into his lap, apparently her tail was still able to affect her despite having reverted to a non-corporeal form, and her spinning while her tail still held onto his wrist had caused her to get further tangled in it and fall.  
He hissed in pain when she grabbed his shoulders to try to regain her balance, her new nails every bit as sharp as they looked cutting deep slashes into him.  
Moments later he could feel the burn of some sort of toxin racing through his body and based on his reactions it was some sort of lust inducing substance, thankfully his altered physiology allowed his body to rapidly counteract the foreign substance before it could push him over the edge.  
“Relax _sweetie_ , your nails kinda hurt when you dig them in like that.”  
She instantly released him and when she spotted the blood from the deep slashes he could feel the mortification shift through her aura and was able to pick up the scent associated with it, it would take a bit of work to learn to decipher her new scents.  
“Oh no! I'm so sorry.”  
She was frantically trying to remove his shirt to get a closer look.  
“It's okay, it will heal in a few minutes. See, it's barely bleeding anymore.”  
She froze when she accidentally cut him again and finally noticed her new nails,  
“What happened to me?”  
She asked as she sat staring at her hands.  
Takeshi took a deep breath before enveloping her in his aura once again.  
“I'm not entirely sure how, but it seems that your father was not entirely human. Or, well, not human at all actually. From what happened when I searched your aura and what the beast has told me your father was a demon, an Incubus.”  
She interrupted him with wide eyes  
“Incubus, as in the male version of the demons of Seduction, Lust and Nightmares?”  
“Yeah, pretty much.”  
She cursed to herself in Swedish and he was able to pick up on her asking what she had done to deserve this.  
“It seems that your dreams were connected to your becoming a Succubus. From what the beast has explained your father was a special kind of Incubus, if these have a child with a human woman the child is born human, but when they come of age some will start to display demon traits and those that do will either become demons or die during the transformation.”  
“Great, mom screws a demon and now I'm screwed. I can't even touch something without cutting it to ribbons. And if I recall my mythology classes correct there's a major risk that I'll seriously hurt or even kill anyone I have sex with, and sex is like food, something I won't be able to survive without...”  
She flopped down on the deck and hid her hands against her chest.  
He reached over and pulled her back into his lap and carefully uncurled her hands before wrapping his own clawed fingers around them.  
“You will learn to control it, I promise.”  
Reaching over he grabbed the small cutting board underneath the basket of fruits next to them and used a claw to easily cut a deep groove into the surface before taking her index-finger and doing the same using her nail.  
“See, my claws are every bit as sharp as yours and have I ever cut you with them?”  
Easily crushing one of the corners of the board he continued  
“With all this strength, have I ever hurt you?”  
She shook her head.  
“No, never...”  
“It will take time getting used to it”  
She just nodded before something occurred to her.  
“But what about the entire feeding on sex thing? Won't I have to do that to live? I don't want to live by hurting others...”  
“Well, you will need to feed, there is no way to get around that. But by being careful about who you sleep with you can avoid killing anyone.”  
“Even if they can survive I don't want to hurt anyone...”  
“It's okay, the beast explained it. As long as your partner is able to _satisfy_ you with sexual energy, you won't hurt them by draining any of their life-force.”  
“So, stay away from bad sex and everything will be fine?”  
She asked with a laugh.  
“Pretty much.”  
He replied with a smirk.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Demon Within_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It took nearly two weeks before she felt comfortable enough to return to the Island, during that time Takeshi had taught her a lot about how to control her aura and they had found that as long as she was well fed she had a much easier time keeping her new nature under control.  
She was no longer unintentionally slicing things up and was slowly learning to control their sharpness.  
Getting used to the wings had taken a bit more effort, even while in their incorporeal form she was uncomfortable with anything touching them and even more so if anything touched the area around her shoulder-blades where they attached to her back.  
The beast had explained that it was simply survival instinct, while the bones and tissue of the wings themselves was highly durable and easily healed, or even regrown the structures where they connected to the back was surprisingly fragile and very hard to heal, even a rather simple injury could take decades, even centuries to heal and a more complex injury might never heal properly, costing them the power of flight.  
Many winged demons refused to even wear clothing that covered the area, even if they were able to completely fold or retract their wings.  
It had told him that the fact that she allowed him to touch the area at all spoke volumes about how totally she trusted him.  
Sleeping had been a bit of an adventure the first few nights as she was not comfortable with sleeping on her stomach and she was having a hard time with the sensations of her wings, but she had eventually managed to sleep on her side comfortably, folding one wing tight against her body and draping the other one across them, the feeling of it draped across his aura had been slightly unsettling at first but he quickly grew accustomed to the feeling.  
She would still wrap her tail around his wrist, the contact seemed to help stabilize her energies, thankfully she had quickly learned how to keep it completely incorporeal so they would no longer get snagged or tangled.  
He had also found that her tail was very sensitive in a most _interesting_ way, especially the tip and being who he was he could not resist using that bit of knowledge to tease her, slowly dragging a claw along the edge of the spearhead shape he was rewarded with the scent of peppermint and snow as she spun around and pounced him.  
He found he did not mind such _distractions_...

 


	25. And so the Hunt Begins

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

**Hawaii Estate 2039**

It had taken 3 years to complete the construction of the Hawaii estate but it was finally completed, the time however had not been wasted idly watching, they had trained and plans had been made, it was now time to move on with those plans and take down the GCTI.  
Takeshi had chosen to put aside his personal vengeance in order to make sure that GCTI as an organization went down for good, that everyone who had been hurt by them received retribution, if not in life then at least in death.  
After her awakening Emelie had asked to be allowed to be a part of taking GCTI down and since she was no longer a fragile human Takeshi had agreed to train her, and if she learned well he would take her with him.  
And she had learned amazingly well, with her rebirth as a demon she had gained new instincts and several useful abilities.  
She was a skilled flier, with raw demonic energy, youki, aiding her she was capable of great speed and agility, only way he was able to keep up was by taking the form of the Peregrine Falcon.  
Her massive wingspan and the youki also allowed her to carry several times her own weight while in flight, she could easily dive down and snag him from the ground and carry him off.  
She had grown highly skilled in using her body as a weapon, able to change the nails of both her hands and feet into long curved talons, each digit of her wings tipped with a sharp talon and at will she could form razor-like scales along the front edge of her wings.  
She could use her tail like a whip or lasso to grab and trip, she could harden the tip and use it like a spear to cut or stab.  
So far she had not found a weapon she liked however, but it seemed she would not need one, between her natural weapons and the powers she had obtained she was a quite capable fighter.  
Like the succubi of legend she she possessed the power of seduction and nightmares.  
Her seduction exerted an influence over any male around her making them pliable and receptive to her will.  
They would protect her from anything or anyone that would harm her, vie for her favor and even a slight push could drive them into a homicidal jealousy, like a siren's song her voice and touch could mesmerize a man into obedience, it was very similar to Takeshi's _command_ , but it only seemed to work on males.  
It had taken a few months for Takeshi to learn to fully resist the effect of her unconscious _seduction_ and it took quite a bit of focus to remain levelheaded when she put effort into trying to control him.  
The nightmare aspect of her power allowed her to incite terror, though never fully tested Takeshi suspected she could literally scare someone to death if she put her mind to it and unlike the seduction it worked equally on both males and females.

  

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi was in the Blackout checking on the equipment and supplies, making sure they had everything they would need before heading out.  
“Em _sweetie_ , are you ready?”  
“Yep, I'm good to go as soon as you give me a hand zipping this damned thing up.”  
She popped her head into the cargo compartment of the Blackout and turned her back to him so he could help her close up the upper part of the skin tight catsuit she was wearing.  
Crafted from Kumo-silk it offered some additional protection and the back had a pattern of holes that allowed both her wings and her tail to manifest freely and as an added bonus it worked well to enhance her _allure_.  
He quickly closed and adjusted the straps that held the neck and shoulder area in place and did a quick check of the other straps as well to make sure it was properly adjusted.  
“There, how does it feel?”  
After a few stretches she nodded  
“Fits like a glove.”  
She practically purred as she pressed into his side, his arms circling her before he realized it and he noticed the slight tingling along his aura that warned him she was intentionally using her _seduction_ on a slightly higher level than it would normally be.  
“ _Sweetie_ , how do you expect me to be able to fly straight if you do that?”  
“Aw, just let the autopilot do the flying so we can have some _fun_.”  
This time she really was purring and her pheromones spiked as she turned to straddle his waist. He balanced her with a smirk and began walking toward the cockpit, once there he simply dropped her in the co-pilot's seat before giving the tip of her tail a sharp nip with his fangs causing her to yelp and glare at him.  
“Please _sweetie_ , we need to focus for this.”  
She responded with a harrumph but settled back and he could feel her _seduction_ subside.

They had a rare opportunity to strike at the heart of the GCTI as a large number of the top brass was meeting with financial backers, a meeting much like the one in Sydney nearly 20 years ago only this time he was not there to protect but to kill. He did not have solid confirmation, but chances were good that just like that time there would be the meeting with the official backers first then a meeting with the more shady ones later in the evening.  
The plan was to infiltrate the later of the meetings, subdue the participants using a combination of Emelie's pheromones and Takeshi's _command.  
_ Once secured they would question the people there to see which would be best suited to obtain and reveal proof of GCTI dirty dealing, those would be forced under a more powerful version of _command_ to act as whistle-blowers, the rest would be killed unless by some long-shot they were unaware of what GCTI truly was, but the chances for someone like that to be at the event at all was low.

It was a quick flight over to Los Angeles where the meeting was being held, they landed at a small farm outside the city, the owner was one of many people that had been hurt by the GCTI, his son one of those forcibly recruited that had not survived the training.  
Once they had moved the Blackout into the barn they packed their gear into the cases on the motorcycles that had been placed there for them to use.  
Once packed they headed toward the city and the luxury penthouse conference-suite where the meeting was being held.  
Once they reached the hotel Emelie put on her dress for the evening, a long, black cheongsam with a sakura blossom embroidered pattern, the back was open to accommodate her wings and a smaller hole for her tail was worked into the design and as a finishing touch her serpent wove its body into her hair acting like a decorative circlet while allowing them to communicate while Takeshi was in his wolf form.  
Takeshi's apparel for the evening was a bit less luxurious, he was wearing black camo, very similar to what Emelie had put him in when she dragged him with her on her 20th birthday but he too would be wearing something very different for the first part of their little mission and at the moment he was glaring at it as Emelie waved it in front of him with a huge grin.  
To make it easier to get inside while at the same time making sure that some of the guards would be under Emelie's control she would pretend to be blind and Takeshi would pose as her service dog, which included wearing the typical harness, though it was custom made to fit his larger form and the placement of the handles modified to compensate for his wolf form measuring well over a meter at the shoulders.

It was almost too easy getting to the conference-suite as the guards were tripping over each other to help Emelie get there and once there they began to scout who was who.  
There was about 20 “investors” and 10 GCTI's top ranks present as well as a number of escorts, the women hired to entertain would simply be put under _command_ to forget the event and be sent home.  
Takeshi had a hard time restraining himself as he spotted a familiar face, sitting next to a small stage was Gerard Roberts, he almost did not recognize him at first, the bastard had not aged well.  
_“Take, whats wrong?”_  
Emelie asked as she picked up on his sudden tension.  
_“That pathetic excuse for a human being is Gerard Roberts.”  
“Wait, you mean that's the asshole that wanted to hurt mom?”  
“It is.”_  
He confirmed silently, a tremor of rage tainting his voice.  
_“He is mine!”_  
The serpent managed pretty well to relay the fury in her tone.  
_“If you want him you can have him, as long as he dies I don't care how.”_  
Takeshi's response carried a distinct growl that told of his wavering control.  
During their little _conversation_ the men by the scene had spotted them and Roberts immediately moved in to try to approach Emelie which caused Takeshi to snarl and snap his fangs at him.  
“Yakone, behave!”  
Takeshi rolled his eyes at her use of the old nickname Amarok had given him.  
“And you, whoever you are, I suggest you don't come any closer, he obviously does not like you and I trust his judgment.”  
She called out without turning toward Roberts.  
“Now now, don't be like that love”  
She was barely able to suppress the shudder of revulsion at the sleazy tone in his voice and she was glad that a vicious snarl and snap of fangs from Takeshi kept Roberts from putting his arm around her.  
It did however not stop him from taking her hand and start to pull her along toward the tables next to the stage.  
Roberts was nearly able to pull her into his lap but at the last moment she was able to feign tripping and fall into the lap of one of the other men, her instincts told her this one was not a threat to her and as he caught her she prepared to use her abilities to snare him but a quick thought from Takeshi made her pause.  
_“Em, don't!”  
“Why, whats going on?”  
“That's Thomas Matthews, he's on our side.”  
“Okay.”  
_ “Yakone, Come here!”  
Che called out, feigning worry at not having her service dog at her side, as Takeshi moved up beside her she could feel the man, Matthews, relax beneath her, he obviously recognized Takeshi and felt safe in his presence.  
Takeshi poked his head into her chest before laying down at her feet, as he did Matthews spoke up.  
“Gerard, that wasn't very nice. You have the poor sweetheart terrified.”  
He admonished as he moved her a bit so she could sit comfortably.  
The sneer on Roberts's face told everyone present just what he thought about the situation and Takeshi growled when he heard him mutter about _worthless whores_.  
As the evening progressed Matthews stayed close to Emelie and Takeshi under the pretense of helping Emelie and introducing her to the various people present, allowing her ample time to exert her influence on them.

  

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

A few hours and an obscenely extravagant meal later one of the GCTI called attention to the small stage and after a short speech he announced it was time for the _'special event'_.  
As their attention turned to the stage Roberts stepped up to the small podium and announced that it was time for the auction to begin, but when the _'merchandise'_ was brought out to be presented Takeshi froze at the sight of a group of girls being pushed out from a small room hidden behind the curtains.  
The youngest, a pair of twins, looked to be around 5 maybe 6 and the oldest was no older than 15, none of them wearing anything but a leather collar with a number tag attached.  
For a few moments his mind refused to accept the implications but as Roberts began to present his _merchandise_ the truth of it finally sunk in and Takeshi snapped, reaching within he tore away the restraints that kept the beast at bay, inviting it to join him and with a snarl he shed the wolf-form and lunged for Roberts only to be yanked back by Emelie's tail and a moment later he found himself face to face with a furious Succubus in all her glory,  
“He is **MINE**! You promised!”  
She all but shrieked at him and her powers washed over him, demanding that he step aside and there was a brief moment where he almost obeyed before his own instincts flared up, demanding that he subdue her and not allow her to challenge him but he was able to push them aside, he had after all promised her.  
Emelie watched as Takeshi wavered under her power for a moment before flashing his fangs at her and silencing her with a savage kiss and she savored the searing sensation of his unrestrained power flowing through her before he broke the kiss of and stepped aside.  
“Then take what is yours.”  
She could hear the presence of the Beast in his voice and feel its chill where their auras touched.  
As she walked toward the stage her power forced the other men in the room to stay back and a quick _command_ from Takeshi made sure the females present closed their eyes and remained still before he stepped up next to her.  
“ **You!** ”  
Roberts was entirely focused on Takeshi as they stepped up on the stage.  
“Impossible! You are dead!”  
He was spluttering and the stench of his fear was overpowering most other scents.  
“Ladies, girls, keep your eyes closed. This is not something you should see.”  
Takeshi reinforced the _command_ to make sure they would not witness what was about to happen but to his surprise the oldest of the girls fought the _command_ and tried to look at them.  
He stepped over to her and put his hand on her shoulder,  
“You, you wish to watch, why?”  
“That monster violated my sister, torturing and killing her before my eyes!”  
She was shaking and Takeshi could feel a mix of pain, sorrow, disgust and fury all dimmed by fear shift through her scent and aura.  
“I need to know he is really gone!”  
She practically begged him and he nodded before leaning in and whispered in her ear.  
“Then watch if that truly is your wish.”  
His words released her from the _command_.  
While he had spoken to the girl Emelie had advanced on Roberts, using the nightmare aspect of her power she had him cowering behind the podium and with a quick look at Takeshi she confirmed that his _command_ had the others securely under his control.  
“You, Gerard Roberts, are a monster and for all the heinous things you have done you will now die!”  
With a flick of her tail she shattered the podium and wrapped the tail around his neck, forcing him to his knees in front of her.  
She had considered killing him slowly, torture him as he had done to so many women, but as she stood there she saw him for what he truly was, a pitiful creature and she finally understood how the beast had felt when it refused to sully it's claws with her grandparents blood.  
“But, you are not worthy of dying by my hands.”  
With a look of utter disgust she reached for her serpent and sent it along her tail and with a quick strike it was over, its potent venom killing within seconds and with a twist she threw the body aside.

Takeshi wiped the memories of the escorts before sending them away, the girls were sent back into the small room they had come from and asked to wait there and Matthews choose to leave the room as well.  
Once the innocent bystanders were sent away Takeshi and Emelie made short work of the remaining participants, leaving one of the GCTI and one of the financial backers alive and after weaving layers of Emelie's power and _command_ together they released them to spread the information about the GCTI.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_And so the Hunt Begins_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

With their main objective done they tried to figure out what to do with the girls that Roberts had intended to sell.  
“So, how about we get you girls back home to your parents?”  
Takeshi asked as he stepped into the room, but instantly regretted his choice of words as he could feel the negative reaction in the girls and his suspicion as to the reason was confirmed when the oldest of the girls spoke up.  
“We don't have any homes to go back to, most of us are orphans, our parents victims of the GCTI. The others, like the twins, were sold to that monster by their parents.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath to maintain control but a low growl still escaped when he spoke.  
“For what it's worth, I am sorry. Looks like we need to find you girls new homes then.”  
“Can't we stay with you and Wing-Lady?”  
One of the twins piped up and he couldn't resist a smile at her nickname for Emelie.  
“Please?”  
Her sister followed up  
Emelie looked at the girls for a moment before speaking up,  
“Well, they have a point Take. We might as well take them in, at least for now. We have plenty of room and while they stay we can look into finding them new homes.”  
With a smile she turned to the twins,  
“And my name is Emelie or Em, not 'Wing-Lady', and Mr Growly over there is Takeshi, but you can call him Take.”  
“Okay, Wing-Lady.”  
They both replied impishly.  
“Well, looks like we have some guests then.”  
Takeshi stated with a smile and the twins instantly cheered up.  
“We can't take them all on the bikes so I'll bring the Blackout here on remote.”  
“Wing-Lady, I'm hungry!”  
One of the twins interrupted them.  
“You do that, I'll see if I can find something to eat for them. You girls stay in here, we kinda made a mess out there.”  
Emelie vanished out the door and Takeshi took the sensor-gloves and visor attachment out of his pack and put them on before sitting down in one of the large chairs.  
He never did like using the remote interface to fly the Blackout, the lack of feedback from the controls always felt wrong but a little later he landed it on the small helipad outside the conference suite.  
While he brought the Blackout Emelie had looked for food but the servers had removed all the food during the speech so she had returned empty handed much to the girls disappointment.  
“Okay girls, let's go. It's gonna be a bit of a tight fit but I'm sure you can all get along for a while.”  
Takeshi showed them into the Blackout and Emelie helped them getting strapped in, but since the small plane was only made to carry a pilot, co-pilot and six passengers they had to double up a bit on the seats to fit all ten girls.  
Pulling on the bond with Kasumi he alerted her that they would be bringing guests and she promised to prepare food and spare futons in the sitting room, they could pick their own rooms later.

A few hours later Takeshi set the Blackout down on the landing pad and once the lift system had taken it below ground he and Emelie helped the girls getting out of the seats and guided them through the tunnel that connected with the house.

 


	26. Family Lost Family Gained

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family Lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
Kasumi met the group as they came from the tunnel connecting the house with the underground hangar and while she showed the girls to the inner garden where a large meal had been set out on the deck, Takeshi and Emelie took the opportunity to grab a quick shower and change of clothes before joining them.  
“Wing-Lady! Doggy!”  
Both the twins bounced out of their chairs and came running when they spotted them.  
“Doggy?”  
Kasumi asked with a laugh.  
“Yeah, those two don't seem to do names.”  
Takeshi responded with a smile.  
“On the topic of names, what's all your names?”  
Emelie asked the girls as she took a seat.  
The oldest was once again the one to speak up for the group.  
“I'm Melissa, That's Amanda, then the sisters Alice and Anne, next is Diane.”  
She pointed to each of the girls on her side of the table before moving on to the next side  
“Carol and Amy are also sisters, and that is Julia.”  
She hesitated for a moment before pointing to the twins.  
“The twins never told us their names.”  
Emelie turned to the twins  
“So girls, feel like telling us your names?”  
“No! We have bad names, can we have new ones?”  
“Please Wing-Lady.”  
Emelie looked at Takeshi and Kasumi and they both nodded for her to pick names for the girls as they seemed to favor her.  
“Okay, but you have to promise to try to remember to use our names.”  
“We promise!”  
Emelie thought about it for a moment before continuing  
“My mother's full name was Sara Maria Eriksson, so how about we name you Sarah and Maria?”  
“Yay! We have good names!”  
Both were dancing around before suddenly stopping.  
“But, who is Sarah and who is Maria?”  
Emelie touched her serpent and whispered something to it before sending it slithering away along the flooring.  
“Whoever catches my little friend there first will be Sarah.”  
Everyone laughed as they watched the twins trying to catch the elusive serpent, but Takeshi, Kasumi and Emelie all knew it would not last, it was Takeshi's _command_ and sheer willpower that was keeping the girls from going into shock and he was draining vast amounts of Qi to protect them but he would keep it up for as long as was needed.

After returning from the chase the twins had crawled into Emelie's lap and promptly fallen asleep but the rest of the girls were still refusing to sleep and Takeshi was about to use _suggestion_ to try to make them sleep when the oldest, Melissa winced and pressed her hands against her head.  
“Do you have any painkillers? My head is killing me.”  
She whimpered.  
Two of the other girls also spoke up asking if they could have some as well and Kasumi headed in to make something for them.  
“We don't have any regular pills, but I can make you something that will work just as good, just give me a few minutes.”  
They all nodded but just moments after she left several of the girls cried out as Melissa collapsed.

Takeshi was at her side in an instant and what he found caused him to to curse in several languages and Emelie carefully untangled herself from the twins and went to see what was wrong.  
“Dammit, I was afraid this would happened!”  
“Whats wrong with her?”  
Emelie wrapped her tail around his arm, the familiar contact calming them both.  
“Withdrawal symptoms, and pretty severe ones. That bastard drugged her with something, probably to keep her under control and keep her from trying to run away. Chances are the other two, maybe even all of them, has been given whatever it was as well.”  
He kept pushing his Qi at Melissa, trying to stabilize her and find some way to alleviate her symptoms and prevent them from getting worse but he wasn't having much luck and he could feel her body shutting down.  
“Wait, let me try something.”  
Emelie moved closer and sent her serpent down her arm and it carefully sunk its fangs into Melissa's wrist and moments later she seemed to relax a bit.  
Emelie closed her eyes as she spoke to her serpent for a while before bringing Takeshi into the conversation,  
_“It's bad, the bite can only numb her pain but according to the serpent the damage is to severe to heal by any normal means.”  
__**“Only the Blessing can keep her from death. The other two can still be healed by the serpent's bite.”**_ _  
_ Both Takeshi and Emelie paused for a moment as the Mother spoke through the serpent.  
_“I can't just force that on her, she needs to chose for herself.”_  
Takeshi objected for a moment.  
_**“Then speak quickly, even I can not waken her spirit for long.”  
**_ As Melissa's spirit manifested Takeshi quickly explained what was happening and what he would have to do to save her.  
_“Please, I promised my sister I would live.”_  
With her choice made Takeshi asked Emelie to cover them before carefully leaning in to make her one of the Blessed and as Emelie's wings manifested around them he bit down at Melissa's shoulder, pulling on the well of power within he channeled it into her body through the wound.  
After a few moments he could feel her aura shift as the Blessing took hold and her body began to heal, as the marks from the bite faded they were replaced by a dark mark, almost like a tattoo taking the form of a tiny dragon surrounded by flames resting just above her collarbone.  
When Melissa began to wake up Emelie allowed her wings to fade away so that the other girls could see that she was fine.  
Takeshi picked Melissa up and brought her to the back of the inner garden to help her get a handle on her new senses, though nowhere near as strong as his or even Kasumi's it was still an unsettling change.

Emelie watched them leave before she turned to the remaining girls and explained a bit of what had happened, halfway through Kasumi came back out carrying a tray with three small cups.  
“I guess we won't be needing these after all?”  
“I don't think so.”  
Emelie said as she turned towards Amanda and Diane, the other two girls who had also been drugged, however they must not have been given as much or for as long because their symptoms were nowhere near as bad.  
“Come here, let's get you two fixed up”  
Taking their hands she called on her serpent and as it slithered down her arm she explain what would happen.  
“It will bite your hand and I won't lie, it will hurt, but it will make you well again.”  
She explain and they nodded, thankfully Takeshi's calming _command_ was still affecting them, keeping them relaxed but it also allowed them to recognize the truth in her words.

When Takeshi returned with Melissa an hour later Emelie and Kasumi were still trying to get the other girls to go to bed without much luck, they were still scared and worried about nightmares, about waking up and finding that their rescue had all been a dream.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family Lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Emelie reached out and wrapped her tail around Takeshi's wrist as usual but she noticed that something felt off, normally his aura would flare slightly in acknowledgment, a greeting of sorts but she didn't feel anything and when he went to sit down she noticed a slight falter in his step and he swayed slightly before finding his balance and sitting down, causing her to become concerned.  
_“Take, whats wrong?”  
_ She kept the question silent so the girls wouldn't notice and get worried or scared.  
_“Nothing, just a bit tired that's all. Giving her the Blessing took a bit more out of me than I had expected, but I'll be fine, don't worry.”_  
He wasn't outright lying but Emelie could tell he wasn't being entirely truthful either.  
Letting her power flow over him she tried to determine just how bad it was and she did not like what she found.  
_“Take, stop. You are not fine, I might not be as good as you at the entire reading auras thing, but I'm a Succubus. I can tell when a guy is running out of gas and you are running on fumes.”  
_ She watched as he closed his eyes, his shoulders sagging slightly,  
_“I_ _ **will**_ _be fine! I might be a bit tired right now, but as long as nothing more happens I'll be able to keep them safe for as long as is needed.”_  
She cursed internally at his stubbornness  
_“Take, please. It won't do anyone any good if you push yourself too hard. You need to let off and get some rest.”_  
She tried reasoning with him but she was having little success.  
With a sigh she went over to the doorway where Kasumi was sitting,  
“We need to get these girls to sleep before that idiot kills himself.”  
She whispered  
“They are too scared, afraid they will have nightmares.”  
Kasumi's voice was low to keep the girls from hearing  
“If we can just get them to sleep I can keep any nightmares at bay, you just get him to rest!”  
Emelie hissed in frustration.  
“Maybe you should just tell them that, they are still under his _command,_ right?”  
Emelie felt like slapping herself for not realizing that.  
“Thanks Sumi-chan.”  
“Girls, I need you to listen to me for a while.”  
She waved for them to come join her.  
“I know you are scared and don't want to sleep, but I promise we will still be here when you wake up.”  
“I don't wanna sleep, I'm gonna have nightmares...”  
Julia, one of the youngest girls, complained.  
“I promise you won't have any nightmares, I will make sure you don't.”  
The girls nodded silently and she was finally able to usher them inside where Kasumi had prepared futons in the sitting room, using her tail Emelie was able to carry both of the twins without waking them up.

After moving the futons together and helping the younger girls get tucked in Emelie sat down at the edge of the futons and carefully began to weave her power over them and as they fell asleep one by one she wove her powers deeper into their auras, tapping into their dreams, using the nightmare aspect of her power she shielded them from any bad dreams.  
A few minutes after they were finally all asleep she could feel Takeshi coming in to the room and walking over to her.  
_“You are supposed to rest.”  
_ He sat down behind her and lifted her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her he rested his chin on her shoulder. _  
“I'm sorry I made you worry.”  
_ He didn't say anything else and she realized he had already fallen asleep where they sat.  
No matter how good it felt to have him hold her like that she knew he would not be able to sleep properly like that, so using her tail and wings to aid her she slid out of his lap without waking him and carefully maneuvered him into a more comfortable position before placing his head in her lap.  
The sun was already high when she felt him stir, a quick touch of her tail brought out a flare of his aura, though far from recovered it was enough to make her relax.  
_“The girls?”_  
The tone carried in his his silent question spoke of his concern for the well being of their guests.  
_“Still sleeping. They will keep sleeping until I release my weave.”_  
_“And how are you holding up, using your power on so many for so long?”_  
A teasing nip on the tip of her tail caused her aura to flare slightly giving him a better idea of how much of her strength she had depleted.  
_“I can hold on for a few more hours, but you better follow up on that teasing once they are awake.”_  
She returned his teasing with a brush of her seduction before returning her focus to the girls.  
_“You should eat before they wake up, you'll have your hands full when they do.”  
“I'm sure I will”  
_ There was laughter in his tone as he got up and headed to the kitchen. _  
“I'll make you something as well”  
_ A quick squeeze of her tail before letting go relayed her gratitude.  
When he returned he carried a tray piled high with some of her favorites; sourdough bread, cold-cut meats, smoked fish, cheese and fruits and a pitcher of ice-cold spring-water and she could tell from the taste of the kiss he greeted her with that he had made short work of their supply of raw meat.  
As she took the tray Takeshi sat down beside her and lifted her into his lap and while she ate to nourish her body his touch; kisses, nips and scratches of sharp fangs and claws nourished the Succubus soul within.  
When she was done eating she withdrew her power from the girls before twisting around and pouncing on Takeshi and without her power to keep them sleeping the girls soon woke from the tussle that ensued.  
When Kasumi looked in on them she was met with a group of wide eyed girls staring at her brother and Emelie having one of their usual bouts.  
“Okay girls, time for breakfast!”  
She called for their attention.  
She was met with hesitant glances between her and the pair tumbling around on the floor as well as muttered questions,  
“Oh, don't worry about those two, that's perfectly normal behavior for them. But we better get out of here before things become X-rated.”  
She ushered the girls toward the kitchen to help her make breakfast before calling over her shoulder.  
“ _Oi!_ You two! You know you have a bedroom for that stuff, right?”  
Her comment was met with a shove of both their auras, a not so subtle way of telling her _'yeah yeah'_ while ignoring her at the same time.  
Shaking her head with a smile she slipped past the girls to show them the way to the kitchen.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family Lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

With breakfast done Kasumi and the girls sat in the inner garden talking when Takeshi and Emelie joined them some hour and a half later.  
“Well look who finally decided to join us.”  
Kasumi teased as they sat down on one of the piles of pillows which rewarded her with a full-fanged grin from Takeshi and a flying pillow courtesy of Emelie's tail.  
As the conversations continued Takeshi used a mix of _command_ and _suggestion_ to carefully lead the girls into talking about what they had been through so that they could assess their mental state, thankfully it seemed that Melissa was the only one to have suffered any severe trauma, he was however unsure about Julia, her answers indicated there might be repressed memories.  
Takeshi would need to use his Qi keep Amanda balanced while they worked with her but it wouldn't be any problem with only her as it might have been if more of the girls had needed the additional help, all he could do for Julia was to keep an eye on her in case the memories re-surfaced.  
They were still afraid of nightmares though and Emelie would not be able to protect them every night but her serpent whispered a solution to her, no doubt acting as a mouthpiece for the Mother.  
Rounding up the girls they brought them to the room that had been turned into a vivarium where all of the animals and plants that the Mother had gifted Emelie with now lived.  
Calling on her serpent before speaking Emelie began to explain it to the girls.  
“You see this cute little thing? It's a very special creature, usually called a familiar.”  
“Like the ones witches have?”  
She didn't see who interrupted her but she nodded  
“That's right. I was given this one so that I can talk to Take when he's not human. But it can do other really cool things to.”  
With a gentle prodding she showed a few of its transformations.  
“Inside this room there are a lot of different creatures that are also very special, I want you girls to pick one each and I will teach them how to protect you from the nightmares and then they can be your own dream-guardians.”  
She waited for the cheering to subside before continuing.  
“Now, I have to warn you though, they won't keep bad dreams away completely, those bad dreams are needed for you be able to fully heal. But they **will** make sure they don't get really bad.”  
There was some complains but they all nodded their understanding.  
When Takeshi opened the door however any complaints were instantly forgotten as they stared wide-eyed at the room in front of them.  
There was laughter and exclamations of both joy and surprise as they explored the vivarium and the various creatures living there.  
“Find the ones you like and bring them to me.”  
Emelie instructed them.

 

The twins were the first to come running, each carefully cradling one of the long tailed hummingbirds that reminded Emelie of the Violet-tailed Sylph.

Holding her hand out she took the first tiny bird and allowed her power to touch it and with the serpents instructions she wove her power around it before letting the power settle into it.  
She handed the bird back and quickly did the same with the second bird and after handing it back she watched them go back in to look at the other animals.

Amanda, the second oldest girl was the next one to come to her, carrying what looked like a female Chinese Luna Moth, the opaline wings a powdery baby blue and Emelie quickly wove her power into it.

Alice and Anne, the younger sibling-pair came to her next carrying a pair of crabs, both looking like they were carved out of mother-of-pearl, one of them a pure white the other a deep black.

Julia, the youngest apart from the twins came carrying a rather well sized Frilled Lizard with a spectacular coloring, the vivid oranges, yellows and white combined with deep black and smoky grays shifting slightly made it look like glowing embers.

Diane, the 9-year old, came carrying a rainbow colored lizard that looked a bit like a Red-Headed Agama and she was having obvious problems keeping track of the quick lizard as it climbed all over her much to the others amusement.

Carol and Amy, the older sibling-pair both choose snakes, scales shifting in electric blue and purples and sporting the hood of a cobra.

Melissa was the last one to find her familiar, though the blessing would help keep her protected she still wanted one.  
Her choice had fallen on a parrot with a plumage that appeared to be cut from tiger's eye making it look like the Phoenix of legend.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family Lost Family Gained_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Over the next few weeks they worked hard to try and find out if any of the girls had any family out there somewhere, but they had little luck, Roberts had been thorough in his choice of victims, probably abusing GCTI access to various records to find girls with minimal family, in the end the only family they did find was the twins parents and there was no way they would ever allow them anywhere near the girls, in fact both Takeshi and Emelie were in agreement on making sure they would end up very dead sooner rather than later.  
Deciding it was time to tell the girls they brought them to the pergola hidden by the waterfall in the very back of the inner garden and Takeshi called for their attention.  
“As you know we have been trying to find out if you have any family or relatives out there but unfortunately we haven't been able to find anything.”  
There was some mumbling but it seemed most of them had suspected as much, only the twins seemed surprised.  
“Since you don't really have anywhere to go other than becoming wards of the state and either end up in orphanages or foster care we have decided that if you want to you are welcome to stay here for as long as you want, as guests or as family, the choice is yours.”  
The cheering that erupted was enough to make all three adults wince and shush them.  
As expected the twins were the ones cheering the loudest as they threw themselves at Emelie and Takeshi.  
“Yay, we have a new mommy and daddy!”  
Takeshi caught them both before they could barrel into him and Emelie and ruffled their hair before pointing at Kasumi,  
“Don't forget the crazy aunt!”  
Both Takeshi and Emelie watched with a smile as they ran at Kasumi.  
“ _Oi!_ Is that any way to talk to your sister?”  
Takeshi could feel the contentment radiating from the beast as the girls laughed at his and Kasumi's friendly bickering and when he turned his focus toward it it echoed a single thought to him.  
_**“Pack!”**_  
This time the word brought about a new realization, a new piece of the puzzle that was understanding of just what _'Pack'_ really was and he returned the single though with one of his own.  
_“Family!”  
_

Once the girls had calmed down a bit he told them of the plans they had made.  
“Now girls, I know you all have been complaining about not having a proper wardrobe and quite frankly we are tired of having to do the laundry every night so we are going shopping.”  
He was prepared for the assault of sound, but it still made him wince.

 


	27. Return to Ginza

 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


 

It had taken nearly a week to get everything ready for their little 'shopping-trip', new identities had been arranged for the girls complete with all the documents and entries into various computer-systems, reservations had been made at various top of the line stores as well as a selection of restaurants but now it was finally time to head out.  
Kasumi however would be staying behind looking after the estate, and staying out of the public eye, where they were going the risk of her being recognized was far too great, despite her looking 20 again.  
The goal for their little trip was Ginza, the luxurious shopping area found within Tokyo.  
She would also oversee the modifications that had been ordered for the Blackout, modifying it to be able to carry more passengers if needed.

When Takeshi and Emelie brought the girls down to the lagoon they all stopped to stare at the large yacht that lay moored in the still waters, the recent purchase had been delivered just a few days prior after some pushing from Takeshi for the company working on the upgrades to rush the job.   
The 50 meter wavepiercer motor yacht could comfortably house all of them with plenty of room to spare, they hadn't had time to upgrade all of the systems of the old Spirit 50 but the the combustion engines and generators had been replaced by a state of the art hybrid power-cell system similar to the one in the Blackout, the navigation systems had also been upgraded to allow access to the Navy's latest satellite and mapping data as well as a highly sophisticated autopilot.  
“Okay, I'm just guessing here, but we don't have to worry much about price-tags when we go shopping, do we?”  
Amanda was the first to recover.  
“Nope, not at all!”  
Emelie chirped before grabbing the twins, using her tail she secured them tightly in her arms before unfolding her wings and flying out to the yacht, much to their delight.  
Takeshi guided the other girls to the smaller catamaran that would be used as a tender, though a lot smaller than the yacht it was still much too large to be carried by it so it would act as a chase-boat, with its autopilot linked to the yacht navigation-system it would simply trail behind them when not in use.  
Once the girls were all seated he took them out to the yacht where Emelie helped them board, once everyone had boarded the yacht Takeshi set up the autopilot and sealed the hardtop.  
When closed and sealed the catamaran could withstand severe weather, including being completely washed over by waves without taking on any water, and the solar panels incorporated into the hardtop was sufficient to run all the necessary systems while it was trailing behind them.  
Jumping over to the yacht he gave the catamaran a kick to put some distance between it and the yacht before joining Emelie and the girls who were exploring the luxurious boat.  
When they passed the bridge Takeshi left them to their own devices and began to move the yacht out of the lagoon and set the course that would take them to Tokyo, if the weather remained stable they would be there in roughly a week.  
With the new engines they could cut down the time a lot but Takeshi didn't want to push it, opting for comfort over speed, also the catamaran tender would not be able to keep up at top speed.  
Once the course was set and he had made sure that the catamaran was trailing them correctly he re-joined the others to help the girls pick cabins, he would be sharing the owner's stateroom with Emelie and Melissa would share the VIP cabin with the twins to help keep an eye on them and use the captain's cabin if she wanted a break from the girls.  
The other girls had their pick of the four standard cabins as well as the four smaller crew cabins, in the end they picked their cabins just like he had predicted, Amanda, Diane and Julia each picked one of the smaller crew cabins for themselves while Carol and Amy shared one of the regular cabins and Alice and Anne the one across the hallway.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

A ping from the autopilot alerted Takeshi that they were about to enter Japanese waters and with a sigh he went up to the quarters he shared with Emelie and grabbed the bracelet he had been working on while they traveled.  
At a cursory glance it appeared to be a regular fashion bracelet, a pair of braided black leather cords threaded through a collection of large metal links forming an Asian dragon then gathered through a ring acting as a cord-lock and finally tipped with metal claws.  
While it looked like a regular silvery metal and black leather it was not, the cords were braided from the hide of the Ryujin and the metal parts were actually a combination of one of her claws and a crystal from the Sanctuary of the Mother.  
It had been infused with dragon-magic in order to cast an illusion hiding Takeshi's true appearance from outsiders as well as distort the outer layers of his aura, making it near impossible for anyone to recognize him.  
At first he had considered a regular transformation, it was a bit harder than taking the form of an animal but he could do it but the problem was that the girls would have a hard time recognizing him if he did and the Ryujin had suggested a charm which the beast had agreed was a good idea as the girls familiars would allow them to see through the illusion created by it.  
When he got back out to the girls Emelie's tail came to wrap around his wrist as usual but as it touched him it instantly pulled back and she hissed at him,  
_“Dammit! Warn me before you put that cursed thing on! You know I don't like it, makes you feel_ _ **wrong**_ _.”_  
She had objected several times before that she did not like how it distorted his aura, her succubi nature made her identify him more on the feel of his aura than his appearance and she found the distortion to be unsettling.  
_“I know, I'm sorry. But there are just to to many people here that can recognize me if I don't. Not only is my own personal aura easily spotted by anyone that has met me before, the aura of a Ryujin and their Ryuken is also easily recognized. And in Ginza we will come across people that are connected to the Kiryu-family as well as other Ryuken families, people that know what that feeling means, people that know all of the Ryuken wielders.”_  
He explained as he tried to soothe her  
_“I know, but I still hate it! I can't feel_ _ **you**_ _because of it.”_  
_“It's only the surface layer of the aura that is changed, my true aura is still there, beneath it. All you need to do is push a bit deeper and you will feel it.”_  
“But you always told me not to do that?”  
“Pushing into someone's aura like that would be kinda like going through their pockets, something you don't do without permission. It could also hurt a person if done too forcefully. And since you are still learning control it's better if you avoid doing it, at least until you have learned better control.”  
“But I don't want to risk hurting you!”  
“Don't worry, you have my permission to do it, and since I won't be resisting it won't hurt me. Besides, you are not strong enough yet to do any real damage to me.”  
The last part earned him a slap on the arm and her usual remark about how horrible he was but once she was done with that he could feel her probing the distorted aura before the tip of her tail lit up with her own aura and she pushed deeper.  
Once she had pushed past the distortion and could feel his true aura she relaxed and her tail wrapped around his arm in its usual manner.

As they closed in on the Bōsō Peninsula they were approached by a coast guard vessel that asked to board them in order to search for contraband and confirm their identities and travel papers, normally this would have been done at the customs check once they arrived in Tokyo but random checks like these were not uncommon.  
It was nearly two hours later when they were finally cleared and could continue around the peninsula and into Tokyo Bay, but Takeshi didn't really mind, since they were now cleared he didn't have to navigate the high traffic canals to get to the customs dock and then get from the customs dock to the marina where they would be moored.  
Finding a location to tie up had taken a bit of work, not many locations were able to receive a boat as large as their yacht, at almost 15 meters wide and 50 meters long it was very large for a recreational vessel and in the end they had to tie up at a mooring buoy that had been prepared especially for them, it was rather expensive, but still less than they would have to pay for hotel rooms to house them all.  
Along with the mooring location they also had a slip for the catamaran, it would be to much of a hassle to have to hire a launch every time they needed to get to or from the yacht.  
Once Takeshi had navigated the narrow entrance to the marina he brought them to the mooring buoys and the marina crew used their dinghies to assist in securing the lines to the mooring chains, once secured he set the autopilot to maintain current position, running of both satellite and radar it should kick in if the moorings failed for some reason, they were after all not permanent structures and not really designed for a vessel of their size.  
As they had arrived earlier than planned Takeshi had called the limousine company and informed them that they had arrived and that he wanted the limo to be there early the next morning rather than after lunch.  
He had arranged for a limo and driver to be available for the next two weeks, hopefully that would be enough time to complete all their shopping, a shipping container had been reserved to bring any large items back home, his hope was that they would find things like bed-frames and other furniture for their rooms while they were at it.  
“Come on girls, let's go find something to eat!”  
He called prepared for the inevitable stampede.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi brought them to the same old place he and Kasumi used to go to, though Sasaki-Obāsan passed away a few years ago the place was still owned by the Sasaki family and the granddaughter now ran the place.  
After Takeshi requested one of the private rooms the waitress led them to the back of the restaurant, once they had removed their shoes they were seated at the low table inside and informed that the Okami would be with them shortly to take their order.  
But when the granddaughter came to take their order Takeshi had to do a double take, it was not Sasaki-Obāsan's granddaughter but rather the old lady herself, just appearing younger.  
Last time he was here he had not been able to tell, but now it was obvious, she was a Blessed.  
_“Ah, Takeshi-sama, I had a feeling the Chosen one would be you, always knew the Mother would want you as one of her own.”  
_ She greeted him silently in Japanese before welcoming him and his group to the establishment under his assumed name.  
_“Sasaki-_ _Ob_ _āsan, it is good to see that you are still with us, Kasumi nee-chan will be delighted to hear that.”_  
He responded over the link that all Blessed seemed to share before ordering the Kaiseki, the high class, multi course meal that was their specialty as well as an additional spread of Sashimi which caused Sasaki-Obāsan to snicker at him and silently comment that he had always eaten like one of the Blessed.  
_“How is Kasumi Ojou-sama nowadays?”  
_ The silent conversation continued back and forth while the table was set with a wide selection of food.  
The reactions from the girls were varied, especially the Sashimi caused quite a bit of suspicion but after watching Takeshi dig in with gusto their curiosity got the better of them.  
_“She is doing good, she wanted to be here but after she took the trial of blood 7 years ago she looks a bit young for a woman of 45 and she can't seem to manage her transformations to look older very well. So rather than struggle with those and drain herself she stayed behind to take care of things around the estate.”_  
_“She never did like growing old so she probably does not_ _ **want**_ _to look her true age.”_  
The meal was enjoyed in relative silence as the girls were focused on the food, and trying to show of how well they had learned to use chopsticks, though the younger girls did need some help to wrangle some of the dishes.  
After they had eaten they had an hour left before the stores began to close so they spent the time to find each of the girls something nice to wear the next day.

Once back at the yacht the girls went out like lights while Takeshi and Emelie stayed up watching the lights of the city.  
“You miss this place, don't you? Japan I mean.”  
Emelie suddenly asked him.  
He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her he held her silently, for how long he didn't know.  
“Sometimes I do, sometimes I'm glad I got out.”  
She jumped slightly when he finally answered her.  
“I miss the calm pulse of power that flows through the land, I can feel it on the Island and at the Den as well, but it feels different there. I lacks the part that is uniquely Dragon and as a true wielder of a Ryuken I am part dragon in a sense. Without the presence of dragon-magic I'm diminished.”  
“Is that why your tattoo seems to be glowing ever since we got here?”  
She asked him while trailing her fingers over his tattoo, the sensation of her sharp nails over the scales sent a shiver down his spine and he sucked in a breath between clenched teeth.  
He had known ever since puberty that his tattoo was sensitive and Emelie had taken advantage of that many times in the past to tease him into a romp, but this was unlike anything he had ever felt before, if he didn't know better he could have sworn she was using the lust inducing part of her _seduction_ on him.  
“Oh no, Take I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.”  
Even Emelie seemed to think she had accidentally used her powers on him as she apologized and pulled back a bit.  
_“It's okay sweetie, you didn't.”_   
He didn't trust his voice at the moment and even his mental voice wavered under the onslaught of sensation.  
Moments later she must have realized what had caused it because she broke out in a huge grin before leaning forward and reaching around him to trail her hands along the familiar scaling on his back while trailing kisses along the part of the tattoo that reached over his shoulder.  
He tried to reign himself in to allow her to have her way but he quickly lost himself, grabbing her he flipped her on her back with a low growl, her question and the odd behavior of his tattoo suddenly all but forgotten as they immersed themselves in more _pleasurable_ pursuits.

The sensation of someone entering the room pulled Takeshi from his sleep but he didn't move as he could hear the twins whispering about waking them so that they could go on the promised shopping-spree and Melissa trying to talk them into letting him and Emelie sleep, with her new senses as a Blessed she no doubt knew what they had been up to most of the night.  
She didn't have much success though and moments later Takeshi caught Sarah before she could pounce on Emelie and a moment after that he groaned as Maria nailed him square in the gut.  
“Girls, what have I told you about doing that? You could end up hurting Em's wings like that.”  
He scolded them gently and they looked completely crestfallen, Sarah breaking into tears.  
“Sorry, I forgot.”  
She cried into his chest  
“Ssh, it's okay, nothing happened, but you need to remember not to jump on people like that.”  
Emelie soothed the distraught girls and the sobs slowly stopped.  
Once they had calmed down Takeshi shooed the girls out so he and Emelie could grab a quick shower and get dressed before joining them for breakfast.  
After helping the girls get ready they headed to the limo that was waiting for them by the pier, and soon they were headed into Ginza, the plans for the day was to look at furniture since those items could take a bit longer to have delivered to the shipping company that would load it into the shipping container they had rented and bring it to Honolulu from there the container would be airlifted out to the island.  
The twins however seemed more set on eating their way through Ginza, begging him to buy things at almost every small shop and cart that sold the various street-foods and occasionally he would humor them but he found that he had to hold them back quite a bit, telling them there was a day tomorrow as well or they would eat themselves sick.  
Though, he could understand them, he recalled feeling much the same during his first visit, but even then he carried the burden of the Kage so he had not been able to act on it, he shook off the memories with a wistful smile as he paid for a pair of Ikayaki, grilled squid on a stick, and handed the smaller one to the twins so they could share it before offering Emelie a bite of his own.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Return to Ginza_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They spent the first three days shopping for furniture, most of it in the currently popular Victorian and Gothic inspired styles, dark woods with elaborate carvings, black lacquer accented with red and gold, heavy four-poster beds with several layers of curtains, vanities and Armoire desks.  
Takeshi almost groaned at the thought of having to move those heavy pieces from the small cargo dock where the container would be placed up to the house, thankfully as a Blessed he was a lot stronger than any human, as was Kasumi, and Emelie was nearly as strong as him when she used her youki so they should be able to manage without to much hassle.  
They spent the remainder of the first week shopping for clothes, by end of the first day of clothes shopping Takeshi had seriously considered running away and leaving Emelie to help the girls, but it seemed she picked up on his thoughts because her tail had moved from its usual place around his wrist and instead wrapped around his neck and refused to let go.

When they were finally done shopping for clothes Takeshi took them to the electronics stores to take a look at various entertainment systems as well as computers, phones and tablets, though he didn't buy any of the latter, he merely wrote down what models each of the girls wanted, he would be getting all those from his usual tech-supplier, it would look like the stuff the girls wanted, but the hardware inside would be a lot better, and the software much safer, nearly impossible to gain unauthorized access to.  
Entire days were spent in the large entertainment stores buying collectors edition games for various systems as well as a wide selection of movies, series and toys.  
They had looked at jewelry but once again Takeshi had only noted what designs and styles the girls wanted, he would create any items they wanted from the living crystals that grew in the Sanctuary of the Mother, they would be of far better quality and could easily be enchanted with various charms to help protect the girls.  


At the end of the two weeks they ended up having to rent a larger shipping container and when doing the math Takeshi noted that quite a fortune had been spent, it was with an internal sigh he realized that for the next 20 years or so they would have to make trips like these once or twice a year to keep the fast growing girls properly clothed, at the rate they spent money he might even have to work a bit to keep the accounts topped.  
  
After filling up the cargo holds with some of his favorite local ingredients to ensure they had enough food to take their time on the return trip they headed back out to the open sea.

 


	28. Wanderer of the Sea

 

 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They had barely left Japan when Takeshi picked up the presence of other Blessed nearby, a presence that much to the girls delight turned out to be a small pod of bottlenose dolphins that followed them and Takeshi slowed down so that the pod could keep up without having to push themselves.  
As Blessed they were stronger and faster than a normal dolphin and if they had been able to ride the bow wave they would have been able to keep up without problems, but with the design of their yacht it didn't generate enough of a wave to ride, but since they were in no hurry to get back home they agreed that for as long as the pod wanted to travel with them they would adjust their speed after the pod.  
The girls would play with the dolphins and he would borrow their form and join them hunting, at first he had a hard time understanding them because their way of thinking was so fundamentally different but as he learned more of their ways he began to understand them better.

It was the middle of the night when the presence of yet another Blessed pulled Takeshi from his sleep, it was lingering just at the edge of his awareness, almost seeming hesitant to approach and he gave it a gentle nudge to let it know he was aware of it but without rejecting it.  
He was curious about the Blessed of the sea, unlike him their base nature was that of the beast, like the wolves at the den, only Amarok had been human with animal aspects, the others were wolves with some human aspects, like a more complex understanding of cause and effect, a wider emotional range and capable of using and understanding human language.  
The most prominent difference as far as he could tell though was that the Blessed whose base nature was that of the beast seemed to be unable to shapeshift.  
He moved Emelie into a slightly more comfortable position, careful not to wake her, before he allowed himself to sink into a meditative state, expanding his aura and weaving a web around them to alert him of the movements of the Blessed that still followed at a distance, if it was still following them in the morning he would have a look on the sonar to see if he could get an idea what it was.

With breakfast done Takeshi headed to the bridge to see if he could get a better idea what it was that was following them, as he lowered the emitter for the active sonar he sent a warning to the dolphins to get out of the way since the ping from the sonar could be very uncomfortable if they remained close to the source.  
After some adjustments to the emitters to narrow the area hit Takeshi confirmed that the pod was clear before transmitting the ping, and watched the image compile on the screen only to end up scratching his head as all he could see was a flat, somewhat elliptic shape about 20 meters wide and he had no idea what it could be.  
After retracting the sonar emitter he called out to the pod that it was safe to return and went to spend a lazy day watching the girls and the dolphins play, he could still feel the other Blessed but it seemed satisfied with keeping its distance.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It was shortly after lunch and the girls were resting on deck when Takeshi noticed that the presence began moving toward them, picking up a remarkable speed and for a brief moment Takeshi worried that it intended to attack them, but he relaxed as he couldn't feel any hostility from it and as it approached the dolphins radiated joy and he could pick up their greetings as it closed in.

“ _Wanderer!”_  
_“Guardian!”_  
 _“Eldest!”_

Their voices flowed together and he could feel their reverence for the one approaching them and then with a spectacular leap the newcomer introduced itself by leaping clear across the yacht, quite a feat as the yacht was several stories tall.  
The stunt revealed their new visitor to be a huge Manta Ray, Takeshi realized that the sonar had not given an accurate picture, it had appeared to be about 20 meters wide on the screen, but this creature was closer to 30 meters wide, about three times the size of the largest recorded ray.  
After splashing down it came around to the stern where it lay still just under the surface, the slow movements of its wing like fins keeping it stationary, Takeshi walked down to the platform and dove into the water, slowly approaching the large creature, while the manta ray lacked teeth capable of doing any harm it could still knock him around pretty bad if it decided to slap him with the powerful fins.  
Not to mention with its sheer size it could do some serious damage to the yacht, probably sink it without much effort and without the yacht the girls would not be able to survive.  
_“Chosen?”  
_ It asked him in greeting as it touched his mind, once again Takeshi found himself in contact with a mind that was so different it made it hard to grasp but he could sense its age, and it truly was ancient, this creature was older than mankind as a species and in it's memories he could feel mankind's first hesitant steps into the vastness of the oceans, crawling in the shallow coastal waters foraging for various clams, crustaceans and other edibles in the tidal pools.  
It showed him how the oceans were slowly conquered by ever improving technology and how its denizens were forced to stand back, and slowly be wiped out as the presence of humans poisoned the life-bringing waters.  
Takeshi could feel pain and sorrow emanating from the creature and suddenly he understood what it had been asking,  
_“Yes, I was chosen to help end the death and suffering that mankind has forced on the other children of the Mother. If possible bring humanity back to the Mother but if all else fails, mankind will meet her end and the Blessed will inherit the Mother in all her splendor.”_  
He could feel its mind withdraw as it slowly moved away and began to circle the yacht in an almost lazy fashion and somehow he knew it was considering his words and about 10 minutes later it returned to its position just aft of the yacht.

“ _Come, bring your pod.”_  
_“Touch and learn.”_  
 _“Swim and play.”_

It seemed it had decided his word was good and invited them to join it, but before allowing the girls in the water with the giant he made sure it knew to gentle with them.  
_“Please be careful with them, unblessed humans are fragile, easily harmed and need to breathe all the time.”  
_

“ _Play at the border of emptiness.”_  
_“Not the rich beneath.”_  
 _“Touch like the softness of the drifters.”_

It took some effort for Takeshi to understand it, its language was different and he guessed it rarely had any contact with human minds to learn from, but the images that drifted to his mind as it spoke helped him understand what it meant, the _'border of emptiness'_ was the surface of the water, to a fish the air above the water would be an empty void, nothing to breathe, nothing to eat.  
With the mention of _'drifters'_ it showed images of various jellyfish along with a feeling of how easily they could be torn and damaged, satisfied that it would be careful with them he told the girls that it was safe to go into the water.  
He watched the girls play while he had a silent conversation with the creature, unlike the dolphins it had no name, others simply referred to it as 'Wanderer', the dolphins all had their own names, though impossible for him to even try to replicate, even borrowing their form he had a hard time forming the complex whistles, it was hard enough to use the echo-location, his mind simply not able to grasp it yet.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Girls, time to get out of the water and help with dinner!”  
Emelie called out from the galley,  
“You to Take! I am not taking care of that monster you caught.”  
She added after a few moments, referring to the large bluefin tuna he had caught earlier in the day.  
Watching the others head toward the galley Takeshi grabbed the tablet that held controls for the crane and davit, swim platform, tender bays as well as controls for the bow and stern thrusters and remote access to the navigation controls of the catamaran.  
Bringing the catamaran in closer he swung the crane out and hooked it to the rope that had anchored the large fish to the catamaran and used it to bring it up to the platform.  
The tuna had been revived after the catch by tying it to the catamaran and allowing it to swim alongside it until the lactic acid built up by the fight it put up when he reeled it in had been flushed from it's body.  
It had then been bled, gutted and was ready to be cut into fillets, ideally it would have been put on ice once bled and gutted but they simply did not have the resources to chill a catch that size with the galley freshly stocked so instead it had been tied to the catamaran to allow it to stay at least a bit cooler.  
He had estimated it to be around 300kg and the scale on the winch confirmed it showing 315kg, it's sheer size offered a slight dilemma though, none of the knives on board were suitable for preparing it.  
Deciding that the delicious Otoro, fatty tuna belly, was worth risking a grumpy dragon over he used the crane to maneuver the fish into a more manageable position before drawing his blade and with a few lightning fast slashes he had four large loins to work with and a few minutes later he had cleaned them up and separated the different cuts, the leaner, dark red Akami that was commonly served as regular sushi, the medium fat Chutoro and finally the rich, fatty Otoro found in high class sashimi and sushi.  
Calling for Emelie to help him bring the meat to the galley he began to work on the head, removing the strip of meat along the top of the head as well as the cheeks before tossing the rest of the head back into the water for scavengers to feed of.  
Finally he broke the spine and ribs into smaller sections, it would be smoked and added along with the fins, the scraps that had been polished of when cleaning up the loins and the tail to make a simple fish stock that would be combined with dried kelp to make Dashi for Ramen and Miso-soup as well as a few other dishes.  
The familiar work reminded him of Misato, the only mother he had ever known and it brought a slight pang of regret that he had not been able to visit or let her know he was still alive before she passed away nor had he been able to attend her funeral, but he couldn't risk it while the GCTI was still around and it was only a few months later that Daisuke had passed, the loss of his lifelong partner too much for him.  
He recalled how she would always tell him not to waste perfectly good food, and he knew she would have given him a good wallop on the head for throwing away the tuna head, but it was much to large to prepare in the small galley.  
“Take? Em told us to help you.”  
Carol and Amy shook him out of his thoughts.  
“Ah, perfect timing. Would you girls take those bowls there?”  
He pointed to the bowls with the meat he had cut from the head and the trimmings while grabbing the large plastic tubs with the bones and fins himself.

After a hearty meal of grilled tuna steaks with all the fixings for the girls and Otoro sashimi for Takeshi they spent the rest of the evening playing games in the saloon and once the girls were of to bed Takeshi asked Emelie to join him, he needed to talk to her about the plan to take down GCTI, and where to go after that.  
“Em, I need to have a word with you.”  
“Hmm?”  
She moved to his lap and curled into her usual position.  
“As you know it's almost time for the final move against the GCTI.”  
To this she merely nodded.  
“But things won't be done with that, once the GCTI are gone Kasumi and I will be going after the Kiryu family, specifically the council and the Kiryu assets. The council made perfectly clear they have no intention of ever allowing Kasumi to inherit the family assets, and by making me her Kage they also made me unable to inherit.”  
He shifted slightly so he could get his arm around her before continuing.  
“Before she left to join me in Alaska they tried to coerce her into marrying so that they could name her husband head of the family and then wait for a son that would eventually be named heir. Of course she has no intention of following their orders in that regard.”  
“So what are you gonna do?”  
“Well, we aren't entirely sure yet, but for now the plan is to use one of the Mother's tricks, similar to how she created your little pet here.”  
He tapped her serpent's head lightly with a claw causing it to hiss at him.  
“By using both mine and Kasumi's blood we can create creatures whose blood when tested would appear to be that of our children. I will hack into the relevant databases and create the entries needed to make it appear like Kasumi has given birth to a son and a few years later, a daughter and she will give them blood-samples to prove that those kids are ours, they will compare it to her DNA as well as mine that they have on file and as far as they will be able to tell it will prove her claim the she is the mother and I am the father. “  
Emelie looked a bit confused and interrupted him to ask her question,  
“But, won't that be kinda weird? I mean she's your sister after all.”  
“Well, it's not like we're actually having kids.”  
He responded with a snicker  
“As far as the council are concerned I'm not her brother anymore, they took that away when they named me Kage, and since we are not blood related they won't see any problem with it. They will rather name what they believe to be our bastard son heir, than name Kasumi, a female, heir. Chances are they will be more than happy to do so, hoping that a child of mine will have inherited my abilities. Maybe even be able to take the Ryuken from me since unlike me it would be of the Kiryu blood and to them a true heir, wielding the Ryuken and raised under their control would be just what they need.”  
He couldn't help laughing when Emelie voiced her opinion on that matter,  
“They are idiots! I bet they are all old farts.”  
She practically growled  
“Apart from a few old hags, they are.”  
His reply caused her to start laughing as well.  
Once she had calmed down a bit he continued  
“When it's time for the coming of age ceremony where a new heir is formally recognized and presented with the family seal I'll simply attend, pretending to be my own son. Chances are we will have to keep doing things like that, fake offspring whose identities we assume, inheriting ourselves.”  
He explained what to expect with their eternal youth.  
“Yeah, but even that might become hard, pretty much all developed countries use biometric ID registers for all newborns nowadays. DNA, fingerprints, palm and foot prints, iris and retina imaging. Only good thing I guess is that most of it is currently digital, hackable if you're good enough. But there has been a bunch of alerts about the system being vulnerable so they are working on building secure sites with hard-copies, including blood samples or umbilical cord kept frozen for future reference.”  
Emelie countered.  
Takeshi had to admit he hadn't considered that development yet and told her as much, rewarding her insight with a kiss.  
“Though, exposing how the GCTI has been exploiting the terrorism scare might prevent that development or at least slow it down, many are worried about the registers violating personal integrity and many are expressing concern that governments are abusing the scare to create a Big Brother society.”  
When she continued Takeshi just hummed in agreement and kept listening.  
“But even if the development is stopped, or reversed, we should try to get some sort of government access, a select few that can make the transition of assets, funds and identities easier, or maybe even able to create ways of making it unnecessary.”  
“Hmm, it's worth looking into.”  
He gave her a gentle nuzzle and was rewarded with a nose full of peppermint and from there things quickly turned carnal.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As morning came around Takeshi once again woke up from the feeling of the twins entering the room, he was used to it as they were early risers and would sneak away from Melissa to come wake him and Emelie up and he quickly greeted them before chasing them out of the room screaming with laughter using the classic tickle threat with his own clawed twist.  
A groan pulled his attention back to the bed and the complaints of its inhabitant.  
“Do you have to make them so hyper in the morning?”  
She asked him while using her tail to tug on his arm trying to get him to join her in bed a while longer.  
“Mhm, fastest way to get them out of here, it's also a nice safe way to wake you up without getting bitten.”  
Turning to her he flexed his claws with a grin and stalked toward him.  
“Not to mention it's good fun.”  
“Don't you dare!”  
She shrieked and tried to scamper away as he pounced on her and gave her sides a quick tickle before leaning in and nipping at her neck and collarbone which instantly rewarded him with the potent peppermint that was so uniquely her.  
“If I get this treatment every time I guess I can live with it.”  
She hummed while running her nails along the scales on his back and he could feel the subconscious rise of her _seduction_ pulling at him.  
Knowing that Melissa and Amanda would make sure the younger girls got up and ate their breakfast he allowed her power to wash through him and gave in to its call, pinning her beneath him with a growl.

When they joined the girls at the aft sundeck Melissa shook her head and snickered at them, well aware of what they had been up to for the past hour and a half and while Emelie went inside to get them some breakfast Takeshi called for the girls.  
“Okay girls, come here and listen up.”  
Takeshi waited for them to settle down before telling them what was planned for the day.  
“We won't be stopping to play or bathe today...”  
He was interrupted by loud complains which he quickly silenced with a sharp look and a low growl which had the girls instantly silent and staring at him with wide eyes.  
It took a few moments before he realized he was growling and quickly got himself under control, ever since he had changed Melissa his more animal aspects had become even harder to suppress.  
“Ah, sorry about that girls.”  
He apologized before flashing them a fanged grin.  
“Bad doggy!”  
The twins scolded him with a laugh.  
“Good girls don't interrupt. And they don't complain loudly when there are sensitive ears around.”  
He reminded them.  
“Sorry...”  
They both hung their heads.  
“Now shush girls and let me speak.”  
Once hey settled down he continued.  
“Like I said, we won't be stopping today and maybe not tomorrow either, we have some nasty weather brewing and I intend to avoid it.”  
The girls nodded but moments later he picked up the distinct smell of fear and a quick check told him that something had the twins terrified.  
“Maria, Sarah, whats wrong?”  
He kneeled down next to them, trying to shift their focus to him.  
He was unable to decipher what they were saying between the mumbling and the sobs but it was obvious that the prospect of severe weather scared them.  
“Easy, I can't understand you if you don't calm down.”  
He wrapped them in his aura but they wouldn't calm down so with a deep breath and a whispered apology he infused his voice with Qi.  
_“Slow down, calm yourself. Now tell me what is wrong”  
_ The _command_ slowly started to take hold and their words began to make sense and what they told him had him silently cursing himself.  
When looking up their parents he had not done any major background check knowing that the girls would never be returned to them, he had merely noted that they lived in Miami, but from what the twins were now telling them their parents must have moved there using the money they received for selling the girls to Roberts.  
They had in fact grown up just outside of Tulsa and it was with horror he realized that they had been in the path of the 2038 hyper-storm that had caused the worst tornado outbreak ever recorded.  
The massive tornado outbreak was the most violent ever recorded and over a 3 day period it had dropped a large number of EF3 and EF4 tornadoes as well as several EF5 tornadoes over Tulsa, leveling everything in their path.  
Despite the evolution of the early warning systems there had been little to no warning as tornadoes had touched down in, and ripped apart, several densely populated neighborhoods, and with repeated tornadoes touching down over the same areas rescue had been unable to get to the trapped victims resulting in over 10.000 dead and large portions of the city completely obliterated.  
Listening to them talk about it he had a hard time to remain calm as he realized that they had been home alone during the storms and it had been pure luck that their house had been in one of the areas least affected by the tornadoes, and even though they had not been hit directly by the tornadoes they had still suffered for 3 days without anyone looking after them or feeding them.  
“Ssh, easy girls. It's not that kind of bad weather.”  
He soothed them as he sat down next to them and shifted them into his lap.  
“It's just a bit of a rough sea, the waves would make it a bit uncomfortable to be out here, and we don't want to get seasick now, do we?”  
He didn't tell them that a storm the size of the one the were trying to avoid would toss them around pretty bad, even the wavepiercer design wouldn't help them against those waves, it would be like riding a roller coaster, but without the safety bars keeping them in their seats.  
As the twins shook their heads the familiar sensation of Emelie's tail wrapping around his arm made him look over his shoulder and the question was clear in her eyes as she sensed both his fury and the twins terror.  
_“When we get back to the island I'm going to kill their so-called parents. No more waiting, I will end them and they W_ _ **ill Know Fear**_ _!”_  
Emelie almost flinched at his rage before asking what had happened but once he had explained he could feel her echo the same raging fury.  
_“I'm coming with you.”_  
When he didn't answer her she pushed her power at him harshly.  
_“Promise Me!_ ”  
She demanded.  
_“I promise.”_  
He acquiesced.  
_“Good, now eat and stop being grumpy, there's nothing we can do right now.”_  
She pushed the tray of food into his hands.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Wanderer of the Sea_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Once he had eaten he headed to the bridge to get a better look at the incoming weather and plot a course that would keep them clear of it, if it kept moving at it's current speed and heading they would be able to outrun it without having to change course.  
Reaching out with his mind he searched out the minds of the other Blessed telling them what he was about to do and why, their reply puzzled him for a moment.

“ _Well fed. Well rested. Bodies strong.”_  
_“Children of the Mother or Slave of Men.”_  
_“Who will lead, who will follow?”_  
_“Ride the Waves, Race the Storm.”_

It took a few moments to decipher their words and he found that not only were they telling him that they could go faster, but the cheeky things were actually challenging them to a race and something inside him called to him to accept their challenge.  
“Girls, our finned friends wants to race us, what do you say we give them a good run?”  
he called over the intercom and he could clearly hear their cheering response without it.  
“Okay, a race it is. I need you girls to get strapped in so you don't fall and get hurt.”  
While Emelie helped the girls get strapped in Takeshi checked on the cargo and galley to make sure everything was secured before joining the girls on the bridge again.  
When he began to go through the systems he could feel the Sayuri stir with something akin to excitement and he could swear he heard Ramirez voice telling him to _'Show those glorified fish a thing or two'.  
M_ oments later he could feel the presence of Shani surfacing and whispering to his soul.  
_“The winds are the daughters of the Goddess and those that trust in her may know her daughters.”_  
And with those words came a new sensation, he could feel the winds and currents, a look on the readout of the Doppler LIDAR only confirmed what this new sense was telling him.  
He could feel Daniels in the background, and much to his surprise even Maria and she rose in his mind and spoke.  
_“To truly become the fastest your vehicle must be like your own body.”_  
The sensation that followed her silent words reminded him of when he shifted in to the form of an animal, an awareness of a body different from his own and at some level he could feel Daniels as well, merging his senses with the computers, giving him direct access to the various system readings, he could feel the pressure and temperature of the engines, the condition of the power-cells just like he could feel his own heart-rate, body-temperature and how much stamina he had left in him.  
He could feel the movement of the water against the hulls as if it was his own skin and the rapid clicks of the dolphins echolocation tickled, as if someone was touching just the fine hairs on his arms and he **liked** what he was feeling.  
“Lets Race!”  
He called out, both to the girls and silently to his opponents.

“ _Chase the echo, hunters song”_  
_“Swift like a dream”_  
_“Race the Storm, Waverider.”_

He was getting used to the dolphins strange whistling song accompanied by images and concepts rather than words and somehow their short verses were beginning to make sense to him.

“ _The plenty runs deep, no storms in the dark below.”_  
_“Hurry, Hurry, the song calls to us.”_  
_“Song of the void-breathers.”_  
_“Wanderer will play.”_

The giant Manta Ray echoed the song of the dolphins in it's own way, not through whistles but through the touch of the ancient mind, telling them that it to would join the race, and Takeshi had no doubt that the creature could easily win if it wanted to.

 

 

 

 


	29. Stormborn

 

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

  
Takeshi could still feel the thrill of the race when he moved the yacht into the protected lagoon of their island, the dolphins that had been following close behind immediately began exploring it while 'Wanderer' waited outside, too large to be able to enter without risking harming itself, or the corals around the entrance to the lagoon.

 _“Chosen, come.”_  
_“Share mind.”_  
_“Bear witness”_

 _Wanderer_ called for his attention and he borrowed its form, though much smaller than the ancient behemoth he still sported a wingspan of over 10 meters as he swam up to it.  
_“You called,Wanderer?”  
_

_“Wanderer, Guardian, Ancient.”_  
_“Many names, good names”_  
_“Old names, past names”_  
_“Time of becoming, new names”_  
_“Guide to the Pathfinder, Whisperer of old Truth, Keeper of the Past.”_  
_“Now we change, become other than we were.”_  
_“You are now Guardian, Chosen, Pathfinder.”_

As the final words echoed through his mind Takeshi could feel something similar to the power of the blessing and the giant form of _'Wanderer'_ began to glow with power and it reached out to touch him before falling in on itself and when the light faded the behemoth was gone and in its place a small newborn manta ray, just 1 meter across.  
Takeshi looked at it with confusion, this was not a transformation, the borrowing of a different form, somehow he knew that it had completely abandoned its old body and taken a new one, permanently.

 _“I am now yours to protect as you are mine to guide.”_  
_“To learn your ways I had to change, start again.”_  
_“It will still take time, but I will learn.”_  
_“To think, speak, feel and understand.”_  
_“In ways your kind can know.”_

It was beginning to make sense, somehow its mind was less alien to him now, easier to understand and that seemed to be the purpose, it still spoke in the broken, verse like manner but it was regular words now rather than images and concepts.

“ _We need to find you a better name if you are going to stick around, how about I call you 'Stormborn' for now?”_  
He could feel the edge of the storm closing in and it would be over them by nightfall.

 _“A good name, Waverider.”_  
_“I will be, Stormborn.”_

“ _You need to learn to call me Takeshi, or Take.”  
_ He countered with a laugh as he began leading it into the safety of the lagoon.  
A strange sensation washed over him, like a pressure wave passing through the water and shortly after the twins familiars began to call out for him with a frantic tone, he realized the sensation must have been what a lightning strike felt like to a manta ray and that it had scared the twins.  
_“I need to go, the twins, my youngest, they fear the storm. I need to be there to help them.”_

 _“Go, protect what is yours.”_  
_“As the still deep shelters the children of the sea,”_  
_“Be the calm to shelter them from the storm.”_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Pushing his borrowed body to the max Takeshi leaped out of the water and instantly replaced the aquatic form with one of the raptors of the sky before streaking toward the house, and the girls he had promised to protect, body and mind.  
“Take! Help me with them, I can't suppress their fear.”  
Emelie met him as he transformed mid flight and dropped onto the deck, landing in a crouch, a split second later he was at their side, wrapping them in his Qi.  
“Ssh, easy. I'm here. You are **not** alone, I won't leave you.”  
He quickly moved to sit on the flooring next to them so that he could scoop them up into his lap moments later a distant rumble had them whimpering again and he pulled them closer,  
“Don't worry, you are safe here, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you.”  
He tried soothing them.  
_“Maybe we should move them inside? Down to the room next to the generator room, they can't hear the storm down there.”_  
Emelie suggested silently as she watched him try to calm the girls.  
_“No, just hiding won't help them, they need to see that not all storms are bad, that they can be safe despite it. Take the others inside, I'll stay here with them and help them face their fears.”  
_ Emelie just nodded and did as he asked, he had helped her overcome her own fears much the same way and she trusted he could do the same for the twins.  
“Where are they going? Why are they leaving? Don't leave!”  
They clung harder to him and he suppressed a wince as they began pulling his braid loose as they twisted their hands into it to stop him from leaving.  
“Ssh, they're going inside but I'll stay, I won't leave you. Come sit with me.”  
He brought them to one of the sofas in the sitting area of the patio.  
“Can we go inside? Please?”  
They were looking toward the horizon where the storm had begun its light show.  
“No, I'm sorry but you need to stay here with me. Face your fear, I promise you will be safe.”  
He carefully wove a mix of _suggestion_ and _command_ to support them, to help them face their fear but without pushing them beyond their limit.  
As the storm came closer he focused on soothing their auras, whispering words of comfort without any real meaning, mixing his native Japanese and English with the Spanish, Swedish and Swahili he had picked up from his unit as well as several other languages he had picked up during his time with the GCTI, just using his voice to soothe them.  
Without thinking he began to hum one of the songs Misato used to sing for Kasumi, the song, _'Shihouka'_ , was from an anime Kasumi watched when they were kids and she had always loved the song so Misato would sing it to her and after hearing it so many times he knew it by heart.  
When he began to sing the lyrics the twins seemed to forget about the storm as they turned to look at him with wide eyes.

 _“Watashi no kawaii ningyou”_  
_“Suteki na kimono kisemashou”_  
_“Kirakira kin no kanzashi”_  
_“Shiawase wo ageru”_

They sat silently listening, captivated by the song despite not understanding the words.

 _“Megumi ooki yutaka na kuni”_  
_“Kaze ga soyogi”_  
_“Machikado ni kikoeru uta”_  
_“Towa ni chikau shiawase wo”_

“Doggy can sing!”  
Sarah exclaimed once he finished, he wasn't sure if he should feel complimented or insulted at the wonder in her voice.  
“Can you sing like a real dog?”  
After a moment of confusion he realized what she was asking and altered his vocal cords before taking a deep breath and giving voice to the primal song of the wild, within he could feel the beast stir and add its own voice to his, carefully untangling himself from the girls he stood in front of them and took the form of the beast, the partial transformation didn't give justice to the true depth of the howl, he could feel instincts pull at him as he raised his maw to the skies.  
The twins seemed mesmerized by the sound and when it finally faded they began laughing and clapping their hands before burrowing their faces in his fur and since playing with his fur seemed to distract them from the storm he simply lay down on the floor and curled around them, teasing them a bit by ' _accidentally'_ thumping them with his tail every now and then or give them a quick lick which instantly rewarded him with a complaint about _'Icky doggy kisses'_.  
As the storm intensified over them he could feel their anxiety increase and when a large lightning bolt streaked overhead he found himself wanting to hide from the combined sound of the thunder crash and the shriek from the girls and he resumed his true form as it was easier to dim his hearing it that form.  
“Ow, easy girls, sensitive ears here.”  
“Oops, sorry..”  
“Don't worry, but please try to remember.”  
Another bolt streaked across the dark sky and they both whimpered and buried their faces against his shoulders.  
“No need to hide, you are safe here. The lightning can't reach us.”  
When they built the new estate they had also added lightning protection, Takeshi had taken inspiration from a new system that acted like a Faraday cage, but he had used crystals grown in the Sanctuary to create it, they manipulated electromagnetic fields as well as geomagnetic fields and telluric currents to generate a bubble over the island that protected it much the same way the Earth's magnetic field protects it from the Sun's emissions.  
Even if lightning did strike it, it would dissipate along the surface of the field, it was a rather spectacular sight to watch which gave him an idea, it might scare them a bit but maybe, just maybe seeing it happen might ease their fear.  
Reaching out with his Qi he touched the central crystal with it, slightly altering the energy so that it would increase the chance of a lightning strike rather than decrease it.  
“Okay girls, I want you to look up. You will see something really amazing soon.”  
With a slight push of his aura he pushed the altered energy into the field and just moments later a massive bolt of lightning struck the top of the slightly flattened dome causing tendrils to spread across it, much like how an anvil crawler would spread along the underside of a thundercloud, passing harmlessly along the field into the water.  
First they startled and seemed to want to hide, but as the tendrils slowly dissipated along the dome they both stilled.  
“Wow, pretty!”  
As they watched strike after strike play across the field he could finally feel their fear dissipating and they were truly calming down.  
After watching the show for a while their familiars suddenly both took to the air and headed for the energy field, causing the twins to cry out, while he wasn't sure what the little birds were up to he was sure they were in no danger.  
“Don't worry, they know what they are doing.”  
Having no idea just what that was he hoped it wasn't anything too insane.  
They watched as the small birds passed through the dome and began to circle each other while climbing higher into the air, the circle growing tighter each time around, when they were almost touching an intense lightning bolt cut through the skies, much stronger than anything Takeshi had ever seen before.  
It was a superbolt, a rare form of lightning able to reach a hundred times the intensity of a regular bolt and it hit both of the birds before scattering across the dome.  
The girls both cried out in worry for their feathered friends but he could feel that they were not harmed, if anything their presence grew stronger.  
“Easy, trust your senses. You can still feel them, they are fine.”  
Once the energy from the bolt had dissipated they both came flying back down, and as they came close he could see that they had changed, their blue and purple tail-feathers now had lightning playing along them, a similar effect could be seen across their wings.  
“It seems like your little friends have decided to become thunderbirds”  
He told them with a smile.  
_“Phoenix of the Storm”  
_ They corrected him in a very familiar fashion and the girls instant giggles told him that they had _spoken_ to all of them.  
“Hai, hai. _Phoenix_ it is.”  
He agreed with a grin before sitting back to watch the twins play with their familiars, the storm still above them all but forgotten.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As he leaned back he could feel Emelie stepping out into the garden and walking up behind him and as she slid her arms around his neck she whispered in his ear.  
“You know, you make a pretty great dad.”  
His smile turned into a teasing smirk as he pulled her over the back of the couch and into his lap,  
“Well, not counting our _adopted_ girls, I **am** a father of eight...”  
“What? You have never mentioned having kids.”  
She sounded surprised and a bit confused.  
“During my stay in Alaska there was this Blessed, Sarisha of the Sabre-tribe, who came to give Kasumi the Trial of Blood. Her blood is that of the sabre-toothed cat, she was the last of her tribe able to take its form and there was no male who carried enough of the blood for her offspring to become true members of the Sabre-tribe.”  
He waited for her to shift into a more comfortable position before continuing.  
“It turns out however as the Chosen, I carry the blood of all the tribes and any offspring I sire with another Blessed will be entirely of their mother's tribe so our children are pure Sabre. I have sired three litters of cubs with her.”  
Emelie interrupted him for a moment.  
“Litters? Cubs?”  
“Yeah, female Blessed carry their offspring like their beasts do, so in her case having triplets is the norm and well, the offspring of a great cat is a cub.”  
He explained with a laugh.  
“How come I have never gotten to meet them? I bet they are adorable!”  
She instantly countered.  
Takeshi took a deep breath and a solemn note entered his voice.  
“Sarisha and the cubs are with her tribe, she is recovering from the loss of our youngest.”  
His voice became quiet as he recalled what had happened.  
“The first two litters were born without issues, first twin sons and a daughter, the second litter gave us three more daughters, identical triplets. But during her third pregnancy something went wrong,”  
With barely more than a whisper he continued.  
“She carried twin girls and a boy, when she went into labor the boy was born first, then one of the girls, but the second girl was weak and didn't come as she should and when she was finally born it was too late, she had passed away.”

Emelie buried her face against his chest and he could smell her tears and sorrow radiated from her aura.  
“I am so sorry. I shouldn't have...”  
When she finally spoke up after a few minutes he immediately interrupted her by placing a kiss on her forehead  
“Ssh, don't blame yourself, you didn't know.”  
She twisted slightly in his arms and placed her hand over the Sayuri over his heart and he could feel her aura probing his.  
“So many losses, so much pain. How do you keep going?”  
He carefully lifted her head, kissing away the tears.  
“There is a lot of pain yes, but there are many more reasons for me to keep going. My duties to Kasumi, my oath of vengeance for my unit, my promise to your mother that I would bring you the truth. My promises to you, and now the girls.”  
After a moment of silence he added his final point,  
“And finally the future that the Mother chose me to try to protect.”  
Emelie looked at him silently for a long time before speaking up.  
“It won't be easy, will it? Living forever I mean.”  
“It won't.”  
He agreed  
“Guess it's true what they say, that immortality is a curse, not a blessing.”  
He could feel the taint of fear and worry as she spoke.  
“You know I will do anything in my power to make sure you will never be left behind, never have to be alone. I know there will be losses, but I swear I will do everything in my power to help you through eternity.”  
When she was about to say something he put a finger over her lips and shook his head, asking her to to remain silent.

Reaching into his mouth he pulled out one of his elongated fangs and with a flare of his Qi he reshaped it into a simple ring, using his other fangs he bit into his finger and allowed his blood to flow onto the band and under the effect of his aura it formed a band along the center of the ring and once it stopped flowing it turned crystalline, almost as if it had been cut from a ruby.  
Holding it out to her he spoke as he wove his aura into it, kanji forming on each side of the ruby center as he did.  
“I am many things, both good and bad and I will become many more. But there is one thing I have no intention of ever becoming, and that is an Oath-breaker.”  
When the small kanji stopped forming it wrapped almost the entire way around the ring and with a final flare of his aura the crystallized blood formed the kanji for 'Eternity', it was larger than the others, covering the width of the ring and it glowed with the fire of his Qi as he held out the ring to her.  
“Eternity is my oath to you, will you accept it?”

Emelie watched silently as Takeshi created a ring from his fang and blood, over the past few years she had learned a lot about him, and one of those things was that he placed great value on rituals and symbols.  
This was not something he would do on a whim and to him, who placed such value on a simple promise an actual oath was something he would hold above his own life, she wanted to stop him, tell him she was not worthy of that but she knew that it wouldn't do any good, once he had his mind set on something he was the most stubborn person she had ever met.  
He should know how uncomfortable things like this made her and still he want and did it, and without warning, so with a glare she slightly flared her aura, rejecting the probing touch of his, at the same time she unfurled her tail from his wrist and finally she released her pheromones to confuse his sense of smell, effectively denying him any of the contact and clues he was used to.  
As his gaze locked on her eyes she knew he was trying to read her but when she bared her fangs at him he actually closed his eyes as he turned his face down, finally allowing her the privacy she was demanding.  
She sat silently as if considering his oath, but it was just a show, she had no intention of refusing it, which is why she made sure to cut him off or he would be able to tell.  
She was upset that he did this without giving her a warning, she knew how important things like this was to him, she knew there was a proper, formal way to respond to his request, but she didn't know what it was, if he had given her a warning, time to prepare herself, she could have asked Kasumi to show and explain what to do, like she had done about a year ago when he and his beast had formally asked her to become _pack_ , she still had not answered them on that though.  
As she watched him she noticed the muscle in his jaw repeatedly tense up and relax, taking a closer look at him the tension in his shoulders became obvious and when she looked at his hands there was blood where his claws dug into his palms.  
Carefully she hooked one of the talons on her wings under his chin making him raise his head and as he did his eyes remained closed, still respecting her wish for privacy.  
“Em? Please...”  
His voice carried a pleading note and it was with surprise she began to sense fear from him, not the usual worry and concern he would often display in regards to the well being of those around him but actual fear, fear that she would reject his oath.  
She leaned in slowly, still keeping his senses off balance and when he was about to open his eyes she stopped him.  
“Don't.”  
As she did she could see the muscles in his jaw tighten again and hear him suck in a sharp breath and hold it for a few moments before slowly releasing it, as he did she leaned in and kissed him.  
_“Of course I accept, silly.”  
_ His arms were instantly around her, pulling her tightly against him he returned the kiss with fervor, stealing her breath away with the sensation of his power flowing through her.  
_“Domo.”_  
Part of her prayed the feeling would never end, but that prayer went unheard as a loud whisper from inside interrupted them.  
“Lissa, did he just propose? Are they getting married? Can I be the flower-girl?”  
“Julia!” Melissa hissed in response trying to silence her but the moment was over.  
Takeshi and Emelie looked at each other for a moment before breaking down into laughter which drew the twins attention and spoiled any chance to rekindle the moment.  
Corralling the twins inside and off to bed they retreated to their own room to find some privacy.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stormborn_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ _Julia is going to be so disappointed you know..”_  
Takeshi teased as he put the ring symbolizing his oath on her right ring-finger where it instantly adjusted to a perfect fit.  
_“Det är hon inte ensam om.”  
_ Emelie hissed in Swedish.  
“Hmm, what was that?”  
Takeshi prodded but the teasing tone told her that he had understood enough to pick up on her disappointment over the interruption but she decided to take the bait anyway.  
“Do you have any idea just how frustrating that damned control of yours can be?”  
She turned her back on him while she gathered herself.  
“Your power is always so restrained, reined in tightly and subdued. But every now and then you give a brief taste of your true power. To me as a succubus it's as if I have lived my entire life with nothing but a small candle and suddenly I'm standing before a blazing sun.”  
Turning around to face him again her shoulders dropped.  
“Please, just once. Will you just once allow me to feel the real you? Not just this shadow of yourself. Not just a glimpse, but truly feel you...”  
As her voice faded away he stepped up and gently wrapped his arms around her.  
“I'm sorry, I didn't know. You need to tell me these things.”  
But he quickly dropped her and stepped back when she snarled at him.  
“Even this! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not some porcelain doll that might break at the slightest touch? I am a **demon** dammit, a **Lilim**! I am just as durable and strong as you are and I heal just as fast!”  
Before he had a chance to react her nails flashed with youki and she dug them deep into her arm at the elbow and tore down to the wrist but when he tried to step in to stop the bleeding he was blocked by her wings and a vicious snarl, a torrent of her power forced him to stand back and watch as her wounds healed and it tore at his soul to watch her bleed, the beast was tearing at the restraints within.  
“Em, please. Enough.”  
When she raised her hand as if she was about to tear into her shoulder his control snapped and with a snarl he pushed past her power and her wings, grabbing her arms to keep her from hurting herself again.  
“ **Enough!** ”  
The presence of the beast was obvious in his voice as he growled out the _command_ , pushing all his will into making sure she would stop.  
He was all fangs, claws and primal force when he let go of her arms and put one arm around her, placing his hand at the small of her back, the other hand wove into her hair, pulling her close and tilting her head back as he claimed her lips harshly.  
She could feel his claws against her skin and scalp, taste the slight taint of blood as fangs cut lips and she relished the near crushing force of his arm almost desperately pulling her closer.  
As she dug her nails into the unprotected part of his shoulders the tight coils of his aura finally unfolded, and when it wrapped around her she found herself standing in the middle of an inferno, a raging storm and she realized that even those glimpses she had felt before were mere shadows compared to the raw essence that was Takeshi.  
“Please... I need...”  
She pleaded with desperation, she didn't really know just **what** she was pleading for, she just knew she needed it, badly.  
But somehow Takeshi seemed to know, or maybe it was the demon-beast within him that knew.

With the storm still raging above something new and demonic, something purely primal, was born between them.

 

 

 


	30. The End of an Era

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

Takeshi woke up from the sensation of sharp nails tracing along the edge of the Sayuri on his chest and was slightly confused at first, normally he would wake up about an hour before Emelie but it was obvious she was not only awake, but had been so long enough to get bored.  
_**“We gave her a lot of ourselves during the night so it's not such a strange thing.”**_  
The beast was literally purring from within.  
_**“We gave without restraint, she took everything we had to offer. And now she is Pack, just look at her, feel her!”**_  
At the mention of Pack Takeshi's eyes flew open and zeroed in on her shoulders and true to the beasts words her left shoulder now sported the mark of a dragon engulfed in flames and smoky shadows, it was much larger and more elaborate than the mark Melissa had received when he gave her the Blessing, closing his eyes he turned to the beast within.  
_“How come her mark is so different from Melissa's?”_  
He questioned it, hoping it would explain for once.  
_**“She is Pack, she is Alpha at our side. The girl, Melissa bears your mark because you granted her life through the Blessing, while under our protection, she is not Pack.”**_  
It provided one of its rare explanations but as usual it gave rise to more questions than it answered but then something crossed his mind, he couldn't recall actually making her pack, in fact all his memories of the night were hazy at best.  
_“Wait, we claimed her as pack during the night? P_ _ **lease**_ _tell me we didn't do that without her permission?!”  
_ He nearly yelled at the beast.  
_**“For the mark of Pack to take both the one giving it and the one receiving it must be in agreement, they must both want it, or in our case, all three as you and I must also be in agreement that the one marked is worthy of becoming Pack.”**_  
Takeshi dropped down on the ground of his mindscape in relief.  
_**“Worry not, I am aware how you both feel about the right of choice, and I agree that allowing the choice is important. But be aware, I consider survival more important than allowing choice. If it ever stands between the survival of someone we truly want and their choice, I will fight you to save them, regardless of their choice.”**_ _  
“And depending on who it is I might just let you win that fight...”  
_ Takeshi agreed silently before retreating from his inner world.

 

“Someone is energetic this morning.”  
He teased as he opened his eyes again.  
“Morning? It's nearly noon sleepyhead. I have been waiting for hours for you to wake up.”  
A quick look at his watch confirmed what she was saying.  
“Hmm, I guess we might have to be a bit careful about these activities, as much as you enjoy them, and well, I can't say I didn't, they seem to leave me rather drained.”  
He could feel the instant drop in her mood and he hurried to assure her that things would not go back to how they had been.  
“Ssh, I promise you we will still have nights like these, just not every night, okay?”  
“I guess...”  
She returned her focus to the Sayuri, tracing them with her nails.  
“I swear I can still feel mom's presence in this one.”  
She gently brushed her thumb across the flower that held Maria's spirit.  
“That's because part of her is there, will always be there.”  
“But I though she moved on after I spoke to her in Alaska?”  
“Her soul did, but her spirit, the part of her that was uniquely her chose to remain behind, her personality, her knowledge and skills.”  
The confused look on Emelie's face prompted him to explain further.  
“We are all made up of three distinct parts. The body, our flesh, is the vessel that houses the other two. The Soul, is the force that gives the body life, it absorbs all that we learn during our life and in doing so it grows and evolves before returning to its origin, taking that experience with it when we pass away.”  
He carefully removed her hand from the flowers and let some of his Qi flow through them, making each glow with its own color.  
“The Spirit is what makes each of us who we are, our personality, our skills, it is what animates the flesh that the soul has given life. Body and Spirit together allows for the use of Qi, the power of the soul, but the Soul is what determines just how much of it there is to wield.“  
She reached for the flower that held her mother's spirit and the gentle glow reached for her in recognition.  
“Their spirits and souls were bound within these Sayuri, when your mother deemed my oath fulfilled her soul moved on while her spirit remain, binding itself to my soul, so now it is my life-force that sustains her spirit, in return she gives me part of what she was, like her talent as a driver and a thief but also a part of her instinct as a mother, reinforcing my own desire to protect those who are too young to protect themselves.”  
Touching each of the others in turn brought a wistful smile to his face.  
“Perhaps the others will do the same when they deem my oath to be done.”  
“I hope they do. You deserve to keep something of them with you forever.”  
Putting her hand back over the flowers she pushed that thought toward them, hoping that somehow they would hear her and the slight responding push gave her hope that they had indeed heard her.  
She rolled over on her side and put her head on his chest, perfectly content to spend some more time being lazy in bed.

“So, we're back home, whats next?”  
She suddenly piped up.  
“Now we wait for the fallout of our unwilling accomplices work. If everything goes according to plan GCTI will go down in flames once the information hits the media. It will hit all media at once, and thanks to the software on that flash drive, software that Daniels created while she was still alive, the files with the information will spread like wildfire once uploaded to the global network. There is no way they will be able to stop it in time.”  
“Hmm, waiting again huh? You know how easy I get bored of waiting.”  
With a smile she straddled his waist and pushed him down which earned her a slight growl and a flash of fangs which was instantly rewarded with a waft of peppermint.  
Mindful of her wings he flipped her over on her back and propped himself up above her.  
“Don't worry, we have a little something to do before that.”  
“Time for the twins so-called parents to get their due, huh?”  
“Hmm, when did I become so easy to read?”  
Slowly he began to trace the mark on her shoulder with a sharp claw, at a quick glance it looked like a regular tattoo, but looking closer his senses told him that the pigment was not a dye but rather a mix of naturally occurring pigments, his Qi and her youki, when he ran his fingers over the smoke that surrounded the image of the dragon it became obvious that it was not a tattoo as it twisted and shifted under his touch.  
“It's beautiful, your mark. I just wish it had real scales like yours does.”  
She whispered as he inspected the mark.  
He only considered her words for a brief moment before reaching over his shoulder and pulling loose one of the scales from his back, with a whispered apology he used a claw to cut into her shoulder and pushed the scale in under her skin before pushing his Qi into both the scale and the cut, healing the cut and causing the scale to change and reform into hundreds of tiny scales across her mark.  
“There, all done.”  
She reached up and Takeshi could hear a metallic sound as she traced the new scales with her nails, she didn't say anything but he could feel her reaction play through her aura.  
“You didn't have to...”  
She suddenly scrambled to look over his shoulder  
“You ruined your tattoo!”  
“Don't worry, it's alive, part of my body, the missing scale will grow back in a few days.”  
“Still...”  
“Shush, it's something I could easily do, so why not?”  
“You are impossible, you know that?”  
“Hmm, and here I thought I was horrible.”  
Whatever she was about to counter with was silenced as he leaned in and claimed her lips and pinning her beneath him before she had a chance to use her nails to show her temper.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As the sun was setting Takeshi and Emelie headed to the Blackout, their destination, Miami and the scum that had mistreated and sold their own daughters.  
“Em, you don't need to come along for this, you shouldn't come along. This will not be pretty, they will not get an easy death.”  
He knew it would be messy, he could feel the beast fanning his fury and he quite frankly wanted to tear them apart.  
“Stop it, you won't talk me out of this. Are you forgetting I touched their fear out on the yacht? I will make sure those monsters feel that same terror before they die!”  
He shook his head with a sigh.  
He didn't like the idea of her being there, seeing him do what he knew he would, he liked the idea of her actually being a part of it even less.  
Despite everything he still wanted her to remain as innocent as possible.  
“As you wish, I just wish you would stay away from this.”  
Taking his seat he went through the system checks for primary systems while she took care of the secondary systems check from the co-pilot's terminal.  
“I know, you don't want me to see the dark sides of this world, of you. But you seem to forget that I already have. I know you have dark side, heck, I'm pretty sure that darker side of you is more of the true you than the side you show everyone else.”  
She uncurled her tail and wrapped it around his wrist, nowadays the familiar gesture comforted him as much as it did her.

It was early morning when they bypassed the security-system of the Miami house that the twins parents had bought using the money Roberts had payed them to sell their daughters.  
Takeshi glared at the sickening sight in front of them, the young couple were alternating between begging for their lives, trying to bribe them, threaten them with their “contacts” and when that didn't work they had tried to appeal to their mercy, pointing out that the woman was pregnant.  
A quick look at her aura confirmed the presence of two tiny flickers in her womb, twin girls again and it made Takeshi hesitate, while every part of him screamed that the parents had to die it went against everything that he was to harm a child, even an unborn one and when he felt Emelie's aura flare with fury and power he made a move to stop her.  
“Em, don't.”  
“Back off! You will **not** try to stop me!”  
Never before had her power washed over him with such force and in his weakened state from the previous night he found himself unable to move as he struggled to free himself from her influence.  
Trying to pull more power from within he could feel the beast turning away from him, denying him access to its reserve.  
_**“Let her do what needs to be done.”  
**_ Reaching for the dragon gave him the same result, and together they blocked him from reaching the pool of energy that was the Blessing.  
With no other choice he watched her walk up to the woman and place a clawed hand over the still flat belly for a moment before digging them in deep.  
“Em, no! They are innocent!”  
He tried to use command to get her to back of but she sensed the build of his aura before he had a chance to.  
“ **Silence!** ”  
Again he tried to free himself from her but he just didn't have the reserves while she was pretty much supercharged.  
When he noticed the tiny flickers of life begin to move his struggles abated and as he watched, Emelie pulled them clear of the mother's body and wrapped them in her aura, moments later her serpent moved down and carefully opened its jaws wide.  
_“Em, what are you doing?!”  
“I'm not entirely sure, but I know it's the right thing to do. Now keep quiet and trust me will you.”  
_ There was a slight hurt tone being relayed by the serpent that instantly silenced him as he realized she was right, while she always trusted him he had displayed a lack of trust she had done nothing to deserve, sinking down to the floor he watched silently as the serpent swallowed the tiny souls and he could see them move down its body.  
When it began to lay two eggs he finally began to understand what she was doing, this way the souls of the unborn girls would not be prevented from being born, they would not have to die along with their mother, instead they would hatch as Blessed serpents and could stay close to their older sisters.  
He slowly stood up and moved up to her side to hold the small eggs while she burned the blood from her claws, moments later she took the eggs away from him and dropped them into her cleavage where the serpent lay coiled.  
_“Dammit. I'm sorry Em, you didn't deserve that.”  
“No, I didn't.”_  
He flinched at the chill in her aura as it rejected the touch of his own, he would have a lot to make up for after this but now was not the time, pushing the strong urge to redeem himself aside for the moment he focused on their targets.  
It was a great relief when he felt her tail wrap back around his wrist, she was still rejecting his aura but at least it gave him hope that the damage wasn't too severe.  
Taking their time they meted out raw vengeance, harsh justice and cold hard death.

As they were heading back Emelie could feel Takeshi's aura reaching out for her trying to re-establish their usual contact but she continued to reject him, it had hurt when he tried to stop her, even more so that he had tried to use _command_ on her rather than trusting her.  
She knew the true reason for him trying to stop her, he was worried she had lost control of her demon side and that she would kill while influenced by it and end up regretting her actions later, but it still hurt that he couldn't trust her.  
“Em, please...”  
He all but begged.  
“Have I ever given you reason to believe that I would just loose control?”  
She snapped at him after a long silence.  
“No.”  
His answer was short and to the point, there really was nothing else to say, anything else would just be excuses.  
“Look, I know why you did it. I know the problems you have staying in control when that shadow beast of yours really wants something, or is pissed off.”  
He just nodded that he was listening.  
“But it's different for me, I **AM** the demon, it's not a separate part that I need to fight to stay in control. The influence of the youki might make my temper flare a bit higher. My succubus nature will drive my libido up the walls when I'm tired or injured.”  
Giving a slight flare of her aura she allowed him to feel her again.  
“But it's still me, only me! I would never just kill an innocent child no matter how strong the influence of my youki!”  
As she got out of her seat she turned her back on him and he could see the tension in her back and she stood silently for a long time, her aura coiled tightly before her shoulders suddenly dropped and her aura washed over him.  
“It hurt that you thought I could...”  
There was a lot of pain and disappointment in her aura and he was prepared for her to reject him again but then he picked up on something else underneath, understanding, forgiveness and her ever present trust.  
He quickly got out of his seat and wrapped his arms around her, there were no words that could express his regret for having hurt her, however unintentionally, or his gratitude for her understanding and forgiveness, all he could do was let her feel him, and hopefully feel just what he wanted to tell her.  
After a few minutes she finally turned around and buried her face into his chest and he could feel her aura settling down to its normal patterns.  
“ _Gomen ne._ ”  
Slowly stroking her hair he tried to settle her down further  
“There is so much I don't know or understand about being a demon. I can't promise I won't make more mistakes because of that, but I will try not to...”  
“I know. Now just shut up and hold me...”  
He gladly did as she asked.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi was sitting in the conference-room with the girls, helping them with their school work when Emelie came running in, turning on the TV-screen.  
“Take, it's going down!”  
She quickly began putting up multiple stations on the large screen and they were all displaying 'Breaking News!' about the GCTI, every country had the news on some channel or another.  
A quick check on the computer showed it to be the top search on every major search engine, topping the active up- and downloads on every major torrent and file-share site.  
They quickly moved to Takeshi's study where they kept watch over the situation as it developed, police all over the world were hitting GCTI locations, arresting officers, securing files and equipment.  
“Dammit!”  
Takeshi cursed as he spotted Matthews being hauled into a prison transport bus and the SWAT leader spoke about having apprehended one of the major players.  
“They are planting him as a scapegoat. We need to get him out of there before he ends up dead.”  
Emelie just nodded and headed toward their room to change her clothes and the moment Takeshi got out of his chair Kasumi took his place monitoring all the news-feeds.  
Less than 5 minutes later the Blackout was taking off and this time Takeshi pushed it to the limit, confident that Emelie would have no problems handling it.  
“There's no time for subtlety this time.”  
He tossed her a small package which turned out to contain a mask that fitted her perfectly, it even took the horns of her full demon form into consideration.  
“I made that for you a while back, thankfully you have never needed it before. But this time there's just no time to make sure we don't get caught on cameras.”  
She quickly placed the mask over her face and could feel a slight stirring of Qi and youki in it and as she released her demonic form she could feel it attaching around the base of her horns, there was no way it would come loose unless she wanted it to.  
“What about you? Won't there be quite a few out there who might recognize you?”  
With a grin he pulled out a black cloth package which, when unwrapped, revealed itself to be a feral looking black kitsune mask and a matching hood.  
_“Doubt many will recognize me like this.”  
_ It had been many years since last he wore the shozoku and the mask was one of many items he had crafted himself during his seclusion in Alaska. _  
“_ I will, always.”  
Her tail uncurled and wrapped around his wrist, a small flare of her power triggering a response from his aura.  
“When we get there we won't be able to land so we will have to get down on our own, and it would be very useful if you could carry Matthews back up to the Blackout, you okay with that?”  
“As long as he keeps still I'll be fine, it's not like he could possibly be heavier than **you**.”  
He huffed at her quip about his weight, as a side effect of his training in combination with how the youki from the dragon had affected him his body was a lot denser than that of a normal person and the addition of the Blessing had enhanced the effect making him weigh nearly twice as much as a normal person his size would.  
“Don't worry, if necessary we will just knock him out, better a headache than dead.”  
She just nodded for him to continue.  
“Now, I need you to focus on getting to Matthews and getting him out of there and I will focus on making sure no one gets in our way”  
“In other words you don't want me stuck with a tough choice if things go sideways, and if someone, like a cop, ends up dead it's by your claws, not mine.”  
He didn't bother responding, she was right and they both knew it.  
Instead he focused on making sure the autopilot was properly calibrated for prolonged hovering.  
“Okay, we'll reach the holding facility in 5 minutes, you ready?”  
His answer came in the form of a pulse of youki and when he turned his head to look she had pulled out the entire form of the succubus, complete with the spiked, armor like layer of youki and a fanged grin vanishing behind the mask he had just given her.

When they closed in on their target Takeshi set the systems to maximum defensive parameters before setting the autopilot to circle around and hover.  
“Okay Em, let's go. And please, be careful down there, those idiots tend to be trigger-happy.”  
“I will.”  
A second later she vanished out the open door and he went out behind her, instantly trading his current for form that of the peregrine, below him he could feel Emelie's power build as she dropped, her wings were still folded tightly and he knew from their training sessions that she would unfold them at the very last moment and when she did she would at the same time unleash a shock-wave of her built up power, sending anyone nearby into total panic, if not outright overloading their senses and knocking them out.  
His own entrance, a falcon suddenly turning into a man dressed as a ninja would probably cause similar reactions, fear, confusion and general chaos.  
Emelie ran towards the holding area with her wings unfurled, displaying all her demonic traits for everyone to see, as she walked up to the holding area she raised her voice.  
**“The monsters of GCTI murdered my mother and her friends to hide their dirty secrets, it's time they suffer and die for their crimes!”  
L** ashing out with wings and tail she tore the heavy security gate to shreds and stepped inside, walking past several of the cages before locating Matthews and making quick work of the door to his cage.  
“You need to pretend to resist, but once I pick you off the ground you have to keep still or I might drop you”  
She whispered as she grabbed him  
“They are planning to use you as a scapegoat, painting you as one of the top men. We have to get you out.”  
He only gave her a slight nod while feigning resistance as she dragged him towards the open yard where they had entered, meanwhile Takeshi took a quick look in the cages and spotted a few of the GCTI that was on his list over those responsible for, or willingly aiding GCTI's wrongdoings.  
Stepping up the the cages he drew the Ryuken and simply sliced through bars and all to take the heads of his targets.

“Keep still!”  
Emelie hissed to Matthews as she gathered her youki to give her the lift she needed to be able to take flight with the added load, but halfway to the Blackout she almost dropped him anyway as several bullets ripped through the webbing of her wings, she could feel more bullets being vaporized by her youki armor at the same time.  
She must have cried out or maybe the fluctuation in her youki when she channeled it to repair the damage alerted Takeshi, because she could hear a furious howl from below her and the startled scream from the shooter that was instantly cut of.  
Moments later she stumbled into the Blackout and she could feel the wash of Qi behind her as Takeshi transformed back to his human form behind her and in a flurry of movement he unlocked the autopilot.  
“Matthews, get us out of here! I have to check on Em, she was hit.”  
Then his aura swept through her and his hands were checking every centimeter of her body for damage.  
“Easy Take, I'm fine, nothing important was hit, the bullets never got through my youki armor. I'm just a bit drained from fixing the holes that idiot put in my wings. But look, no more holes.” She held out her wings so he could see that they were fully healed.  
“Just give me some of that energy of yours when we get back and I'll be fine”.  
She leaned in, tracing light kisses along his jaw and throat as she slowly increased her _seduction_ in an attempt to calm him down but just as he began to settle several alarms went off and Matthews called from the pilot's seat.  
“Hey kid! You need to take the controls, we he have drones incoming and I'm no fighter pilot!”  
With a curse Takeshi jumped up front and took the controls from Matthews before calling out to Emelie to take the co-pilot's seat.  
“See if you can get rid of a few of those, we don't want to get tagged.”  
The Blackout didn't carry any heavy weapons, only a small selection of defensive armaments, the main weapon was an array of mirrors and lenses connected to a high output laser generator that was capable of neutralizing missiles and small crafts, like the drones now on their tail, but it would have little effect against an actual fighter jet.  
The drones that were following them at the moment were remote controlled using visual tracking and the operators were trying to attach electronic tags that would render the Blackout's stealth systems useless, allow them to be tracked by radar and make it easy for any jets sent after them to find them.  
Bringing the HUD online revealed over 20 targets converging on them making Emelie hiss out a curse.  
“I'm on it. Can you get me a bit of extra juice for the emitters? I might need to hit more than one target at a time.”  
“I'll try, but these dam things are fast and agile, we're gonna need most of the power for the engines and I can't risk cutting back on any of the stealth-systems.”  
“Better stay on our toes then.”  
Reaching out she wrapped her aura around him, her aura would instinctively react to the information on the screens and that would tell Takeshi where he needed to go without them having to waste time on verbal communication.

Takeshi was glad he had spent all those hours teaching Emelie how to use the Blackout's weapon systems and even more hours over the years running endless simulations because she was making quick work of the drones tailing them and a few minutes later she called out.  
“Clear!”  
“Damn, you got one hell of a RIO there. Don't think I've ever seen anyone take out a swarm of painters that fast.”  
Matthews got out of his seat and moved up to the pilot's seat.  
“Now how about you get your ass out of that seat and let her dig those bullets out of your gut before you end up with 'em healed stuck in you?”  
“What?”  
Emelie instantly spun around and nailed Takeshi with a glare.  
“He might not be bleeding, but I saw him take a few hits. Doubt it's serious for **him** , but it can't be good to have those rounds still in there when the wounds start to heal.”  
Matthews filled her in and Takeshi folded under her demanding glare.  
“Well, that idiot that put holes in your wings got lucky and managed to put a few in me when I took him out...”  
“Move it! On the floor!”  
“ _Hai hai_ , Miss bedside manners.”  
He huffed as he got out of the seat and lay down on his back with a slight groan, the movement pulling on the still open wounds.  
Matthews was right that he needed to get the bullets out before he could allow the wounds to heal, so he had been using his Qi to keep it from bleeding while forcefully preventing it from healing.  
“Dammit Take, I thought those spider-silk clothes of yours were supposed to be bulletproof.”  
She pulled away the top of his shozoku to gain access to the wounds in his stomach and chest.  
“Well, they are, as long as you don't get hit point blank by armor piercing rounds. Kinda wish they weren't right now, if they hadn't been those shots would have been clean through and throughs instead of ending up stuck in my gut.”  
“Why don't you just borrow the hide and scales of that overgrown lizard of yours instead?”  
She dug around in the first-aid kit trying to find something to get the bullets, but finding nothing suitable.  
“Heh, maybe I should, but you know, you really shouldn't call her that, she takes it out on me.”  
Emelie tossed the kit to the side with a muttered curse.  
“If you plan on getting shot again you better put some grasping forceps in this sad excuse of a kit!”  
She complained as she extended her nails and burned them clean with youki then dug them into one of the wounds to try to get the bullet.  
“Now, if I did that I wouldn't get the _pleasure_ of your oh so _tender_ care.”  
He bit out as her claws dug around for the bullet.  
“Stop complaining, it's in pretty damn deep.”  
She paused for a moment trying to figure out a better way to get to the bullets.  
After a while she took the serpent from her arm and instructed it to straighten out its body and make it a lot slimmer, once she was satisfied with its size she pushed it into the hole and once it reached the bullet it opened its mouth and bit into the bullet, allowing her to pull it out.  
As the bullet came out it brought with it quite a bit of blood and Takeshi quickly explained to keep her calms.  
“It's okay, I have been using my Qi to keep it from bleeding, but with the bullet out allowing it to bleed a bit will help clean out the wound before I heal it up.”  
As he spoke the first wound closed up without a trace.  
Emelie just nodded and moved on to the other bullets, once all the bullets were gone and the wounds closed up she acted on a strong urge from her demonic instincts and began to lick away the blood from his skin.  
_“Em?”_  
Takeshi questioned silently but she just ignored him and kept going.  
“Em, please. Damn!”  
He half hissed, half panted as the sensation of her cleaning the blood from his wounds lit a fire in him unlike anything her _seduction_ ever had.  
_**“Instincts.”**_  
Came the silent response, but it was the serpents own words, not hers.  
“Okay kids, you need to get a room.”  
Matthews teased as he obviously picked up on Takeshi's state of mind from the strain in his voice.  
When he was utterly ignored he shook his head and mumbled to himself about today's kids and their total lack of inhibitions as the scene behind him turned carnal.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The End of an Era_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Ah, Commander Matthews, welcome!”  
Kasumi greeted him when he walked up to main house of the estate.  
“Just Thomas, I'm no commander no more, not after today.”  
He was practically beaming as gave her a hug.  
“The others should be in later, I swear they're like rabbits, totally shameless those two.”  
“They are. But they usually wait until they have landed, did Em get hurt by any chance?”  
“Yeah, how did you know?”  
“She's a succubus, healing takes a lot of energy out of her and the fastest way for her to recover that is lots of sex.”  
“Well, she did mention some idiot putting holes in her wings but I couldn't see any damage. Honestly, Takeshi seemed to be in worse shape, he had a bunch of bullets in his gut.”  
Kasumi froze for a moment and Matthews instantly regretted his words.  
“Ah sorry, they don't seem to make filters big enough for this old mouth of mine anymore.”  
“Don't worry, I would be able to feel it if he had been seriously hurt, a few bullets are little more than an annoyance nowadays.”  
“Still, I should have put that better, I never was very good at dealing with families...”  
“Just don't slip up in front of the girls, they will both string you up if you worry them.”  
“Girls?”  
He was confused for a moment but everything became clear when Kasumi opened the door and a swarm of girls ran to greet them.  
“Oh, it's just you. Who _are_ you?”  
The twins were the first to reach them and the first to voice their disappointment at not finding the expected pair.  
“Why am I not surprised they are all still here?”  
He whispered to Kasumi before greeting the girls.  
“Hello ladies, I'm Thomas, and I'm a friend of Takeshi's.”  
He introduced himself with a big smile and was instantly shot down by the twins.  
“Sumi, the old dude is kinda creepy.”  
“Now, now girls. That's not very nice, He's one of the good guys.”  
“If he's a good guy then why is he here and not Emmy and Take?”  
“Em and Take have a few things they need to take care of first, they will join us later, so how about we go and prepare some food? You know Take is always hungry.”  
The younger girls nodded while the older snickered, obviously aware of just what they were up to.

A few hours later when Takeshi and Emelie finally joined the others in the inner garden most of the girls had fallen asleep in the pile of pillows that had been piled up in one of the gazebos and the ones that were still awake just waved and fell asleep almost instantly.  
After making sure the girls were comfortable and safe they headed into Takeshi's study to talk and review all the available information about the day's events.  
It was no surprise that the details about their little breakout were edited, according to the press conference the guard that Takeshi had killed was the sole perpetrator, the story said that he had lost it, gunned down several of the prisoners before being shot himself by the other guards.  
Some creative hacking later they looked at several internal reports and memos, most of them confused, no one understanding just what they had seen, the others were pretty much demanding that all and any information about the incidents be buried forever lest they look like lunatics.  
“You kids did one hell of a number on 'em. But I gotta say, if you hadn't shown me some of that weird shit over the years I would have thought I lost it when I saw her tear down the gate. I've seen the tail before but this was something else.”  
“Isn't it about time you stop calling me kid? I'm 40 this year...”  
Takeshi complained in good humor.  
“And you don't look a day over 25, so kid it is.”  
As the night moved on more and more reports became available, detailing the total downfall of the GCTI, indictments were filed against a large number of key personnel and a special task-force was being put together to hunt down many of the underground backers using information recovered from various GCTI sites.

Takeshi had gone of to get some more food when he heard the silent calls from both Emelie and Kasumi so he hurried back to the study, and there on the screen was a number of very familiar files and photos, they were telling the story of him and his unit, how they had been blackmailed into service, the things they had been forced to do, and finally how they had been killed.  
They spoke of how the information they had gathered from the inside had been instrumental in the final downfall of the GCTI and finally the broadcaster announced that the President had decided to posthumously award the entire unit with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their actions to take down the corrupt organization and that the award would be presented on 4  th  of July the next year along with a memorial monument to those killed by the GCTI's actions.  
As the reporter's voice faded away Takeshi could feel the burn in the Sayuri as the remaining souls left and the spirits fused with his own.  
“It's over. It's finally over, they are at peace.”  
His voice a mere whisper as he placed his hand over his heart and the four flowers forever emblazoned in his skin.  
“Did they...?”  
Emelie turned to him but hesitated and never finished her question but he knew what she was asking.  
“They did, they are all still with me.”  
Emelie quickly pulled his hand and clothes away to reveal the now slightly altered flowers, placing her hand over them she let her aura flow against them.  
“Thank you, all of you, for staying with him.”  
She could feel a slight push in return before Takeshi leaned in and pulled her close.  
“You should go there and receive your mother's award.”  
“I'll consider it. But what about you? Will you reveal that you are still alive? Go there and receive yours?”  
“I will, but not for myself. The others have no living relatives to receive theirs.”  
She shivered when he leaned in and his breath brushed against her ear as he spoke.  
“How about we retire and get those reserves of yours topped up?”  
A nibble at her ear rewarded him with the oh so familiar peppermint before they both vanished out the door at record speed.

 


	31. An Offer

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_An Offer_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

“Those two really are like rabbits.”  
Matthews shook his head as Takeshi and Emelie vanished toward their room.  
“They are. But really, can you blame them?”  
“Nah, both of 'em are young, good looking. She's literally a sex-demon and he has lived his life on the edge, as an old soldier I know you took what you could get when you could get it, especially after a tough battle. And from what you told me she needs it to recover from her injuries. Though, I can't help but feel there's more to it.”  
“Oh, trust me there is, a lot more to it.”  
Kasumi laughed.  
“Those two are perfect for each other, and instinctively they know that. But it's not just instinct, there is love there, they are just too damn stubborn to admit it, but anyone with eyes can tell.”  
She took the small bottle of Saké and refilled his cup before she continued.  
“You should have seen them in the beginning, always dancing around each other, though, Takeshi was was the worse of them. Instincts telling him to go for it while his sense of honor kept telling him it would be wrong. At times I swear he seemed almost scared of her.”  
She nodded her thanks when Matthews refilled her cup and she took a small sip.  
“I think he still might be though, scared of all of it. Both of them actually. They are very similar in how they value loyalty, their word is their bond and all that, and admitting to love would be akin to promising forever, but they are both Eternals, so forever could be a _very_ long time.”  
She shook her head with a sigh.  
“I'm not entirely sure what happened to bring them to their current relationship as neither of them wants to tell me. But it has to do with her being a demon, a Lilim. Her kind are special, if the mother is human the child is born human, and then some of them will become a demon when they grow up. When they start becoming a demon they need to feed like a demon, in her case like a succubus, and it takes a lot of energy to fully transform. Because of this she was dying and there was only one way to save her. When they left she was human and near death, when they returned two weeks later she was a demon and no longer in any danger.”  
Matthews snickered and drained his cup.  
“I guess I'll have to drag the story out of em tomorrow, by right now I'd appreciate it if you could show me to a bunk.”  
“I will, but trust me, we won't see them for a few days, maybe a week.”  
“Seriously?”  
“Yeah, seriously. He will need time to recover the energy he gives her, and she will be spending that time trying to entice him into another round.”  
She showed him to one of the rooms at the end of a small corridor,  
“This room should do, the girls mostly keep to the garden and other end of the building so you should be able to get some peace and quiet here.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_An Offer_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

True to Kasumi's estimate Takeshi and Emelie emerged from their rooms late in the evening a week later and immediately made a beeline for the meat-locker, Kasumi had brought them meals throughout the week, but as expected Takeshi needed some extra to help him recharge.  
“Damn, kid! You planning to feed an entire squad?”  
Matthews just stared when he spotted the stainless steel cart that looked ready to buckle under the piles of meat and fish.  
“Nah, just feeling a bit peckish after having a good time”.  
When Matthews spotted Emelie with another one just like it loaded with vegetables, rice and various condiments he began sputtering.  
“You are insane! You know that kid?”  
“Horrible, impossible and now insane? Come on people, make up your minds.”  
“How about all of the above?”  
Kasumi quipped from her shaded corner.  
“Whatever did I do to deserve such a mean sister?”  
He teased with a fake sniffle while sorting the various cuts of meat and plates of fish to begin preparing them, thick slices for the grill, thinner ones to be served as sashimi.  
“Hey, Kasumi, 'they really gonna eat all that on their own?”  
“Well, Take will put most of it away while Em nibble and keep him company.”  
“So, this is normal for 'em?”  
“Sort of, these more extreme s _essions_ are new, but they follow the same patterns, just in a rather exaggerated manner.”  
Matthews and Kasumi watched as Takeshi made short work of the mountain of food while Emelie stole bits here and there, triggering mock fights over the favored treats, fights that Matthews noted Takeshi always lost.  
“You saying you wouldn't let her win?”  
Kasumi laughed.  
“Never said that.”

“You guys aren't big on the whole sleeping thing are ya?”  
Matthews was starting to yawn while he sat with Takeshi watching as Kasumi was helping Emelie practice with her Tessen.  
“We don't need much sleep so why waste time on it when there are so many better ways to spend it?”  
Takeshi's hand vanished into his sleeve and with a quick movement of the wrist he sent a few Harigata Bo-Shuriken flying toward Emelie and watched as she spun around and flicked the Tessen open to block the slender but potentially deadly needles, as the spin continued she lashed out with her tail, the tip acting like the head of a spear.  
“Damn! I didn't sign up to be a target dummy...”  
Matthews complained when the razor sharp tip passed a few centimeters in front of him and looking rather wide-eyed as Takeshi caught it and gave it a sharp nip before allowing Emelie to pull it back.  
“Don't worry, she doesn't need target-practice.”  
The pride in his voice was unmistakable.  
“You really got bit bad, didn't ya kid?”  
“Hmm, what?”  
Takeshi didn't look away from the lesson in front of him.  
“I see how you look at her. You love her.”  
“She is Pack...”  
“Don't you try it with me kid, I'm too old to buy it. You love her, there's no two ways about it.”  
“Perhaps...”  
He admitted after a long pause.  
“Look, kid. I won't even try to claim to understand what you guys are going through. I mean living forever, demons, werewolves or whatever you are and all, that's gotta be a big mess to wrap your head around.”  
He refilled Takeshi's cup and held up his own to be refilled.  
“But there is one thing I **do** know. No matter how long, or short your life might be, it's always too short to let something like love slip through you fingers. Promise me you'll at least think it over real hard, okay?”  
When there was no answer for a few minutes Matthews spoke up again.  
“Takeshi Kiryu, promise me you will.”  
The usual humor was all gone from his tone and the fact that he had actually used his full name spoke volumes.  
Takeshi took a deep breath, held it for an impossibly long time before slowly exhaling and looking away with a slight growl.  
“Fine! I promise.”  
He snapped, there was a frustrated bite to his voice but Matthews didn't let that deter him.  
“Don't you snap at me for laying down the truth!”  
He bit back which earned him a snarl that gave him an excellent view of a rather intimidating set of fangs before Takeshi regained control over the beast's reaction to being told off.  
“Sorry about that. Got myself stuck with a backseat-driver that does **not** like to be told what to do. It's one of those little issues that are proving somewhat resilient to solutions.”  
“No worries kid. But honestly, you never did like being told what to do, you obeyed, somewhat, because you had to to keep your sister, and later your unit, safe. But there was always this feeling of rebellion from you, think that's what made me like you from the get go.”  
“Bull, you just liked that I gave the other assholes a hard time and not you.”  
“True, that might have had something to do with it.”  
With a laugh the tense moment was forgotten and the night passed in it's usual manner with Matthews leaving them halfway through it to get some sleep.

Once Matthews had left for his room Emelie turned to Takeshi,  
“He's not doing too good, is he? I thought I could feel something off in his aura when I carried him, and it's obvious now.”  
“No, he's not. I noticed it back in L.A as well, but he has deteriorated a lot faster than I thought he would. At this rate I doubt he will last the year.”  
“The Blessing would save him, wouldn't it?”  
“It would, and I intend to offer it to him, but I don't think he will accept.”  
“Why not?”  
“He has his reasons, but that's not my story to tell.”  
Emelie just nodded her acceptance but found herself unable to entirely drop the subject.  
“You think he would be willing to allow us to treat him, try to fix what is wrong? Between our abilities and the things **She** can create in the sanctuary we should be able to fix pretty much anything.”  
“Perhaps.”  
She shook her head at his distracted answer, he obviously had something on his mind and she knew he would share when he was good and ready and not a moment before.

As the night moved on she found herself more and more curious about what could possibly be on his mind to cause this kind of behavior, he was nipping at her with sharp fangs and trailing razor sharp claws along her skin, even drawing blood on occasion before healing the small cuts with a lick.  
Kasumi tried to talk them into going back to their room but Takeshi didn't seem to hear her at all as he just kept going.  
“Oh well, if you two are going to be all antisocial I'll just go bed, see you in the morning.”  
After Kasumi left Emelie carefully turned to face Takeshi.  
“Take? You are acting really strange, is everything okay?”  
“Ssh, I'm fine. Just thinking...”  
“Whatever could you be thinking to make you act like this? You are being worse than me!”  
“Hmm. Oh, nothing important, not now.”  
The mumbled reply as followed short silence and more mumbling.  
“Maybe later, when I figure it out.”  
He was quiet for a long time before speaking up again.  
“I promised, why did I promise?”  
As he was making less and less sense she choose to just go with the flow and enjoy his touch.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_An Offer_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Thomas, I need a word with you, now.”  
Takeshi's voice was calm but carried a hint of steel that made it perfectly clear he would not take no for an answer.  
“So, what can I do for ya today?”  
“Your health, what is wrong and what treatments are you receiving.”  
“Dang, you're not holding the punched today, are ya?”  
“Just answer, I already know you are sick, and that it's bad. I just don't know exactly what's wrong.”  
Matthews shook his head as he responded his usual sloppy speech gone as he for once was serious.  
“Can't slip anything past you can I? It's the old ticker, can't seem to keep up anymore. I had some pills and I was scheduled for a pacemaker, but that's kinda out now. After all, dead men don't get surgery, or refills on their prescriptions.”  
He picked up the small pill bottle and shook it to show it was empty.  
“How long?”  
“Took last one three days ago.”  
Takeshi nodded, they would have to act fast or it could end bad.  
“If you want to, I can fix that for you. You'd never have to worry about getting sick again. You would regain the body of your prime.”  
“Like you did with Melissa to save her? She told me you know, that as she could feel death you still asked her permission.”  
“Yes.”  
“You know what my answer is.”  
Matthews shook his head.  
“I figured as much, still I am offering it, and this offer will never expire. “  
“Doubt I'll change my mind in the short time I have left, but thanks for offering.”  
“It could be a lot longer you know, the Blessing isn't the only thing that can help you. It would be the fastest and easiest, but we have other options if you would allow it.”  
“If you can fix me up without changing what I am, I'm all for it.”  
“Well, it will be slower, probably painful at times and you'll probably get stuck with a pet until it's done.”  
“Pet?”  
“A familiar, like the ones the girls have. They are able to produce pretty much any substance, Emelie's serpent for instance provides her with a replacement for 'Blockers', it also gave Amanda and Diane an antidote for the drug Roberts had been giving them.”  
“Damn, that's pretty useful. Guess I'll get stuck with a snake to so it can actually get the stuff in me?”  
“Well, if you have a problem with snakes we could always get you rabbit or something to make _pills_.”  
“I think I rather get bitten a few times a day, thank you very much.”  
“Understandable.”  
Takeshi teased.  
“Come, let's go find you a suitable familiar.”

“The hell kinda snake is this?”  
Matthews stared at the creature that was to be his familiar as it sat in the broken remains of what looked like an Emu egg.  
“I believe it's a winged serpent.”  
Takeshi quipped with a wide grin.  
The body was long and slender with rough green scales.  
Its head like that of a dragon. crowned by a pair of horns and a mane of long fiery red and orange feathers that trained down its spine, past the large feathered wings colored like a rainbow that ended in clawed hands.  
The tip of its tail also sported rainbow feathers and Takeshi could feel a slight tingle along its aura that reminded him of the twins familiars after their rebirth into Storm Phoenix, remembering his mythological beasts he figured it was probably able to deliver quite a jolt if needed.  
“Well yeah, but come on. It looks like something out of a mythology class!”  
Takeshi had to agree, the serpent looked like some of the images of the Aztec Quetzalcoatl or the Mayan Kukulkan mixed with the Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent or Native American Horned Serpent.  
“Past few years I have found that many mythologies have a greater base in reality that I thought, it's quite possible that these critters were around when those mythologies started.”  
“Must say though, it's kinda cute.”  
Matthews reached out and scratched it under the jaw and then yelped as it bit down on his finger and refused to let go.  
“I think it likes you.”  
Kasumi teased.  
“Yeah, for dinner!”  
Emelie laughed.  
“Stubborn little..!”  
Matthews shook his finger as if trying to shake it loose, but he was careful not to hurt the small creature.  
A few minutes later it let go and proceeded to prove that its wings weren't just for show by flying in circles around Matthews head before landing on top of it and coiling up.  
“Why you cheeky little...”  
He grumbled as he reached up and scooped the serpent from his head and carefully dropped it into the pocket of his shirt instead, moments later the clawed hands grabbed at the edges of the pocket and its head popped up with a hiss.  
Carefully patting its head he turned to Takeshi who had been standing back with a huge grin on his face during the birth and introduction of the familiar.  
“So, what does this thing eat?”  
“Nothing really. They just absorb pure life-force from their surroundings. This one will take some of your blood every now and then though, to help keep track of your health.  
“You mean like it just did?”  
He countered, holding up his finger to show the tiny drops of blood drawn by the tiny, but sharp, fangs.  
“Just like that. But as you already figured out these things are cheeky so be prepared for things to go missing from your plate, especially meat has a way of vanishing whenever they are close.”  
“How much could this little thing possibly manage to eat?”  
“Heh, be careful, she might just take that as a challenge. And you'll be surprised just how much these little gluttons can gobble down.”  
“She?”  
“Yeah, you got yourself a little lady there.”  
“Great, just what I needed”  
He grumbled, which was instantly rewarded with a hiss and tiny fangs nipping at his skin.  
“Yeah, definitely a lady.”  
Kasumi and Emelie agreed.  
“She will have him trained in no time.”  
Takeshi laughed.  
“Is it to much to ask for a nice, cute nurse type instead of what feels like a nagging old wife?”  
Matthews complained.  
“Definitely!”  
Everyone else agreed.  
“Why is everyone picking on this poor old man?”  
He mock whined.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_An Offer_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The rest of the day was spent with the girls at the beach with Takeshi, Emelie and Kasumi taking turns keeping an eye on the girls and working with Julia and the twins to improve their swimming.  
As evening came around the girls were corralled and sent to their rooms for the night and Matthews excused himself early, the effects of his treatment starting to kick in, making him rather tired as his body used all its energy to heal.  
Takeshi and Emelie sat in the inner garden watching a group of Luna Moths from the Sanctuary flutter around the garden, like many of the creatures from the Sanctuary of the Mother they were bioluminescent displaying a bright glow in the colors or their mortal cousins.  
Some sporting a pale blue-green, others a gentle yellow and pink, a few even a milky white.  
Emelie was dozing off in his lap when Kasumi joined them and sat down next to him, after a quick look at Emelie she spoke up in a low voice, and in Japanese.  
“Kage, it is time we act to reclaim what is ours.”  
Her choice of words further reinforcing the seriousness of the conversation.  
“I know, but there is no need to rush. We can make plans while we watch over Matthews recovery. If he is back in reasonable health he can help watch over the girls when we need to be in Japan.”  
As he spoke Emelie stirred slightly and looked up at him, blinking sluggishly but when she noticed they were speaking Japanese she just shifted slightly, snuggled into his chest and fell back to sleep.  
“And what about Em?”  
“If we are going to be away more than a few days she comes along, and that's final. She needs to feed regularly to maintain control of her hunger and I will not place her in a situation where her need to feed might push her to seek out another source and risk hurting someone if it can be avoided. But most importantly, I gave her my word that as long as I am alive I would never leave her behind.”  
He lifted Emelie's right hand, careful not to wake her, and turned it so Kasumi could read the kanji covering her ring, kanji that glowed under the touch of his aura.  
“And if she comes, so does the twins, they are not ready for us to leave them even if they have Matthews and the others to keep an eye on them. I will not risk the progress we have made with them just to rush when there is no need to. There is also the eggs holding the souls of the twins sisters, I would prefer to not leave until they have decided to hatch. I need to know they will be okay.”  
Kasumi glared at him for a moment before looking away with a sigh.  
“You always were the responsible one, _brother_.”  
“Hardly by choice.”  
He bit out, part of him would never forgive the Council for making him Kage, for molding him into a weapon.  
“Becoming my Kage was not by choice, but don't you even try claiming that you would have been any different if you were not Kage. I don't believe it. You would still be the one to always worry and care for others, to always assume all the responsibilities so that others would not have to.”  
“Probably.”  
He sighed.  
“Anyway, for now, let's just relax and make preparations. Once it's time for the award ceremony I will go there with Em, I'm sure the council will send someone to receive it in my place. After all Kage or not, a Kiryu being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom is not something they would miss. It should be an excellent opportunity to let them know I'm still around.”  
Kasumi nodded silently and after a few moments of consideration she spoke up again.  
“Once they are aware that you are still alive they will surely contact me again to demand answers, and an heir. To which I will announce a son, born in January 2031.”  
“We should _create_ a daughter as well, you might need an identity to assume later on.”  
He pointed out.  
“Hmm, I guess that might be useful.” She agreed.  
When Emelie began to stir again Kasumi headed back inside with a promise to speak more on the matter later.

 


	32. Revelations

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Revelations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

Takeshi was with Emelie going through the latest spear kata he was teaching her when the twins came running, almost running into the ropes around the training area they began jumping up and down, barely able to contain themselves as they waited for Takeshi and Emelie to finish their session.  
After quite a few scoldings trying to stop them from running into the training area Takeshi had finally resorted to using _command_ , forcing them to stay outside the ropes.  
While he didn't like using _command_ on them, it was for their own safety and the _command_ would lift on its own once they had learned not to run up to them while they were training.  
“What's the matter girls?”  
He asked them once they had settled down slightly.  
“They are hatching!”  
They both called out excitedly.  
“Hurry! You're gonna miss it!”  
A tingle along his aura alerted Takeshi to danger and he turned back to Emelie just in time to evade her tail, but not in time to prevent the heavy metal butt of her training-spear from connecting squarely with his jaw, sending him sprawling and when he looked up he was met with a grinning Emelie who rested the bladed tip of her spear just above his sternum, a clean _kill_.  
“Yay, Emmy won!”  
The twins cheered when they saw him go down and stay there.  
“Hmm, I guess distractions can kill even the best.”  
She teased as she waited for him to acknowledge her win and when he delayed she put a bit more pressure on her spear, just enough to draw blood which rewarded her with him tapping on the ground and giving her a short _Matte!_ , signaling his surrender.  
As much as he hated admitting defeat he couldn't help feeling proud, the attack had been well planned and the execution was near perfect, had be been a regular human he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon, more likely than not not he would never get up again, and yet he knew she had been holding back her strength, a lot.  
Answering her grin with one of his own he slowly pushed the spear aside before flipping back to his feet and rewarding her win with a kiss.  
“Let's go see what those two decided to become, shall we?”  
After placing their spears back in the shed they headed up to the house and to the small basement room where the eggs holding the souls of the twins unborn sisters had been resting since Emelie had extracted them from their mother to allow them to live.  
They had no idea what kind of creatures they would become but Takeshi was silently hoping it wouldn't be anything too energetic since the twins were plenty enough on their own.

When the eggs finally broke open they both revealed black snakes with deep red markings, the patterns a perfect mirror of each other.  
The shape of their heads and muscular bodies revealed them to be some sort of constrictor, but Takeshi was unable to classify them as any specific species, the patterns didn't look like any snake he had ever heard of.  
Chances were that they were unique hybrids like so many other of the creatures they had living with them, but he had a feeling that these would not be tiny versions like most of them, something told him these would grow into behemoths.  
“Look! Isn't she pretty?”  
Sarah held up one of the snakes to him and he carefully took it from her hands and showed her how to properly hold it, allowing it to move freely while still giving it support so it wouldn't fall and how to handle it so that it wouldn't bite her, while it wouldn't intentionally bite them unless they hurt it, it could still strike out on instinct and that could hurt both the girls and the snakes.  
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Maria do the same with the other snake, presenting it to Emelie and her serpent slithered down to inspect the new family member, after a few flicks of its tongue it returned to its usual place around Emelie's upper arm and as it settled down he could hear the Mother speak through it, the tone laced with humor.  
_**“Titanoboa, interesting choice. You will have your hands full with these little ones.”  
**__Titanoboa_ , the prehistoric ancestor of the _Boidae_ family, according to fossil records it could grow to an impressive 15 meters and weigh over 900 kg and he suspected that like its modern descendants the females were the largest.  
Takeshi almost groaned, sometimes he hated being right and with his luck they would grow to be giants, for their species.  
“Looks like you girls will need to learn to fish, until these babies get big enough to safely hunt on their own they will need us to catch live fish for them.”  
“But, I thought the Children of the Sanctuary didn't need to eat?”  
Diane piped up with confusion when he paused.  
“That is correct, but these girls are not Children of the Sanctuary, they are normal snakes.”  
“But, don't snakes live like really short time?”  
Sarah cried out, worried that she would lose her baby sisters which earned her a light growl, scolding her for interrupting him.  
“Don't worry, I can feel the Blessing in them.”  
“But, they can't speak! The Blessed can speak!”  
He was once again interrupted by Sarah and this time he gave her a light nip on the ear as reprimand for interrupting and she instantly responded with a low whine, he was still rather amazed at how well the twins took to being treated like unruly pups.  
“They are still much too young, just like a human baby they need to grow up a bit and learn to speak first, but they will live long, healthy lives. But while they are this small they are still mostly snake, when they get older they will become more like us.”  
The twins nodded before they turned their focus back to the, for the moment, tiny snakes.  
“Let's go fish then, shall we?”  
His suggestion was meet with cheering from the younger girls, and groans from the older.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Revelations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Since the snakes were still tiny they needed to catch small fish for them, much smaller than could be caught with a rod or the regular nets and traps they used to fish for food for themselves so Takeshi grabbed a piece of mosquito netting from one of his packs and a roll of thick metal wire was soon added to his burden.  
A sewing kit and a handful of the Sanctuary crystals quickly found their way into hidden pockets and as they walked down to the lagoon he cut down a few nice, straight saplings.  
While the girls watched he quickly crafted bags from the netting and threaded them with hoops of wire to keep them open, additional wire was used to attach the hoops to the saplings, making a few simple handheld nets that looked like butterfly nets.  
He would order some quality ones in the evening, but these would do nicely until those could be delivered.  
Armed with nets and buckets Emelie took the younger girls to the part of the lagoon where the volcanic cliffs cut into the water, the retreating tide formed numerous small tidal pools that trapped a wide selection of small fish and crustaceans and much to the girls joy a number of small octopuses also made the pools their home.  
While they splashed around catching fish Takeshi had the older girls help him dig a big hole that would be turned into a feeding pool.  
Or, well, he dug and the girls helped him by pulling away the dirt.  
Once he was satisfied with the size he took the crystals and began pushing his aura into them, shaping them into a thin, slightly flexible mesh that acted like a tarp, it would keep water in the pool while also making sure the water was completely free of any harmful substances or organisms.  
It would also help remove most of the salt to reduce the risk of problems, the salt content would slowly be increased as they grew older to help them adapt to hunting in the lagoon.  
Another set of crystals were reshaped into a fine net to cover the pool, keeping debris from falling into it and making sure no birds or other predators could reach the inhabitants.  
With the base of the pool completed he went to the boathouse and picked up one of the bilge pump carts, each cart held a powerful, submersible pump, a compact power-cell and a large reel of flat hose, the powerful pump made quick work of filling the newly dug pool and with the application of his Qi the water was soon safe for the twin snakes to swim around in.  
With a sharp whistle he alerted the _fishing-expedition_ that they were ready for them to return with their catch and when they came running he couldn't help laughing.  
Alice and Anne were both struggling to carry a pair of rather large octopuses and the slithery creatures were not being particularly cooperative, while they had a good grip on the head to keep the beak away from them the arms were all over them.  
Emelie trailed behind them, ready to help them if needed, but the grin on her face told him that she had no intention of doing anything unless the girls risked getting hurt beyond a few hickeys from the suckers and a bruised ego, but as long as they stayed clear of the beak they should be fine.  
“Ooh, octopus dinner for me! How nice of you!”  
He teased when they finally made it to them.  
“Catch you own!”  
“These are ours!”  
The objections were instant and rather loud.  
“ **We** are having octopus tonight. If you cook them you can taste a bite.”  
He knew of course that it was their plan all along, they both loved squid and octopus in every conceivable form and it had taken a few stern talks before they stopped trying to catch all the baby octopuses in the tidal pools.  
“I think I might just go catch a few more after we are done feeding these babies. Come on girls bring those buckets here and gather around.”  
He explained that today he would help feed them so that they could conserve what energy they had left after the hatching but after today they would have to catch their own food in the pool he had made for them.  
Taking one of the snakes in one hand he pulled out a pair of chopsticks seemingly from nowhere with the other hand and used them to hold one of the small fish by the tail while explaining to the girls that they didn't want the young snakes to associate their hands with food since they would be acting mostly on instinct until they got older it might cause them to bite.  
When both snakes were fed they poured the remaining fish into the pool where they would stay alive and well until it was their time to become dinner.

“So, who wants to come help me catch some more treats for dinner?”  
“Me! Me! Me!”  
Amanda was instantly jumping at him begging him to let her be he one to help him.  
He knew she wasn't really interested in helping him catch food, all she wanted was a chance to go to the lagoon and use the diving gear so she could swim with Stormborn.  
She had a fierce fascination with the ancient creature once known as Wanderer, Elder and Ancient and part of him knew that they would lose her to the sea, that she would one day ask for the Blessing so that she would be able to shed her humanity and become a dweller of the deep.  
And he would grant it to her, though he intended to make sure she complete a proper education first.  
The same way he knew that Melissa would also abandon her humanity in favor of becoming one with the winds.  
Whenever the winds picked up he could find her out by the cliffs staring into the wind and he could feel a solemn note in her aura along with an almost overwhelming longing and he knew that once she had learned to properly use the forms of the various birds she would leave them to find her own path, following the winds.  
“Lissa, you come along as well, you need to practice your transformations.”  
Melissa groaned but did as he asked, she wanted to learn to fly but he insisted she learn the same way he had, land and water before she attempt to challenge the skies.  
He quickly helped Amanda with the breathing gear, making sure everything was in order, he also attached a small emergency air-tube to her gear in case Melissa had problems with her transformation, while there was no risk of her running out of air since they were not going very deep, her modified physiology as a Blessed would easily let her swim to the surface in case she lost her transformation, it made her feel safer to know there was an air-tank within her reach .  
With everything ready he grabbed his 'fishing-belt', originally it was a bandoleer made for shotgun shells but instead of shells it now held CO2 floaters.  
Each floater consisted of a durable balloon, a small CO2 canister, just large enough to inflate the balloon, packed tightly into the shape and size of a 12 gauge shotgun shell, at the bottom of each _'shell'_ a small carabiner was attached which made it easy to attach the floaters to various items that you wanted to bring to the surface.  
In this case they would be attached to Kumo-silk mesh bags used to hold their catch, once the prey had been placed in the mesh bag the floater would be attached and triggered, bringing it to the surface where they could be easily rounded up when they were done.  
Of course it was easier said than done to wrangle a live squid or octopus into the mesh bags, but what fun was fishing if there was no challenge in it?  
Once in the water they were quickly greeted by Stormborn who seemed to be aware of the recent events.

 _“I sense new life, the cycle continues”_  
_“They touched your aura, they are kin but their patterns unknown.”_  
_“Not your sisters nor your mates. The others too young.”_  
_“Explain?”_

As usual it took a moment to decipher what was being asked, it knew about the newly hatched babies and it could tell from how traces of their aura clung to him that they were somehow family but it didn't understand how, it could tell that neither Kasumi nor Emelie, whom it had taken to referring to as his mate, was the mother and as it stated, the other girls were to young to be mothers.  
_“After the storm of rebirth we went to take out the vermin who birthed the twins and sold them to the sharks. Once there we found that the foul female was once again carrying, and it is beneath us to harm the innocent, even if unborn.”_  
He explained as they swam side by side toward the reef area where he knew he would be able to find his prey.  
_“Somehow Emelie was able to capture their souls and protect them as she tore them from the unworthy womb and transferred them to her familiar, as a true child of the mother the serpent was able to place the souls into eggs and lay them so that they could be born and allowed to live. And now they have hatched and according to the Mother their form is that of the Titanoboa.”  
_ There was a long silence before it responded and he could feel its mind searching for memories older than itself.

 _“A most ancient form, a worthy rebirth of a kin long lost”_  
_“She is strange, that mate of yours.”_  
_“A demon forever barred from the Blessing.”_  
_“And yet a soul so pure, fury and a Mother true.”_

Its words made him pause for a moment.  
_“What do you mean, barred from the Blessing?”_  
He had to know what it meant.

 _“She is demon, she is **Lilim**.” _  
_“Fathered by The Moonless Night.”_  
_“A night born from the union of Lilith and the eternal Shadow.”_  
_“Neither Mother nor Moon can bless what is not theirs.”_

“ _But,_ _ **She**_ _asked me if I intended to grant the blessing, wouldn't she have known it was not possible?”  
_

_“Those born of Lilim and human are always one or the other, never both.”_  
_“Entirely human, even to the eyes of the Mother.”_  
_“Until the day they become, other.”_  
_“Then human no more, never again, forever beyond the Blessing.”_

“ _So when we visited_ _ **Her**_ _, Em was still entirely human, and_ _ **She**_ _could not tell?”  
_ There was no answer, just a feeling of agreement, confirmation and it wasn't until several minutes later that Takeshi realized that it had referred to Emelie's father as if it knew him.  
_“Wait, you know who her father is?”_

 _“We have meet through the ages, Wanderers crossing paths”_  
_“Born of Lilith he is Power, Passion and the Darkness of his father, the Shadow.”_  
_“His father an Avatar in his own right, granting power unknown.”_  
_“Power beyond the realm of the Mother, and of Lilith.”_

_“Do you know where her father is now?”  
_

_“He walks the Obsidian Halls, Hand to the Light who Fell.”_  
_“The lord of the Obsidian Halls, cursed not to walk the realm of men.”_  
_“As the lord sees through the mists he sends his Hand into the world to act.”_  
_“Perhaps he was sent to father her, a worthy companion for your path?”_

_“You said her grandfather is an Avatar, what does that mean?”  
_

_“The Avatars are power manifest, the purest essence of their nature.”_  
_”I am a Lesser Avatar of Memory, able to recall the memories of the very world we live in”_  
_“The Shadow, a Greater Avatar of the Balance between Light and Dark.”_  
_“The Mother, she is the Avatar of Life, a Prime, the closest thing there is to Gods.”_

 _“......”_  
_“And you, you are Avatar of Hope, and more.”_  
Its final thought however was never shared as it swam away.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Revelations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

With dinner captured Takeshi spent a while working with Melissa's transformations while Amanda joined Stormborn, swimming lazy circles around them.  
It was about an hour later when he could feel Kasumi tugging on their bond, telling him that it was time to get out of the water, get cleaned up and start working on dinner, feeding four adults, one of them a glutton who ate for five and ten kids made preparing food quite the chore.

The dinner conversation quickly shifted towards the upcoming holidays and much to Takeshi's horror, his upcoming birthday, the girls were all rather chocked to hear that it was his 40th, quite understandable though since he didn't look a day over 25.  
Melissa's reaction had both Kasumi and Emelie snickering in his mind, teasing accusations of corrupting the youth.  
In the short time she had been living with them she had developed quite the crush on him and she was now rather mortified to find he was old enough to be her father.  
While the so-called adults of the house teased him mercilessly about the matter the other girls gave Melissa a similar treatment.

It was decided that Kasumi and Matthews would take the girls to Honolulu for some seasonal shopping, there was several typical Christmas dishes and treats the girls wanted, as well as shopping for presents.  
Takeshi and Emelie would go on another day closer to Christmas to buy the bulk of food items that would not store well and the twins instantly begged to go with them instead, something that was quickly agreed on.  
Takeshi wouldn't be buying any additional gifts though, after they returned from Ginza he had talked to his tech-supplier and ordered modified versions of the phones the girls had picked out in Ginza, or more precisely, high-tech equipment made to look like the phones they picked, and software that would mimic their operation to a cursory glance.  
When they were finally delivered he had decided to wait and give them as Christmas presents, they would also receive some of the jewelry pieces he had been making for them.  
But there would be no lack of smaller gifts as Kasumi would pick out a selection for each of the girls to complement the main gifts and he was sure Emelie would be picking out a few items as well when they went shopping.  
He dreaded what kind of insanity they would plan for his birthday though, especially Kasumi and Matthews seemed to have something planned, Emelie probably knew what but he was less worried about what she would do.

When dinner was over and everything cleaned up Takeshi asked Emelie to join him in the hidden garden, the small private corner of the garden was shielded to prevent others from seeing or hearing what happened inside.  
He needed to talk to her about what he had found out about her father even if he didn't understand all of it himself it gave hope that he was alive, and that perhaps he did care, perhaps he had not abandoned her, at least not by choice.  
Once they were inside and the wards activated Emelie stepped up to him but there was hesitation in her movements as she worried something was wrong and he wrapped his aura around her to soothe her, when she had calmed down he sat down and motioned for her to join him.  
“I spoke with Stormborn today and he told me something rather interesting, it seems he knows your father.”  
He paused and waited for her reaction and as expected she reacted rather strongly once she realized just what he had said.  
“Wait! You said he _knows_ him, not _knew_! He's alive, my father is alive?”  
“So it seems, but keep in mind that Stormborn is still adjusting to our way of thinking, it could be several thousand years since he last met your father and to him it would be no different than if it had been last week.”  
Takeshi cautioned her.  
“But from what he told me of your father he is not someone that would be easy to kill. He is a first generation Lilim, born from Lilith herself and a powerful shadow demon. If I understood his syntax, his choice of words, correctly your grandfather is not just **a** shadow demon, but The Shadow, the progenitor of the species.”  
He could feel her temper stir and before he had a chance to explain further she snapped. Though to be honest he had expected her to.  
“So chances are pretty damn high he is alive then, he just chose to abandon mom after getting her pregnant? He just chose to leave it to chance if I would grow up to be human or demon, and if I would survive the change!”  
She bit out with a mix of a sob and a snarl.  
“I wish you hadn't said anything! I would rather have believed him dead than know he abandoned us!”  
She snarled at him before suddenly crumbling into a sobbing heap.  
He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her forehead and tried to soothe her.  
“Ssh, easy, you are not alone.”  
Dealing with her fears of betrayal and abandonment, especially in regards to family, was an ongoing struggle.  
She had improved greatly in the years since she chose to come with him but there was times when her old fears would surface.  
“Your father might not have chosen to leave but rather been forced to.”  
She was still sobbing silently but she was once again calm enough to listen to him.  
“I asked if Stormborn knew where your father is now and he told me he is in a place called the Obsidian Halls where he serves the lord of the place. This lord apparently has been cursed to never set for in the human world and your father serves as his _Hand_ , acting in the human world where the lord cannot.”  
As he spoke he could feel her slowly settle down again.  
“He mention that this lord is a seer so perhaps your father knew that you would be okay in the end. He said...”  
He paused for a moment before he spoke again.  
“He said that perhaps your father was sent to bed your mother in order to sire you, that you were meant to come to my side, that your birth was to be for the future of our world.”  
After a moment reflection he added the words of his beast,  
“The Beast once mention something along the same lines, it was the day you awoke to your demon self. It told me that Lilim are protective of their children and that a Lilim Incubus who has fathered a child by a human would make sure someone was there to guide them through the rebirth, someone able to give them the energy they need to go through it safely.”  
Shifting slightly he added the beasts guess about the reason.  
“It believes that perhaps no one was sent to guide you because I had already been selected to act as your guide, your source of energy and to teach you to deal with your new abilities.”  
He didn't mention the almost jealous possessiveness that the beast had displayed, while he shared its protectiveness and could understand the possessiveness he had never been prone to jealousy.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Revelations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Did Stormborn mention my father's name, or the name of this lord he works for?”  
She suddenly asked him.  
“Not really, he referred to your father as _'The Moonless Night'_ and the lord as _'The Light who Fell',_ your grandfather he simply called ' _The Shadow'_.”  
At that she shook her head with a chuckle.  
“He's not much for names is he? Or maybe it's a demon thing?”  
Suddenly she stilled as something occurred to her.  
“You said he called this lord ' _The Light who Fell'_ and that he can't enter our world?”  
Takeshi just nodded and she instantly continued.  
“As you know I took mythology classes back in school, there was an obscure passage in an old text relating to the Abrahamic religions, specifically some of the old legends referring to angels and demons.”  
Now Takeshi was curious, while he had studied religion, mythology and philosophy his studies has been focused on the eastern ones and not much focus on the western legends so he eagerly nodded for her to continue.  
“It told a different version of the story of Lucifer, in the common ones he is an angel that was cast out of heaven for disobeying God and then became the devil, Satan, master of hell, but this one is different.”  
There was a moment of silence as she recalled the old story and she leaned back against him before she began reciting the legend of Lucifer.

 _Lucifer was to have been one of God's most faithful servants until the creation of man, but when God created Adam from dust and then asked the angels to kneel before him Lucifer refused._  
_Lucifer considered Adam to be a lesser creature than himself since he was created from dust while Lucifer himself was created from the smokeless flame._

So far Takeshi was familiar with the story, it was mostly the same story he had studied during his lessons.  
In the stories he had studied is was the refusal to kneel before Adam that caused Lucifer's fall, but as Emelie continued telling the story it began to take a different path than the ones he remembered.

 _Lucifer's refusal to kneel before Adam angered God who accused Lucifer of conceit and withdrew his favor._  
_For his crime of pride he was demoted to a simple guard tasked with guarding Heaven and the Garden of Eden, it was this duty as a guard that ultimately caused his fall._  
_Over the many years guarding the gates of Heaven Lucifer came to harbor a growing respect for the humans that came before him, their ability and willingness to struggle for survival against all odds._  
_But as his respect for man grew, his reverence for his God withered away._

_His discontent grew as he watched:  
_

_A mother being denied entry to Heaven for the crime of theft, she had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her children who starved while her husband was away in war as a conqueror._  
_He admired her courage and her protective nature and believed that if anyone should be judged it should be her husband and the community of her village for not aiding her and instead allowing children to starve while they were well fed._

 _A man being turned away for having worked on the day of the Sabbath when his father had taken ill and the crops were spoiling in the fields._  
_Again he felt that it was the community that had committed the greater sin by feasting on their harvest instead of aiding the sick man and his son in bringing in their harvest before it spoiled._

 _A girl, barely more than a child was turned away for dishonoring her parents, adultery and carrying a child out of wedlock._  
_The girl had been raped and impregnated by a friend of her father's. When she refused to marry her abuser, who already had 2 wives as was his right at the time, she was stoned for adultery. The man was acquitted of any wrongdoing since he had offered to take her as his wife._  
_In Lucifer's eyes the one who deserved death was the man who had raped her, and her parents deserved dishonor for having failed to protect the most precious thing, a child._

_As the years passed and blended into each other he witnessed countless men and women, even children who had committed petty crimes for their survival, or survival of others being turned away at the gates, he witnessed women being turned away for adultery when they had been the victims of rape and his fury at the injustice grew._

_One day a beautiful young woman came to the gates of Eden and Lucifer instantly fell in love with her, but the other angels guarding the gates turned her away because she was a 'fallen woman', condemned for adultery._  
_She had slept with another man after receiving word that her husband had been killed in war, but the news of his death had been a lie spread by the man who coveted her for himself, when her husband returned and found that she had bedded another man he killed her and now she stood before the gates only to be denied, while her husband was excused for the crime of murder._  
_This enraged Lucifer, that the man who had tricked her went unpunished while she was killed and condemned, even by God, who must have known the truth._  
_So going behind the back of the other angels and against the decree of God he snuck her into the garden, knowing that once she was inside she would be allowed to stay._

 _This angered God who cast Lucifer from the heavens and down into 'Fire and Brimstone'.”_  
_As a final act of rebellion Lucifer swore to let mankind know how God unfairly judged not only the woman he loved but countless other and to let the world know that not even Heaven was free from corruption._

 _Cast from heaven he would never be allowed to see the woman again but God was not satisfied with that and to make sure Lucifer would never be able to find her even after her soul was reborn and to keep him from revealing the corruption of Heaven_ _**God forbade him from ever walking the world of man again.** "  
_

 

Now it made sense to Takeshi why she had recalled this specific story but she wasn't done yet.  
“Lucifer translates as _'the shining one'_ and _'light-bearer'_ among other things and he supposedly fell from heaven, so _'The Light who Fell'_ could refer to that. Also the story tells he was cast into _'fire and brimstone'_ , this could be used to describe an active volcano, and once lava cools you get obsidian, the Obsidian Halls. And finally, if he was Djinn he would possess the power of a seer.”  
Takeshi silently nodded his agreement, the Mother had once told him that most legends held some piece of truth in them and Emelie's interpretation and deductions from the story made a bit too much sense to be just coincidental.  
“I think you might be onto something there, it definitely needs to be looked into. Maybe we can find your father one day.”  
“There might actually be more, I think it was the same texts that mentioned Lilith, that she was to have been the first woman created for Adam, but she refused to be obedient, always walking her own way so she was cast aside and God made a new wife for Adam, created from his own rib so that she would always be obedient. In her anger over how she had been treated Lilith became the first demon.”  
“Do you recall what text it was? We should try to obtain a copy for further study.”  
“I'm sorry, I don't, but maybe I can get hold of my old professor and ask her.”  
He hummed his agreement before nipping at her neck trying to tease her into more entertaining pastimes and it did not take long before peppermint filled his senses.

 


	33. Winter Weekend

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Winter Weekend_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

It was a strange feeling to have the house almost empty again, Kasumi and Matthews had taken most of the girls to Honolulu to do the Christmas shopping so Takeshi and Emelie had the estate mostly to themselves, out of the humans living there only the twins had remained.  
Takeshi found that he didn't mind the silence but not being able to feel the auras of the others was a bit unsettling, he could still feel Kasumi through their bond, but he was unable to feel the other girls.  
“Take?”  
Emelie called quietly from behind him, not wanting to disturb him in case he was meditating.  
He responded with a slight flare of his aura, trying to encourage her to trust her ability to sense his aura more and a moment later she stepped into the small room that acted as a shrine of sorts.  
“I just got a reply on the mail I sent to my old professor, she can have a translated copy of the text sent here, but she offered to let us study the original text. And I think we should take her up on that offer. While I trust her translations to be excellent there are always interpretations, words that could have multiple meanings and what we seek might just be found in subtleties and dual meanings.”  
He nodded his agreement, it would be a great help to have access to the person who did the translations.  
“Did she mention when we can come?”  
“Yeah, she will be working until Lucia.”  
At his slightly confused look she released she had used the Swedish name.  
“Ah sorry, Saint Lucy's Day, the 13th that's on Tuesday.”  
She quickly explained.  
“She said we are welcome at her house in Gothenburg any time between the 14th and the 22nd when she will be heading to her family's cabin for Christmas.”  
She added with a somewhat expectant look at him.  
“Kasumi, Matthews and the girls will be back on Saturday, how about we fly over to Gothenburg on Sunday, take the twins shopping on Monday and Tuesday then head over to your professor on Wednesday? That would allow us a few days before we need to return for that so-called surprise party Matthews has conned Kasumi into arranging for me.”  
She laughed at the obvious displeasure in his tone when speaking of his birthday party before agreeing to his suggested plan.  
“What will we do about somewhere to stay? The hotels will surely be booked full by now, especially with such a short notice.”  
“Don't worry, most high end hotels keep a few rooms available for _important_ guests. We should be able to get the same suite we used last time we were there.”  
“Unless you want to stay somewhere else?”  
He added after a moment of silence as he realized the place might bring unpleasant memories for her.  
“Oh don't worry it's fine. But when you call them, make sure to get reservation for the _Julbord_. With your appetite I'm sure you will love it!”  
She teased with a grin.

The twins were overjoyed at the prospect of an extended trip even if it meant going to a rather frigid Gothenburg instead of the originally planned Honolulu and they were having a hard time sitting still during the flight.  
Thankfully it was a much shorter flight in the Blackout than it would have been on a commercial flight, leaving Takeshi and Emelie with at least some sanity intact, though, Emelie pointed out that she doubted Takeshi ever had any to begin with, much to the twins amusement.  
It was just after noon when they landed at the private section of the airport and quickly ushered the twins into the rental car that was waiting next to the hangar.  
The weather had been unusually cold for the area, resulting in a thick cover of snow on top of the usual layer of ice, this had made Takeshi opt for one of the heavier SUV models with all-wheel-drive rather than his usual choice of a high end sedan.  
Like all vehicles in Sweden during the winter it came with mandatory snow tires, in this case heavy duty studded ones adapted for normally icy road conditions in the coastal area.  
Emelie had snickered at him and called him a worrywart and mother hen when he had asked the rental company for the 3rd time to make sure that the car had proper winter tires on.  
It was not until after he hung up that she bothered to explain that winter tires were mandatory by law and that most drivers in the coastal areas used studded tires to better handle the icy roads.  
He still couldn't help checking the tires to make sure which of course made her tease him again.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Winter Weekend_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When they arrived at the hotel to leave their luggage Emelie complained that their room was smaller than it had looked in the pictures.  
The suite they had used last time was occupied and the only room available was a _luxury single_ that they had decided to take for one night, a much larger double room would become available in the morning and they could easily do without sleep for one night while the twins slept on the king size bed.  
With their meager luggage safely put away in their room they headed into the city to buy winter clothes for the twins, the drive however took much longer than anticipated due a large amount of vehicles getting turned away at the checkpoints.  
The city had implemented strict regulations for motor vehicle traffic in the inner city to battle pollution and traffic issues.  
There were several categories of permits including workers permits that allowed those who worked in the city to drive there during their workdays, special weekend permits that could be obtained one weekend at a time, along with those there were timed passes which were issued for a set number of days.  
The requirements for the passes as well as the cost varied, during high traffic periods, like right now when many shoppers wanted to get their cars into the city it was harder to get a permit and it would also cost more.  
It was easier to get a permit for smaller cars, larger cars and cars still using combustion engines were hard to get permits for, and the permits would be very expensive, recreational permits were also harder to get than workers permits.  
While the SUV they were driving was a new model with a power-cell engine it was classified in the largest category so it had cost Takeshi a lot of money to get the necessary permit to take it into the inner city.  
At the moment though a lot of drivers were trying their luck at the checkpoints despite not having the correct permits, and in combination with the road conditions it made things slow and it grated at Takeshi's nerves, the fact that the driver behind them had nearly rear ended them several times did not help.

However, when the car behind them finally bumped into them rather roughly, causing the twins to start crying, Emelie beat him to the snapping part and stormed out of their car to confront the driver behind them.  
_“Hur fan fick du körkort? Köpt det på postorder, eller kanske Butterick's?”  
_ She all but snarled at the young man driving the car.  
Takeshi smirked to himself when he actually understood what she was saying, she was questioning the driver on how in the world he had managed to obtain his license, suggesting he had either bought it by mail-order or at Butterick's, a store specializing in masquerade items and various practical joke items.  
He almost got out himself though when he saw the guy get out of his car and try assume an intimidating posture but Emelie quickly turned towards him.  
“It's fine Take, I can handle this _yabo_ , you keep the girls company.”  
He almost laughed at her use of the Japanese insult, one of the many habits she had picked up from Kasumi.  
After all, it couldn't possibly be from his own impeccable manners.  
However, her comment caused the other driver to start yelling and cursing at her, once again almost making Takeshi get out to protect her but a slight whimper from the twins made him pause and realize they needed him more and that Emelie could take care of herself.  
As the shouting began the checkpoint guards became aware of the situation and two of them began moving toward their cars.  
  
_“Vad har hänt här?”_  
One of them asked him while the colleague moved to make sure Emelie and the other driver wouldn't get into an actual fight.  
“I'm sorry, could we take this in English? My Swedish isn't really up task.”  
While he had understood the guard just fine and would be able to answer him in Swedish he still preferred to speak English.  
“Of course. What happened here?”  
The guard's English carried a heavy accent but was fully intelligible.  
“The driver of the vehicle behind us has nearly hit us numerous times while we have been waiting to reach the checkpoint. When he finally did hit us Emelie lost her temper a bit, she is very protective of the girls.”  
He nodded toward the twins in the back who were still looking rather spooked by the whole thing and the guard gave them a smile and promised everything would be all right, a gesture that Takeshi appreciated..  
“When she questioned his worthiness to hold a driver's license he began to display aggressive tendencies which escalated when she asked me to stay in the car with the girls and told me she could handle it. The rest you have seen for yourself.”  
After writing down some notes on his tablet the guard asked for his driver's license and checkpoint pass which Takeshi gave him, along with the permit for the guns he was carrying as the sudden tenseness in the guard made it obvious that the weapons had been noticed when he reached for his wallet.  
“My license, checkpoint pass and the permit for the guns.”  
While he didn't really need the guns, it was sometimes useful to have them, if something did happen that required deadly force it was easier to explain pulling a gun than whipping out a sword out of nowhere.  
The guards relief at being handed the permit for the guns was obvious but when he read the name on the license and permit he looked rather wide eyed.  
“With this name I see why you need those cannons. A lot of pretty bad people got pretty pissed when the GCTI went belly up.”  
Takeshi had resumed using his real name now that the GCTI had been dismantled and it seemed the guard recognized the name from the reports, and then the guard went silent and really looked at him.  
“Damn, you're really him, aren't you?”  
Takeshi decided to humor him and nodded with a smirk.  
“I am.”  
“Shit, I thought you'd be lot older, not to mention dead!”  
“Actually, I look pretty damn good for my age. And as for being dead, well, I'm obviously not. I managed to survive and it was rather useful that the GCTI believed they had managed to kill me.”  
The guard took another look at his birth-date, before handing the papers back  
“No shit!”  
He muttered before heading over to his colleague.  
  
The situation behind them had been escalating with the other driver claiming that it was not him that had caused the accident but rather that Takeshi had caused it by backing into his car.  
Takeshi barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the stupidity of the man, such a claim was easy to disprove since the SUV they had rented came with 'black box' technology that in the case of an incident registered several parameters, including gear, speed, brake and gas pressure and angle of the steering wheel, it also took a picture of the driver.  
_“Okej, nu räcker det! Emelie, eftersom att det inte var du som körde så kan du sätta dig i bilen igen och hålla barnen sällskap medan vi pratar med din man istället.”_  
The guard that had spoken to him seemed to have gotten tired of the situation and told Emelie to get back in the car while they spoke to him instead since he had been the one driving.  
He couldn't resist teasing her a bit when she returned to the car as the guard had assumed they were married.  
“Takeshi, could you come here please?”  
The guard called for him and he got out of the car and walked over to the group standing at the side of the road.  
When he got closer Takeshi noticed the other guard tense up and his hand shifted slightly toward his sidearm, obviously noticing that Takeshi was carrying but the guard he had been speaking to quickly calmed his colleague down.  
_“Lugn, det är okej, han har licens för dom.”_  
The reaction of the other driver however almost had Takeshi laughing, it was obvious he was used to being physically larger than most people he met, and was accustomed to taking full advantage of that to intimidate others into letting him get his way but compared to Takeshi he looked rather average.  
And when the guards comment made him aware of the twin guns he looked like he was about to either wet his pants or run away screaming and Takeshi couldn't resist shifting the focus of his aura slightly to further intimidate him without the guards noticing.  
_“Take, that's not very nice, the guy is terrified enough of you without you intimidating him.”_  
Emelie had obviously been paying attention to his aura and scolded him lightly, but there was laughter in the tone relayed by her serpent that told him she was enjoying seeing the guy being knocked down a few pegs.  
“Takeshi, the driver of the other car is claiming you backed into him.”  
The guard quickly explained the exchange that had taken place.  
Takeshi gave the other driver a glare before answering the guard.  
“I did not, and it can easily be proved. The car I'm driving is a rental and it comes with a black box, all we have to do is call the rental company and have them access the incident report. It should show I was stationary at the time of the incident, and that I had been for several seconds.”  
If possible the other driver looked even more nervous now that he was about to get caught with trying to lie his way out of the situation.  
A short phone call later the other driver was handed a ticket and Takeshi was told they could continue, but as he was about to get back into the slow moving line the guard he had been speaking to came up and knocked on the window.  
“Come on, follow me and I'll get you past the checkpoint right away, no point in you waiting forever just 'cause that idiot hit you.”  
Pulling a traffic control baton from his vest the guard began to move toward the checkpoint, using the baton to direct traffic toward the sides to make sure there was room for Takeshi to maneuver past the other vehicles.  
Once past the checkpoint Takeshi thanked the guard for the assistance and before they drove off, Dan as the guard introduced himself as, told him it was the least he could do for the guy that had been instrumental in taking down the GCTI and asked if he could buy him a drink some day.  
Takeshi agreed on the condition that they go somewhere where he could bring the twins.  
“Well, as long as you are fine with eating at a cramped joint that never heard of serving vegetables with their dishes, sure.”  
Handing Dan his number Takeshi asked him to set something up for the upcoming Friday.

After spending the afternoon shopping for suitable winter clothing they retired to the hotel and after a bit of a struggle they managed to get the exhausted girls to go to sleep.  
With the twins finally asleep they had curled up next to the fire pit that burned on the balcony.  
“You know, despite that idiot rear ending us I had a really good time today. ”  
Takeshi just pulled her closer and hummed his agreement  
“It was actually pretty fun watching that overgrown bully shaking from fear as well.”  
She added with a grin.  
“And you accuse **me** of being the mean one...”  
Takeshi complained with mock indignation.  
“Of course, **I** wasn't the one intentionally scaring him.”  
She quipped.  
Muttering something about _female logic_ he shifted her closer and told her to try to get some rest.  
While it was a few degrees below freezing outside he barely noticed the chill, he actually found it to be rather comfortable, his altered physiology didn't seem to be bothered by cold unless it began to creep into -20°c or colder and Emelie had always preferred the cold, and she was taking full advantage of her body now able to withstand it without the risk of getting sick.  
“You know, we should do stuff like this more often, sneak away from everything and everyone.”  
He was almost sleeping when she spoke up again and he suppressed the urge to groan, the flight and the tension of the fender-bender had him wanting to get a bit of sleep but it seemed Emelie was in no mood to sleep.  
“Don't get me wrong, I love Hawaii and everyone there, but it's nice to get away and not have to worry about 13 other people all the time.”  
She did have a point, living with such a large household could get a bit tiresome at times and he decided that if she wanted a vacation he would give her one as soon as it was practical.  
“When Kasumi and I are done dealing with the council and the Kiryu elders I promise I will take you and the twins on a nice long vacation, anywhere you want to go.”  
He could feel an almost giddy joy shift through her aura for a moment.  
“Oh, I know just the thing! You, me, the twins; one of those nice big camping buses and hit the roads through Europe, start up north, enjoy the midnight sun. Head down south for a Mediterranean winter, maybe some skiing in the Alps along the way.”  
Again he just hummed and told her to try to get some sleep.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Winter Weekend_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
The next day was spent in the city for some more shopping, more clothes so that they would not need to do any laundry during their stay as well a large number of presents that were dropped by the airport and loaded into the cargo hold of the Blackout.  
Once back at the hotel their luggage had been moved into their new room and Emelie was able to get the girls to bed early with promises to go watch one of the Saint Lucy events early in the morning.  
Once again Takeshi and found himself in front of a fire pit with Emelie curled up in his lap, though larger than the previous room it still would not offer any privacy and Emelie needed to keep her energies topped off, and her feeding was not something the twins should witness.  
While she would be fine for a week or two it was easier for her to remain in control of her succubus nature with daily feedings, the first thing that would happen if she did not feed daily was an increase in the intensity of her _seduction,_ and having hordes of men vying for her attention would be rather bothersome.  
Luckily she was well fed so it didn't take much to soothe her instincts and keep them from acting up, especially since he coaxed the instinctive part of her into feeding of his life-force.  
Had she been aware of it she would have refused, to worried about hurting him, but he had found that he had no problems sustaining them both, the energy she took would normally be fully replenished in the morning.

The slight electric tingle from his watch woke him up long before sunrise and he realized they had fallen asleep on the balcony rather than go inside as they had planned.  
A few nibbling kisses rewarded him with peppermint and spicy annoyance as Emelie groaned.  
“Take, it's still dark outside, go back to sleep...”  
She mumbled.  
“You are the one who promised to take the girls to that event, we need to get up now if we are going to make it on time.”  
“Why did I promise them the morning show?”  
She groaned as she got up and slowly made her way to the bathroom for a shower while Takeshi got the honor of waking the girls.  
He was met with various complaints until he reminded them about the promised events, a reminder that had them scampering out of bed and rushing to the bathroom to join Emelie in the shower.  
While they took their shower he called down for some breakfast to be sent to their room and once they were out of the shower he took a quick shower himself and much to his surprise they were actually ready to go nearly half an hour early.  
Despite being early they still found the streets to be crowded, something that was making Emelie uneasy as she didn't like having people moving so close to her back and the more sensitive parts of her wings and the tension in her aura was setting Takeshi on edge, and their combined tension was being picked up on by the twins.  
“Em, _sweetie_ , come here.”  
He carefully moved her to stand in front of him, resting her back against his chest before putting a slight edge into his aura that made others nearby instinctively try to keep their distance.  
But even that didn't keep some of the spectators from pushing their way in front of them, blocking the twins view and when they were about to start crying he simply picked them up, placing one on each arm and bringing them up high enough to be able to enjoy the show.  
His actions caused a few snickers and whispered comments about how it was still 15 minutes before the show started and that it was a 2 hours show, hinting that there was no way he would be able to hold them like that the entire show.  
When the crowd began to clear after the show he couldn't help snickering a bit at the now rather awed whispers about how he had managed to hold the girls like that for such a long time, one guy going as far as asking him where he trained which he pretended not to understand while Emelie told the guy he were not from around there.

With a few more hours before it was time to return to the hotel to eat they returned to the shopping district, the goal this time was to obtain some games for the girls to entertain themselves with while Takeshi and Emelie studied the texts they had traveled here for.  
Finding a store specializing in tabletop games had made it easy for them and yielded several bags full of games, much to Takeshi's joy they had also carried good quality wooden _Go_ and _Shōgi_ sets suitable for teaching beginners.  
He had his own sets back home, but the dark, hard wood he had used for the boards in combination with the brittle stones and pieces made them unsuitable for an inexperienced player especially the fumbling hands of children.  
Along with the thinner sets he bought right away he also ordered several thick boards along with a wide selection of games to be sent to Hawaii, while they had several entertainment and game systems it would be good for the girls to play some classic tabletop games the way they were supposed to be played as well.

After bringing the games up to their room and getting a change of clothes they headed down to the restaurant and their reservations for the _Julbord_ , the traditional Swedish Christmas _smörgåbord_ loaded with an all-you-can-eat buffet of typical Christmas dishes, long tables covered in hot and cold foods as well as a huge section for various desserts and sweets.  
Emelie had been right when she promised him he would enjoy it.  
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing various games and nursing a food induced coma, or as Emelie called it _paltkoma_.  
As the sun began to set Emelie snuck of and after a few minutes one of the hotel staff came up with a cart loaded with firewood and an additional fire pit and began to load it with tinder and kindling before finally topping it off with wood and lighting it.  
The reason was revealed when Emelie came back along with one of the hotel porters pushing a room service cart filled with grocery bags.  
The bags contained hot dogs and other foods suitable for campfire cooking along with condiments and ingredients to make p _innbröd_ , simple bread made by twisting a dough of flour, water, salt and baking soda around skewers and cooking it over embers.  
There was also various hot drinks, ingredients for Swedish style hot cocoa as well as several kinds of _Glögg._ mulled wine in both alcoholic version for them as well as non-alcoholic ones for the girls.  
He found it oddly relaxing to watch Emelie and the twins laugh and play as they prepared simple snacks over the glowing embers and the Beast within radiated a strong contentment, somehow it gave him another piece to the puzzle that was _Pack_.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Winter Weekend_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It was early afternoon when they pulled up to a rather large house outside the city, it was the home of Erika Ström, Emelie's mythology professor.  
_“Emelie! Välkommen!”_  
The greeting was as enthusiastic as Emelie remembered it but the moment Erika stepped outside the door everything took a turn toward strange as she felt a sudden shift in Takeshi's aura behind her and Erika went completely still.  
In the sudden silence she could hear Takeshi's growl and it was not the usual low growl that showed displeasure, this was an all out threat, meant to intimidate an opponent into backing away and when she looked over her shoulders she was met with his fangs on full display.  
“Take! Why are you trying to intimidate Erika?”  
She hissed at him.  
“Hmpf, a _Ky_ _ūbi_ does not intimidate easily.”  
He bit out.  
“A what?”  
She was confused as she had no idea what he was talking about.  
“Can't you feel it? The moment she stepped outside the house, it must be warded.”  
“Feel what? You're not making any sense.”  
His behavior was starting to scare her and the twins were cowering behind him.  
“She is _Ky_ _ūbi no Kitsune_ , a nine-tailed fox.”  
He explained in clipped tones, his attention focused on the smiling woman in front of him.  
“Ah, you have good senses boy.”  
Erika took a single step towards them and instantly froze as his aura flared along with the youki of the dragon as the Ryuken manifested at his side.  
“Hold! A single flicker of your fire and I will not hesitate to act!”  
His hand on the hilt of his blade made it clear he was prepared to act with lethal force if she did not comply.  
“Oh my, not just any boy are we? It would seem the Kage of the Kiryu is not as dead as they believe. Do not worry Kage, I intend no harm.”  
She slowly moved back a step but Takeshi did not relax.  
“You will have to forgive me for not trusting a _Kitsune_. You will swear the oath of hospitality, guaranteeing the safety of Emelie, the twins, the three familiars they carry as well as myself. You will swear it on your tails!”  
His hand still on the hilt made it clear he would not take no for an answer.  
“I will do you one better, Kage.”  
Erika moved slowly as she pulled out a simple pendant from inside her clothes, a large marble attached to a braided silver chain.  
_“With this I guarantee you and your leash hospitality and safe harbor within the house and holdings of Eriko the Silver fox.”_  
She spoke the oath in Japanese while holding out her hand to offer him the pendant and he allowed her to drop it into his left hand, ready to draw if he detected the slightest hint of a trick.  
With the pendant in his hand he allowed his aura to flare causing a green flame to flicker in the marble, the presence of Kitsune-bi, foxfire confirmed it to be a Qi pearl and a very careful scratch of a claw against the surface caused an intense shudder in Eriko's aura telling him it was indeed a true Qi pearl holding a piece of her soul.  
This Qi pearl was the most prized possession of any kitsune, if lost they would soon lose their magic and begin to age and die like a normal fox, if it was destroyed they would instantly die.  
With a nod that he accepted her oath he closed his hand around the pendant and with a slight shift hid it away in his soul, accepting her oath did not mean he trusted her and kitsune were notorious for being skilled thieves, the protection was only good as long as he actually held the pearl.  
Another twist of his aura and the Ryuken was back within in soul and his posture returned to its seemingly relaxed state.  
  
“Well, how about we go inside? Emelie you simply **must** tell me how you came to be in the company of the notorious, and supposedly dead, Kage and Ryuken wielder of the Kiryu family.”  
Eriko chatted away as if nothing had happened while opening the door wide, inviting them into her house and after a slight nod from Takeshi Emelie ushered the twins inside while Takeshi followed a few steps behind.

 


	34. Story

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Storytime_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

Showing them into a small but comfortable, and rather messy, library Eriko asked them to have a seat while she fetched something to drink.  
The moment she left Emelie turned to Takeshi with a hiss.  
“Explain!” she demanded.  
“Our host is a _kitsune_ , a fox spirit. The oldest and strongest are the _Ky_ _ūbi_ , the nine tailed foxes. While normally not considered dangerous or malicious they love pranks and tricks and can unintentionally hurt humans playing these tricks.”  
“But if they're not dangerous, why such a reaction?”  
"A kitsune no, but there is no way to tell if you are faced with a _Zenko_ , a benevolent kitsune, or a _Yako_ , the malevolent _Nogitsune_ until it's too late, so it is better to be safe when dealing with them."  
Hearing their host return Emelie nodded.  
"You will explain this properly later."  
"I will."  
He agreed.

When Eriko returned she had shed the illusion of the rather average looking brunette that Emelie remembered and the woman, or rather the _Youkai,_ who walked in looked very different.  
She was noticeably taller and silver hair fell all the way to the floor and a pair of large fox ears made her seem even taller than she was.  
She was wearing a flowing pearl-white kimono over a red kosode, the entire kimono was covered with an elaborate pattern in silvery white that shifted and changed under the influence of her youki, the red obi was tied in a deceptively simple looking knot and its color kept shifting through various red hues as she moved.  
All of her nine tails swished around in lazy patterns behind her as she used the blue-green flames of her foxfire to balance the large tray.  
“Fox-Lady is pretty!”  
Both of the twins blurted out when she entered which called forth a bell like laugh.  
“Well aren't you the cutest little kits? But my name is Eriko, not Fox-Lady”  
She smiled at them.  
“Were pups, not kits!”  
Both of them objected which made Takeshi and Emelie join in the laughter.  
“They mean no offense, it took weeks before they stopped calling us Wing-Lady and Doggy.”  
Emelie piped in between the laughs.  
“Doggy?”  
Eriko questioned with a hint of worry in her voice and her tails visibly bristled behind her, it seemed the kitsune's legendary fear of dogs was yet another thing that had a root in reality.  
“Wolf actually.”  
Emelie explained as Takeshi simply shed his human form for his wolf form.  
“Now this is interesting, just what have you been up to Kage?”  
Stepping up close she wrapped her tails around them.  
“So well hidden, let me feel that aura of yours.”  
She practically cooed at him which caused both Emelie and the twins to react, though in very different ways.  
“I wouldn't recommend that, he keeps it under wraps for good reason.”  
Emelie cautioned her while the twins scolded her, telling her to back of and that _Take_ was theirs and Emelie's.  
“My my, so protective, such loyalty. Your kits do you honor.”  
She snickered while the twins once again objected against being referred to as kits.  
Pressing in closer she whispered in Japanese and he could feel a slight raise in her youki as she began to weave fox-magic into her words and touch.  
_“We should make some kits of our own, we could make rather amazing kits, don't you think?”_  
_“Mind you power, Kitsune!”_  
Takeshi bit out with a slight flare of his aura that had Eriko backing away as if she had been burned, even checking to make sure her tails were not singed.  
“Told you so...”  
Emelie retorted in a slightly smug tone before ducking her head at Takeshi's glare.  
“Enough you two, even the twins are behaving more maturely! We didn't come here to play games or bicker.”  
He groaned when the twins piped up that they **had** come to play games, showing their backpacks with the various games meant to keep them occupied, and quiet, while the adults studied the texts.  
“Protective, loyal, clever and cheeky, I like these kits of yours more and more.”  
Eriko beamed before turning serious.

“I am guessing your interest in the texts is related to Emelie's rather unexpected change from a human girl into a demon.”  
A simple nod was her only answer.  
“While you have my word I will assist you a fox does not help for free. My fee for helping you will be your stories.”  
She looked at Takeshi with an expectant look and smiled when he gave a short nod for her to specify her demands.  
“Kage, I will hear the story of how you came to become whatever it is you are.”  
Takeshi nodded his consent to the price she requested from him.  
“Emelie, you will tell me the story of how you came to be a demon.”  
Emelie gave a quick nod of agreement.  
“Together you will tell me how a demon and a Kage came to be _companions_.”  
The emphasis she placed on the word companion made it clear she was well aware of the intimacy of their relationship.  
After a quick look at Takeshi for guidance he gave a nod and Emelie also nodded her consent.  
“I would also like to know how these lovely little kits came to become yours as they are obviously not blood relations.”  
She looked in turn at Takeshi and Emelie waiting for both their consent before moving on.  
“Well, let the stories begin.”  
She chirped as she used her foxfire to place a few ceramic jugs with hot drinks on the table, cautioning the twins to stick to the white bottles before setting out a tray holding a bamboo steam basket and a ceramic cup for each of them.  
The steam baskets were revealed to contain a selection of small steamed buns with various savory fillings that to the twins immense joy refilled themselves in a swirl of foxfire when a piece was eaten and the jugs containing the drinks never ran dry or chilled.  
Eriko visibly preened when the twins praised her simple tricks as the greatest of magics.  
As they ate Takeshi began to tell his story, how he had been forced to join the GCTI to protect Kasumi and the Kiryu family, how he had met the others of his unit, how they had grown to become friends, dantai, even lovers and he spoke of _Fukushuu,_ the oath of vengeance.  
When he spoke of how he had lost them he could feel Emelie's tail curl tightly around his arm and she extended one wing around him, as if trying to shield him from the pain of those memories.  
He spoke of his recovery, learning of the Mother and the Blessing, about how he had changed in order to fulfill his oath, how he had learned to borrow the forms of various animals and how he had acted against the GCTI, as he did he showed her the Sayuri, the proof of his oath and its fulfillment.  
He ended his story with the trip to Sweden to bring the truth to Emelie.

When he spoke about selling Kasumi's Miami estate and how the elders had tried to prevent it, even had Emelie followed, Eriko spoke up for the first time, interrupting him.  
“You know, the decision of the Council and the elders to make you Kage caused most of the Kitsune-houses to turn their back on them, out of the twelve only two still stand with them.”  
“Hmph, such a strong response for allowing a _gaijin_ to become Kage, huh?”  
Takeshi sneered.  
“Quite the contrary actually.”  
She countered and Takeshi looked rather surprised.  
“We didn't turn our backs on them for _allowing_ you to become Kage. We turned our backs on them for _forcing_ you to become Kage, for refusing to name you heir.”  
There was fire in her voice as she spoke, but it also held a soothing note, as if trying to heal the pain of being seen as an outsider.  
“You, a true wielder of their Ryuken, bonded in soul and blood with the Ryujin, the strongest Qi wielder seen since the days when youkai roamed the lands freely and openly. Your strength, skill, sharp mind and caring heart would make you the perfect head, you were born to be a leader.”  
Shaking her head her voice turned sad with a tinge of anger.  
“But out of fear they forced you into the shadows, trying to take away your freedom and future, for **that** they lost our support and trust.”  
“I'm sorry, I judged you unfairly.”  
Takeshi apologized for his words after hearing the true reason.  
“Pay it no mind, I understand, as does the others. Know that the Kitsune will stand by your side, even the two houses that still remain at the side of the Council will join you if you but ask.”  
Eriko refused his apology, telling him none was needed.

Together Takeshi and Emelie told the story of how they had met, how they had found out about Emelie's demon nature, the final attack against the GCTI, the part about the girls Takeshi told in Japanese as he didn't want to upset the twins by reminding them about the past.  
Hearing the story of the twins brought a snarl to Eriko's face and her tails bristled with fury.  
Reaching behind her she plucked several strands of hair from each of her tails and quickly began braiding them into a flat band.  
Once she was done braiding she reached into her mouth and pulled out both of her upper canines and with a flare of foxfire they formed into a flat charm in the shape of a silver fox head crowned by nine tails, within the green eyes foxfire flickered.  
As she touched the charm to the cords they attached on their own to form a bracelet.  
“In the name of _Inari_ I, Eriko of the Silver house offer the protection of the Kitsune to those most deserving.”  
She held out the bracelets toward the twins but before they could take them Takeshi halted them.  
“And your price for this aid?”  
He questioned, even if it was offered in the name of _Inari_ , the Kami of foxes there could still be a steep price to be paid for such powerful aid.  
“That price was paid when you saved them and gave them a true family!”  
“And if a price is asked by one who answers the call to aid them?”  
“Any price asked will be paid in full by the Silver house, this aid will bring no cost upon you, your kits or anyone in your leash, you have my word!”  
As she spoke the geas of a fox oath shimmered around her tails, if she broke that oath she would lose her tails, becoming a regular fox again.  
With Eriko's word that there would be no price to pay Takeshi allowed her to place the bracelets around the twins wrists where it shimmered with foxfire before fading away.  
Calling a small flicker of foxfire to the tip of her claw she touched each of their foreheads.  
“With foxfire in your soul you will be able to call the charms, or hide them, as you please.”  
She looked a bit surprised when they instantly did so, without her explaining how.  
“The familiars work much in the same way.”  
Takeshi explained.  
With a nod Eriko reached behind her again and plucked another set of hair from her tails and braiding it into a long slightly flat strand and with a flare of foxfire it cut into eight pieces that looped into simple silver rings.  
“For the other girls, a charm of foxfire to grant awareness of, and guard against, deception and illusion.”  
Holding out her hand with the pile of rings she added.  
“My price for these is that you teach them true, to live with, and honor, the land and its children.”  
With a nod Takeshi took the rings she offered and hid them away the same way he had done with her Qi pearl.  
To have a kitsune's protection against falsehood and illusions was a very useful thing, as masters of illusion and trickery they were also masters at detecting deception and lies, and none were more skilled at seeing through illusions to the truth hidden beneath.

Finally he told Eriko of Stormborn and what the ancient creature had told him about Emelie's father, and how those words had reminded Emelie of the stories written down in the texts they were now here to study.  
With their stories done Eriko hummed while tapping her chin with a slender claw.  
“I see. Unless you object I would like to call a gathering of the Kitsune-houses, some of these things needs to be brought to their knowledge.”  
“I have no objections, but I ask that you wait until fall to allow me the time I need to reveal to the Council that I am in fact not dead.”  
“Of course Kage. Might I ask to have the honor of being present for this? It would give me great pleasure to witness such a thing first hand!”  
Her face lit up in glee at the thought of seeing the faces of the Council when they found out that Takeshi was still alive, no doubt it would ruin many of their plans.  
“I will allow it, but only under certain conditions.”  
“Name your terms Kage.”  
“First, the oath of hospitality will be extended into an oath of protection, as long as I or my leash does not directly betray you, your oath will stand, no matter where they are.”  
“Accepted.”  
Eriko replied after a few moments consideration.  
“Second, your presence will be hidden, acting as a pet to Emelie, you may choose the form yourself as long as it is suitable for being a pet.”  
“Accepted.”  
The answer this time was instant.  
“Third and final, as payment for this you will waiver the price for one favor of my choosing.”  
Takeshi's third demand was met with a slightly disapproving look and Eriko remained silent for a long time as she considered it.  
“Fine, I will trust your honor that you will not ask me to waiver a disproportional fee. I accept your terms.”  
Pulling a few strands of hair Takeshi quickly braided a ring similar to the ones Eriko had made, but where hers had been silver tinged with the green of foxfire his took on a coppery red tone that matched his Qi.  
He bound his word of honor that he would not abuse the agreement into it before giving it to her.  
“Are you sure you are not part kitsune? You work your magics like we do.”  
“If you ask those employed by the Kiryu household in my childhood they would claim me to be all kitsune.”  
He laughed.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Storytime_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 

With her price paid Eriko walked over to a locked section of the bookshelf and retrieved a rectangular box containing the texts and with a slight touch of foxfire she unlocked the enchantments that kept the box sealed and carefully lifted out the finely crafted vellum scroll and placed it on the large desk.  
“No one knows the true age of this scroll, the vellum and the ink are both enchanted to protect them from the ravages of time, making it harder to accurately date it.”  
She unrolled part of the scroll almost reverently.  
“The writing is in a form of Sumerian cuneiform that would place its age somewhere between 2500 and 1000 BC and the vellum used matches the time period. However, due to the enchantments the scroll has never been presented to the scientific community for formal dating.”  
Handing both of them a booklet containing the translated text they began their studies, occasionally taking a break to join the twins in their games so they would not feel left out.

When evening came around Eriko offered them a meal and the use of the guestrooms which Takeshi accepted after a short conversation with Emelie and the girls.  
Ushering them into the dining room Eriko began to serve food in a show of acrobatics and foxfire, vegetables, meats and seafoods marched themselves onto the table where Takeshi and Emelie joined the show.  
Emelie used her tail to capture the dancing ingredients and toss them to Takeshi who used a pair of borrowed blades to slice it all up at lightning speed before Eriko caught the sliced foods on plates she balanced on her tails.  
The twins were laughing and clapping excitedly at the odd show before them and they all enjoyed an extravagant _Sukiyaki_ , Japanese hot pot.  
With the meal done Eriko showed them to the guestrooms and helped get the twins in bed before she brought Takeshi and Emelie to a small sitting room.  
“The rooms are warded, you will be able to sense them but they will not be disturbed by any activities outside their room.”  
Her wink and snicker made it rather obvious what kind of activities she was referring to.

As evening turned to night Eriko asked them about more details of their stories and when Takeshi mentioned that Emelie's scent had changed with her transformation Eriko leaned in against Emelie and took a deep sniff of her hair.  
“Blue lotus and water lilies, such a pure scent for a demon and yet _so enticing_.”  
She whispered in Emelie's ear with a seductive purr.  
Emelie blushed scarlet when Takeshi leaned in on her other side and kissed the spot behind her ear.  
“Enticing indeed, but not nearly as enticing as the peppermint she gives of when aroused.”  
Emelie couldn't believe he had just done and said that and hissed at him in mortification.  
“Take!”  
But he didn't seem to listen as he purposefully searched out all of her sensitive spots.  
“You know, when she was suffering the effects of her transformation she actually considered turning to Kasumi for help.”  
With the whispered revelation Emelie began to realize just what he was up to, he was trying to tease her into accepting Eriko's advances.  
“Take?”  
Her voice now tinged with fear and worry.  
“Ssh, don't worry. Your _appetite_ won't harm her anymore than it does me, even if you were to accidentally take from her life-force it's vast enough to easily withstand it, and any energy lost would be recovered in a matter of hours.”  
He carefully soothed her fears.  
“You will always need to feed, and there might be times when you need to feed and I am not able to give you what you need. To learn to be able to feed from others without fear of harming them you need to practice. Your power can be controlled, and someone who you cannot harm might be a good place to start, don't you think?”  
“Maybe.”  
She hesitated, she knew he was right but she still worried.  
“Don't worry, kitsune are known for being generous and skilled lovers.”  
He teased her, intentionally _misunderstanding_ her hesitation he caused her vivid blush to turn an even darker shade of crimson.  
“Indeed, the only ones who come close to our skill are the _Inu_ and the _Ō_ _kami_ , must be a canine thing.”  
Eriko piped up with a grin.  
“Foxes, dogs and wolves. Whatever did I do in a past life to deserve this?”  
Emelie groaned as she surrendered to their combined touch and the swirling flames of green and red as the massive auras unfurled to envelop her.  
“Must have been something really good.”  
Eriko purred at her as twin sets of clawed hands robbed her of her clothing before stealing away what composure she had left.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Storytime_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Thursday was spent studying the scroll trying to find some clue of how to find the Obsidian Halls and after referencing other texts and obscure translations they agreed that Iceland would be their best bet, a region in the north known as _Dimmuborgir,_ “The Dark Castles”, an old volcanic area that according Nordic folklore was supposed to be the gateway to hell and in some of the old Christian myths it was where Satan landed when cast from the heavens.  
With the blending between Lucifer and Satan in many of the old religious texts it was worth checking out and after some talking Takeshi and Emelie decided they would first solve the issues with Takeshi's family.  
Then have an extended vacation with the twins, hopefully that would give the twins time to grow more confident and able to manage them being away for a while.  
Once the twins could manage without them for a few weeks they would head there and search, a search that Eriko offered to help with but Takeshi choose to decline, while the kitsune's ability to see through illusions along with her knowledge of old legends would be useful the price she asked was to high for his taste and he had no intention of using what she owed him.

Just as he was getting ready to send the twins to bed Eriko approached him with a serious look.  
“I have been thinking Kage, in the old accords it is stated that each head and heir should retain a kitsune adviser and while you are not formally named as either you are the only acceptable heir in the eyes of the kitsune community. The Kiryu name is bound to the Ryujin, her Blood, her Blade, not the blood of the humans she choose to ally herself with. As the true wielder of the Ryuken and blood bonded to the dragon you **are** the Kiryu family. In the days of the accord, if there was a chosen wielder only they could hold the title of head.”  
With a swirl of silk Eriko kneeled down in front of Takeshi and placed her hands to form a triangle on the floor between them and as she lowered her head towards the floor her tails fanned out behind her to properly display all nine tails.  
_“I, Eriko, Kyūbi of the Silver house offer myself into the service of the Kiryu, in accordance with the old ways I would advise the one who wields the Ryuken.”_  
Her words were spoken in an ancient, highly formal form of Japanese that even Takeshi had to struggle a bit to reply in kind as it was so rarely used.  
She remained in a low bow while he considered her words, only the occasional twitch of the tip of a tail betrayed her tension and agitation as he deliberately made her wait.  
_“What of your obligations as a teacher? Would you abandon those who rely on you to teach them?”  
_ His question was intended to push her buttons, questioning her loyalties to see how she would react.  
_“There are others of the Silver house who are equally suited to be teachers, they can assume my name and take my place and teach, but none as suited to be advisers to the Kiryu.”_  
Her answer though calm held a slight edge at his suggestion that she would abandon her duties.  
_“To you I might be Head, but I am still Kage to my sister, bound by oath. You will come with us and stand before her, if she agrees I will accept you into my service. However, as long as you are with us you may not charge any price that has not been agreed to ahead of time, any price mentioned after the fact will be forfeit!”_  
His words were final and Eriko accepted them with a slight deepening of her bow before standing.  
“What did they say?”  
The twins asked Emelie in loud whispers.  
“Sorry girls, I'm not **that** good at Japanese, and I think they spoke some **really** old and formal kind.”  
“We agreed that I will go with you to Hawaii and meet with Kasumi-sama and maybe come live with you if she agrees.”  
Eriko explained with a smile.  
“If you stay, can you teach us to do magic?”  
Their eyes were beaming at the thought of learning from the old kitsune.  
“Oh, I promise I will teach you every trick I can if you promise to practice using them on Takeshi here.”  
She offered with a grin.  
_“That sounds like trouble, are you sure it's a good idea to bring her?”_  
Emelie's silent question was tainted with a laugh and was met with a mental groan.  
_“I am quite sure it is a terrible idea, but still, it needs to be done. I can always pray Kasumi refuses her.”_  
Though he knew that she would accept the kitsune's offer, if not only to make sure he would suffer at the hands of the twins and kitsune tricks.  
After cautioning the twins about accepting offers from kitsune he told them that it was okay to accept this one which they did with wide smiles.  
A few minutes later Takeshi interrupted the twins dance of joy telling them it was time to go to bed.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Storytime_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Friday was spent relaxing and taking a quick trip by the hotel to grab their luggage and move it to the Blackout before their meeting with Dan, the guard.  
They would be flying back to Hawaii during the night, something that had the twins somewhat distraught and Eriko insisted they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted.  
“As tempting as the offer is, my dear sister would be rather cross if I didn't return in time for my _surprise_ party.”  
Eriko laughed at his tone before she returned to distracting the twins with various games.  
As the sun began setting they were heading toward the restaurant where they would meet with Dan for the offered drink and some food.  
Takeshi listened to Emelie chatting with Eriko and the twins and he could feel the occasional burst of foxfire followed by laughing and clapping from the twins, it would seem Eriko wasted no time in showing them her tricks.  
Luckily it would be many years before they could learn such tricks, if ever since they were fueled by foxfire, a rather advanced form of Qi manipulation that took both power and control, but unfortunately kitsune had many tricks that did not require foxfire.  
After parking the car in a parking garage near the location Dan had given them they followed the GPS to the address given and found Dan waiting for them outside a small corner pub that announced itself as serving grilled meats and fish, pizza and quality burgers along with a wide selection of beverages and they introduced Eriko, who had changed her appearance to that of a tall young blonde, as a friend of Emelie's.  
As they were about to enter the doorman stopped them with a pointed look at the twins as well as Eriko and Emelie who he seemed to suspect did not have the proper age for drinking but after a few words from Dan he shrugged and opened the door to let them in.  
The inside was somewhat dark, but in a cozy, intimate way and Dan showed them to a booth toward the back of the establishment where they would not be bothered by the more rambunctious guests who were only there to drink.  
While they waited for their food to be served Dan began telling them about the reason for his intense dislike for the GCTI.

“My dad worked for them as a construction worker, building a hospital in Chad for their _Building a Better World_ program and when he got hurt they refused to even pay for a ticket home, they just dumped him in a run down hospital and left him to his own devices. Luckily one of the other guys in his team managed to get word to the embassy in Sudan and they were able to arrange transport home for dad so he could get proper medical care.”

As they ate he told them about friends and coworkers who had similar stories of friends and relatives getting hurt by the actions of the GCTI.  
As the night moved on the twins curled up against Takeshi and under the cover of his aura combined with a whispered weave of fox-magic from Eriko they fell asleep as the adults kept talking, and drinking.  
When the bartender announced last calls Dan offered them a drink of the pubs own absinthe, the pub owner also owned a micro-distillery that specialized in making the potent liquor, Emelie and Eriko both quickly accepted but Dan was surprised when Takeshi refused.  
“Well, I **am** driving, not to mention piloting a military class jet tonight.”  
It took a few moments before Dan realized just what had been said but when he did he sputtered in chock.  
“What? Wait! Dude, you can't drive after all you have been drinking! That would be really stupid and dangerous, not to mention illegal! Damn, I thought you had taken a cab here.”  
“Don't worry, it takes a lot stronger stuff than beer to get me drunk, absinthe might just be strong enough to do it though, that's why I'm not having any.”  
“I don't believe you, there is no way you could down all that beer and not be legally drunk!”  
“The bar has test equipment, right? Bring one here and I can prove it.”  
Takeshi couldn't resist a slight smirk.  
As a Blessed he had an extreme resistance to toxins, including the neurotoxic and psychoactive ethanol.  
Drinks such as beer and most wine would have no effect on him as his metabolism would break down the ethanol before he could be affected by it.  
Dan, who refused to believe him called the bartender and asked him to bring the test kit and handed it to Takeshi, asking him to prove his claims of being completely sober.  
Unlike the old breathalyzers the modern test kits did a blood analysis and would not be affected by the the ethanol present on his breath from consumption, it only measured what was actually in his blood.  
Cleaning his finger with the provided alcohol-free sterile swab he proceeded to place his finger into the the tester and a moment later the small lancet took a few drops of his blood for testing.  
Dan shook his head and muttered disbelieving curses when the test showed green and 0 blood alcohol, and he asked Takeshi do to it again to show it wasn't just some fluke and when the second test showed the same result he just shrugged and shook his head before ordering three absinthe and another beer.  
As the pub closed and they began getting ready to leave Takeshi promised to give a call if they visited the city again and Dan told him he might be going to D.C. for the award ceremony in July.  
Eriko helped him carry the twins to the car as she, like him was nearly immune to the effects of alcohol, Emelie on the other had was slightly drunk, but nowhere near as drunk as she would have been if she was still human.

 

While he did the usual checks Emelie and Eriko helped the sleepy twins get strapped in and ready for takeoff.  
Once they landed on the island it was morning and they headed up toward the house where they were met by Kasumi, no doubt alerted by the presence of an unfamiliar youki and Takeshi quickly explained the situation.  
“If I hear 'can we keep her' I am going to slap you, understood?”  
Kasumi scolded him teasingly and he nodded with a grin.  
A grin that suddenly vanished as twin voices piped up behind him with a clearly impish tone.  
“Can we keep her?”  
A split second later the sound of a slap echoed against the surroundings followed by dead silence.  
The silence lasted for a few moments before laughter erupted as Takeshi nursed a vivid red handprint on his cheek and Kasumi nodded to the twins.  
“Sure, you can keep her.”  
Kasumi promised them with a grin.

 


	35. Family

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  

With birthdays and holidays finally out of the way Takeshi was happy to get back to work, work that at this time meant planning and setting up everything needed for their planned re-take of the Kiryu family assets.  
The presence of the kitsune pretty much guaranteed that he would be named heir to the name, but the Council would do everything in their power to keep him from obtaining the Kiryu assets if they did that, so they had decided to stick with their old plan, much to to Eriko's delight, her trickster nature loved the idea of creating a fake heir apparent and trick the Council into willingly giving them everything.  
She had instantly offered to help train him in the use of illusions to support his transformations by hiding his aura and when he showed her the bracelet he had crafted for that purpose she once again stated that he had to be at least part kitsune.  
No one had taught him how to create charms, he had done it on instinct and intuition and his chosen method was the way of the kitsune, taking a part of his body and using his Qi to reshape it into what he needed and using it as an anchor for his enchantments.  
She noted that the only thing that revealed that it was not done by a kitsune was that it was done using Qi rather than youki, had he used the youki from the dragon there would be no way to tell.

Another thing on his list of things that needed to be handled was contacting the proper authorities to inform them that Maria had a daughter who would be attending to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in her mother's name and due to how the records were kept she would have to produce DNA proof of her relation.  
It would be easier for him to prove he was who he claimed to be since the biometric data in his GCTI file was extensive so he wouldn't need to announce ahead of time that he was going, he intended to give the Council no warning.  
Another trip to Giza was planned for him and Emelie to buy clothes for the presentation which also included the twins.  
And he spent an insane amount of time _arguing_ with government computers.  
Creating new entries with all the bells and whistles to make them look real took some effort, but thanks to Daniels's gift he was able to wrangle the infernal systems into doing what he wanted them to.

He had created two entries:  
  
Katsuro Kiryu, born January 23rd 2031  
Aiko Kiryu, born March 14th 2033  
  
Complete with several biometrics, including a full DNA profile that if compared to his or Kasumi's DNA, or both, would show without any doubt that the DNA was that of their offspring.  
Hopefully the greed and hunger for power would make the council jump at the prospect of a proper heir without looking too deep.  
He was hoping they would accept blood samples without demanding a face to face meeting.

On top of having to create fake offspring he also had to create suitable paperwork for a pet **fennec** of all things.  
He was starting to regret his demand that Eriko pose as a pet in order to come along.  
In order to pick her form she had held a fashion show of sorts for the twins, showing off her wide range of transformations and when she had showed them the tiny desert fox with the huge, expressive ears it had been instant love, though with her pure white fur and green eyes she looked quite different from a normal fennec.  
Not to mention that anyone able to see auras would be able to see the eight extra tails swishing behind her.  
She had been rather upset however when he told her that if she was going to use the form of a fennec she would have to be injected with an RFID chip for the duration of their trip.  
The fennec was classified as an exotic pet and required special registration and was also required to have an ID chip and a passport of sorts.  
But all it took was one look at the twins pulling an expert level puppy-dog eye performance for her to fold and agree, the old fox seemed to have fallen for the impish nature that the twins had begun to develop once they started to feel safe.  
And he had to agree with her, no matter how frustrating they could be at times their energy was a breath of fresh air and he enjoyed watching them play around, especially when they played their tricks on someone other than him.

There was also the matter of the girls schooling and Matthews' health, but both those matters seemed to find a solution in Eriko.  
The fox, despite her own words, had a natural talent for teaching and the girls eagerly drank whatever she had to teach them and she gladly stepped up and took care of their tutoring, making sure they kept up with their lessons and that they went online and did their tests on time.  
She also developed a fondness for the old soldier whose somewhat quirky personality agreed with her and many nights she would join him and not return until several hours later, and each morning after one of those nights he seemed to be in slightly better health.  
She was obviously working her magics to help restore his health and for that Takeshi was grateful, the combination of her healing and giving Matthews something more to live for should help his recovery greatly.  
But after a few weeks he even began to look slightly younger, something that caused Takeshi to have a talk with Eriko about choice, and respecting Matthews' choice.  
She had been rather furious at first that he would allow Matthews to die when he could do something about it, but eventually she had backed down when he explain how strongly Matthews felt about remaining himself, about remaining entirely what he considered human.  
When he saw her visibly deflate as she accepted his words she looked so broken he couldn't resist wrapping her in his arms and aura as he did whenever any of the girls were sad and once his aura enveloped hers he could feel her pain tainted by fear and he understood.  
“While I'm still new to being an eternal I can somewhat understand that as hard as it is to love another eternal and fear eternity, it must be even harder to love a fragile mortal, knowing their existence will be a mere blink of the eye compared to your own.”  
The shift in her aura told him without a doubt that he had guessed correctly as to the reason for her reactions.  
“But you should know, one of the first things Matthews told me after joining us here was that no matter how long, or short life might be, it's always too short let love slip through your fingers.”  
As he spoke Eriko seemed to relax a bit and the pain he had sensed when he touched her aura changed somewhat, fading from the the acute pain of a recent injury to the familiar ache of an old injury that would never fully heal.  
“Never let anyone tell you you are not worthy to be Head, I'm not even one of yours and yet you instantly step in to make sure of my well being, body, mind and soul.”  
With that she vanished from his arms in whorls of foxfire and he could feel her aura retreat toward Matthews's room.  
She had been wrong about one thing though, he **did** consider her to be one of his, just what she was on the other hand he was less sure of.  
Friend, yes.  
Family, probably.  
Pack, maybe, he just didn't understand it well enough yet to know and the Beast was silent.

The trip to Ginza for clothes had been a short one, only dropping by for a few hours to take all the needed measurements and picking out designs for the dresses and Takeshi had put in an order for an additional suit, the ones he had were standard tailored suits and the all white kumo-silk one so he ordered another kumo-silk one, all black with red paisley accents and lining.  
The one thing that had taken the most time was Emelie's dress, she had instantly fallen for a strapless black and purple trumpet dress with a beaded bodice, but the solid back was too high and interfered with her wings as well as her tail.  
So after some consideration Takeshi bound the tailor with _command_ before revealing himself and having Emelie show the problem so that it could be redesigned with her wings and tail in mind.  
The tailor had also tried to convince her of adding a short jacket or at least a shawl to cover the exposed shoulders but she refused to consider anything that would cover the dragon on her shoulder, something that caused a stirring of smug pride from the Beast within.  
Takeshi knew that the Council would realize the significance of the mark and it had potential to add some rather interesting twists.  
They had worried about the twins, but it turned out to be just as simple as his own as they had made an instant beeline to the ruffled gypsy skirt and top that was on display.  
The mix of greens, teal and aqua reminding them of Eriko's foxfire they instantly begged for ones of their own, and both Takeshi and Emelie had caved in almost as instantly.  
They would return the following weekend to see if any adjustments were needed, as much as Takeshi wanted to they simply could not stay for the week, there was too much that needed to be done.  
While they were at the tailor Takeshi had also obtained a piece of silver kumo-silk that would be crafted into a harness and leash for Eriko's fennec form, he was sure she would object loudly to it, but she would have to comply if she wanted to join them.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

On July 3rd they took off for Washington DC, the twins wanted to go earlier but Takeshi didn't want to risk running into anyone that could tip of the Council that he was still alive, and there.  
Instead he promised them they would try to stay a few days after, it depended on how severe the reaction from the Council would be and while disappointed they took it rather well.  
The following morning Takeshi led Emelie and the girls down to the waiting limousine that would take them to the White House for the award ceremony, slightly distracted he made sure that the bracelet was secured and the illusions in place.  
He had opted for using the bracelet to alter his appearance into that of his true age even if the Council would probably be able to sense it when they got close, he could have altered his transformation to look his actual age, but seeing a 40 year old him rather than the 25 year old they were used to seeing had made the twins rather distraught and he didn't want them to be upset.  
After introducing himself to one of the guards there had been quite a bit of activity as they made last minute alterations to the event to fit his sudden appearance, which they assumed was for his personal safety, there was still quite a few people out there who had been loyal to the corrupt GCTI and that would want him dead if they knew he was alive.  
If those knew ahead of time that he would be there they would surely have done something to try to kill him.  
The guards had showed them to a small security room hidden behind the stage where they waited for the President to announce them.  
After a few rather long winded speeches about current matters it was announced that it was time for the Presidential Medal of Freedom to be awarded.  
More speeches about the unit, the GCTI, how they had been taken down followed and then came their cue.

“To receive the award in the name of the deceased we have a few very special guests with us today.”  
Takeshi could see the Council shifting in their seats, waiting to be announced as the ones to receive the award in his name, they were seated along with a group of ambassadors and a White House representative who were there to receive for their respective country, Takeshi had managed to convince security not to inform them of the change.  
“Emelie Eriksson, daughter of Maria Eriksson and her daughters Maria and Sarah.”  
Emelie and the twins stood as their names were called.  
“She will receive the award in her mother's name.”  
Emelie stepped up on the stage along with the twins who were holding Eriko's leash and there was a moment of silence before the audience broke out in cheers and shocked whispers.  
“And we are honored to also present someone who has been instrumental in revealing the corruption of the GCTI”  
In the short pause for effect he could hear murmurs wondering who it could possibly be.  
“Even after the horrible attack that killed his friends and severely injured him he still kept fighting to take down the ones responsible for the corruption within the GCTI. And he succeeded where all others failed.”  
“Takeshi Kiryu, former Sergeant of the GCTI Special Operations unit that ultimately brought to light that deep rooted corruption.”  
It was announced that he would be receiving the awards for the rest of the unit but Takeshi didn't pay much attention, his focus was on the Council and their reactions.  
Disbelief turned into shock as he dispelled the part of the illusion that hid his aura, that shock soon turned into anger and fear, and back to shock when Eriko released her aura.  
Focusing back on the formalities of the event he pointedly ignored the Council and the prodding of their auras, what was harder to ignore was the insistent tingling on his arm as his watch silently alerted him that someone was trying to call him, repeatedly.

Once they were done and he was seated next to Emelie and the girls he handed the three cases holding the medals he had received in the name of his unit to Emelie so he could check his phone.  
The calls, and messages, were all from a very confused Dan who had been watching the ceremony live from a nearby bar with some of his friends and had been quite shocked when he saw the older looking Takeshi on the screen.  
A somewhat evil idea came to mind and Takeshi waved for one of the guards to come over, he quickly informed the guard about where Dan was and that he was a personal friend and that he wanted him brought to the press-party after the main event was done.  
The guard had nodded and set out to arrange what he had been asked to and Takeshi resumed his observations of the Council while helping the girls keep Eriko from wandering of, it took a few reminders that she was supposed to be a mortal fennec, and thus nowhere near able to pull the girls along.  
After a few reminders she settled for bouncing around their laps and trying to climb on top of Takeshi's head, which he had allowed for a while just to keep the twins amused, there had also been quite a few camera flashes while he patiently sat there with a fennec proudly perched on top of his head.  
_“Guess I'm not the only one convinced of your excellent qualities as a father.”  
_ There was a clearly teasing tone in the thoughts transmitted from Emelie as she listened to the whispers caused by his rather unusual _hat,_ quite a few women were commending the lengths he was willing to go to keep the twins entertained.

After all the speeches were done they moved to a large reception area for the customary press-party where they were swarmed by reporters wanting to know their story, and quite few of them asked rather pointed questions about the twins, especially after hearing them call him _daddy_.  
He had quickly explained that they were part of a group of orphans they had come across while working on taking down the GCTI and since they had instantly taken to him and Emelie they had decided to adopt them.  
When asked what their relationship was they looked at each other for a moment before answering with a laugh.  
“Complicated!”  
A moment later Emelie continued with a short, and heavily censored, version of their meeting.  
“He came to me two days before my 20 th birthday and dropped one hell of a bombshell about what had really happened to mom, and now a few years later I find myself raising a pair of wild twins with him, so yeah, complicated about covers it.”  
The reporters were about to ask more questions when one of the guards walked up and quietly informed Takeshi that his _guest_ had arrived, with a quick apology to the reporters he ushered the twins along to follow the guard.  
“Ah, Dan, good to see you made it.”  
Dan looked rather bewildered, and uncomfortable in the borrowed suit that the crew had stuffed him into.  
“Takeshi? Damn, it is you! You have **got** to explain this...”  
“I will, but now is not a good time, to many eyes and ears around.”  
When he heard the twins call for Eriko and watched the tiny fox respond he turned to Emelie.  
“You gave them a pet fox and named it after your friend?”  
“Ehm, not exactly.”  
Her reply was delivered with a mix between a smile and an embarrassed squirm.  
“Don't worry, we will explain everything once we are done here. For now, let's make those pals of yours green with envy.”  
Takeshi grinned and pulled Dan along toward the area where a few live cameras were doing interviews for various news and celebrity channels and Emelie corralled the twins and a certain over-energetic fennec to follow behind them.  
Takeshi kept a close eye on the Council members that were present but they made no move to approach them, the combination of his aura and Eriko's seemed to keep them at bay.  
He did however sense a slight disturbance over his bond with Kasumi, telling him that she was furious about something and shortly after that he received a text message informing him that the council had contacted her and that she wanted him to call her once they could talk freely.  
When the event finally ended they invited Dan to join them at their hotel for drinks, and answers.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Family_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Eriko had given him the first of many shocks that evening when she had promptly used her fox-magic to secure the room and resume her humanoid form the moment they got back to their suite.  
“What the hell?”  
It had taken him a few minutes of sputtering in Swedish before he found some words that were reasonably intelligible.  
“That is Eriko, she is a _Kitsune,_ a spirit fox. Though, that fennec form is actually closer to her true form than the one she is showing off now.”  
Takeshi explained, his voice calm but the smile in his eyes was obvious.  
After a few moments Dan found his words and went straight to the point.  
“So, is anyone here besides me actually human?”  
“We are!”  
The twins piped up instantly, but as he looked at Takeshi and Emelie they were silent.  
“Ehm, can I get back to you on that one?”  
Takeshi answered him as he scratched his head with a somewhat sheepish grin.  
Looking over at Emelie, Dan seemed to almost beg her to tell him she was indeed human, but no luck as she gave him a wide grin and a shrug.  
“Sorry! Succubus here.”  
As she spoke she unfurled her tail and wings, shifting her aura at the same time so that they, along with her horns would be visible to him.  
Dan sat back heavily on the couch and for several minutes he sat there muttering to himself in Swedish before looking up again.  
“Why the heck are you showing me this?”  
“Because I believe we could become good friends.”  
Takeshi sat down across him and moments later the others joined him.  
“You are honest, straight to the point and you speak your mind.”  
“In other words, blunt and somewhat rude, just like Take.”  
Eriko piped up which earned her a flash of fangs and a growl.  
“Your actions during our little fender bender proved that you have honor and a caring nature, especially toward children.”  
This had Dan in a rather embarrassed sputter.  
“Your reasons for wanting the GCTI gone shows that you value family. Those are all traits I value in a person, especially a friend.”  
“What he is saying is that you are just as messed up as him.”  
Eriko quipped again and this time she was rewarded with a snarl as Takeshi pounced at her and knocked her to the floor before pinning her down with the bulk of his partially transformed form and closing his jaws over her throat, demanding submission.  
Dan looked at Emelie with wide eyes asking for an explanation to Takeshi's suddenly violent behavior, which to Dan seemed like a rather extreme reaction.  
“She has been teasing him, intentionally annoying him ever since we got back.”  
Emelie filled him in, not showing any signs of concern over what was happening.  
“But, she had barely said anything, definitely not something to warrant such a reaction.”  
Dan objected while watching the battle of wills before him.  
“It's not what she said, it's what she has been doing. She has been using her power to push and prod him, like if I was constantly poking you and refusing to stop when asked. She has intentionally been trying to get this reaction out of him, to force him to show more of himself to you.”  
“Okay so she has been trying to piss him off, but I mean, she's actually **bleeding**! Isn't that taking it a bit to far?”  
“Oh, don't worry. He's not really hurting her, those marks will heal in a matter of seconds once she applies her power to them. The only reason she is even getting them in the first place is because she is fighting him and refusing to back down.”  
A sudden loud snarl followed by a whimper drew their attention back to the pair on the floor, just in time to see Takeshi lick the small wounds that he had caused, instantly healing them, before helping Eriko get back on her feet.  
When she set back down in the sofa the twins were there, scolding her that she shouldn't tease him like that.  
But Dan didn't really notice, all he had eyes for was the monstrous creature standing in front of him, half wolf, half man.  
"Varulv!”

There was no need for translations for that one and Takeshi slowly forced the more beast like traits to recede as he walked over and sat down.  
“You could call me a werewolf, but it wouldn't be very accurate. I can take the form of any animal I want, I can also change my human appearance extensively. The natives would have called me _Skinwalker_ but a more modern term would probably be just _Shapeshifter_.”  
“Damn, this is a lot...”  
“I know, I'm sorry about that. I intended to give you more time to get used to all the weird stuff, but Eriko decided her way was better and forced the issue by taking advantage of the fact that I'm not entirely in control of some of the dominance related instincts of my Beast which can trigger it to surface and cause incidents like the one you just witnessed.”  
“Beast?”  
Takeshi sighed, this was one of the parts he had been hoping to wait a while with explaining.  
“I wasn't born like this, I was turned into this by another. Just like old werewolf myths their bite, or blood can turn you into one of them.”  
He told him of Amarok, of what had really happened when they were attacked and his unit killed.  
He told him about how the planet was dying and and trying to get rid of what was killing it.  
He explained briefly how he had become what he was, how Kasumi had also become similar and how he had changed Melissa to save her life.  
He told him of how the change had affected him and Kasumi in a different way due to their unique background.  
“So, you're planning to turn me into whatever you are?”  
“Perhaps. If I find you to be worthy and you truly want to change, understanding what it means.”  
He had never been able to fully explain to Melissa and it still troubled him at times that he had made her choose without fully understanding what she was choosing and if he could help it he would make sure it never happened again.  
“So, you want to get to know me to see if I'm good enough to help you save the world?”  
Dan gave him a puzzled look.  
“Actually, there was something more pressing I had in mind.”  
Takeshi sighed deeply before continuing.

“I need people I can trust to help me keep the girls safe. With my announcing that I am still alive my family is going to be coming after us. Kasumi and I will probably have to travel to Japan several times and maybe even for extended periods.”  
Taking the glass Emelie offered he pushed on.  
“During these trips I would have to bring Emelie along with us because of her succubus nature giving her some rather hard to fill dietary needs. The twins are much too fragile mentally to be left behind, they suffered extreme neglect from their biological parents who in the end sold them to a sadistic human trafficker. This would leave Eriko and Matthews alone caring for eight girls and the entire house.”  
“Wait, Matthews you said? It sounds familiar somehow, did you mention him last time?”  
Dan pressed in when he paused for a moment.  
“I didn't, but you might know him from the GCTI reports. Commander Thomas Matthews of the GCTI Liberty.”  
“They said he was killed the night of the raids, that some guard went nuts and killed him and a bunch of other suspects. They said he was one of the big players behind all the crap the GCTI has done...”  
“He was framed, they put him out as a scapegoat to try to cover some of the real bad ones. Emelie and I broke him out of there and I killed most of the others because they were as bad as they get.”  
“I heard a guard was also killed, supposedly gunned down after killing the people they had arrested.”  
Dan's voice had a slightly suspicious note as he questioned Takeshi about what had really happened.  
“I killed the guard to protect Emelie, he was shooting at her and when she was hurt I lost control. All I could think of was her cry of pain and the smell of her blood, it never even occurred to me that she heals just as fast as I do, all I could think was to protect. No, not just protect, to eliminate any threat.”  
He was not proud of what he had done, while he didn't regret protecting Emelie he did regret killing the guard, he could have just knocked him out.  
“I... I tore his throat out, ripped his head clean from his body. It was a needless death, I lost control. And I might loose control again and kill when it is not needed.”  
He decided not to hold back, to tell Dan the full truth, let him know that he was a coldblooded killer.  
“Hey, come on dude, don't be so hard on yourself! You had to act fast, there's no time to be second guessing yourself in a situation like that. You act fast, you act decisively or you or someone you care about ends up dead.”  
Takeshi didn't respond, instead he pushed on with his story.  
“While Eriko is more than capable of defending the estate she is still only one person, and while Matthews can handle himself pretty well under normal circumstances he is still not well, they can only be at so many places at once. There is also the day to day care of the property, making sure the girls are fed, follow their curriculum and so on.”  
Takeshi took a short pause, drinking the last sip of his glass and waiting for Emelie to refill it before draining it in one sweep.  
“What I'm trying to say is that I want to hire you as head of security at the Jacaranda Estate in Hawaii. You will receive fair pay and a small house and garden patch of your own on the estate, you will be provided with a boat so you can visit the main islands on your time off. You will receive tickets to go home and visit regularly, and in case of an emergency I will take you there in the Blackout if at all possible.”  
“And what about pension, medical and stuff like that?”  
It pleased Takeshi that Dan thought to ask.  
“An offshore account will be made in your name, however it will be up to you how much you choose to place there from your pay. You will also receive a _'Dragon'_ , a one troy ounce gold round each month. Any additional hazard pay and such will be payed in _Dragons_ as well.”  
“Okay, time out. I don't do imperial, how much is a troy ounce in metric?”  
“31.1 grams and a bunch of decimals after that.”  
The only reason Takeshi had made the rounds out in troy ounces was because it was a common market standard and the US based private mint company that had worked the raw gold into rounds charged extra to make rounds in metric sizes so he had opted to stick with the troy ounce ones.  
“Damn, that's a lot of gold.”  
Dan quickly fished out his phone and did a search on the spot prices for gold before blanching.  
“Almost $2.500 for one of those troy ounces, and you're telling me I'll get one of those on top of the usual pay each month?”  
Takeshi just nodded, he would be well paid, but Takeshi considered it money well spent.  
“And how much is the regular pay?”  
“You will be receiving $10.000 a month, how much of that you choose to save for your pension is up to you. You will also receive free housing and three meals a day.”  
“Damn, that's good pay! But what about medical, you never answered that one.”  
“Any medical needs will be fully covered, but I do reserve the right to solve any medical issues in house if possible.”  
At Dan's somewhat terrified look he couldn't help laughing.  
“Don't worry, between me, Eriko and the things we have access to we can fix pretty much anything that does not require extensive surgery.”  
Dan yelped when Eriko suddenly appeared next to him and dug her claws into his arm, and then with a whisper of foxfire the wounds vanished, leaving a bloodied, but unmarred arm behind.  
“Hey! That hurt you know!”  
He complained but Eriko just smiled at him and began licking away the blood.  
“Okay, stuff like this, is it gonna be happening a lot?”  
“Yeah, probably quite a bit. You might as well get used to it.”  
Takeshi laughed and refilled Dan's glass.  
“There's just one thing.”  
Dan hesitated and seemed very uncomfortable and almost scared before continuing.  
“Before you decide if you really wanna hire me for that kinda work you should know I got degenerative night blindness. I'm doing okay right now but it won't be long before they start pulling my licenses, giving nice big red flags that I'm only allowed to do stuff during daylight.”  
Takeshi just chuckled at him.  
“Don't worry, that's easy enough to fix.”  
“Not according to the docs I've been to, they say it can't be done, not with the kind I got.”  
“You will soon find that there are many thing the doctors working our so called modern medicine can't do that we can do easily.”

After Dan had left for his own hotel Takeshi called Kasumi to see what had been said.  
“As we thought, they demanded that we return and that I marry immediately to produce an heir. I told them I had already birthed an heir, fathered by you and they took the bait, hook, line and sinker.”  
As suspected the Council had jumped at the prospect of a son with his blood, hoping for a true Kiryu heir with his abilities.  
“They of course demanded to meet this son to verify my claims but I told them he is undergoing training to receive his dragon and can not be distracted, offering to send blood samples instead for verification and they accepted. They did demand though that he be brought to the main house for his marking.”  
They had expected as much, but this gave them time, they should be able to keep the Council of their backs for a while with nothing more than the occasional update to inform them of how the supposed heir was doing.  
He was sure however that they would demand that the son be brought before him on his 10th birthday to be formally named heir, giving them about half a year to plan their next step and get Dan settled in to help keep the girls safe when they had to leave.

 


	36. The Next Generation

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Next Generation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When they returned to Hawaii one week after the ceremony at the White House Dan had joined them to come and work for Takeshi as head of security.  
He would still react rather strongly to all the strangeness that happened around the group but he would recover his wits faster and faster as he got used to it.

Once Takeshi had set the Blackout down on the landing pad the twins couldn't get out fast enough and were now chasing each other around the small landing pad.  
“I think I see why you are so set on protecting them no matter the cost.”  
Dan paused for a moment when he moved past Takeshi on his way out of the plane.  
And moments later he muttered a curse in Swedish as the twins had taken what he believed to brooches and tossed them into the air, only for them to come alive and land on their heads as tiny jewel birds with impossibly long tail feathers.  
“Okay, explain away.”  
Her didn't even bother asking, or turning to Takeshi, he just sighed and leaned against the frame of the plane to listen.  
“Those are familiars, they are alive, but they are not animals. They were originally created to help protect the girls from nightmares after we freed them, they also allow for telepathic communication.”  
After allowing a few moments for the information to settle Takeshi dropped the next bomb.  
“You will be joining me to get one of your own once we are done unloading the Blackout.”  
“So first thing you do is stick me with a pet?”  
“Sort of, the telepathy will be most useful.”  
“I'm gonna be worried about hurting such a tiny little bird.”  
“Oh, don't be so sure it will be a bird. The girls picked their from a few creatures already born because it was urgent to find them familiars and the Sanctuary was not ready for them. But since then it has been completed, so yours will be born the proper way, and will take a form that fits you perfectly.”  
“In other words, it's a surprise?”  
Dan groaned at the prospect of picking up an unknown creature that would be with him for an unforeseen future.  
“Pretty much.”  
Takeshi agreed with a teasing tone.

After a unloading all the stuff from the Blackout and sending the twins to the house Takeshi called for Emelie so they could head to the Sanctuary to get a familiar for Dan.  
While Takeshi could perform the ritual himself like he had done for Emelie it would be more potent if performed by a female and since Emelie had been the one to carry the Seed of Life she was connected to the Sanctuary in a unique way that Takeshi didn't fully understand.  
It took several hours for Dan to come to terms with the sanctuary, Takeshi calmly explained what he was seeing and Emelie added her own tidbits while showing him various creatures from within, including her own familiar.  
Once he was calm enough they brought him before the Soul-tree to receive his familiar.  
“I guess this is why you call this place the Jacaranda Estate?”  
He mused while staring at the beautiful blooming tree inside the small annex.  
“It is, but enough stalling, time to get this show on the road.”  
Emelie chirped as she took his hand and dragged him all the way to the tree where the small pitcher plant wine was waiting for them.  
“Here, to do this we need to pour some of your blood into this plant, it will make the familiar part of you, this is what allows it to be your voice and to relay the voice of the others. It will also be what gives it form.”  
He hesitated slightly before reaching out his hand to her but was surprised that there was almost no pain as her nail cut along his palm, only a slight burning sensation, then he forgot it completely and blushed at the sensation of her licking the blood from his hand as he watched the cut she had made healed.  
When she told him to put his hand into the pitcher and retrieve his familiar he did as instructed, though slightly worried that there would be something slimy in there.  
But what he felt was something warm and furry and moments later a small furry animal ran up his arm and once perched at his shoulder began chittering at him in a most eager way.  
“A baby ferret? My familiar is a crazy baby ferret?”  
He looked at the furry thing with a rather worried look.  
“Actually it's a weasel. And it's cute, not crazy.”  
Emelie quipped with a grin while scratching behind its ear.  
“Actually, you are both wrong. Em, feel its aura.”  
Takeshi spoke up from the doorway where he had been watching.  
Reaching out with her aura Emelie tested the creature and found that he was right, it didn't feel anything like an actual animal.  
“It feels kinda like the girls familiars after they changed.”  
“Indeed it does, that's because it's something similar, it's a _Raijū_ , a lightning spirit. I wouldn't be surprised if it has another, larger form as well.”  
The moment Takeshi mention a secondary form the small creature jumped from Dan's shoulder and in a flash of light it stood before them in the form of a slender black, wolf looking creature with electric blue markings and long whip-like appendages from behind it's ears and elbows.  
“Okay, that's pretty damn cool.”  
_“Of course it is.”_  
The silent voice managed to convey a clear huff as the Raijū voiced its opinion.  
“I like this thing already!”  
Dan's grin just grew wider as the creature touched his mind and pulled at his aura, forming a bond that would last for as long as he lived.  
As long as he was alive the Raijū would not be possible to kill, but if Dan died, so would it, it's life-force irrevocably bound to his.  
“A Raijū of all things, I definitely made the right choice in hiring you as head of security.”  
Takeshi mused as he watched the creature bond to the one that had brought about it's birth, once he was satisfied they had bonded properly he tapped Dan's shoulder.

“How about you let me take a look at your eyes and see if I can fix them right away, there might be something of use in here.”  
With a nod Dan gave his consent and taking hold of Dan's head Takeshi pushed and prodded with his aura to see what was wrong and he had to resist smirking as he worked.  
The more invasive contact with his energies confirmed something about Dan that he had been suspecting since they had the drinks in Gothenburg.  
The way Dan's aura responded as well as the shifts in his scent told Takeshi that he was attracted to him, and as he had reacted the same way to Emelie and Eriko it was becoming clear that he played for both teams so to speak, something that had the potential to create some rather interesting situations around the house.  
Once he was done with his examination Takeshi stepped back with a frown, the doctors did have a point, Dan suffered from an unusually bad form that would be hard to fix.  
“Aw damn, that's a bad look. No can do, huh?”  
Dan's shoulders slumped and his voice carried a broken note.  
“Not at all, it can be fixed, it will just take a bit more extreme measures than I first believed. I could heal it using Qi, but that would be temporary, it would get worse again and I would have to repeat the treatment. I would guess you would need a treatment once or twice a month to keep it away.”  
“Well, if it's that easy a fix what's the frown about?”  
“I was hoping to fix it permanently, but the ways to do that are very limited. One of them of course being the Blessing.”  
“You mean make me into a werewolf thing?”  
“Yes, and that is not an option, not yet at least.”  
“So, what's the other options, you said there were a few.”  
“Actually, there are only two. The other one also involves using the Blessing, in the form of my blood. It would only change your eyes, not the rest of you.”  
Takeshi had spoken with the Mother while he examined Dan's eyes and she had told him how he could use his blood to heal by altering only a small part of the body.  
“And doing this won't change me, just fix my eyes?  
“There would be some changes, your eyesight would improve, and since this improvement will include a widening of your visual spectrum into infrared and ultraviolet it would take some getting used to, the world won't look quite the same. In time you would learn to turn this on or off but that can take a long time since you are not trained in manipulating your aura.”  
“So stuff would look seriously freaky until I get a hang of it?”  
Takeshi just laughed at Dan's blunt assessment of the issue.  
“There are also a few other things. Your eyes would shift and adapt based on what you need. Need to see something in the distance, the eyes of a raptor are far superior to those of a human. The night vision of owls and cats, when taking a swim the eyes of a shark come in handy. While this would also take some getting used to it would be less intrusive than the change in spectrum as it would only activate when you need it, an involuntary reflex. In time you would learn to control it and have it change when you want it to rather than on its own.”  
Dan was silent for a while, considering the implications of what Takeshi told him.  
“Well, honestly, sounds like I might as well just go for it. If that's okay with you, you're the one doing the bleeding after all.”  
“Slow down, there is more you need to know before you chose.”  
“Fine, explain.”  
Dan sighed and sat down in the grass.  
“To do this I will pretty much be destroying your eyes and using my blood to force your body to grow new ones. This might change the color, and if you have retina ID anywhere we will need to hack the database and change or delete it, because your new eyes will not match.”  
Taking a seat opposite to Dan he continued.  
“And there will be pain, excruciating pain, your every instinct will be screaming at you that you are losing your eyes, as you will in fact be losing them. You **will** try to fight me off and since that could mess things up I am going to be using one of my abilities to force you to stay still, again this will throw your instincts into a panic.”  
“So it'll be a ride through hell, and I'll be awake for the show?”  
Once again Takeshi found himself appreciating Dan's blunt assessments.  
“I will do everything I can to reduce the effects, but yeah, it will be hell.”  
“But with it done, my eyes will be good, right?”  
“As if there was never anything wrong with them.”  
“Then do it!”  
Takeshi could feel the determination in both voice and aura so he simply asked Dan to lie down so the could get started and moments after Dan's back hit the ground the Mother decided to give them some help as vines and roots lifted Dan's body to a suitable working position for Takeshi, those roots and vines would also help restrain him when needed.

Wrapping Dan in his aura Takeshi began to weave power into his voice, binding his patient tightly into a net of _command_ and _suggestion_ , he could feel Emelie's aura add to his own as she used the nightmare aspect of her power to help suppress Dan's fear and hopefully help keeping him calm once Takeshi started the real work.  
“Take a deep breath. Try to keep your breathing calm and steady.”  
Takeshi took Dan's head between his hands and placed his thumbs over his eyes for a moment, pushing Qi into them to try to numb the pain that would come.  
“I will begin now.”  
Dan just nodded and steeled himself for what was coming and Takeshi used the claws of his index fingers to cut deep into the pads of his thumbs before pushing the claws of his thumbs into Dan's eyes and allowing the blood to flow along the claws into the now ruined eyes.  
The scream of pain that tore through the Sanctuary had both Takeshi and Emelie wanting to cover their ears, but they had to focus on Dan, on trying to soothe the pain so that he would be able to bear it.  
Takeshi could feel the intense burning pain as he used his aura to carry some of the burden, he would have taken it all if he could, but that would require a much deeper bond.  
As the minutes passed Dan was slowly starting to relax under the combined effort of Takeshi's and Emelie's abilities, the pain was still intense but the panic was letting go and his breathing slowly returned a more normal pattern.  
“Ssh, easy, you are doing good, it's almost over now. The pain should begin to recede shortly.”  
As the reforming of the eyes progressed Takeshi withdrew his claws but still kept the pads of his thumbs over the eyes, allowing a slow trickle of blood to flow into them.  
“Okay, you can close your eyes now, slowly. That's it.”  
There was a sigh of relief as the pain finally broke and Takeshi let go of his head, with the process complete all that remained was for him to recover from the strain and they would be able to take a look at the result.  
“My eyes, are they still blue?”  
Emelie laughed at Dan's first question when he opened his eyes.  
“Still blue, but a much more vivid shade, they were kinda grayish blue before, now they are a really intense electric blue.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Next Generation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The next few weeks were hectic as Takeshi helped Dan get settled into his new life and getting used to his new eyesight while also preparing the vacation he had promised Emelie and the twins and preparing to pretend to be his own kid so that he could be named heir on his supposed 10th birthday, all in all, a lot to do in very little time.  
At the moment he was taking a break from the actual work and was surfing the web looking at camper buses for the vacation.  
“Hey, Take! What you up to?”  
As usual Dan's English left a bit to be wished for but Takeshi just shook his head at it, it was part of who he was and he doubted he would ever entirely stop using his sloppy way of speaking.  
“I'm looking for a suitable camping bus for taking Em and the twins on an extended vacation. I promised I would take them traveling once the business with the Council is done. And Em wanted to have a really long road trip through Europe.”  
Clicking away another bus that didn't fit what he wanted with a frustrated sigh he tossed the tab aside and turned to Dan.  
“Problem is, despite claiming to be perfect for families they all lack suitable beds and seats for kids. They have nice, big king size beds, but only one bed, any children would have to sleep on convertible sofas or similar. They also lack proper seating for the kids, once again placing them in sofas without proper 3-point belts. There is also the issue of privacy, most don't have any real way to allow for some private moments. And as you've noticed, Em gets kinda grumpy if she misses a _feeding_.”  
Dan dropped down next to him and grabbed the tab he had tossed aside and began looking through the vehicles he had been looking at, all while humming a rather obnoxious melody.  
“Does it have to be a bus?”  
“Well, it has to be big enough to be comfortable to live in for an extended amount of time. But she didn't say it **must** be a bus, why?”  
Dan flipped through some more pages before entering a search of his own and sending it to the big screen.  
“Well, I have this pal who used to be really into extreme rebuilds of various cars, and one of his all time favorites were these 18-wheelers rebuilt into insane luxury campers.”  
Tossing a few images up on the screen he continued.  
“If you pick something with a medium sleeper cab you could fit it with a toilet and proper captain's chairs for the twins while still being able to add a seriously big trailer. Maybe even run a twin trailer, one for living space and one for supplies, cargo, maybe a smaller car, some bikes, a small boat. You know, all that useful vacation stuff.”  
As he spoke he kept tossing up images of various custom builds on the main screen.  
“Best part is, they are ordered to spec, so you can design the interior however you want it to be. Including things like soundproofing.”  
The last bit was said with a pointed snicker before he leaned back and waited while Takeshi looked at the various pictures, and if the humming was any indication he liked what he was seeing.  
“You have a point, these look a lot better, sure you can't go straight from the driver seat and into the living area, but I think that's a small sacrifice to make. I'll run these by Em and see what she thinks. If she likes it you'll be getting a chance at earning your first extra pay.”  
“And how would I be doing that?”  
“By finding the best custom builders out there, and talk them into building what we want within 6 months. You will receive 10 _Dragons_ if you pull it off.”  
“Damn! Is it okay if I drag my pal into it? He's the one who knows where to find the good builders.”  
“Sure, but any fee's he might ask you'll have to pay yourself.”  
“No problem.”  
Emelie had instantly loved the idea and Dan got the go ahead to get things moving.

Takeshi was down at the beach going through some hand to hand with Dan and Emelie when the twins came down to watch them, and after seeing Dan successfully throwing his much larger and heavier opponent a few times they were begging to be taught how to do it themselves.  
After a quick talk Takeshi and Emelie agreed that it would be a good thing to teach them some self defense now that they were showing interest in learning.  
Dan on the other hand was less enthusiastic since he accurately figured he would end up being their training dummy, but he soon fell victim to the classic puppy-dog eyes.  
They soon fell into a routine of mixing practice with playing games aimed to strengthen their balance and coordination as well as building stamina and strength.  
And it wasn't long before Takeshi once again found himself planning for Christmas shopping and after the holidays it would be time to go to Japan and pretend to be his own son.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Next Generation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Where is your Kage?”  
The Council leader questioned Kasumi harshly, not even bothering to address her properly.  
“I left him to guard our daughter.”  
Thanks to the charms that Eriko had made, and was currently using her power to enhance, there was no way they would be able to tell that what they were told was not the truth.  
It took every last bit of self control for Takeshi to maintain his transformation and not simply attack them, though it did help to have Emelie there, carefully soothing him, but even that caused the Council to attack Kasumi.  
“Why is that _gaijin_ touching the heir?!”  
“Emelie is his nanny, his guardian. I met her because her mother was a friend of Takeshi's, but once I found out that she possesses a unique set of skills I hired her to help me keep my children safe.”  
“That name will not be spoken before this Council! A Kage has no right to a name!”  
The elder snapped which caused Emelie to lose her cool and unleash her succubus form for all to see, and snarl at the council while shielding Takeshi with her wings.  
“As you can see she is **very** protective of Takeshi and the children.”  
“She is a **demon**!”  
“Our blades are demonic, so is the Kiryu Ryujin, so why not a demonic nanny? Her kind are powerful an loyal, they make perfect guardians.”  
The elder spluttered and complained, but there was no valid argument he could raise to counter her statement so with an annoyed gesture he told them to step up so he could formally name _Katsuro_ heir, and since Daisuke, the previous head, was dead it would also transfer all of the Kiryu assets into the name of Katsuro Kiryu, it never occurred to the Council that Kasumi would take advantage of that to claim control over them.  
They were so sure of the family loyalty that they raised the children with it was unthinkable that anyone would act against it.  
And in a way they were right, Kasumi would not act against the name, but they had forgotten that the name follows the Ryuken, not the bloodlines of the humans who served its wielder.  
With the ceremonies and papers all done Kasumi informed them that they were not to try to contact her or her children, that any attempt to do so would be met with deadly force.  
She also told them that if _Katsuro_ earned his dragon, he would be marked by his father and the power of the Ryujin, not the inks and toxins of the Irezumi.  
While they protested they still had to accept her demand as there was no greater honor than to be marked by the dragons themselves.  
With that they left, Kiryu assets now under their control they could begin to shift them into what they needed them to be, to shift them into something that would help sustain the world.  
And in ten years they would return for the coming of age ceremony where _Katsuro_ would be made head.

 


	37. Vacation

  

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Vacation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

One week after the return from Japan Takeshi was once again ready to leave their Hawaii home, this time to start the extended vacation he had promised Emelie.  
Their custom 18-wheeler that would be their ride, and home, was done and he had inspected it before having it shipped to Tromsø where their trip would begin.  
The city in northern Norway was known for its spectacular northern lights in the winter, and for the midnight sun in the summer, they would start there and slowly move their way south, they would cross over to Sweden once they got further south and leave for Europe from Gothenburg sometime in the spring, other than that that they didn't really have any set plans.

“Take, did you have time to check on those security upgrades I had in mind?”  
Dan's voice cut through his musings and he looked away from the map he had been studying.  
“Yeah, they look good. There is an Ethan Wright in the computer, he is the architect who designed everything here, call him and work it out with him.”  
Dan checked his tab and nodded when he found the listing.  
“Okay, I'll give him a call once you guys are on your way.”  
“And Dan, no seducing him, he is engaged! Make sure you keep Eriko away from him as well.”  
Takeshi teased and Dan began spluttering, he still hadn't figured out just how Takeshi knew about his gender neutrality when it came to attraction and Takeshi was not about to tell him that his scent and aura betrayed his attraction toward him as clearly as if he had told him.  
“I'm pretty sure there's laws against that crap.”  
Dan complained, but his grin made it obvious he hadn't actually taken offense to the teasing, quite the contrary he seemed to relax a bit as he slowly came to realize that no one at the estate was bothered by it and that he would not have to hide it among them.

With the Blackout loaded and ready Takeshi said his goodbyes to Kasumi and the rest of the girls while Emelie and Matthews got the twins strapped in and did the pre-flight check, Matthews would be flying the Blackout back after unloading them in Tromsø.  
“Dan, you make sure to keep everyone safe, Eriko will help you if you get a fight on your hands, but other than that it will be your responsibility to make sure everything is okay.”  
“I will.”  
Dan envied Takeshi and the others, how they seemed to always be able to relay more than just words, while he could use his familiar for simple communication it was obvious the others communicated feelings as well and right now words seemed so inadequate.  
Here Takeshi was trusting him with the most important thing he had, his family and all he had was words, he was surprised when his familiar jumped down from his shoulder and took its larger form before walking up to Takeshi.  
Takeshi could feel Dan's internal conflict and for a moment he was a bit confused as to what might have caused it, but when the Raijū jumped between them and took its wolf form he suspected what it was.  
It was confirmed when he felt it bump his hand with its head, reassurance, affection, longing, so many emotions woven into that simple gesture and he scratched behind its ear before carefully taking the two long, whip like appendages and allowing them to slide through his fingers as he turned around and boarded the Blackout.  
With his back turned he didn't bother hiding the grin as he could feel confusion and embarrassment radiating from Dan's aura, he knew that the Raijū had relayed some of the meaning of the gesture to him.  
Depending on the relationship it could be a gesture of acceptance, of trust, or an invite to something more intimate.  
“You just can't resist teasing anyone, can you? He has totally got a thing for you and it's really not nice to tease him for it.”  
Emelie scolded him lightly as he took his seat and he just shrugged with a smirk.  
As a Kage he wasn't supposed to care about love or sex at all and due to that he had been less exposed to the otherwise common prejudice against those who did not conform to the heterosexual norm.  
As far as he was concerned, as long as they accepted if he rejected them and didn't do anything that victimized others, he couldn't care less what got them going, he simply took it as a compliment that Dan found him attractive.

They had a long flight ahead of them, so plenty of games had been brought for the girls, fortunately most of the trip could be done on autopilot so Takeshi could join them in their games.  
At the moment however they were both looking over Emelie's shoulders at the navigation computer so Takeshi moved the autopilot readings to one of his smaller screens so she could bring the map data up on the main screen.  
“Damn, you girls are going to be freezing your cute little rumps off where you are going.”  
Takeshi thought he was exaggerating, the weather data only showed a few degrees below freezing, with proper clothes they would stay warm and cozy all day.  
“Don't listen to that old geezer, it's no colder than it was in Gothenburg when we were there.”  
When they finally landed in Tromsø they quickly unloaded the Blackout and took a few hours of sleep before seeing Matthews off.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Vacation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It took them nearly a week to get everything ready to head out, Emelie and the twins spent most of the time shopping for various household items, bed linen, towels, all the necessary toiletries and household chemicals, the latter was always a bit of a struggle due to Takeshi's keen sense of smell.  
While Emelie and the twins did the shopping Takeshi had been working on a few upgrades to their ride.  
The computer systems had been upgraded with a custom autopilot and navigation system thanks to the gift that Daniels had left for him, under good conditions it would be able to drive itself and as long as the conditions remained decent it would need very little driver input, especially on the large freeways.  
The second major upgrade was a gift from the Mother, a set of crystals with properties similar to the ones that had placed the creatures from the Alaska Sanctuary into suspended animation during the first time in Hawaii.  
The crystals were applied to the storage unit in the second trailer, as well as the pantry, refrigerator and freezer in the main trailer and the smaller refrigerator in the cab.  
Once they had been fully grown to cover all the surfaces anything put inside would be subjected to a temporal anomaly, effectively freezing it in time as long as the field was closed.  
Taking into account opening the doors to access the stored supplies and thereby disabling the field it would still increase the shelf life greatly, even things like shellfish and other sensitive seafood that would spoil in a few days during regular refrigeration would last several weeks, even months stored within the fields.  
There were several other gifts from the Mother, including plants that did the work of an AC, just a hundred times more effectively, keeping the air clean and at a comfortable temperature.  
A small Jacaranda, just like the bonsai Wisteria he had made for Kasumi, emitted a field similar to the one protecting the island, it would offer some protection from severe weather and it would make anyone with bad intent unwilling to come to close to the trailers, offering extra protection against road pirates, preying on sleeping travelers.  
With the field fully in place on the storage trailer Takeshi had headed out and stocked up on the more perishable foods, Emelie had already ordered large amounts of easy to store goods such as rice and grains, flour and spices, herbs they would have plenty of fresh ones thanks to one of the gifts from the Mother, a set of planters with soil that gave perfect conditions for growing delicious herbs, they even had their own grow lights.  
There was also a small aquarium and a vivarium for the twin snakes as both sets of twins had made it perfectly clear they would not be apart for such a long time.  
Thankfully they were still focusing on mental growth rather than physical growth so they were easy enough to care for, though it had required another round of hacking to create all the documents needed to make sure there wouldn't be any issues if the trailers were searched by customs and they had not been happy about the RFID-chip that he had injected, unfortunately it was a requirement in some countries they would be traveling through, but at least they didn't need to worry about complications like normal snakes would.

They slowly made their way south and crossed into Sweden after spending a week in Trondheim, when they arrived in Gothenburg it was mid March and they would stay there just over a month before heading down to Malmö where they would go across the bridge into Denmark.  
The extended stay in Gothenburg did carry a a note of sorrow, it would be the last time Emelie met her childhood friends, since her rebirth she had stopped aging and it would soon become far too obvious and she had decided she wouldn't make use of illusion to feign age, instead she would say her goodbyes and leave the last vestige of her life as a human behind her once and for all.  
There were many nights when he and the twins had held her as she cried herself to sleep and while the twins didn't fully understand why she was so sad they did wonders at helping her through it, showing her that while she laid aside the last vestige of her old life there was a new life there waiting for her.  
The had decided to stay for Walpurgis Night on the last day of April to enjoy the festivities at the bonfires together with Emelie's friends.  
In the end she had invited two of them to join them back at the trailer to tell them the truth, who she was, what she was.  
She told them Takeshi really was the one from the GCTI news and not his son, she told them of the twins and the other girls and in the end they handled it all really well, promising her that they would come to Hawaii and visit her.

When they arrived in Denmark and made their way southwest to the mainland both Takeshi and Emelie began to feel a pull, a strong desire to hurry south, to _Schwarzwald_ , the great Black Forest, even the twins were somehow sensing it.  
Deciding they would follow it and see where it led them Takeshi quickly took the wheels, while Emelie had been learning to use her aura to sense things Takeshi was far more skilled at interpreting it and following its lead.  
Come evening they found themselves in a town at the edge of the forest where they stopped for the night to let the girls sleep before finding whatever it was calling to them in the morning.  
While the twins slept the strong pull of the call kept Takeshi and Emelie awake through the night and they spent the time trying to figure out where the feeling came from, and how to get there.  
After several hours of consulting various satellite maps they found that they would have to hike the last bit as their rig was to large for the small mountain and forest roads.  
“Guess we will be going for a long walk in the forest tomorrow. I doubt the girls will be to happy about that.”  
Emelie sighed, the twins most definitely would not be to happy about that.  
“Don't worry, I have just the thing to solve that. Come, I'll show you.”  
Once outside Takeshi shifted into his wolf form and when he was done Emelie began laughing.  
“Oh, yes! That will definitely solve the problem.”  
During the time in Alaska Takeshi had spent a lot of time learning how to bring items with him into the shift, and how to leave them when he resumed his human form, one of the items he had been practicing with was a harness that resembled a saddle, the purpose was to be able to carry his and Sarisha's cubs while in his wolf form and he could easily adjust the straps slightly to fit Emelie and the twins instead, it was a good thing that Emelie was such a tiny thing.  
He would have to alter his size a bit for them to be able to sit comfortably, but he could do that.  
Originally he had practiced it in order to be able to reduce his size so that he could pass for a normal specimen of what ever animal he borrowed the shape of, if he just shifted he would always end up being abnormally large for the species.  
He had found however that it was much easier to become larger than smaller, Amarok had told him that it was because of the amount of Qi he had, it was simply hard to condense such a massive amount of energy into a smaller form while releasing it into a larger one was easy.  
When he adjusted his form to a more suitable size Emelie grinned at him.  
“So, I guess we will being going horseback riding, or well, wolfback. The girls are going to love this! And I am not about to complain either.”  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Vacation_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Emelie was right, the moment they told the twins that they would be parking just off the road and heading in to the forest the girls had instantly began to complain about not wanting to walk that far.  
When they told them that Takeshi would be doing all the walking, and showed them just how they would be traveling they instantly loved the idea.  
Soon they had some basic supplies, mostly food and water for the twins as their bodies were unable to function on meat alone and stay healthy and they lacked the resilience to tainted water that Takeshi and Emelie had and while he could use his Qi and water tabs to purify water he could easily carry a substantial amount of already pure water.  
It was quickly packed into the simple bags that hung from the harness and Takeshi dropped to the ground so that Emelie could help the twins get seated and secure them in the harness.  
Once Emelie gave him the go ahead that they were secured he stood up and began moving around the clearing where they had parked, a slow walk at first to allow them to get used to his gait.  
As their seat improved he picked up speed moving on to a pace, trot and canter, once they felt stable at a canter he moved on to the gallop and a few jumps and twists and shortly before lunch he deemed them secure enough in their seat to head out, so they ate and then headed into the deep woods and set their sights on the power that shone like beacon within.  
It didn't take long before they found themselves at the foot of a cliff and their target was somewhere beyond.  
_“I don't think I can safely climb this with you girls on my back, let's take a break and I will scout ahead.”_  
They quickly unloaded the supplies and with a shimmer Takeshi returned the harness to within his soul before heading up the steep incline.  
When he returned he had traded the wolf form for that of a raptor and a few meters of the ground he resumed his true form.  
“It's no good, it gets even steeper further ahead, I can make it with the supplies, but not with passengers. You are going to have to fly them there Em. ”  
The twins instantly cheered, but Emelie looked slightly apprehensive.  
While she gladly carried the twins on short flights, close to the ground, the idea of carrying them high above the forest scared her and despite trying Takeshi had not been able to use his Qi to boost his flight, so his ability to carry items was limited, the twins were much too heavy for him to do more than perhaps slow a descent enough to keep them from getting killed.  
She could carry their weight easily, but she worried that she would drop them, especially if they squirmed to look at something of interest.  
“Take, please. Is there no other way? You know I...”  
He never let her finish her worries, instead he brought out a set of kumo-silk gang-lines and pushed them into her hands.  
“I swear you have an entire warehouse of random junk hidden away in there.”  
Emelie shook her head with a sigh.  
“We can use these to secure them so they can't fall, I promise they will be safe.”  
She gave him a hesitant nod.  
_“You won't drop them, trust me. You have carried them many times and you have never been even close to dropping them, trust yourself.”_  
He added silently to soothe her worries without risking the twins getting worried.  
Once everything was done they headed up the side of the mountain and met up at a small clearing close to the summit where they girls once again were strapped into the harness and he headed of toward the beacon, they were nearly there now, the call coming from a small valley just over the ridge.

Stepping into the valley they could feel a slight shift in the energy around them, they had passed through some sort of a barrier and as they walked on the forest opened up into a beautiful clearing.  
The clearing was home to a decrepit stone tower and a few low walls, once it had probably been a guard tower of some sort, maybe a forest monastery or temple, moss and lichen covered stone walls still circled a small garden overgrown with herbs and flowers, and next to a few gnarled fruit trees was the remains of a small house.  
The wooden roof had long since given in to time, but the stone walls and chimney still remained and were now home to clinging plants and a few birds nests.  
As the walked through the garden Takeshi could have sworn he heard laughter and the reaction from the twins told him they had heard it as well.  
“Look!”  
They jumped and pointed toward the small dry pond.  
“Look, fairies!”  
Focusing on the point where they pointed the sound of laughter grew stronger and with a shimmer the scene in front of them changed, the garden no longer looked as overgrown, still wild, but in a manner that showed someone was clearing out the weeds and the small pond now held water and plants, the stone buildings still looked worn but now the roofing was intact.  
And all around them flitted the source of the bell like laughter, tiny female looking creatures some with wings like butterflies or the sheer wings of a dragonfly, others seemed to float from one plant to another.  
In the pond some seemed to change between mist and corporeal form as they wove in and out among the reeds and cattails while others were resting on the pads and in the flowers of the waterlilies that were flowering out of season.  
“Not fairies, these are nymphs, forest spirits.”  
The moment he spoke they seemed to realize he could see them and instantly hid among the plants.  
“No! You scared them, they're all hiding now.”  
The twins scolded him while trying to spot the hiding creatures.  
“Hmm, indeed I did. Lets sit down here so they can see we don't mean them any harm.”  
Sitting down he focused on calming his aura into a soothing pattern, the nymphs didn't seem to be afraid of the twins, or Emelie and he figured it was related to the innocence of youth and the fact that Emelie was a demon and as such she was closer related to the nymphs than to humans, he still registered as a human to other creatures, although a human with powers.  
He could still feel the strong call that seemed to emanate from somewhere below the tower, but didn't want to enter until the creatures that made this shielded valley their home was more comfortable with his presence.  
They might seem like peaceful, fragile and weak creatures, but nymphs and sylphs could be very dangerous if provoked, they could call on the animals of the forests as well as plants and elements and many wanderers had found themselves hopelessly lost after angering a nymph.  
The sensation from the area around them and from the small pond gave Takeshi an idea and he slowly began to pull on the Blessing within and allowing those energies to flow into his aura, perhaps the somewhat kindred energy would calm the nymphs and help them trust him at least a little.  
Shortly after he could tell it was working as they slowly came out from their hiding places, and after a while one braved his presence and flitted up to Emelie.  
“Daughter of the First Mother, you bring a Son of the Flame-bringers, the Destroyers of Life, into the Sacred Groove of the Children of the Forest. Why?”  
The beautiful voice was tainted by fear and anger as it questioned Emelie.  
“I, we came because we feel the power calling us.”  
Emelie tried to explain but the spirit just seemed more agitated.  
“Impossible, this place exists to protect us from his kind!”  
Takeshi choose to speak up himself, if only to shift the focus of the enraged spirit away from Emelie and onto himself in case it lashed out.  
“And yet here I am, called by the power, granted passage through your barrier. Perhaps you should see that not all men are the same.”  
He was instantly engulfed in a torrent of furious winds that clawed at his skin and with a low growl he could feel the sum of his powers respond and rise, mixing black and red as it burst free from its confines.  
He could hear the gasp from Emelie as the power beat down against her wings that she had brought up to shield herself and the twins from the winds and behind their protective embrace he heard the twins confused whimper.  
“ **Enough!** ”  
With a massive pulse of energy he shattered the winds around him and a clawed hand instantly shot out and grabbed the sylph that had attacked him, binding her with tendrils of black fire and smoke.  
“We will not allow your fears, no matter how well founded to place our pack in danger, to scare our pups.”  
The growl present in his voice and the choice of words made it obvious to Emelie that the Beast had pushed itself to the forefront of his mind, maybe even taken over completely.

“That is enough Shadow, recede and allow the true owner control of that body.”  
A female voice suddenly spoke up from the doorway leading into the tower.  
“Control your servants, _Balrog_ and I will stand back.”  
An extremely tall woman walked out from the tower and slowly walked over to them.  
Emelie estimated that she had to be about 2.5 meters tall and she was clothed in fire and black metal, her skin looked to be black but it was cracked and bright red and yellow shone through, like lava flowing under a cooled surface, even her hair was flames flowing down her back, a balrog, fire-demon, indeed.  
“I do apologize for any harm she might have caused, but please stay your retribution, she acted out of fear, not malice.”  
The Beast huffed and retreated slightly but did not release the sylph and its power could still be seen in the wisps of black smoke that laced through Takeshi's aura.  
Holding her hand out the balrog silently requested that she be given the sylph and after a few moments Takeshi placed the still bound creature on her palm.  
“The bindings will release on their own when she is calm.”  
The sylph was quickly placed in a hidden pocket before the female spoke to them again.  
“The reason for her fear is the same as the reason for the summoning, the spirits of the forest have been hunted to the brink of extinction by an order of zealots who claim to be holy men and women. The few dozen you see here are all that remains in a forest that once was home to over a hundred thousand of them, they have been safe here as the order who still hunts them could not find this sacred valley. But now they have brought a true seer into the midst, corrupted her and used her to find this place, I can feel her sight brushing against the wards, soon they will find us and they will come to destroy this place.”  
She bowed down before them.  
“I beg of you, please save these Children of the Forest! Without them the forest will die.”

 


	38. Zealots

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They all looked at the demon bowing before them, begging for their aid.  
“Rise please, and tell us your name.”  
Emelie was the first to act as Takeshi was still struggling to suppress the Beast.  
“I am Isa, the smith.”  
“Sarah!”  
“Maria!”  
The twins instantly piped up while Emelie snorted.  
“I am Emelie and our growling companion is Takeshi.”  
“Oh, I know of the wielder of Kiryu's blade, how could I not, after all I helped the crazy old lizard forge it.”  
There was a flare of power once again and for the second time of his life Takeshi saw the dragon manifest in the physical world only to instantly pounce on the demon who had introduced herself as Isa.  
“Hmph, I see the lizard thing is still a sore subject.”  
Isa muttered from beneath the body of the dragon who answered by digging her claws in deeper.  
“Fine! Dragon it is.”  
The twins had been staring in silence, but when Kiryu shrank down to the size of a squirrel and hopped onto Takeshi's shoulder they both squealed in delight.  
“How cute!”  
“She is pretty!”  
Takeshi could swear the dragon was preening on her perch.

“So I take you two know each other then?”  
Takeshi asked once the twins had settled down a bit.  
“She may be many things that dragon of yours, but trust me, she is no smith. She would be unable to forge even the simplest blade even if her life depended on it, much less a high quality blade such as this.”  
She reached out toward Takeshi and he was chocked when she simply drew the blade from his soul and removed it from its sheathe.  
“Poor thing, how they have mishandled you.”  
She tutted as she inspected the edge of the blade.  
“But not by you, I can feel your energy in the blade, healing it, strengthening it. You have wielded her true and proper. Please, allow me to repair and hone her edge so that she might serve you as true.”  
After a quick glance at the dragon Takeshi nodded his agreement to allow Isa to work on the blade and when she held it out toward him he simply slid his hand over the edge to pay its price of blood before she returned it to is sheathe.  
**“You will rework her, bind them together so that she will never again be passed on to another. If Takeshi should fall she will fall with him, shattering into the winds and the Kiryu name with her.”  
** The dragon spoke and the smith nodded.  
“I had a feeling you would ask that of us, and she agrees. She has no desire to ever be held by another unless it is to protect **his** life.”  
She placed the blade back within Takeshi's soul before turning to Emelie.  
“She tells me you have no weapon of your own, and that you have fallen for the art of the bladed spear.”  
Emelie just nodded, slightly confused at how Isa referred to Takeshi's blade as if it was a person.  
“It shows that you are well in tune with your instincts despite having grown up among humans, and being reborn without kin to guide you. The scythe has long been the weapon of choice of the Succubi, especially the highborn ones, the Lilim.”  
When Isa mentioned Emelie's rebirth she blushed slightly and her tail immediately searched out Takeshi and wrapped itself tightly around his wrist.  
“So he was your guide. It is always good if there is a bond between the guide and the one going through the rebirth.”  
**“Only they had no idea what was going on, she was untouched and he was concerned about the appropriateness of such an intimacy with the daughter of a fallen friend, who also happened to have been a lover.”  
** Kiryu snickered which caused Emelie's blush to shift into a deep scarlet.  
“And you of course said nothing to explain the problem?”  
**“They did fine on their own, did they not?”  
** Kiryu snorted while inspecting her claws.  
“How about we stop embarrassing Em and get back on track?”  
Takeshi hid his own blush well, he would rather not be reminded of that particular part of the events.  
“Indeed. As I was saying, I would like you to try a scythe, if you like I will forge a true demon scythe for you if you assist in protecting this valley.”  
When Isa finished Emelie just nodded.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Just what kind of attack can we expect?”  
Takeshi decided to go straight to the point.  
“When, where, how many, any powers other than a seer, weapons? I need to know as much as possible.”  
“They will come here, I do not know when, but it will be soon.”  
Isa sighed and began to tell him what he asked to know.

She explained that the valley was home to the primary nexus that bound together the flow of energy in the forest.  
In the past there had been other places that had aided in channeling the vast life-force that flowed through the lands.  
Ponds and tarns, stone formations, even warden trees had been key points in directing the flow, but about 10 years ago an old monk order had resurfaced and they were set on _Purging the lands from the taint of evil._  
Taking their beliefs from an old Templar order they deemed every creature with powers beyond those of a mortal and all not of the mortal realm to be evil unless they were sworn to their order.  
They had swiftly searched out the nexus points and destroyed them using modern explosives combined with old mysticism, destroying the sites and killing the spirits that cared for them and who were dependent on the flow of energy.

“The order is about 100 man strong, most of them with weapons training, firearms and explosives. Quite a few are able to wield Qi in various forms, mainly bindings and barriers, but some of them are able to imbue power into weapons, even explosives causing them to do massive damage to any form of spirit or demon and even destroy a nexus completely, dissipating the energies, but I believe these abilities comes from their Seer. And finally, the leader, he wields and old Templar blade, blessed brightmetal, deadly to anything demonic or Fae, even the slightest scratch can kill the nymphs.”  
She finished her explanation.  
“Any ideas as to how to handle them?”  
“I think their seer is the key, until they came across her they were no threat. But ever since they brought her into the order they began to manifest powers, they were suddenly able to locate nexus points. I believe she might be the vessel of a reborn Avatar, that would explain how she can give power to others. As an immature vessel she would not have the knowledge of what she is but still be able to tap into the power of the Avatar she is supposed to become.”  
Takeshi went over the information in his head for a while before speaking up.  
“So if we take out their seer, the rest should fall. But I must say, it sounds like she might be a victim as well.”  
“She probably is, she has been raised by them, all she knows is their way.”  
Isa agreed with a sigh.  
“How old is she?”  
“I would guess she is around 16.”  
Takeshi cursed loudly causing the twins to look at him wide eyed.  
The seer was little more than a kid, brainwashed, and he might end up having to kill her.  
But if it came down to that he would have little choice, this place could not be allowed to fall just to spare the life of one girl.  
He could feel Emelie walk up behind him and wrap her wings around them, offering what support she could.  
_“Let's hope we can find a way to end this without her having to die. And if it comes down to it, allow her to die without suffering. I know you, you will not allow her to die if it can be avoided.”  
_ He simply leaned back against her, allowing her to be his anchor while he tried to figure something out.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

As it became clear that they might be staying quite a while Takeshi had returned to their camper and reinforced the wards, he had also picked up the twin snakes, they would be safe in the small pool under the care of the nymphs.  
To pass time Takeshi and Isa showed Emelie how to fight with a scythe and the twins played with their sisters and the nymphs under the watchful eye of Kiryu.  
The dragon had explained to Takeshi that she was only able to manifest in special places like this and the Sanctuary, places abundant in raw energy and warded from the rest of the world, if she tried to manifest outside such a place the drain on his energies could kill him, and the effects of her power would cause great disturbances.  
There was little they could do but wait for the enemy to come to them but the time was not wasted.  
He practiced with Emelie, helping her and Isa design what would be her very own demonic _blade_.  
He watched as Isa reforged his own blade with a piece of his soul, it didn't look any different, but when he called up its aura it now had the flickering reds of his own aura mixed in with the black flames of the dragon and he could feel the whisper of a consciousness within.  
Isa told him that the most powerful demonic blades were sapient and that in time he would learn to fully communicate with his, unleashing its true potential.  
Even Kiryu had been surprised when it had only taken Takeshi a few days to figure out how to speak to his blade.  
Isa had showed them the inner nexus, a meteoric stone that pulsed with power, beckoning him to touch it and as it did he could _feel_ the forest, every tree, every animal and beneath it all he could feel the familiar flow that he recognized as the Mother, pure life.  
Isa had been startled that he had been allowed to touch the nexus, telling him that only a truly G _entle Soul_ was allowed to do so and that she found it strange that he, who was the epitome of a warrior, was allowed.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The attack came on _Litha_ , the summer solstice.  
In their belief that they were fighting creatures of darkness and evil they chose the longest day to attack, thinking that anything born of darkness would be weakened on such a powerful day of light.  
A choice they would soon come to regret.  
There are days when the veil between worlds is thinner;  
Like _Samhain_ , also known as All Hallows Eve, or just Halloween.  
A night when the veil between the world of the living and the spirits of the afterlife is at its thinnest, allowing the departed to visit the still living was probably the one best known.  
On the night of the summer solstice the veil between the world of man and the realm of the Fae would lift and in doing so it would allow the nymphs and sprites their full power.  
With the twins safely hidden within the tower, guarded by Kiryu and Isa it had only taken a few minutes to separate the seer from the order soldiers.

Weaving power into his voice Takeshi had called her to his side while Emelie and the spirits kept the men and women from getting to them.  
“Monster! Release me demon!”  
She was screaming her demands at him and the mindless zealots echoed her cries.  
_“They call you Seer and yet you are unable to see Me?”  
_ His voice was heavy with the influence of his Qi as he tried to force her to use her power on him.  
_“Look at me Seer, see me for what I am.”  
_ Forcing her to her knees harshly he kneeled down in front of her and took hold of her head gently, just enough force to prevent her from turning away.  
_“Just use your power, look within my soul and all this will be over.”_  
Mixing harshness, violence and threats with kindness, gentleness, promises and even seduction was one of many interrogation techniques he had been trained in by the GCTI, the method rendered the victim emotionally confused, making them easier to control, and could trigger the development of Stockholm-syndrome.  
“Monster! Demon! Evil!”  
Trying to keep her eyes closed she kept throwing accusations at him.  
_“Look beyond what they have taught you, look beneath the surface. See Me!”  
_ He could hear the zealots calling to her, telling her not to listen to his words, warning her of the power in his voice and he was actually impressed with how well she was able to resist his _command_ , it seemed something protected her from the brunt of its influence.  
“Tempter! Siren! Lies!”  
_“Then use your power, see the truth for yourself. Look through the web of words. You have the power to see the_ _ **truth**_ _, use it.”  
_ He could feel her aura wavering under his own  
“No, stop. I can't. I mustn't”  
It was becoming obvious to Takeshi that the order had taught her to fear her power and his theory was confirmed when one of the more important looking attackers yelled at her that her soul would be lost if she used her power outside of the _Sacred Chamber_ or for any reason not sanctioned by _God_.  
_“They fear you Seer, fear your power. Fear that you will look at them and see their lies, their corruption.”  
_ He cursed silently to himself as he leaned in closer to whisper in her ear, brushing his lips along her cheek, he hated to take advantage of his abilities like this, to take advantage of her emotionally fragile state, but it was either that or outright killing her.  
_“I don't fear you power. I don't fear_ _ **you**_ _, Seer. Look at Me, see the truth.”_  
Drawing back slightly he took hold of her chin and gently tilted her head so that she would have to look into his eyes if she opened her own.  
_“Open your eyes and see. Please.”  
_ He could feel the moment her resistance broke, with tears forming at the corners of her eyes she finally opened them to reveal the intense, dark purple she had been hiding.  
Then her eyes went blank before the color drained from them and they took on the appearance of mercury, signaling that she was in the thrall of her power.  
_“That's it, good. Now look at me, look past my darkness and see what rests beneath.”  
_ He knew she would see his darkness first, she had been taught all her life to look for it so she would without even thinking.  
She would see the Beast, the monster he was capable of being, she would see the killer.  
And she would fear what she was seeing.  
“Darkness. Monster. Murderer! No!”  
She cried out and tried to turn her head away as the thrall of her power would not let her close her eyes.  
_“Ssh, easy, I know. But don't fear the darkness, look past it and see what lies beneath.”  
_ Slowly he guided her into looking deeper into his soul and slowly he could feel her relax.  
“So warm, so much hope.”  
She murmured with an almost awed tone and he helped her to her feet and turned to face the the order.  
Pulling her tightly against his body he placed his claws gently against her throat, not to control her or threaten her, she would feel it as little more than a caress, but it would keep the zealots from trying to get closer.  
_“Now look at them, see them for what they are. See what they truly intend, see their desires.”  
_ He could feel her shiver as she looked at the zealot foot soldiers one by one.  
“Fear. Emptiness. Blind servitude. Lost souls.”  
Her mumbled words telling him what she was seeing as she looked at the followers, when her gaze shifted toward the acolytes her voice was tainted by fear.  
“Anger. Hate. Greed. Corrupt.”  
And when she finally looked at the leader a violent shiver ran through her and she spun around with a shriek, burying her head against his chest and between her terrified sobs she whispered what she had seen.  
“Torture. Murder. Rape. **Evil!** ”  
_“Ssh, easy now, close your eyes. You don't have to look anymore.”_  
As he held the crying girl close he could feel her power receding and the chocked gasps revealed that she had also withdrawn the power that she had unknowingly given.  
But when she looked up at him her eyes were still mercury.  
“I need to see, need to forget. Please let me see that warm darkness again.”  
Understanding what she wanted he just nodded and locked eyes with her, allowing her to seek out whatever it was she needed to see to be able to put the horror of looking into the corrupt soul of the leader of the order behind her.  
“Thank you.”  
She whispered before her eyes returned to purple and she slumped against him, unconscious.  
Picking her up carefully he once again focused on the scene in front of him.  
“Em, take her please, bring her into the tower.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

 

With the seer freed from their influence and confirmation that the others were truly lost they would be killed and he didn't want Emelie to witness the massacre, he was sure the spirits would mete out a most gruesome revenge for their lost kin.

“You should come as well, you don't need to see this anymore than I do.”  
Emelie placed her hand on his arm and tried to pull him along but he didn't move.  
“No, I have to fight, we can't risk them fighting that blessed blade.”  
Emelie just nodded with a sigh as she took the unconscious girl and headed into the tower.  
Once they were inside Takeshi drew his blade and raised his voice to carry across the valley.  
“The rest are corrupt, bring them the justice of the Fae!”

  
The reaction was instant as powers turned from defensive to aggressively offensive and Takeshi quickly moved in to intercept the leader as he was the only one able to deal with the blessed blade he wielded.  
Isa had told him that it was part of the reason she wanted to work on his blade, to increase her ability to withstand contact with the Templar sword, but after the complete reforge she was now immune to its effects.  
“Ha! Your demon forged weapon won't stand a chance against a true Templar sword!”  
The man was clearly insane as he lunged wildly against Takeshi, swinging his sword wide making is easy to deflect.  
“She may have been forged by a demon, but she is **dragon** , tempered by a human soul, **my soul**! She will not suffer under the touch of blessed brightmetal.”  
Twisting his body Takeshi locked the blades, forcing the insane man to face him up close.  
“Hear how she sings in joy, how she yearns to dance!”  
It was true, she was singing in his mind, begging him to unleash her in the deadly dance, but as he locked her against the other sword he could feel a second voice, screaming in agony and sorrow and he realized it was the Templar blade and part of him knew it was sapient and not a willing participant in the fight.  
“Yours, she screams in agony, cries for the atrocities you have committed with her, she mourns her true purpose.”  
While he could feel the other blade more than hear it, his own Ryuken translated, told him of the other blade.  
She was forged and blessed to be a guardian, to only kill the most heinous evils whose taint was too strong for regular steel, but it made Takeshi wonder, why she would allow herself to be wielded like this.  
Pulling back the leader of the order once again screamed at Takeshi and readied another lunge.  
“It's a holy weapon! Forged to kill the blasphemers, the unbelievers, the enemies of _God_!”  
Takeshi merely danced away from his lunge, trying to avoid contact with the other blade until he had figured out what to do about it.  
_“The ring!”  
_ His Ryuken sang in his mind and he questioned her what she spoke of.  
_“It's the Templar Signet, it subjugates her, forces her to allow anyone who wears it to wield her!”  
_ He thanked her and as he shifted his stance he could her her final song, asking him to free the other blade, one way or another, which he gladly swore he would.  
“You may have subjugated a magnificent blade, but you know nothing of wielding her, nothing of kenjutsu or kendo.”  
Moments later Takeshi had once again locked the blades together, this time a twist of his own blade forced the other blade from the hand of her wielder.  
Another swift move and the hand with the ring joined the blade on the moss covered ground.  
“Impossible! I am _God's_ Anointed Knight! I am the Templar that will vanquish all **His** enemies! I am...”  
The leader never got to finish his crazed rant, his voice fell silent and his eyes glazed over as his head fell to the side, no longer attached to his body.  
“You were nothing but an empty shell, corrupt to the core.”  
Takeshi spoke in a low voice, turning his back on the body as the spirits descended on it.  
With a flare of power he burned the offending blood from his blade and returned her to his soul before reaching for the severed hand, and the ring it still wore.  
With the ring in his left hand he kneeled down by the fallen blade and gently touched the hilt and he was met with a torrent of emotions.  
Fear, joy, longing, remorse and when he carefully picked the blade up he noticed the strange design of its pommel, clearly the ring was supposed to be a part of the design.  
“Never again will you be subjugated if I have any say in the matter.”  
He promised as he returned the ring to its rightful place and he could feel relief and gratitude from the blade.  
_“If you do not wish to be wielded by me I swear I will never draw you, but will you allow me to carry you until you find someone you deem worthy to wield you?”  
_ He hoped the blade would be able to hear him and the almost instant reaction told him that it had.  
The blade glowed and changed form into that of a katana, mirroring the Ryuken but where it was as black as the night this blade was white and bright silver.  
Where the horimono of his Ryuken was the flames of a dragon this blade instead displayed the words of its blessing written in sacred scripts along the blade.  
And he could her her sing to him, there was no doubt the spirit of this blade was female, her words suddenly clear.  
_“I am free! If you swear to wield me true I am yours!”  
_ There was no hesitation in his mind, he would place his oath to wield her true.  
_“What is your name blade? So I may place my oath, make you sister to the Ryuken.”_  
“I was Glenys but you may name me as you wish.”  
“Beautiful, Pure, Holy, a most fitting name, I see no reason to replace that unless you want me to.”  
“Then Glenys I am, now and forever.”  
He gave the blade his oath to never misuse her, to always wield her true to her purpose and then returned her to her sheath before drawing both blades and going through a set of twin blade moves and he marveled at how they sang together before he sheathed them both, noting that he would need a new saya that would fit both blades to let him sheathe and draw them comfortably.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Zealots_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ _Take, come. Something is wrong with the girl, hurry.”_  
Emelie's worried words brought him out of his musings and he hurried inside.  
“Here, hurry! I don't know what happened, suddenly her energies just began fading. I think she is dying.”  
Takeshi had to agree with her assessment, the Seer was dying, fading away fast.  
For a moment he was at a loss as for what to do, he could feel that he would not be able to turn her, to grant her the Blessing, as vessel to an Avatar she was already considered _Other,_ but a sudden feeling made him pick her up and head toward the nexus.  
“Take, what are you doing?”  
“A hunch, hurry.”  
When Isa tried to stop him from taking the girl into the small room that was home to the nexus Emelie reacted instantly and pounced her, drawing on her full power as a Lilim to hold the older and larger demon back.  
“Let him do what he must do!”  
Kneeling down by the nexus he carefully took the seers hands and placed them on the meteoric stone, placing his own over them to keep them in place as the essence of the forest flowed through them.  
He could feel her aura stabilizing and growing stronger again, then suddenly she was awake and twisted around in his arms and much to his surprise she was kissing him and something in the action seemed to plead with him and without thinking he pulled her close and returned the kiss.  
A few moments later she broke of the kiss and he heard a whispered _'Thank you'_ followed by a shift in her aura and he knew, knew that the one in his arms was no longer the girl, the Seer, it was now an Avatar, of what, he didn't know.  
“Thank you for freeing my vessel and bringing me here so I could be reborn. The Avatar of Life chose well.”  
Helping her to her feet Takeshi couldn't help being curious about just what she was the Avatar of.  
“Isa! That is enough.”  
The Avatars words were sharp, an order, and she seemed to know the demon smith already.  
“Avatar! How? The Seer? I should have known.. I'm sorry.”  
Isa was all but blabbering, barely coherent as she kneeled down before them.  
“So, is that the _'truth behind the legend'_ that explains _Sleeping Beauty_?”  
Emelie teased from the doorway, obviously having seen what happened during her scuffle with Isa.  
“No hard feelings I hope, Lilim?”  
The Avatar smiled wide as she turned to Emelie.  
“Nah, just remember to give him back when you are done, I kinda need him for dinner.”  
Her response caused the others, save for Takeshi, to break down into laughter.  
“Females...”  
He muttered before grabbing Emelie and kissing her senseless which caused more laughs and cheering.  
With a smirk he unleashed his aura around her while keeping his touch slow and gentle.  
“Just dinner, huh?”  
He whispered as he nibbled lightly at her ear, and that sweet spot behind it and was instantly rewarded with an overwhelming peppermint and a frustrated groan.  
“Take!”  
It took everything he had to keep his actions deliberately slow and gentle, something in him wanted her to beg, to admit he was more than just a _meal_.  
“Oh my, and here I thought it was the succubus that was supposed to seduce the man, not the other way around.”  
The Avatar chuckled at them, reminding him they were not alone in the room, but the same part of him that wanted Emelie to beg didn't seem to care, and a soft voice from the dragon told him that she would be taking the twins to get something to eat and he felt rather than saw them leave the nexus chamber together with Isa, but the Avatar remained and she seemed content to watch their encounter.

Once things calmed down the Avatar, who turned out to be Avatar of the very forest they were in, explained what had just happened.  
Like how the forest went through the seasons, the life of Summer fading to Fall and then death by Winter and rebirth in the Spring, she too had to go through the cycle.  
Hers was much longer though, and somehow the order had been able to find her vessel when she was born, corrupting and using the powers that were supposed to protect her in order to find and destroy the nexus network and weaken the primary nexus, opening it to attack.  
But now that she was back she would be able to rebuild the network and repopulate the forest, bringing the Children of the Forest back.

 


	39. Banished Templar

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Banished Templar_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They had stayed for another week to give Isa enough time to complete Emelie's new weapon and it was now time for them to leave.  
They had said their goodbyes and returned to their camper and was just about to set out after a small meal when the Avatar came to them carrying a wide urn planter filled with flowering Lily of the valley and when she came closer Takeshi could see the Sylph that had attacked him flitting around between the flowers.  
“As retribution for her unwarranted attack she wishes to leave with you and serve as guardian to those you wish to protect.”  
He turned directly to the Sylph who hid slightly behind one of the large leaves.  
“If you are to come with us you must learn not to fear me.”  
Remembering how he had shattered her winds with a pulse of his aura he flared it slightly, just enough to let her feel it without doing any harm and when he did he could feel tiny flares respond from the bell like flowers.  
“And your daughters, what will their fate be if I bring you with us?”  
Braving his aura she stepped forward and spoke up in a gentle but clear voice.  
“They may join me and serve or they may leave to find their own path, the choice is theirs.”  
Takeshi reached out his hand toward her, signaling for her to come to him and as she landed on his finger he brought her up to his face so that he could see her face clearly.  
“You will learn to master that fear and temper of yours, is that clear?”  
She nodded silently and he returned her to the flowers that held her offspring before taking the urn from the Avatar and bidding her farewell.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Banished Templar_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They were heading west, into France, Glenys had told him of an ancient tomb that she had been used to seal, and in that tomb a banished Templar had been sealed.  
Banished for refusing to kill a nobleman's daughter for loving a demon, for refusing to allow her to be killed, and aiding the demon she loved in escaping the order.  
She told Takeshi that this Templar had once been the most powerful of all the Templars, with demon blood he had been a giant of a man, wielding a demonic brightmetal sword and riding a demonic war stallion he had been feared by many, but Glenys said he was much like Takeshi, a gentle soul, an honorable man but capable of great destruction when needed or when sufficiently provoked.  
The Templar order had gladly taken advantage of his power, using their connections they had made sure he was Knighted, made him a High Templar, given him free reigns to act as he pleased as long as it got demons killed and gold in their coffers and they paid him handsomely for the blood on his hands.  
He had been sent to the nobleman's house to deal with a powerful demon that was seducing the eldest daughter of the house, but when he came there and investigated he found that the pair truly did love each other, and refused to act against the demon.  
The young woman was sentenced to death for witchcraft and _'consorting with the devil'_ but the Templar had interfered and helped her demon lover to save her from the stake, hiding her away he then helped the demon to escape the order.  
For that he was sentenced to death for treason, but his demon blood made him hard to kill so they banished him and sealed him in a tomb hidden beneath one of their temples.   
Glenys believed he might still be there, still alive, and it was her opinion that if they were headed for the Obsidian Halls he could prove a valuable ally, because the demon he had refused kill, whose love he had helped save from a witch's death was a prince of the Obsidian Halls.

They were headed towards Orléans where the temple was located, Glenys was unsure if anything remained of the temple, but the catacombs beneath were bespelled so they should still remain.  
Once they had set up their trailers they had headed into the city and to a tourist information center and began asking about tours to the various historical religious sites such as churches and cloisters, showing extra interest in anything related to the Knights Templar.  
With Glenys whispering information Takeshi was able to feign having an extensive knowledge about several of the sites as well as help him ask the correct questions which had ultimately earned them a meeting with a local professor who had dedicated his entire life to studying the history of the Templars.   
The old professor had been delighted to find others interested in the more obscure, darker legends, most that searched him out had some romanticized notion of great heroes fighting the good fight, which in most cases was far from the truth, most were little more than mercenaries and roaming bandits, just with the approval of the church and the ruling class.  
They had been talking about local stories when the professor had asked why he was so curious about it ans Takeshi had felt a searing pain from Glenys and as he did he could feel the ring manifest in his hand and she told him to show the Templar Signet to the professor, to claim it was a family heirloom.  
Knowing how hard it was for Glenys to once again let go of the ring that could subjugate her he was careful when he showed the ring and the moment he placed it on the table the professor had frozen, and Takeshi's enhanced hearing was barely able to pick up the whispered name ' _Glenys'_.  
“Was this ring accompanied by a sword, writing along the blade, an ornate hilt with a pommel in the shape of the Knights Templar cross?”  
He was quickly flipping through a book and showed a detailed drawing of the ring, and Glenys as she had looked before she changed.  
“I'm sorry, but there is no sword resembling that among the heirlooms.”  
The professor slumped and hesitantly handed back the ring before he began to tell the legend of Glenys, the blessed blade.  
At the end of his telling the story became familiar, he spoke of the same events that Glenys had told them of, but from a different angle, twisted to fit the Knights Templars.  
The professors version told of how a fallen Templar had betrayed them and sold them out to evil, sold his soul to the devil for immortality, and how Glenys had been used to seal the monster he had become away forever to save mankind.  
“Does the legends tell of where this tomb would be? I would love to search for such a place.”  
Takeshi carefully prodded, maybe they could get a hint about where to start looking.  
“Oh, I can take you there, it's still in perfect condition. Quite amazing after all these years.”  
Takeshi could barely believe his ears, it seemed the professor actually knew where to find what they were looking for and was willing to bring them there.  
They agreed that they would meet early in the morning on the upcoming Saturday and travel to the location.  
  


 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Banished Templar_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The old professor brought them through a winding maze of tunnels and Takeshi could feel Glenys sing in recognition, humming with power within his soul.  
Stopping before a large ornate metal door that lacked any visible means for opening it the professor began to explain that according to the legends only the power of the blessed blade could open these doors and unleash the horror within.  
Reaching out Takeshi placed his hand against the metal door and smirked at the reaction of the professor when a barrier shimmered to life under his touch.  
“Ah! The seal! It responds to the Signet, amazing!”  
Takeshi didn't bother telling him he was wrong, this was not the seal created with Glenys, this was youki, meant to protect what was inside, probably placed there by the demon as a gesture of gratitude, trying to protect the one sealed inside when unable to free him.  
 _“Are you sure about this, blade?”  
_ Takeshi asked her one last time.  
 _“I am, I touched that soul, I know that soul.”  
_ There was certainty in her tone and Takeshi began to reach within.  
 _“Please, do not use me to break the youki barrier, it was placed to protect and I do not wish to be the one to undo that.”  
_ The Ryuken instantly sang out that she would gladly do what her new sister could not, would not.  
 _“Then let's do this, shall we?”  
“Yes!”_  
They both sang strongly, begging to be drawn so that Glenys could release the seal she had been forced to create and with a swift move he obliged.  
“Glenys? How?”  
There was pure shock in the voice of the professor as the blade materialized in Takeshi's hand, and somehow he recognized the blade despite her change, then he zeroed in on the Ryuken and hissed in alarm.  
“That one is demonic! Why do you have that? It's dangerous!”  
“I have them both because they both chose me.”  
A quick slash and the youki barrier fell and with it gone Takeshi could feel the life force resting inside, it was muted somehow but still strong.  
“No! What are you doing?”  
The professor became frantic but before he could even ask Emelie had stepped forward and turned her power on the old man, forcing him to stay back and not interfere.  
“You are a demon! You are here to free the fallen Templar! You must not!”  
As he took another step toward the door Takeshi spoke up.  
“We are here to undo a great injustice. To free a great warrior who was locked away for refusing to kill the innocent.”  
Holding Glenys up against the door he could feel the seals react and he knew what had to be done to undo them.  
“Em, move back a bit please and be prepared to take the girls out of here if anything happens.”  
Even if the one inside was not an enemy, he might be disoriented and lash out before making sure who it was that had undone the seals.  
“Glenys, take the seals down please.”  
Glenys glowed a bright white for a moment then the seals shattered and the large door slid to the side, revealing an antechamber with another massive door at the back, far more ornate it was covered with intricate rune seals.  
 _“Oh no!”  
_ Suddenly Glenys cried out in sorrow and pain and his attention was drawn from the door to the low stone altar in the middle of the small room, on that altar was the reason for Glenys sorrow.  
Two bodies rested there, perfectly preserved, probably due to the youki barrier, the bodies were those of a young woman and an infant girl.  
“The witch and her demon spawn, even now her black magics remain.”  
The professor spoke in a subdued tone, held at bay by Emelie's powers.  
“She almost escaped, but the nun who acted as her midwife was vigilant, she saw the signs of a demon child and alerted the Templars and the witch was re-captured and sealed.”  
Takeshi could feel Glenys confusion at the information then a sense of realization.  
 _“They must have used the Signet to gain temporary access to the antechamber, that's the only way they could have done this without me knowing.”_  


When Takeshi walked up to the altar for a closer look he was unable to hold back a vicious snarl, the woman was chained to the stone, her chest tightly bound, they had left her and her babe to starve, the mother would have had to suffer the sight of her child starving to death before it finally claimed her as well.  
He heard Emelie gasp as she stepped closer, followed by hushed order for the girls to stay back and not look.  
He could smell her tears as she stepped up to his side and then he could feel her aura rise and touch the bodies on the altar and as she did she cried out in grief, the sound so primal it made Takeshi want to shred whatever had caused her such pain.  
“The child! I can feel it. She is Kin! She was to be Lilim!”  
She cried out and it was obvious to Takeshi that it was her demon instincts that were ruling her at the moment, as her aura stilled into grim resolve she added softly, voice broken with grief.  
“She was my cousin.”  
He wrapped his arms and aura around her and watched as she removed one of the small crystals from her charm bracelet and with a push of her youki she made it grow slightly and form a simple but beautiful teardrop, when it was completed she turned to him, unable to form the words her serpent relayed her question.  
 _“Please, can you make a necklace fitting for it, I can't...”  
_ He just nodded and pulled one of his fangs out and shaped it into a cage fitting before pulling a few strands of hair that was quickly braided into a chain and combined with the fitting.  
She took the empty necklace that he held out and stepped up to the altar, Takeshi was unsure what she was doing, but he trusted her demonic instincts.  
“Come here child, I will bring you to your kin. If not your father then your grandfather or grandmother.”  
The seals and barriers on the tomb had kept the souls from leaving and somehow Emelie had been able to feel the soul of the infant, and now Takeshi could feel it to as it rose from the body and hovered hesitantly before Emelie.  
A few moments later the soul of the mother rose as well and the ghostly form gently ushered the small wisp of light toward the crystal that Emelie held before looking straight at her with a sad smile that held both gratitude and question.  
When Emelie nodded the soul of the mother joined that of the child within the teardrop, surrounding its glowing purple with her own pale pink and Emelie carefully placed it within the fitting before urging it to close with a gentle push of her youki and Takeshi quickly helped her place the necklace around her neck.   
“I have to...”  
She began to explain but Takeshi just pulled her closer.  
“Ssh, I know, I understand.”  
He knew Emelie would carry those souls with her until the day she could either reunite them with the father, or bring them to either of the grandparents.  
By now the professor was reduced to incoherent babbling so Takeshi used _command_ to put him to sleep before turning to the second door and drawing Glenys once again.  
“Let's end this.”

When the seals shattered and the door opened a circular chamber was revealed, this one also held a stone altar in the middle but it was much larger and on top of it a knight in armor rested, his hands on the hilt of a sword that rested on top of his chest.   
The man truly was a giant, Takeshi estimated that he had to be around 210 maybe even 220 tall, and from the size of the armor he could tell his build must be massive, his helmet rested on the stone above his shoulder and he appeared to be sleeping but Takeshi could not hear any breaths or heartbeats, but he could feel he was alive, perhaps in a deep state of meditation or suspended animation.  
Emelie stayed outside as Takeshi carefully approached the man, every sense on high alert in case he would lash out but as he came close a weary voice spoke up, cracked and harsh from disuse.  
“So someone has finally found the courage to come to kill me?”  
“That is not what has brought me here.”  
“Then what brings you here minion of the Knights Templar? Come to gloat? Test your mettle?”  
The contempt was thick in his voice and Takeshi began to realize that he was unable to move and couldn't see him, only feel his presence and that of Glenys, when he stepped closer, into the mans line of sight and brought up the small lantern he held he noted that the face looked old, the eyes had sunken deep into the skull and he seemed rather thin under the thick beard and wild hair.  
“No, I come at the request of the blessed blade Glenys, to help her undo what she was forced to, to free a good man who was wrongfully imprisoned.”  
“The Knights Templars would never allow that.”  
“You will find that much has changed during your time down here, the Knights Templars fell long ago, all that remains is ruins, artifacts and old legends.”  
And the man laughed, it was a crazed laugh, relief, grief, anger, joy, all flowing together, but yet he remained unmoving.  
Looking closer Takeshi found that the armor was somehow fused to the stone, acting as an extra prison.  
“Em, sweetie, come here and help me get him out of this damned thing.”  
The moment she set foot inside the door the old knight's eyes flew in her direction, trying to see her.  
“Lilim? She is Lilim!”  
There was relief in the voice and he began speaking rapidly in a language that Takeshi didn't understand, but Emelie looked as if it somehow was familiar before shaking her head.  
 __ **“It is the ancient language of the Lilim, unfortunately I do not speak it.”  
** The Beast spoke up within him.  
“Easy, she might be Lilim, but she was raised by humans and have never known her kin, there has been no one to teach her their language.”  
Takeshi quickly explained.  
There was a pause before the knight spoke, in old English once again.  
“My condolences young one.”  
He obviously knew about the Lilim, and how they would normally care for and protect their offspring.  
“It's okay, we think my father is alive, just not able to be here.”  
Emelie soothed as she stepped up to stand at Takeshi's side.  
“An Avatar told us that her father is in the service of the Lord of the Obsidian Halls, we were actually hoping you would be able to aid us in finding him.”  
Takeshi explained while they worked on removing the heavy armor.   
“And find the demon you aided so that we may bring him the souls of his love and child.”  
Emelie added, her words brought tears to the eyes of the man they were working to free.  
“So it was real then? I was praying it was just nightmares, that not even they could be so cruel. I failed him.”  
Taking a deep breath to steady himself he continued.  
“If you free me I will gladly join your quest to the Obsidian Halls, for my failure I must lay my life in his hands. And he is a son of the Obsidian Halls, so both our quests brings us there.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Banished Templar_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Emelie gasped in horror as they finally lifted away the top of the armor.  
While demon blood had kept the man alive it had not protected him from the effects of starvation, he was nothing but skin and bones, appearing almost mummified.  
“Looking that bad, is it?”  
He was laughing at Emelie's reaction and she was confused.  
“All I need is a good meal, something with demon blood in it and I will be back to my old self.”  
“You might have to wait a while for that, we don't have an abundance of demons around anymore. We will make a stretcher and carry you out of here, then we will figure out a away to get you back to health.”  
The knight just nodded solemnly and watched in silence as they worked on removing the rest of the armor.  
“How much blood would be required for you to recover?”  
Emelie suddenly asked and Takeshi instantly growled lightly in displeasure, he knew what she was thinking and he did not like it.  
“Em, it might not be safe.”  
He cautioned and at the same time the knight spoke up.  
“No, I could never ask that of you, of a Lilim!”  
“How much?”  
Emelie ignored both their objections and simply demanded an answer.  
“From one as yourself, not much, not enough to cause harm. But I could never ask you do do such a thing! Never could I ask a Lilim to bleed for me!”  
She put down the piece of armor she was holding and leaned in closer.  
“Good thing I am offering then so you don't need to ask. Take?”  
While it sounded like a question Takeshi knew better, she had made up her mind and she would not forgive him easily if he refused her.  
“She had made up her mind. Trust me, we are better of just doing as she asks. But first we free you from this thing.”  
Once he was free from the armor they had carefully moved him to a stone bench that ran along the wall of the chamber.  
“So how do we need to do this?”  
Emelie questioned while Takeshi checked on the girls.  
“Under the altar there should be a chalice of crystal and gold.”  
She quickly found the chalice he spoke of and used some water from her canteen to clean it and handed it to Takeshi so that he could use his Qi to purify it.  
“So, how much blood do you need?”  
“Fill it as deep as your nail is long, that will be sufficient.”  
“But more would make your recover faster, return more of your strength?”  
She asked but he refused to answer, which in itself told her that she was correct and that he was simply trying to take as little as he could from her.  
“Take, please.”  
She held out her hand above the chalice and Takeshi carefully sliced into her hand with his claw, taking care to cause as little pain as he could and he watched as she filled the chalice to the brim before nodding for him to heal the wound.  
“Why?”  
Was all the knight was able to say when she turned around and he could see the filled chalice.  
“It is my blood, it is mine to give, however much I wish to, or do you intend to deny me that right?”  
The knight sighed and closed his eyes.  
“No, such is your right.”  
Takeshi carefully helped him into a seated position while Emelie helped him drain the chalice and the effects were almost instant as his features began to fill out, no more than half an hour later he stood up and stretched in all his glory before taking the knee before Emelie, vowing to aid her in her quest to find her father, a vow she accepted with a simple touch of her wing against his shoulder.  
“You were raised by humans and yet you know much of our ways.”  
It was obvious he was referring to demon ways, and how she had responded to his vow.  
“Living with Takeshi I have learned a lot about oaths, especially about how to accept them.”  
She gave a crooked smile as Takeshi huffed and tossed a simple monk's robe to the rather naked man.  
The knight was digging round in various coffers in the room before walking over with a sigh.  
“It would seem the cretins hid my armor and sword away somewhere. Do you believe you might aid me in finding them?”  
“The old professor might know.”  
Emelie suggested and Takeshi nodded his agreement before going to wake him up.  
“A record keeper, he could prove useful if you can make him talk.”  
The knight pointed to the ornate pin on the professor's jacket.  
“Oh, don't worry about that. Take is very good at making people talk.”  
Emelie was grinning with something akin to pride as they watched Takeshi shake the professor to wake him.  
The professor instantly began screaming about monsters, devils and demons.  
 _“Silence! You will not speak unless asked to.”_  
The strong _command_ instantly silenced him and made the knight chuckle.  
“You wield strange magic, though, not demonic, but does not seem human either. Just what are you?”  
Takeshi turned around to face him with a shrug.  
“Like I told the last person to ask me that, I'll return to you on that when I find out myself.”  
His response brought the chuckle into a full laugh.  
“I believe I will find you likable enough despite your odd ways and strange name. You carry Glenys, may I speak to her?”  
For a moment the quick change of subject threw Takeshi off, but he figured that after being sealed in here for such a long time the knight might not be all too clear in the head.  
After a short internal conversation Takeshi brought out his blades and held Glenys out in front of him while keeping the Ryuken back, ready to strike.  
“I gave my oath to wield her true and she has no desire to harm you, but trust me that my Ryuken has no such qualms should you in any way threaten her new sister. Never again will she be subjugated!”  
The knight merely nodded before speaking in hushed tones to the blade while Emelie and Takeshi tuned him out to allow him some privacy.

“Could you ask the record keeper if he knows where my armor and sword was taken please?”  
As he was obviously done speaking to Glenys Takeshi returned the blades to his soul before answering  
“You can ask him yourself. Once I bind him to my will he will answer all your questions.”  
Turning to the old professor Takeshi wove his _commands_ , binding him in a geas that forced him to answer their questions to the best of his ability.  
Once done weaving the _commands_ Takeshi left the questions to the knight and turned his attention to Emelie, though she seemed calm he could feel the disturbances in her aura.  
As usual trying to soothe and calm her turned into other activities, the presence of others all but forgotten and when they both calmed Takeshi noticed that the knight sat there watching them and the gleam in his eyes made Takeshi growl which was instantly rewarded with a pointed smile and a placating gesture.  
“Sorry to disturb, but some of his answers are not making much sense to me, I believe it is relevant to to the time I have missed.”  
The smile told Takeshi he wasn't really sorry for disturbing, more like he was sorry the _show_ had ended.  
“You could have said something instead of just watching.”  
Emelie scolded and the knight just shrugged.  
“I know better than to interrupt a succubus while she is feeding, even those little ones seem to know that.”  
He pointed at the twins who sent them glances between rounds in whatever game they were playing.  
“Oh, those two just don't want Take to growl at them for not respecting our privacy.”  
The knight proceeded to ask Takeshi about several places that he did not know, many of them were places where the missing items were supposed to have been kept, but it seemed they were now held at the Louvre.  
“Looks like we are going to Paris.”  
The twins cheered and Takeshi sighed at Emelie's smile, it was the dreaded 'shopping time' smile.  
Helping the knight carry a few coffers they made their way to the surface.

 


	40. Next Stop - Paris

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Next Stop - Paris_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Once they exited the underground passages it was late night and the knight looked around rather confused.  
“It seems your horses got away from you while you were down there. But don't worry my steed will gladly carry a Lilim and her adopted daughters.”  
Before anyone had time to tell him at they didn't need horses to travel any longer he let out a sharp whistle, it's haunting tone made it obvious that there was magic in it, and seconds later the neigh of a horse could be heard and a thick mist rolled in from nowhere, setting Takeshi's senses on high alert and without even thinking he had drawn his Ryuken.  
More neighs and snorts could be heard along with the clattering of hooves as the silhouette of a horse become visible in the mist, and as it stepped out it became obvious not only that it was as huge as its rider, but there was no doubt it was a demon.  
“Stand down please, this demon is a trusted ally of mine. He will not bring harm to those under your protection, you have my word.”  
Takeshi returned the Ryuken to its place, but he was still tense, not sure what to make of the new creature.  
 _ **“Those demon steeds are completely loyal to their chosen rider, if the Templar says it will not harm those that are ours it will not.”  
**_ It was the Beast's words that finally made Takeshi relax, something that the twins noticed and moments later they ran over to the knight, asking if they could pet his _'super cool horse'_ which he nodded his consent to.  
Walking up to them Takeshi took a closer look at the creature.  
At a quick glance it could appear to be a giant black Friesian stallion but a closer look would quickly dispel that notion.   
There were several horns jutting out of its mane, one pair curving forward along the sides of its head and three horns curving backward, the middle one larger and longer than the others.   
A look at the muzzle made it obvious that this was a predator, filled with sharp teeth and sporting a set of large fangs.  
There were hints of fire coming from its nostrils and mouth as well as a faint flicker in its tail, mane and feathering, Takeshi had no doubt it would be more pronounced if it called on its demonic abilities.  
Hidden within the hairs of the tail he noticed the sharp tip of a somewhat reptilian looking tail and the wind brought a dangerous scent from it, probably some kind of toxin.  
He watched as the knight placed his hand on its withers and whispered something to it and a moment later a wave of power rolled over its body and in its wake a rather ornate looking saddle and bridle materialized, followed by barding and caparison.  
It occurred to him that neither the type of horse nor the design of the tack would be typical for the time period when the Knights Templars were active.  
The appearance of a saddle instantly had the twins asking if they could ride it, and after Takeshi gave slight nod they turned puppy-dog mode on the knight who quickly helped them into the saddle and led them around for a while before letting them have the reins, but Takeshi heard the whispered orders to the horse not to take any risks with its precious cargo.  
“They have courage, your little ones.”  
The knight walked up beside him to watch the twins as they rode circles around the gravel covered lot.  
“They do, but even more they have trust, they trust me to keep them safe no matter what.”  
The knight simply nodded and watched the twins in silence.  
Takeshi watched the knight go help them down again and once they were down the tack vanished in another wash of power.  
When Takeshi stepped closer the knight quickly cautioned him against getting too close, explaining that while the steed was fine with females and children coming close, it didn't like other males, but Takeshi ignored him and walked right up to it.  
“No, it's fine, it knows, it understands. As long as it's no threat to what is ours we are no threat to it. Aid us in guarding what is ours and we would call it ally, maybe even friend.”  
Takeshi placed a clawed hand on its muzzle and a few moments later its head came down and gave him a gentle nudge but Takeshi could feel the slight shift in its aura alerting him that it was up to something, and a moment later it gave him a hard shove, trying to knock him on his ass but he was prepared for it and didn't budge, causing the demonic steed to pull its head back with a disappointed snort.  
“Well I'll be damned, he actually likes you.”  
The knight laughed before turning serious.  
“Your speech, it changed. That duality, you are possessed, correct?”  
“More like stuck with an annoying back seat driver.”  
Takeshi huffed and a moment later realized the knight would not understand his choice of words.  
“In a sense, it's there but it rarely tries to take control anymore, it accepts me as the one in charge. It usually only acts up if our pack is in danger, and at those times I usually let it unless a cool head is needed. It does however give its opinions on matters where it is not needed nor wanted.”  
The knight nodded before asking more about the matter.  
“Would you be willing to let it surface so I may meet it? It is always good to have met those you might end up fighting alongside, especially when we are creatures of instinct and power.”  
Takeshi just nodded and stepped back within his mind as the Beast come to the forefront, manifesting its smoky shadows through his aura.  
“A shadow? How interesting. I have never heard of your kind possessing someone before.”  
 **“It is not by choice. Power and circumstance created me within this body, I have no form of my own, only power, knowledge and instinct.”  
** “This one is a collector of the strange, is he not?”  
The knight snorted as he reached out to test the aura of the Beast.  
 **“Indeed he is.”  
** The Beast replied in kind, giving a push of its aura before retreating.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Next Stop - Paris_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Take, maybe I should drive the girls and you show him the way? I mean, our car is a bit of a close fit for you, there is no way he will able to sit even remotely comfortably, and the professor's heap of junk is even worse.”  
Emelie spoke up once she could feel that Takeshi was once again the one in control.  
At Emelie's insistence they had forgone the usual luxury sedan and picked something more in the sports class and the selection had fallen on the Nissan GT-R, the 4-seat car was, as she said, a bit of a close fit for him, but thanks to the twins not needing the legroom in the back he was able to push the seat back enough to drive comfortably, but as she said, there was no way the giant of a man would be able to fit.  
The professor drove an old 2-seat smart-car, one of the earliest models to abandon the combustion engine and it was a tiny thing, Takeshi doubted _he_ would be able to fit in it, much less the knight.  
“Indeed, not to mention it might be a bit much to deal with before getting used to how things works now.”  
After quickly ushering the twins to Emelie he turned to the knight.  
“The girls will be taking our car, what we use for transportation instead of horses now, and the professor will be taking his own, under my _command_. However both of these are too small to seat you so I will show you the way while you ride.”  
There was an agreeing chuckle when Takeshi pointed to the cars and the knights opinion about the professors car was that he could probably carry that thing on his back.  
“I could follow behind those things, and you travel with them as you would normally?”  
“While I don't doubt that your steed can keep up with them it would be better if you are not seen by others, demons are all but forgotten and it would cause quite a stir if anyone saw you, or worse got footage of you.”  
At the knights confused look Takeshi just told him he would explain later.  
“So we are in for a slow travel then, he might like you but he won't tolerate you on his back so you will have to walk.”  
“Oh, don't worry about that, I can move pretty fast when I need to.”  
To show his point Takeshi simply abandoned his human form and took his favored wolf form.  
“A werewolf, odd, you don't feel like one.”  
“That's because he isn't one, not really. He is something else.”  
Emelie was the one to speak up, not sure if the knight would be able to hear Takeshi's telepathic communication.  
“It is fine Lilim, I can hear him.”  
The knight suddenly went silent and looked closely at Emelie.  
“This saddens you for some reason, why?”  
Emelie just shook her head and headed to the car, it was not something she wanted to talk about.  
 _“Because she is unable to hear me without the assistance of a familiar that was specifically made to act as a relay between her and the other Blessed. From all we have learned about demon abilities, especially succubus and Lilim she should be able to, but for some reason she seems to be missing a lot of abilities she should have. Or we simply don't know how to teach them to her.”  
_ The knight suddenly cursed in a low voice, berating himself for not realizing sooner.  
“She is Lilim, but she has never met any of her kin, other than the soul of the infant, correct?”  
 _“Yes.”  
_ “A Lilim will not gain access to their full abilities until formally accepted, by Lilith. Normally the Lilim parent would have brought her before Lilith a few days after her awakening.”  
 _“Well, that explains a lot.”  
_ Takeshi nodded, the motion somewhat awkward in the form of a wolf so halfway through it he returned to his human form.  
“If we find her father alive in the Obsidian Halls I am sure he will take her to present her, and if he is not to be found there, the one I seek would be honored to step in and present such a lovely young Lilim to his mother. If neither of them can be found I am sure the lord of the halls would be willing to aid without asking too steep a price.”  
The knights voice was intentionally low, keeping Emelie's from hearing his words as she was helping the twins get seated as her reaction had made it clear that it was a sensitive, and painful, matter.  
“Even more reason for us to make sure we get there then.”  
Turning to the professor Takeshi ordered him to get in his car and drive to the location where they had had set up _camp_ before waving goodbye to the twins.  
“Interesting method of travel. I hope there are larger versions.”  
The comment came after Emelie tore out of the small gravel road and onto the blacktop where she instantly floored it for a bit before settling back down to a legal speed.  
“There are, though they tend to be built for comfort or power, not speed like that one.”  
“And that little thing the record-keeper uses?”  
“Is built to be cheap, to move a person from one place to another with minimal cost.”  
Shifting halfway to his wolf-form he called out with a teasing challenge in his tone.  
 _“How about we try to reach our goal before the girls? They have to keep to the roads...”_  
There was an immediate wash of power and the tack reappeared and a moment after the knight was seated and looked at him expectantly and Takeshi took a quick look at his GPS before shifting fully and heading off.  
Though starting at a lazy pace he quickly picked it up as he could sense the demonic steeds eagerness to stretch out and he found that it kept pace with him without to much effort, he was sure it could put out a bit more speed, but so could he, but such a pace would be a waste of energy.  
“You move well for someone in a borrowed form, no needless movement. Pacing yourself well, gaining ground without wasting energy.”  
Takeshi growled lightly at being so openly assessed which just made the knight laugh and spur his steed to move faster, testing their top speed.

When Emelie pulled up to their camp Takeshi and the knight were already waiting for them, and she could see some sort of a large animal roasting over the fire pit, from the size of it she guessed it had to be a red deer and of to the side the demonic horse was making short work of what looked to be a roe deer, not only had they arrived first, they had taken the time to hunt.

The knight looked rather wide eyed when the twins made a beeline for Takeshi's plate and began to pick out choice pieces, Emelie guessed it was because the contents were raw.  
Takeshi always did the same when he had hunted for food, or purchased a whole animal for food.  
When dressing it he would put aside pieces like liver, heart, kidneys and tongue as well as brain.   
He would also set aside the long bones from the legs and after cutting away the meat he would crack them open to obtain the marrow, all these things would then be cut into sashimi that he would eat while the rest of the meat cooked.  
Some of these parts would normally not be considered safe for consumption due to risk of disease or parasites, but his altered physiology gave him an immunity to those, and his senses allowed him to know if the pieces were safe for the girls to eat and since he did nothing to stop them these pieces were obviously safe for them.  
“These girls of yours will grow up into proper lady warriors, not fainting little damsels.”  
The knight remarked with a chuckle as he watched them clean out what remained on Takeshi's plates.  
Emelie couldn't help a chuckle of her own as she looked at the knights tray of food, he had piled it high with cheese, various cold cuts, a few loaves of the sourdough rye bread she favored and a large stick of butter.  
He was making quick work of the slices of bread, topping them of with thick slices of butter or cheese, or piles of slices when it came to the pre-cut lunch meats, and washing it all down with large amounts of milk from a pitcher, which when he refilled it was revealed to hold a mix of about 4 parts milk and 1 part heavy cream.  
All while occasionally poking at the roasting meat to see if it was ready to eat.  
“Our food expenses just went through the roof, didn't they?”  
She remarked with a sigh when the knight headed into the trailer to refill the pitcher for the second time, that she had seen.  
“Give the man a break, it's his first proper meal in about, well, a millennium give or take.”  
Emelie huffed at the cheeky response and muttered that the knight had better carry his weight by hunting and fishing or Takeshi would have to pick up the slack which earned her some mock complaints about being unreasonable.

When the professor finally arrived Takeshi reinforced his weave of _command_ and questioned him about the location of the knights missing items before instructing him to gather whatever materials he might need, make arrangements to help them get into the Louvre, where the items were kept, and to make sure he would not be missed for a few days as well as binding a strong geas to not let anyone know or suspect what was happening.  
Once he had left to do as he had been told the group focused on their meal and on sharing stories of how they ended up where they were.   
The knight told them of his childhood in what had once been a remote mountain village, the location was a borderland, an area where the demon realm and the human realm bleed together, and the village was well known for being home to both humans and demons.  
It was a place for trade and diplomacy between the realms and many strange items, and creatures, found their way there and over the ages the village grew into a hidden city.  
The women of his bloodline were courtesans, favored by highborn humans and demons alike and he had no idea how much of his blood was demon, or what kinds of demons.  
As tradition was the daughters learned their mothers trade and the sons were trained as warriors, they would act as city guards when not hired to protect visiting nobility or escort traders with precious goods.  
But as the ages moved on the human lords became more envious of the city's riches and tried to convince the demons to trade directly with them.   
Not knowing that the reason the demons traded with the mountain city was because of its location at the borderlands the lords became enraged when the demons declined their offers and began attacking.  
As a last effort to save the city the demons collapsed the borderland, pulling the entire city and everything within into the demon realm and sealing the pathways, forever cutting it off from the human realm.  
He had been escorting a trader at the time and returned to find his5 home gone, nothing but mountains in its place, he was stuck in the human realm with no means to get back to the demon realm.  
So he became a wanderer, a sword for hire, trying to find his way back to the city that birthed him but he found that the city had not only cut themselves off from the human realm, in collapsing the borderland they had cut themselves of from the demon realm as well, only a handful of true Realm Walkers were able to reach it and they brought information that the city was doing well and its inhabitants were happy to live out their existence within the lost city.  
Knowing his family was safe he made a life for himself, wandering the realms along the natural pathways, lending his strength where he felt it was needed.  
He told them of how he came across the demon horse when it was no more than a colt, not yet weaned and near death, it's mother had been killed by another predatory demon but the colt had managed to escape as the predator was more interested in its meal than catching it.  
At a whim he had taken the creature in and raised it, when it became old enough to seek a rider it had chosen to stay with him, to become his steed.  
Based on what he told them of his travels, Takeshi estimated that he must have been nearly 4000 years old when he was sealed away by the Templars.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Next Stop - Paris_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

In the morning Takeshi had separated the truck from the trailers and headed out on the roads in order to allow Knight to get used to the new way of traveling, and had ended up being challenged by the demon steed who seemed to want to prove its power by pulling the trailers.  
He had been rather impressed when the creature had managed to pull both trailers and even managed to move at a pretty good speed, but he could tell from the way the fire flared around it that it was using most of its power to do so.  
“Mr Knight! Look!”  
The twins eager calls brought Takeshi's attention back to what was happening at the moment as the twins were putting on a show, displaying all the tricks Eriko had taught them along with a few they had made up on their own, much to their teachers delight, and Takeshi's dismay.  
Though he would never admit it he had actually taught them a few of those tricks himself, to use on Eriko as payback for the price she asked for teaching them.  
The name made him chuckle as it brought to mind an old TV-show when he was a child, they had asked the knight about his name, but he had told them that he had been called so many names he no longer remembered which one was his true name and that he was fine with being called 'Mr Knight'.  
Takeshi had informed him that they would have to think of a proper name for him since in this time everyone needed documents proving who they were, but Knight had just shrugged and told him to use whatever he saw fit.

The nights were spent around the fire to make plans for how to retrieve Knight's possessions, with them being stored in one of the many sublevels of the Louvre it could become tricky to get to them, even with the professor aiding them.  
Much to their relief Knight informed them that his armor was bespelled, much like the tack of his steed, it was dormant within a pair of enchanted bracers until he called on it and his sword rested within that magic as well and he could feel that the items were in their dormant form.  
Knight had been very curious when Emelie had straddled Takeshi and pushed aside his clothes to reveal the tattoo over his heart and placed her hand over it before whispering her question.  
“Will you aid us in this task if needed?”  
She smiled as the response was instant, an almost eager push against her aura.  
“What are those? They feel alive.”  
Knight was leaning in for a closer look and Emelie was the one to answer.  
“They are the spirits of lost allies, friends, lovers. Stolen away by betrayal from those who claimed to protect. Bound to this realm, soul and spirit by magic and _Fukushuu_ , the oath of vengeance. And with the oath fulfilled the souls moved on while the spirits chose to remain, to give their skills to aid the one they all loved in protecting what he treasures.”  
Knight nodded silently at her explanation, recalling what they had told him about the unit that had been murdered in a cowardly attack.  
“This one holds what remains of my mother.”  
Emelie added with a wistful smile and her voice tainted by pain as she touched the Sayuri that held her mother's spirit and it instantly responded to her touch with a gentle glow.  
Knight didn't say anything, he just stood up and stepped over to them, placing one hand on Emelie's shoulder and the other on Takeshi's, the simple touch carried more meaning than any words would ever be able to.  
There was a flicker of unease in Knight's aura when the spirits within the Sayuri rose and touched him before settling back, accepting his presence near those they would protect.  
As the moment passed Knight shook his head and muttered about collecting the odd.  
“With any luck the professor will be able to get us in and we won't need their aid to obtain it.”  
Takeshi knew they would gladly help, but he did not want to have to rely on them, it took a lot of energy to maintain them when they became active and he was still learning how to channel his energy properly for that task.  
  


 


	41. Stealing from the Louvre

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stealing From The Louvre_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

 

They arrived in Paris two weeks after they had found Knight, moving slowly to allow him to get used to all the new things he was seeing.  
With a story about an accident and a big wad of cash a handful of tailors had been working around the clock to craft him a suitable wardrobe, the old monk's habit, woven from demon hair, although comfortable and durable, was not really suitable for what they were going to do.

The plan was to use a tactic similar to the one they had used when they freed the girls, Emelie would once again play the blind woman and Takeshi the role of her service dog, Knight would pretend to be her husband and along for the visit would be their twin daughters.  
The professor would bring them into the catacombs beneath the Louvre under the pretense that she was an avid student of history who had recently lost her eyesight and he was taking her to some of the less valuable, less fragile items, to allow her to _see_ them by touch.  
In reality he was being forced by Takeshi's _command_ to bring them to a secret vault that housed various enchanted items that could not be explained by science without revealing the existence of magic and therefor had been hidden away.  
It also held some old records that detailed the true events during several historical events, truths that certain groups did not want to become common knowledge, but the Record Keepers would not allow them to be destroyed.  
From the professor, who was one of them, they had found that the Record Keepers traced their roots back as far as the written word, and even then they hailed from the traveling storytellers that were the Keepers of their time.  
They were the scribes of royalty and religious leaders, loyal only to themselves and their oath of absolute objectivity.  
The order that the professor belonged to however were a splinter group that had abandoned their oath of objectivity and instead sided with the Knights Templars in their views, deeming anything or anyone, not human or with powers beyond human to be evil, unless sharing the Templar views and using their abilities to further the Templar agenda.

They were seated at the tailor waiting to see what it was Emelie had ordered when they were there a few days prior to arrange Knight's clothes, she had refused to let them see it or tell them what it was.  
When she finally stepped out of the dressing room Knight nearly fell of his chair at the sight.  
She was wearing a decorated top that carried strong influences of the bedlah, the traditional belly dancers costume with its rich decorations of beads and coins that hung down along her sides, accentuating her hips and slender waist.  
The skirt, if you could even call it that, was an impossibly short thing, little more that a belt decorated with coins that wrapped around and hung low on her hips, the thing was short enough to allow her tail an almost full range of motion.  
When her body began to move to the beat of music only she could hear Takeshi almost groaned and shook his head to try to clear his mind, it was obvious she had at some point studied the art of belly dancing.  
“Oh Damn! I'm going to enjoy having a wife like this!”  
Knight exclaimed when he finally got his bearings back.  
“Even if it's just make believe.”  
He added with a half serious, half sad, but clearly teasing, tone.  
They had been surprised at how quickly he picked up modern English as well as modern French, at least until he told them that many greater demons had a natural talent for picking up languages just from listening, and it was one of the demonic abilities he had inherited from his ancestors.  
“Aw, no. Why did you change it? I like the other one much better!”  
Knight complain when Emelie came out again and had replaced the short wraparound with a floor length tiered gypsy skirt that looked like it had enough fabric to make an entire wardrobe.  
“I bet you did.”  
She teased as she twirled around a few times before allowing the tailor's assistant to help her wrap a longer and much more elaborate coin belt around her hips.  
“Who knows, if you boys behave I might just give you a show when we are done here, I used to be pretty good back when I took classes.”  
Takeshi and Knight shared one look before they both shook their heads with a somewhat pained groan and when they stood to leave there was a certain awkward stiffness to their movements that made Emelie grin internally, her revenge was just getting started.

She had quickly found that Knight had a similar personality to Takeshi, only he was less restrained, where Takeshi's upbringing would make him rein himself in and resist his urges the old Templar would instead act on them without hesitation or restraint, it had taken several rather harsh reprimands from both her and Takeshi to get him to at least keep the worst of it somewhat in private.  
Just like Takeshi he was a tease and very physical, always touching, whispering suggestions, his aura would always wash against hers whenever he was close enough to do so without reaching too obviously.  
He would even go as far as nipping at her ears and tail whenever he had a chance, clearly aware of the effects it had on a succubus, and her reactions triggered Takeshi to try to outdo him, to get a stronger reaction out of her using what he had learned over the years they had been together.  
All in all, they were having a good old pissing contest, and she was their tape-measure.  
As a result she was in a constant state of sexual frustration, despite her nights with Takeshi that were more than usually satisfying, the entire situation had him far more aggressive and demanding than usual, releasing his aura fully.  
He had explained that it was the Beast's instincts that were messing with him, it was at some level seeing Knight as a threat to the Pack, as competition, an older, roaming male trying to steal away its precious Alpha female.  
Trying to force back the instinct to ensure she would stay with the Pack had been even more taxing so as long as the only side effect was their nights becoming more intense they agreed he would simply allow himself to act on those competitive instincts.  
But the constant, full, release of his aura, while extremely enjoyable, had her a bit worried, he would always be tired and drained in the morning and he ate much more than usual, indicating that his body was struggling to keep up with the strain of maintaining a control he was not used to.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stealing From The Louvre_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When it was time to act they had parked at a trucking facility outside the city and taken public transportation to the Louvre to meet with the professor, and Takeshi hated every moment of it.  
Having so many people in such a close proximity, especially with kids wanting to pet him, young men, and women, hitting on Emelie and a fair share of people being afraid of either him or Knight it was very stressful to his enhanced senses.  
It was loud, and the smells, oh the smells, some wearing way too much perfume, others had gone far too long without a proper bath, and then there was the worst kind, those who had gone too long without a bath and tried to cover it with too much perfume.  
It was a great relief when they finally made it to the Louvre, he had been considering transforming in the middle of the bus, consequences be damned, just to get rid of the overwhelming cacophony and stench.

When they met with the professor it was Emelie that used her power to secure their control over the old man as Takeshi needed to be able to speak to use his _command_.  
They were quickly lead past a security desk and down into the catacombs beneath the large museum, and after a fairly long walk along winding tunnels they found themselves outside a hidden room that held a sealed vault.  
Opening the locks the professor showed them inside and walked over to a set of drawers, taking out an intricate looking key he unlocked the drawer, and the barrier sealing it at the same time and opened it to reveal a pair of leather and metal bracers and Knight quickly picked them up and put them on.  
There was a wash of power and he stood before them in full armor, an elaborate combination if plate, chain and leather to give protection while still allowing freedom of movement, but a lot of the design seemed to for aesthetics, to instill fear.  
With a disgusted grunt Knight grabbed the white cloak with the red Templar cross and tore it away from his armor, throwing it aside, before another wash of power rippled across it and the color changed from a bright silver to an almost pure black, only a few details standing out with a color that seemed to be a mix of gold and silver.  
Another wash of power brought out a massive greatsword, there was no way an ordinary human would be able to more than barely lift that thing, much less swing it, but Knight easily handled it with one hand before yet another wash of power returned it all to its hidden form.

They spent hours reading and documenting all the texts kept in the vault and the twins had soon gotten bored of their games and began to walk around, looking at the various items stored in the displays, careful not to touch them or get to close after all of the adults had warned them that it might be dangerous.  
“The pretty bow feels sad...”  
A comment from the twins turned the adults attention from the texts they had been studying and they walked around the bookshelf to find a glass display case with a beautiful recurve bow.  
Knight was instantly at the twins side and his voice faltered as he placed his hand against the glass.  
“Minerva...”  
There was pain and anger in his voice as he looked at the old weapon.  
“So she fell to those bastards in the end.”  
“I wouldn't get to close to that thing if you value your life.”  
The professor piped up.  
“That cursed bow belonged to the She-Devil of Arcadia. Even after the vile creature had been decapitated, burned and the ashes spread on holy ground its evil still permeates that weapon, it will try to kill anyone that touches it!”  
There was a mixture of glee, hate and fear in the professor's voice as he spoke and at Knight's wince Emelie ordered the professor to be silent.  
After a silent moment Knight spoke up.  
“Her name was Akylea, she was a faun, daughter of Pan of Arcadia and a forest nymph. She was a true daughter of the wild, always roaming free.”  
Sitting down heavily on the small stone bench he was instantly joined by the twins, sensing his loss they tried to comfort him as best as they could.  
“She loved to travel and was gifted with the bow Minerva by Artemis so that she would be able to protect herself. After saving Akylea countless times from _dishonorable_ males the sapient bow swore to never bear the touch of a male.”  
“You were close.”  
Emelie's words were not as much a question as a simple stating of fact.  
“When the mood struck her she would come with the setting sun, stay the night and vanish with the morning dew. She was a _playful_ lover and offered the most captivating conversations, I much enjoyed her visits and she will be sorely missed.”  
There was a wistful smile on his face as he leaned back and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be lost to memories.

With harsh determination Emelie ordered the professor to open the display that held the bow and once it was open she stepped up to and and carefully hovered her hand above it, not quite touching it.  
“Minerva? Can you hear me, feel me?”  
She questioned the old bow as she let her aura gently push against it to see if it would respond and after a while she did feel an answering push, it was hesitant, weak and filled with a sad longing that Emelie recognized.  
“Such longing, so sad, so much pain. She has nearly given up, given herself to oblivion.”  
Her words seemed distant somehow and it made Takeshi worry for a moment, some sapient weapons were able to take over their wielder, but just as he was about to step up and call her attention a subtle shake of Knight's head stopped him.  
_“Please, Minerva will not harm her. Let her try, maybe the old bow will allow your Lilim to take her out of here.”  
_ Takeshi paused for a moment before giving a slight nod, just like his own, Knight's word was not to be taken lightly so he would trust him and his knowledge of this weapon.  
“We can't leave her here!”  
Emelie's words were tainted with pain and sorrow as she carefully touched the bow, focusing her aura and her feelings on it, hoping that her serpent would be able to transmit her thoughts.  
_“Please, allow me to hold you, to carry you out of this place and bring you to a place where you will never have to suffer anyone's touch unless you wish for it yourself.”_  
There was a long moment where nothing happened, but after a while she could sense a reaction to her plea, there was confusion, fear and a hint of anger, then suddenly they vanished and all she could feel was an overwhelming feeling of guilt, a suffocating remorse and shame.  
“No! This was **not** your fault! You will not take the blame for what those monsters did to your mistress, your friend, your sister!”  
There was a barely restrained fury in her aura as she spoke to the bow, she pleaded, she argued, cried and cursed and finally something shifted in the energy of the weapon and it shrunk into what looked like a silvery white bone handle about 20 centimeters long, each end curling into a rams horn and the middle part wrapped in green leather, Minerva's sealed form.  
Emelie picked it up carefully, almost reverently and whispered her thanks before wrapping her tail around it and hiding it away under her skirt.  
Chances were good, even if thoroughly searched, that they would not be able to find it as long as she kept it wrapped in her tail.  
Most humans did not believe in magic, or demons, and many would simply refuse to see anything that was beyond their understanding of what was possible in order to protect themselves, their sanity.  
She could stand before them with her wings fully visible and they would refuse to see them, they would avoid walking into them, and still not acknowledge their existence.

“We should do something about the rest of these things, we can't just leave them here.”  
Emelie turned back to the others.  
“Keep in mind that quite a few of these weapons are truly evil things, monstrous things that relish in slaughter and pain, whose only driving force is blood lust.”  
Knight cautioned her.  
“Isn't that even more reason to not leave them down here where they might fall into the hands of someone unable to resist them?”  
Her question silenced Knight for a moment before he conceded her point.  
“It would be hard to carry them out of here though, avoiding the guards would be near impossible, we would have to force them to let us pass. And carrying these things would pose a great threat to our sanity and control.”  
While he agreed she had a point, Knight still felt that it was far to risky.  
“I will do it.”  
Takeshi suddenly spoke up.  
“I will bring those that are safe with me into the shift, the rest I'll destroy.”  
“And just how do you intend to destroy them? I am pretty sure they are kept here because the Knights Templars were unable to to destroy them.”  
There was doubt in Knight's voice as he questioned if Takeshi's plan was even possible.  
“The Ryujin, her shadow-flame can destroy anything, not even ashes will remain. I will channel her power and incinerate everything within this room.”  
_“Are you sure about that? Don't get me wrong, I know you are crazy strong, but the strain of carrying several of these weapons, it could kill you!”  
_ Knight was seriously worried, Takeshi had explained how he was able to store things within his soul and it would be a big risk to carry several sapient weapons like that.  
It was one thing with his own Ryuken and Glenys, they had chosen him and were a part of him, they intentionally minimized the impact and drain on his soul, protecting him from harm.  
_“I am well aware of that, but I can do it. You just promise me you won't say anything to worry the girls.”_  
_“Anyone ever tell you you are completely nuts?”_  
_“Promise!”_  
_“Fine, fine! I promise, but don't expect any help when she kicks your ass for this later.”_  
If this crazy stunt didn't get Takeshi killed Knight was sure Emelie would finish the job when she realized the risk he had taken.  
When it was time to leave Takeshi ushered the others out of the vault so he could do what he needed to do without risking them getting hurt.  
“I need you guys to step outside while I do this, once I release the shadow-flame I won't be able to control it very well, I can keep it within the vault, but that's about it.”  
Once the others had left Takeshi turned his focus to the various artifacts and weapons in the vault, feeling them out one by one to see which ones he would carry and which ones would be destroyed.  
Some of them were so dark it made his skin crawl and his aura refused to touch them, others seemed almost serene, some yearning for the touch of an aura that understood, that didn't judge them.  
Others were clearly insane and those he would allow to burn along with the truly malevolent ones, to spare them their suffering, a few of the ones he would have preferred to save also begged to be allowed release from their never ending existence, not willing to keep going without their wielders, but unable to end it themselves.

About half an hour later Takeshi stepped out of the vault in his wolf form, and within the vault nothing remained but bare walls.  
Without a word he stepped up beside Emelie and began walking out of there but there was a subdued feel to his aura that worried Emelie.  
_“He needs to use all his power to keep them within his soul, his power is focused inwards, even the part that he usually uses to feel out his surroundings. You are used to always feeling his aura seek yours out, touching it and now that it does not it makes it feel strange and subdued.”_  
Knight tried to soothe her worry without adding to the girls worry, he didn't mention that Takeshi's aura really was subdued and weak and that he himself was worried about it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Stealing From The Louvre_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When they finally arrived back at the trucking facility it was obvious that Takeshi was tired as he asked Emelie and Knight to see to that the girls went to bed, telling them he didn't want them in the room when he shifted since the weapons and artifacts would be expelled from his soul when he did.  
_“Are they sleeping?”  
_ Takeshi asked with a weary note in his voice.  
“They are.”  
_“Em, the barriers please.”_  
With a slight pulse of her aura Emelie activated the barriers around the twins bedroom, blocking out sound as well as any fluctuations of energy outside their room.  
Turning around she cried out in horror as Takeshi faltered and fell.  
“Take!”  
But before she could get to his side Knight stepped in and blocked her which earned him a snarl and a flare of her power battering against his will.  
“Easy, give him some room to shift, he needs to expel all that extra baggage while he shifts.”  
As she moved back slightly Knight pushed his aura against Takeshi.  
“Come on, shift already.”  
Knight cursed as he realized Takeshi had drained himself so far that he was barely aware of what was happening around him.  
“Lilim! Use your power, force him to shift!”  
“But..!”  
She objected not only to the violation of forcing her will on him, but also voiced her doubts that she would be able to, he had always been able to resist her without much effort.  
“Do it now or he won't have the power to shift! He won't have the strength to resist you, just act fast.”  
_“I'm sorry.”  
_ She begged forgiveness as she focused her power on Takeshi's barely conscious form, using her seduction and what she had learned about using _command_ and _suggestion_ from him to force her will on him.  
“Shift! Please...”  
She half ordered, half begged and after a few agonizingly long moments the telltale shimmer in his aura appeared and the wolf was replaced by Takeshi's human form, and all the items saved from the vault, seconds later his aura settled into a pattern that told them he was unconscious.

“Damn, he is a lot heavier than he looks.”  
Knight complained as he picked Takeshi up and moved him to the bed.  
“Get him out of those clothes while I put this stuff away.”  
As he was putting the artifacts away he heard a panicked call from the sleeping area and he hurried there.  
“Whats wrong?”  
“His blades, they suddenly just appeared!”  
True to her words both the Ryuken and Glenys lay across his chest, and that was not a good sign.  
“Carrying something like these sapient weapons within your soul drains a lot of energy, these two intentionally minimize that strain, but for them to have ejected themselves like this, it's not good, it means his energy is so low his very life is at risk.  
Reaching for the blades to move them Knight quickly pulled back when black flames erupted around the dragon blade.  
“Lilim, see if they will allow you to move them, you carry traces of his aura, they might recognize and accept you where they still see me as an outsider.”  
Nodding she reached for the blades and after a moment of hesitation she could feel their reluctant acceptance and she picked them up and moved them to the small desk by the opposite wall.  
“Dammit, he really drained himself badly. It's going to take a rather radical treatment to keep him alive.”  
Knight muttered curses as he examined Takeshi's aura.  
“What do you mean _'to keep him alive'_?”  
There was panic in Emelie's voice and Knight cursed himself, he had not meant for her to hear that, but now that she had there was no point in trying to hide it from her.  
“His energy levels are too low to sustain him, unless we can get them up he will die, and I only know one way to do that.”  
“How?”  
She was practically begging him.  
“The blood of a demon, your blood. As a Lilim your blood holds more power than most. Just like how it revived me it holds power enough to be able to bring his energy back to a level that can sustain him.”  
With a heavy breath he closed his eyes, Takeshi was still essentially human at his core, ingesting the blood of a demon, especially a Lilim would change him, his own mixed blood might be weak enough to not cause a change, but it was to weak to give the power he needed to survive.  
He debated whether he should tell her or not, but recalled the promise he made and just how determined Takeshi was to protect what was his, he would not allow himself to be overcome by the change.  
“So all we need to do is make him drink my blood?”  
“Yes.”  
Knight struggled not to reveal his worry as he watched her crawl up on the bed next to Takeshi and carefully move his head into her lap before using a razor sharp nail to cut across her wrist and allowing the blood to flow into his mouth.  
“Come on dammit, swallow.”  
When nothing happened her aura began to swell with power and the ring on her right hand began to glow.  
“You gave me your oath! You promised me Eternity! Are you going to become an Oath-breaker? The one thing you claimed you would never become?”  
Under the force of her aura and will along with whatever geas his oath had placed into the ring his body began to respond and slowly swallow the blood she gave him and she kept giving until Knight nodded that it was enough.  
“He will need rest now, and you will have to feed him more of your blood before he is able to sustain himself again.”

A few minutes later his aura began to fluctuate wildly and it became obvious to Knight that he was trying to resume is normal habit of always keeping an eye on everything around him but didn't have the power to do so.  
“He needs to relax and stop trying to use his abilities, move over, I will try to make him stop.”  
Emelie looked at him wide-eyed when he moved to lay down next to them on the bed and shifted both of them around slightly, placing Takeshi between them, fitting closely against his larger frame and once Emelie's wing draped across them he allowed his aura to flow around them all.  
“Come on, every good Alpha knows to stand back and allow a Beta to keep watch sometimes. You have my word, I won't allow anything to happen to you or the girls. But you need to rest.”  
There was resistance in his aura and when Takeshi opened his eyes to look at him Knight though he would fully fight him, but instead he just cautioned him to be mindful of Emelie's wings before closing his eyes again and going to sleep.  
Once he was sure Takeshi was sleeping he turned his attention to Emelie.  
“Lilim, I am aware that you are accustomed to feeding daily and he will not be able to feed you until he is fully recovered, will you manage until then?”  
He would take his promise very seriously, and see to the well being of Takeshi's _Pack_ to the best of his ability.  
“I will be fine for a few weeks unless I strain myself, the daily feedings is mostly a convenience, it helps me keep my seduction on a barely noticeable level, the longer it's been since I fed, the stronger and harder to control it becomes. And please stop calling me Lilim, I know you do it out of respect, but my name is Emelie, my friends and family call me Em, and I would like to believe I am at least a friend? Be warned though, only the twins get away with calling me Emmy.”  
Knight shook his head for a moment before agreeing to calling her Em.

 


	42. Recovery

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Recovery_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The stirring of Takeshi's aura, followed by him beginning to toss and turn moments later brought Emelie from her light sleep and when she looked at Knight he was also awake, and just nodding to her unspoken question.  
She carefully sat up and moved Takeshi's head into her lap and prepared to use her power if he resisted, slicing into her wrist she carefully placed it against his mouth, but when he began to turn away Knight spoke up before she had a chance to use her power.  
“Drink, it will keep you alive until your own aura has recovered enough to be able to sustain you again.”  
After a few seconds he stopped trying to turn away and allowed her to feed him her blood and once again he almost instantly fell asleep after ingesting it.  
“He should sleep for about two or three hours, maybe less. And each time he begins to wake we need to have him take your blood, after a few times he should begin to rest longer periods, but even if he does not wake on his own we should not allow for more than five hours between feedings. Hopefully he will stop trying to resist after a few times.”

The first few times he barely slept more than an hour before waking, but as Knight had predicted it only took two more feedings before he stopped trying to turn away and simply took what was offered.  
In the morning Knight left to wake the twins and talk to them, explaining that Takeshi was tired after everything and needed to rest, but they could help out by helping to prepare a nice breakfast.  
The twins were worried when they helped carry the trays and found both Takeshi and Emelie sleeping, but Knight managed to usher them out before asking Emelie, who had been pretending to sleep, to wake Takeshi.  
“He might not be able to eat much regular food, but we should try to get him to eat some at least, it will reduce the risk of complications from ingesting all that blood.”

Once they had eaten Emelie drove the rig away from the city to find a nice place to set up camp for next few weeks while Knight kept watch over Takeshi.  
She drove on instinct, feeling a pull toward Troyes and the lakes of **Forêt d'Orient** so she headed there, stopping every hour to check on Takeshi and make sure he ingested some of her blood each time.  
Stopping at the park management center she made liberal use of her seduction, and the credit card Takeshi had given her, to secure all the permits needed to stay two months by one of the small restricted access lakes, the permits included limited fishing and hunting.  
The lake was tiny, but it was home to several species of game fish and the surrounding area was rich in game, the red deer was restricted, but in accordance with the wildlife and habitat preservation plans the abundant wild boar and feral pigs were currently considered a destructive species and for the past few years anyone with a hunting permit could take as many as they wanted in an attempt to reduce the population.  
Once she had parked Knight joined her for a bit, helping her set up the trailer into camping mode, while the twins watched over Takeshi as he slept.  
“This place, it has a peculiar energy to it.”  
Knight had been feeling the oddly soothing and revitalizing feel of the area while they worked.  
“It feels just like the Sanctuary of the Mother, I think that is why I was drawn here, this energy should help him heal.”  
“The Mother?”  
“The entity that saved Takeshi and changed him, she refers to herself as _The Mother_ but from what we have heard from others, and what She has hinted at herself she is the Avatar of Life.”  
Knight interrupted her to question her exact phrasing.  
“Are you sure they said **The** Avatar of Life, not **An** Avatar of Life?”  
“Yes. Why? Does that matter?”  
“Very much so. When referring to Lesser or Greater Avatars you would refer to them as **An** Avatar, since they are just one of several, but for the Primes, those who are one of a kind, akin to gods, you would use **The** Avatar.”  
Emelie just nodded and tossed a few pillows into the corner of the small deck that had been folded out from underneath the trailer.  
“I am sure though that you are correct about these energies being able to aid his recovery, you choose this place well, _Lilim_.”  
Emelie hissed at him and slapped his arm with her tail for not using her name.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Recovery_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

While Emelie watched over Takeshi, Knight took care of the twins, teaching them to hunt, showing them how to catch the various fish of the small lake, teaching them a bit about what plants made good food.  
Emelie would join them from time to time while the Sylph kept watch over Takeshi but she never strayed far.  
They had been there for a week when they noticed the first change in his condition other than his aura slowly becoming more stable, he began to hold on to Emelie's arm while she fed him her blood and Knight told her it was a good sign, it showed that he was aware that the blood was helping him.  
The increasing strength of his grip was also a good sign and even though Emelie complained that she could do without the claw marks she was relieved that he was finally showing some improvement. 

It was in the middle of the second week when Knight was brought from his usual state of half-sleep by a startled yelp from Emelie and when he looked at her she had the most peculiar posture and expression.  
Her posture was rigid, completely frozen and her eyes wide with a mix of shock and embarrassment that made him very curious as to what could have caused it and once Takeshi let go of her arm and returned to his healing sleep Knight couldn't resist asking her what made her look like an embarrassed version of a deer caught in the headlights.  
“He.. He..”  
She was spluttering and quickly turning beet reed.  
“He what?”  
Knight encouraged her to tell him with a teasing tone.  
“He **bit** me!”  
Knight couldn't help laughing at the mixed emotions in her voice before asking her to elaborate as anything Takeshi did could be relevant to his recovery.  
“Well, lately he has been taking a lot more of my blood.”  
Knight nodded and explained to her that it was perfectly normal, as he recovered he was able to withstand larger amounts of her blood without having adverse reactions to it.  
“But there has been a slight problem, I heal too fast so the cuts I make have healed over before I have been able to give him enough blood so I have to make a second cut. Before he would just let go of my arm and let me cut and then grab hold again when I placed the cut back by his mouth.”  
Once again Knight nodded, but didn't say anything more, he had already explained that Takeshi was running mostly on instincts at the moment and had very little awareness of what was happening around him.  
“But this time when the cut sealed he refused to let go and instead he bit me, hard! Though, it's odd, it didn't hurt at all, it...”  
Her voice trailed of and Knight began to understand her reaction.  
“If felt good, didn't it? And not just in the way pain and pleasure sometimes blends when you copulate, but in a far more intense way?”  
He had noticed that both Emelie and Takeshi made liberal use of both fangs and claws during their encounters and that they made use of quite a bit of their strength, sometimes getting surprisingly rough with each other, but they both seemed to enjoy the intensity and slight edge of pain.  
Emelie blushed a vivid scarlet as Knight's words reminded her of his habit of settling down to watch, rather that politely walk away if he came across them during one of their frequent romps.  
But while it did embarrass her afterwards it never bothered her while he did it, and she wasn't really angry at him for it.  
Somehow he had this feeling of an innocent curiosity about him as he watched, and while his enjoyment was obvious it was more of an honest appreciation and lacked that lecherous edge that would have made her uncomfortable and upset.  
“It did.”  
She admitted after a while.  
“I think I might have an idea what is going on, but I won't be able to tell for sure until next time he feeds. I want you to wait for me then and not begin to give him your blood until I say so.”

Fortunately the next _feeding_ was after the girls had been sent to bed but Emelie was still tense when Knight came to sit next to her.  
He instructed her to offer her arm to Takeshi without cutting it first to see how he would react.  
He instantly grasped her arm and brought her wrist close to his face, carefully taking in the scent and tasting her skin but while he made several motions as if to bite her he didn't and he seemed to almost struggle not to.  
_“Tell him it's okay, tell him he may take your blood.”_  
Knight instructed her silently.  
The moment she did as asked she could feel a sigh of relief being breathed against her skin as Takeshi slowly bit down on the inside of her wrist and she was amazed that there was no pain at all as his fangs sank into her flesh, fangs that she noted looked longer and more slender than they normally did.  
Then she gasped as an almost burning sensation washed through her, all her senses suddenly overwhelmed by pleasure and the knowing smirk on Knights face told her he had known, or at least suspected this would happen.  
“It would seem that in order to facilitate his recovery he has taken on a few vampiric traits.”  
Knight spoke quietly, explaining how the slender fangs were well suited for drawing blood without tearing or causing unnecessary damage and that those fangs probably had groves on the back of them to allow blood to flow from the wound without the fangs acting as plugs to block the flow.  
He told her that Takeshi's body had probably adapted to be able to more efficiently draw energy from the blood, and that based on her reaction to the bite he had at least some of the vampiric hunting abilities.  
He explained that most vampiric creatures, and that included Succubi and Incubi had various seductive abilities to lure their prey to a secluded location where they could safely feed.  
But several also had abilities that made the process of feeding highly pleasurable, making their victim unable to feel their bite, or even remember them as their minds would be in a lust-induced haze.  
As for the hesitance to bite Knight explained that it was common among the vampiric creatures of higher birth to follow a code of honor, a code that forbids them to take blood that has not been offered to them, willingly and knowing what they are.  
The exception would be the blood of an enemy.  
That he didn't seem to have any issues biting her before was probably because she was already giving him her blood at the time.  
Knight watched as Takeshi clung to Emelie's arm, drinking his fill and it was with curiosity he noted that when Takeshi withdrew his fangs he carefully healed the wounds before letting go of her and going back to the deep, healing sleep that only the need to feed seemed to be able to bring him out from.  
He watched silently as Emelie extracted herself from the bed and with a gentle whisper she called the Sylph to watch over Takeshi, and when she stepped outside Knight followed her.  
“If he is gaining vampiric powers, could he also come to suffer vampiric weaknesses?”  
There was concern in her voice as she questioned him.  
“Such as?”  
Knight was slightly confused about her questions as the vampirics he knew of had no real weaknesses, at least none that would warrant such concern.  
“There is much lore, many legends about vampires. They have long been a fascination of mankind. Though, honestly, I don't know how much is truth and how much is just silly superstitions.”  
“Well then, tell me of these legends and I might be able to aid you in learning what is truth and what is not.”  
He was curious to learn what kind of tales had been spun since his days.  
“Some claim they are unable to cross flowing waters, others say they will perish if they do not sleep within the confines of a casket and graveyard soil. Some say they cannot enter a home uninvited, that setting foot on hallowed ground would burn them to ash”  
While she spoke she prepared a meal so that she could recover some of the energy she spent in replenishing her blood.  
“But the more common lore speaks of silver being deadly to them, of garlic being a poison that can either deter them, or kill them. Of a simple cross holding the power to turn them away, of burning their flesh upon touch, even killing them according to some. But nearly all agree that there are three sure ways to kill a vampire, a wooden stake to the heart, beheading, and exposure to sunlight which would turn them to ash.”  
Knight couldn't help laughing when she was done, it was almost silly the stories that had been created.  
“While there is some truth to them they are greatly exaggerated. Flowing water can be blessed to deny any creature of demonic origin passage without permission, the same can be done to a home so that none of power may enter uninvited. But those blessings takes a lot of power to create and maintain.”  
He continued to pick apart her worries.  
“Caskets and graveyard soil, maybe if they were truly undead, mindless zombies. They can walk on hallowed ground, but the highborn will not do so uninvited out of respect. Also some places like temples and churches will carry blessings to prevent them from entering.”  
Accepting the tray of bread, butter, cheese and cold cut meats he continued.  
“Garlic and other strong smelling foods can change how your body smells, alter the taste of your blood, and to those with a strong sense of smell and taste it can be unpleasant. The cross can ward against demons, even harm them if it's a symbol of true faith, as can any symbol of true faith, but without true faith it's just a useless ornament. Beheading will kill all creatures that I know of and other than the most powerful most would have a hard time surviving a stake to the heart as well.”  
Knight paused for a moment to allow her to digest what he had told her before moving on to the final points.  
“Silver, being a brightmetal has properties that makes it able to inflict damage to the children of Lilith that is harder to heal, wounds inflicted by brightmetal heals much slower. And if the metal is blessed even a slight cut can kill her more frail children.”  
“Like Glenys and the Fae of the forest?”  
“Yes, like Glenys. As for sunlight, many vampirics are children of the night, the moon grants them power but direct sunlight burns away that same power from them, weakening them, they won't burst into flames or anything like that, but they become weak, lose their powers and they need to feed more frequently if they do not avoid exposure.”  
His words brought out a sigh of relief as she was able to set her worries aside.  
“Besides, with his ability to borrow the form and abilities of animals when needed, he might be borrowing this form and these abilities as he needs them.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Recovery_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

It was the morning of the two week mark when Takeshi awoke fully, once again aware of himself and his surroundings, though he was still weak it was a great relief for Emelie and the twins to finally be able to speak with him again but Knight was concerned that he would not rest properly and asked Emelie to take the girls hunting.  
Once they were alone Knight spoke his mind.  
“You need to keep resting, recover your strength. I will continue to keep watch over all of you.”  
“I'm fine. I have rested enough.”  
Knight snorted at the reply.  
“That's bull and you know it. You nearly died there, you would have if it wasn't for the potent blood of your Lilim. You might have made it past the critical stage but you are still much too weak.”  
Pointing toward the desk where Takeshi's blades still rested Knight continued.  
“Even your own blades knows it and remains outside your soul so that they won't drain what little energy you have.”  
Takeshi slowly stood and walked the few steps to the desk with a notable wobble in his step and Knight almost laughed at the frustrated growl he released when both blades rejected his touch, refusing to heed his call to return to his soul.  
“See, even they agree you need to rest more. Just take it easy, don't use any energy other that to eat. And when Emelie offers you her blood you take it or I will find some way to force it down your throat.”  
When Takeshi turned to him with a snarl Knight stepped back slightly but didn't stop talking.  
“I have grown fond of those girls, and you are making them worry. Losing you would destroy them and you know it!”  
Takeshi responded with an irritated huff mixed with a growl that showed just a bit too much teeth before averting his eyes.  
“I know...”  
“Well then, how about you make sure to rest, for their sake?”  
Takeshi nodded with a sigh, he was never particularly good at being the patient.  
“And for the sake of all of us, let's get you into the shower before they get back, you are starting to smell rather ripe.”  
Knight wrinkled his nose as he gently, but firmly, ushered Takeshi toward the shower area where Takeshi objected rather intensely to his aid at first, but when he found that he was barely able to stay on his feet for more than a minute, much less undress without needing to lean on the wall he surrendered himself to being assisted.  
Knight couldn't help teasing him a bit as he helped him wash his hair, get dressed and finally assisted him in getting outside, nearly carrying a growling Takeshi.

When Emelie and the twins returned the twins instantly ran to pounce on Takeshi only to be scooped up by Knight and gently scolded to be careful with the patient before set back down.  
The moment their feet were back on the ground they hurried to Takeshi's side, though more careful now, and crawled up next to him.  
Emelie kept an eye on Takeshi and the girls as the twins told Takeshi of everything that had happened while he was sleeping, about all the tricks Knight had taught them about surviving in the wilderness, especially about finding food.  
Meanwhile Knight prepared their prey, a nicely sized red deer, for cooking, carefully setting aside the pieces that Takeshi would usually take for himself, figuring they would be good for him in his weakened state and when he placed the tray on the low table the twins were eager to hand feed Takeshi the choice bits.  
When the meal was almost ready Emelie sent the girls inside to bathe before eating, and while they were inside she prepared to give Takeshi her blood but she was unsure how to approach the subject now that he was awake, fortunately Knight noticed her hesitance and stepped in to help.  
“It's time for your _medicine_ if you are to recover anytime soon.”  
As Knight nodded toward Emelie she held out her arm for Takeshi who carefully took it with a slightly confused look, he clearly had little or no memory of just how her blood had aided him.  
“It is less painful for her if you bite rather than wait for her to cut herself, just allow your instincts to guide you.”  
Closing his eyes Takeshi brought her arm closer and he could feel something stir within, guided by instincts he did not recognize he took in her scent, he could smell the blood just under her skin, her heartbeats seemed to dominate his hearing and behind those he could hear the flow of her blood.  
On a whim he pulled her arm even closer and carefully licked the inside of her wrist which triggered the release of pheromones that clouded them in peppermint.  
He could feel his fangs change and the urge to sink them into her flesh became almost painful but at the same time something was holding him back, a feeling that it would be wrong to act on the instinctive urge.  
Emelie and Knight both watched in silence, allowing Takeshi to figure things out on his own and when they noticed the confusion as he was once again fighting the urge to bite Emelie spoke up.  
“It's okay Take, go ahead. You have my permission to take as much blood as you need to recover.”  
The moment she spoke Takeshi could feel the resistance, the feeling of wrongness fade away and be replaced by an almost reverent sensation as he sank his fangs into her arm and the mix of the taste and warmth of her blood and the strong peppermint of her arousal made his senses stir and after a few moments the power in her blood set his body on fire with a desire and thirst unlike anything he could recall ever feeling.  
“Calm yourself, you rule your instincts not the other way around. Push aside the thirst and focus on your body, feel how her blood affects you. Your body will tell you when you have taken enough.”  
Takeshi listened to Knight's voice as it cut through the haze caused by the power in Emelie's blood.  
“Don't let yourself get drunk on the sensation, it can dim your senses and cloud your awareness, cause you to take to much blood, harming the one you drink from.”  
Knight had seen it happen with young vampirics, as most species did not need to consume blood or life force while they were children, they needed to learn how to control themselves when the need surfaced as they matured, something that could take time.  
In some cases they would lose themselves to the instincts, the _Thirst_ and drain the one they were feeding from to the point of death and some lost themselves completely, feeding indiscriminately, killing their victims without consideration.  
A few minutes later Takeshi withdrew his fangs and carefully sealed the puncture wounds while murmuring words of gratitude.  
Knight explained a bit more about what he suspected while they waited for the twins to come back outside and during those talks it was decided that they would explain to the twins and let them see when Takeshi fed.  
It was either that, or reduce his feeding schedule to early morning and late night, or hide from the twins, neither option was acceptable.  
The twins had watched with their usual curiosity and had accepted it all without a care and Knight couldn't help being amazed at how easily the twins trusted Takeshi and Emelie, accepting all the strangeness around them.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Recovery_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They quickly fell into a routine where Emelie and Knight took turns watching over Takeshi and the twins, but Knight noticed that Emelie's control was beginning to slip, he could feel the pull of her seduction grow stronger for each day that passed.  
“Emelie, you need to feed, don't you?”  
Knight confronted Emelie while the twins were taking turns feeding Takeshi raw bites from their latest hunt.  
“I do, but I will just have to manage a bit longer, Takeshi is no condition to aid me yet.”  
“As I have mentioned before, I am more than willing to assist you with your _dietary needs_.”  
While his words might seem teasing his voice carried an edge that made it perfectly clear he was serious.  
“I know, it's just... I don't know... I can't. It wouldn't feel right...”  
She was blushing and stuttering and Knight couldn't hide the knowing smile.  
“I know, I understand. It can't be easy for a succubus with human views on fidelity to love so deeply.”  
Emelie blushed even deeper at his words.  
“But there is more than one way for you to feed. With my demon blood I can withstand the drain of you feeding directly from my life-force rather than from sexual energy. There would be no need for intimacy beyond a joining of hands and a slight blending of the outer layers of our aura.”  
“I don't know, I might not be able to control it, what if I take to much?”  
Knight shook his head with a smile before kneeling down in front of her so that he could see her eyes.  
“You worry too much Lilim, trust your instincts. You have no desire to harm me so why would your powers harm me? Perhaps if you were seriously injured, on the verge of death you might lose control of how much you take and if you are feeding of a human their life-force might not be able to withstand it.”  
Knight had promised to look after them while Takeshi rested and he took his promise very seriously.  
There was a moment of silence before Emelie nodded with a sigh.  
“Tonight, once the girls are sleeping.”

When the evening came around and the twins were sound asleep Emelie went to give Takeshi her blood but Knight interrupter her.  
“If you wait until after you have feed your blood will be more potent.”  
She nodded her understanding before looking down with a slight blush.  
“So, how do we do this?”  
“Come here, sit down and take my hands.”  
Knight sat down with his legs crossed and indicated for her to sit down in front of him and once she was seated he placed his arms on his knees and reached out for her, palms up indicating for her to place her hands in his.  
Takeshi watched with curiosity as Knight guided Emelie, teaching her how to access another creatures life-force in order to feed of it.  
He listened to the instructions Knight gave her about how to tell if the life-force was strong enough to feed her, how to tell if it was weakening.  
Takeshi groaned internally when Knight taught her how to recognize various types of energy, including how to tell the sexual energy she normally fed on apart from pure life-force, with that she was sure to realize that he had been feeding her both.  
When they were done Takeshi's suspicion came true as Emelie rounded on him with a glare.  
“All this time you have allowed me to drain your life-force and never told me.”  
It wasn't a question and Takeshi merely nodded.  
“Why? Why didn't you tell me, I could have hurt you!”  
With a sigh Takeshi motioned for her to join him in the pile of pillows he was resting in since reaching out for her with his aura would drain what little reserves he had been able to build up.  
“I didn't tell you because there was no need to, all it would have accomplished is make you worry.”  
He carefully shifted position and pulled her into his arms.  
“I spoke with the Mother and she assured me that you would not be able to harm me unless you intended to. And you needed the energy to develop properly.”  
“But I can't control it, I could have hurt you!”  
Takeshi silenced her with a kiss before continuing.  
“Your control is much better than you believe. It's true that at first you had very little control, but that has changed over the years and you never take more that you need.”  
“But, shouldn't I be able to live purely of sexual energy?”  
Her question was directed equally to Knight as it was to Takeshi and it was Knight that answered her.  
“Yes, you can live purely of the sexual energy, you are in fact exceptionally well fed in that regard. But you would develop a bit slower, by also taking some life-force to remain at full strength at all times you are able to grow and develop as a succubus much faster than you would if you didn't. And like he said, it is perfectly safe for him to let you feed of his life-force under normal circumstances.”  
While Knight spoke Emelie was increasingly distracted by Takeshi's sniffing and nipping, just shy of drawing blood and she could feel his new power pulling at her, setting her blood on fire.  
With a hiss she refocused on Takeshi and noticed that he seemed distracted as well, once again struggling with the urge to bite and with a shiver of pure desire she gave him her permission.  
Knight watched with an amused smile as Emelie gave her blood to Takeshi, he was curious to see how things would end up once Takeshi had recovered enough for them to return to their old habits.

 

Over the next few weeks Takeshi's recovery seemed to speed up, the blades returning to their place within his soul, and by the time it was time to start planning where to go next he was almost fully recovered.  
“So, almost time to head out, any suggestions?”  
Takeshi tossed the question out as they were helping the twins prepare for bed, with less than a week to go before they had to leave it was time to make plans.  
“How about Greece? Maybe we can find some trace of Artemis and return Minerva to her?”  
Emelie was the first to speak up and Knight instantly agreed.  
“Perhaps her father or mother is still around so we can bring word to them that we have freed the last of her legacy.”  
Nodding Takeshi turned to the twins who didn't really have any opinion other than that it sounded like fun.  
“Greece it is then.”  
With the girls sleeping soundly the adults retired to the deck with maps and other travel data to plan out the trip, they could either travel through Italy and then go by ferry to Greece, or they could cross over to Austria and drive down through the Balkans.  
With the political unrest that still plagued the Balkan area they decided to go with the Italy option, there were also several interesting places to visit along that route.  
They estimated taking somewhere between two weeks and a month to get to Greece, leaving ample time for various stops along the way as well as securing a ferry that would take a private truck and trailer as large as theirs, many would not ferry rigs at all without a cargo manifest from an established shipping company.  
While they were making plans Knight watched as Takeshi's teasing became more intense and began to show a determination he hadn't seen since before the Louvre incident, it seemed Takeshi was intent on enjoying the rest of the night in the most carnal of ways.  
“Take, knock it off! Don't start what you won't finish.”  
Emelie half scolded, half begged.  
“Whoever said I won't finish?”  
Knight hissed as Takeshi's aura unfurled, it was far stronger than it had been before, somehow the brush with death had unlocked something within the, by comparison, young male and this new power set Knight's senses on fire and a quick look at Emelie told him that the succubus was in an almost trance like frenzy and yet Knight could tell from the feel of the power that it was not Takeshi's full power they were feeling.  
Shifting into a more comfortable position he settled back to watch as the couple in front of him made up for lost time and it was not without a certain envy and desire to join them, perhaps some day...

 


	43. Sightseeing

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Sightseeing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 After leaving Forêt d'Orient they headed toward Italy, stopping at various villages along the way, trying out the local cuisine they made their way towards Rome.  
After their arrival in Rome, the twins begged to go see the sights of the Vatican so tickets were acquired for a wide selection of sights, but as they approached the edges of the city within the city it became obvious that it was surrounded by blessed barriers.  
It started with Emelie feeling increasingly uncomfortable and shortly after Knight began to feel the same sensation and only a few steps later Takeshi could sense it as well, by the time they reached the border of the Vatican they were all feeling it, even the twins were affected as the barriers rejected their familiars.  
When Knight raised his hand they could see the slight shimmer of the barrier where he touched it and he quickly pulled his hand back from the slight burning sensation.  
“I'm sorry girls, I don't think I can pass this barrier, at least not without getting seriously hurt. And I don't think the others can either. It seems to be built into the structures themselves, it probably takes little more than a few prayers to keep it powered.”  
While Knight spoke Emelie carefully reached out and tapped the barrier with a long nail and instantly hissed in pain as the barrier reacted violently, zapping her with red and white sparks.  
“I'm okay, but that hurt like hell. There is no way I will be able to go past it.”  
She soothed the others when they turned to her after her pained hiss.  
Takeshi noted that the reaction to him was not a violent one, more of a resistance and he was pretty sure he would be able to get past the barrier and could take the twins to see the sights if they wanted to but they adamantly refused to go without Emelie, Knight and their familiars.  
When they turned around and headed back toward their trailer they all got the distinct feeling of someone watching them, following them, even the twins seemed slightly uneasy, looking around for whatever they were feeling, but not understanding.

Shortly after their return a man in a monk's robe approached them, as he came closer they noticed that the robe was of the exact same design as the robe that had been left within the tomb, only the color differed, this man was wearing a pale gray robe while the one in the tomb had been a deep black.  
The monk looked positively ancient, a long gray beard fell well below the cord that gathered the robe at the waist and beneath the hood sharp eyes were set deep within the wrinkles of a weathered face and they could feel a calm power flowing through his aura.  
When he reached the edge of the field generated by the crystals from the Sanctuary he stopped and bowed deeply before asking permission to come closer which Takeshi granted after sending the twins into the trailer and giving Emelie and Knight a quick look, making sure they were both ready to fight if needed.  
The old monk thanked them and introduced himself as Brother Marco before explaining why he was there.  
“It has been far too many years since I last came across someone with demon blood, much less powerful enough to be stopped by the barriers.”  
Kneeling down in front of them he bowed his head deeply.  
“For many years now my conscience has plagued me for the actions of my youth. So now I come before you asking to be judged for my crimes, for taking part in killing those with demon blood for no other reason than the blood in their veins. Killing others for mere accusations, not caring if they were true or not.”  
The old monk told them of his past and he told them how a powerful demon had cursed him with it's last breath, cursed him to be unable to die by mortal means.  
He explained that over the past 400 years or so he had learned the error of his ways and had devoted his life to trying to make amends.  
“So I humble myself before you, to beg to be allowed to die.”  
Takeshi reached forward with a tendril of his Qi, touching the old monks aura to see if he could sense the curse and the moment his intent reached it the curse flared, burning black runes forming across the monks aura as Takeshi's touche made it visible.  
“That's Shadow-magic, there is nothing I can do about it even if I wanted to.”  
Knight was the first to speak up and the tension in his voice made it perfectly clear he had no desire to aid the monk in being rid of the curse, quite understandable considering what had been done to him and the woman he had tried to save.  
“My Beast tells me it could release the curse, but it will not do so, it will not undo what an elder has done.”  
With those words everyone turned to Emelie, waiting to see what she would do.  
“I can feel it you know, the pain and suffering you caused. It's branded into your very soul with this curse so that all will know what you did.”  
She spoke while she examined the aura before her, and the curse binding it.  
Part of her wanted to just tell the monk to leave, to never show his face to them again, but another part of her pitied him, he had after all been young, and society back then had been very different.  
But at the same time she didn't want to just free him either, examining the flickering runes her mind began to drift, considering what options she had.  
Takeshi and Knight watched with slight concern as Emelie's succubus nature became fully visible while the slow pulsing of her aura indicated some sort of a trance state.  
When she began speaking quietly in a language Takeshi didn't recognize he moved to wake her before the Beast spoke up, telling him that she was speaking in one of the old languages of the Shadow-demons, due to who her grandfather was she was able to use Shadow-magic and her words were pulling at the curse, altering it.  
A few minutes later she fell silent and the altered runes settled back into the monks aura before she snapped out of the trance like state.  
“I will not remove the curse, you deserved it. But I have changed it, the day you truly feel that you have fully atoned for your actions the curse will allow you death.”  
With that she dismissed him by simply turning her back and crawling into Takeshi's lap.  
Takeshi couldn't help the low growl that escaped when she burrowed into him and searched out his aura, as he wrapped it around her he could feel pain and sorrow seeping from her.  
Takeshi's growl spurred Knight into action, in one smooth move he stood up and took a step toward the monk, mid step the power signaling the summoning of his armor washed over him.  
“Your presence greatly upsets our Lady Lilim and that will not be tolerated so begone monk!“  
“Li, Lilim?!”  
The shock was clear in the old monk's voice as he began to back away.  
“Yes, she is _Shirai_ Lilim. Now leave!”  
_“Shirai?”  
_ Both Takeshi and Emelie asked him silently.  
_”Shirai, second generation. The first five generations are considered Lilim and they are Arai, Shirai, Ganrai, Norai and Hirai. I keep forgetting you have not been taught the language of the Lilim and my own knowledge is very limited”_  
Knight explained while making sure the monk left before removing his armor and re-joining Takeshi and Emelie on the deck as they called to the twins that they could come out again.

“So any children of mine would be _Ganrai_?”  
“Yes, unless the father is _Arai_ , then they would be _Shirai_ , like yourself.”  
Knight smirked as the insinuation of Emelie birthing children by someone else caused Takeshi's growl to pick up again, he had noticed that Takeshi had been displaying increasingly possessive behavior lately.  
Emelie looked puzzled for a moment before she realized what caused the growl and once she did she sighed and shook her head with a smile and a roll of her eyes.  
Knight figured that at some level Takeshi was seeing him as competition, especially since he started assisting with feeding Emelie during Takeshi's recovery, even though she only fed of his life-force an instinctual part of Takeshi still viewed it as competition for her favor.  
To test the theory Knight reached out and hooked his hand under Emelie's tail, dragging his hand along it while pulling it toward him and finishing it with a kiss and a nip at the bladed tip which instantly brought a waft of peppermint and an increase in the growling.  
Knight had to admit he was intentionally poking at Takeshi's instincts and enjoying it, but it was not just for fun, if they were to go to the Obsidian Halls he needed Takeshi to be more in tune with the demonic instincts the Shadow-demon gave him and one way to make that happen was to keep triggering those instincts by carefully treading on the edge of challenging the demon within.  
Constantly getting on its nerves, poking at its instincts, its pride and dominant nature, simply pushing the limits for its tolerance while at the same time keeping from getting into an actual fight as he was pretty sure he would not get away from one without some serious pain.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Sightseeing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

After a meal and some games with the twins they settled down to plan some more details of their trip.  
Since only the twins would be able to enter the Vatican and they did not want to go without the others, or their familiars, they decided they would move on in the morning, heading toward Brindisi where they would take a ferry to Patras and then head south to Arcadia.  
With reservations made on a ferry one week later they had plenty of time to explore along the way, heading south along the west coast toward Naples and Pompeii, then move on to Salerno before crossing to the east via Potenza to Matera and on to Taranto and finally Brindisi.  
Once their visit to Arcadia was done they would head to Athens where Matthews would pick them up with the Blackout and shipping arrangements would be made for the truck and trailers to bring them to a warehouse in Honolulu.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Sightseeing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The trip to Brindisi was uneventful and they now found themselves with a four day wait before they could take the ferry across to Patras, due to the size of their truck and trailers there were very limited options and the reservation they had was the earliest available slot for a private vehicle.  
While they waited they visited a few local vineyards and olive farms, enjoyed the flowing landscape and feasted their way through the local seafood and lamb dishes.  
While visiting the vineyards and farms Takeshi placed orders for several barrels of wine and olive oil.  
He had already placed orders for substantial quantities of balsamic vinegar, various hard cheeses as well as Mozzarella, Gorgonzola and other typical Italian cheeses, other olive oils and a wide range of cured and smoked meats to be shipped to Hawaii and also made deals with several local producers to continuously supply the estate with their goods.  
He had done the same while they traveled through Sweden much to Emelie's amusement, buying up large amounts of cured, smoked and dried reindeer as well as elk and roe deer, the trailer had been well stocked when they left Sweden but between him and Knight they went through the food supplies fast, especially the meats, though Knight was also fond of bread and cheese to a far greater extent and the amount of beer, wine and milk with extra cream added he drank was downright staggering.  
A selection of French products had been acquired as well and Takeshi was sure that some Greek items would join them, he would have to expand the estate food storage facilities when he got back, especially since he intended to bring the girls to Alaska for the upcoming salmon run.

The slight brush of Knight's aura as he approached brought Takeshi from his musings and he looked away from Emelie and the twins for a moment to acknowledge his approach.  
Knight sat down next to him and for several minutes he just watched the girls play.  
“What are you planning in regards to me once you are ready to leave Greece?”  
When he finally spoke up Takeshi startled slightly, Knight had an annoying ability to fade from Takeshi's awareness, almost to the point where he would forget the other male was there.  
“If you are willing I would offer you a small home at our estate, arrange a proper identity with all the necessary backgrounds before seeing to that you get to study and learn more about the current world and whatever subjects might interest you.”  
“And what would you ask of me in return?”  
“While you are housed at the estate you will aid in its protection, and upkeep. Help construction, hunting and day to day activities.”  
“Agreed, and for the arrangements to study?”  
While Takeshi would gladly have helped him without asking any more in return since Knight had already promised to help them try to find Emelie's father, he would not waste an opportunity to further secure the safety of those he cared about.  
“That you also study modern military tactics and weapons and use that in combination with what you already know to help protect the estate, those within it and any others I deem important.”  
“Agreed, but there is more you would ask of me, isn't there?”  
Takeshi had found over the past months that he actually liked the old demon kin even if he could be rather annoying at times, while he lacked a lot of knowledge that would normally be considered basic due to having been sealed away for so long it was still obvious he was highly intelligent.  
His personality and values were very similar to his own, with honor and a strong desire to protect at the center but otherwise rather laid back and a somewhat coarse sense of humor, though a lot of the time Takeshi could have done without Knight also sharing his love for teasing.  
He could sense that Knight also had a rather dominant personality, a loner by preference and a born leader when among others, but curbing that nature in order to maintain the calm and not dishonor the aid he had been given by challenging Takeshi's position as _Alpha_ of the group.  
This was further proved now as Knight understood and agreed to the prices Takeshi was asking for housing and educating him.  
“I want you to seriously consider joining me in the task given by the Mother, be my general, I need someone who has experience with demons and of mystical warfare.”  
“I will consider it, but I will not make any promises until I know more.”  
“Your consideration is all I ask for.”  
There was a few minutes of silence before Takeshi spoke up again, this time more hesitantly.  
“I want...”  
He paused for a moment to gather himself, this was a personal request, and not one that was easy to ask as it would mean revealing and admitting some of his fears.  
“I want your vow, your strongest oath, that should I fall you will look after Emelie, make sure she is never left behind. Protect her, body, mind and soul with all that entails. I swore to her that I would do everything in my power to stay by her side for eternity, but we are both soldiers, we know how quickly such an oath can be crushed in the face of war.”  
There was a long silence as Knight considered the request, it was no small matter and not something decided in a hurry.  
“The moon will be full soon and by the time it is we will have reached Arcadia, I will consider this and before the day of the full moon I will give you my answer, if I agree I will place my oath to the both of you at one of the temples as the full moon rises.”

With nothing more to say at the moment Knight walked over to the girls and while Takeshi remained at his spot, watching over them Knight helped the twins capture a few of the larger crabs that scurried among the rocks, tie up the pincers and place them into one of the crystal tubs that waited safely out of reach of the waves.  
Several tubs had been filled with fresh caught seafood including small fish, sea urchins, mussels and scallops, prawns and a octopus, all covered with piles of edible seaweed that Emelie and the girls had spent most of the morning catching.  
On the side a few tubs held lobsters, a pair of small tunas, as well as some cuttlefish and some really ugly fish that Takeshi had no idea what it was but instincts told him to catch them while he was using the form of the dolphin to hunt.  
He had also caught a few very large scallops and other treats from the deeper waters, all of it for the twins who had begged for seafood paella.

After a quick lunch at one of the seaside restaurants they returned to the trailer where most of the afternoon was spent preparing dinner.  
Bones, shells and other scraps were roasted over wood fire along with fresh vegetables before being added to a large pot where it was joined by herbs, spices and pink salt to make a rich broth.  
A selection of peppers both sweet and hot were smoked and charred, tomatoes and garlic roasted to bring out all the flavors and some of the seafoods gently cooked until almost done while the broth simmered, with everything prepared Takeshi took one of the crystals from the Sanctuary and shaped it into a large paella pan, the unique qualities of the crystals would allow a perfectly even heat even if the pan was much larger than the fire-pit used for cooking.  
With the pan ready Takeshi began putting it all together with Emelie and the twins helping and Knight watching with curiosity.  
The twins were ecstatic when dinner was finally served, the large scallop shells serving as plates filled with paella and topped with extra seafood paired with smaller shells holding condiments.  
Knight muttered about needing to learn to cook properly as he piled his 4th plate of food high.  
“Don't worry, I'm sure we can talk Take into teaching you, as you have noticed he's a great cook.”  
Emelie half soothed, half teased, knowing well that while Takeshi was an excellent cook he didn't like teaching others since most of his cooking was done flying by the seat of his pants and that was not something easily taught to others.  
The glare Takeshi sent her way made it perfectly clear what his opinion on the matter was and she couldn't help laughing, he would rather take on an army than teach someone cooking.

It was still fairly early when Takeshi called on the twins and told them to get ready for bed.  
“But, it's so early!”  
“No buts, we have to be at the ferry before dawn to load up the truck and trailers.”  
“But, we can stay in the trailer and sleep.”  
“If you could I would let you, but everyone needs to check in at the boarding desk.”  
There were some muttered complaints but they did as asked and with the girls in bed it was time to make some more detailed travel plans.  
While Takeshi and Knight prepared a fire to keep them warm Emelie went inside and picked up Minerva, hopefully the old bow would speak to her and help them find the one that created it.  
“I have only been to the Temple of Artemis once and at the time I was traveling with Akylea. I can't say I was paying much attention to where we were going, not to mention it must have been some 2500 to 3000 years ago, I doubt there are many landmarks that I would recognize.”  
Knight was looking at the maps but it was doing little good as he was unsure how to translate his memories of traveling to the map.  
They were about to give up and just settle for roaming the land of old Arcadia hoping to feel something when Emelie finally managed to get Minerva to respond and agree to help guide them to the temple with the promise to be returned to Artemis, or sealed within the temple, forever hidden.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Sightseeing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

At sunrise they found themselves standing on the foredeck of the large ship, part ferry, part freighter, watching the docks below as cargo was loaded.  
The other passengers would not start boarding for another hour or so, but some were already waiting at the terminal, dozing in their sets, eating breakfast either brought with them or bought at the small coffee shop in the corner, a group of young men and women huddled in a circle around a pile of notes next to the window, no doubt students returning to their university studies in Athens after spending time with their families.  
They stayed on the deck until the chill from the increasing wind sent them inside so the twins wouldn't get chilled.  
Knight turned to Takeshi and Emelie with concern laced through his mental voice when he picked up on the increasing fear from the twins.  
_“What is wrong? I have never seen them scared like this before, or scared at all for that matter.”  
“They have some rather horrible experiences of storms before they came into our care, while they no longer go into a frantic panic they still get scared.”  
_ Emelie explained while Takeshi picked the girls up to soothe them.  
_“Someday I would like to hear the entire story behind all of you, so that I may understand.”  
_ Emelie didn't answer him, instead she walked over to one of the crew and using her seduction she secured his aid in acquiring a private room where they could bring the girls.  
Once in the room Emelie wove her powers tightly around the crewman and made him stand guard so that no one would enter the room and once the door was locked they made sure the room was not monitored before placing a barrier over the door.  
With the room fully secured Takeshi shifted into his wolf form and curled around the twins and their fear began to abate.  
While Takeshi kept the girls calm Emelie silently told Knight about the cause of their fear and as the story unfolded she could feel his rage burning and it did not settle down until she told him of the parents fate at her and Takeshi's hands.  
_“That explains a lot, including why they refer to those crazy snakes as their sisters.”_  
Even though he chuckled Emelie could still feel an undercurrent of anger that had nowhere to go with the targets already dead.  
They stayed in the room, silently conversing until it was announced on the speakers that they were docking in Patras shortly.

 

 


	44. Arcadia

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Arcadia_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When they had finally unloaded their truck and trailers from the ferry they headed for the edge of the city to set up for the night before heading south into Arcadia.  
They would be heading toward Tripoli, both Knight's memories and Minerva's instructions indicated that the temple they were looking for was located in the center of the peninsula, somewhere in the northern regions of Arcadia, probably somewhere in the forests by Piana.  
They had decided to follow the coastal road and then cross in toward Tripoli and then head north from there, while a rather roundabout path it would offer good road conditions and they suspected that they would end up having to leave the truck and trailers in Tripoli and sneak out from there, traveling by demon steed and wolfback.  
It depended on what kind of parking arrangements could be made in Piana, but from what they had been able to find out so far it would be hard to find any location that would allow them to park for an extended period of time.  
Takeshi intended to take the bike and drive there to make sure first though, being able to park closer to their target would reduce the risk of anyone seeing them as they traveled, a giant demon horse and a wolf the size of a horse was sure to cause some commotion if spotted.

They left for Tripoli the next morning and despite all the sights that the twins wanted to stop and see they managed to get to Tripoli shortly after noon two days later and the twins had instantly started to complain when Takeshi took out the bike, the same one he had used back in Sydney, Matthews had been able to locate both the two bikes and the Conquest Knight XV and managed to sell them to one of Takeshi's shell companies without raising any alarms.  
The twins did not want to be left behind while Takeshi went out to explore, but after a promise from Emelie that Takeshi would take them exploring Tripoli on their own the next day they relented.

Takeshi was getting ready to return to Tripoli after spending the better part of the afternoon trying to find somewhere around Piana to set up the trailer but having little luck when he could feel the slight tingle at the edge of his aura that signaled the presence of another Blessed and with curiosity he flared his aura slightly to alert whoever it was to his own presence.  
The Blessed turned out to be a farmer who lived just outside the city, and much to Takeshi's relief the old woman gladly invited him and the others to set up behind her farm, even offering them lodging in her and her husbands home if they wanted something different than their trailer.  
Takeshi left with a promise to return the next evening after the promised exploration with the twins.  
The next day Knight accompanied Emelie as she browsed the various stores and markets in Tripoli while Takeshi took the twins exploring the old city and as evening fell they packed up and headed for the old farm.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Arcadia_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When they arrived they were met by the old couple and Takeshi was slightly surprised to find that the husband was not a Blessed, but a regular, mortal human and he decided he would ask the woman about it, perhaps he could repay their hospitality by granting her husband the Blessing.  
Though, it did explain why the woman looked so old despite being a Blessed, she probably allowed herself to appear aged to match the aging of her husband.  
As soon as they had set up the trailer they were ushered inside for a hearty dinner starting with large plates filled with various antipasti and a huge pile of Dolmades followed by several oven pans filled with Moussaka, Courgette balls and roast lamb and finally rounded of with Baklava, all of it washed down with generous quantities of spring water, a low alcohol brew similar to a small ale and wine.  
Most of the food and drinks were produced from the crops and animals on the farm and all of it was from locally grown crops and the old couple showed great pride in their work, a pride well earned.  
While they ate they kept a light conversation about the farm, the food and the local area and Takeshi asked if they knew anything about old temples, or legends of temples in the area.  
Their hosts gladly told them of the local legends and when they mentioned a great temple dedicated to Artemis that had been _hidden beyond the veil_ they all listened intently and once the story was complete the twins were the first to speak, stating how similar that sounded to the _Fairy-place_ as the twins called the primary Nexus of the Black Forest, and Takeshi and Emelie agreed with that.  
After the meal the sat down in the common room and Takeshi helped the girls with a few of their tricks as well as their control of the fox-fire that Eriko had gifted them with.  
Takeshi noticed the confused look the old man gave his wife and couldn't help a slight grin when he turned to him wide-eyed after a few words from his wife, she had told him that Takeshi was like her, different.  
It gave Takeshi an excellent opening to ask about the fact that the husband was not Blessed and he found that they both had wanted the husband to become one of the blessed, but they didn't know of any other blessed, or any Sanctuary so they had been unable to give him the trial so now they were resigned to grow old together and once the husband passed the wife intended to end her own existence and follow him.  
“If you truly feel that he is worthy in the eyes of the Mother, I can grant him the Blessing without the trial.”  
“But, that would mean...”  
There were tears in the old woman's eyes as she spoke.  
“That would mean you are the Chosen.”  
Takeshi just smiled and gave a slight nod, his smile growing as the old woman shook her head and tutted at herself for not realizing who he was.  
_“He is worthy, beyond a doubt.”  
_ The old woman's mind reached out to Takeshi as no untruths could be told that way, one could withhold information, but the one you spoke with would be aware that not everything was being told.  
With her assurance Takeshi asked the husband to join him and with a weave of _command_ and _suggestion_ he made sure the husband understood what the change would mean, and that he truly wanted it.  
Once Takeshi had his answers he asked the husband to sit down comfortably before moving behind him and sinking his fangs into his shoulder and allowing his aura to flow through him, forever altering his nature.  
Takeshi noticed that this time there was barely any drain on his reserves and while the bite created a mark it was much smaller than even Melissa's mark, this was just a simple rune with a slight fire-like effect, and Takeshi noted that he did not recognize the rune, something he would question the Beast on when he had a moment.  
Thanking the old couple for their hospitality they retreated to their trailer, while the offer to spend the night in the old farmhouse was tempting the twins still felt safer behind the barriers of the trailer.

In the morning they were greeted by a much younger looking couple as the Blessing had fully taken hold and returned the husband's youth to him.  
While they ate their breakfast the farmers offered to guide Takeshi and the others to the location where the temple was supposed to be hidden.  
They agreed that they would leave at sunset and the day would be spent helping out at the farm.  
The couple were delighted when the Sylph volunteered to look after the animals while they were away, they had worried about leaving them unattended and they did not want to be separated now that they shared the Blessing.  
Takeshi and Knight had been working on digging a foundation for a few hours when Knight put his shovel down and walked over to Takeshi.  
“As I promised I have been considering your request and I have decided to accept it on one condition.”  
“What would that condition be?”  
Takeshi asked him with slight worry, as long as it was within his power to grant his own oath to Emelie would force him to accept it.  
“I ask that I am allowed to include the twins in my oath. As they are yours to protect it would be inappropriate for me to place such an oath without your permission. And after the time I have spent living with you and yours I find myself rather fond of them.”  
The relief was tangible in Takeshi's aura after hearing Knight's condition, a condition he readily agreed to.  
“Then I will give my oath once we reach the temple, hopefully tomorrow night.”  
After the evening meal they prepared to head out toward the location where the hidden temple was believed to be located, they had been offered to borrow the farmers mules to carry the girls but Takeshi had shifted to show them that there was no need for extra transportation.  
Though, the reaction to his shift was nothing compared to the look on the faces of their hosts when Knight called his steed.  
With everyone mounted and ready to head out the couple shifted, revealing themselves to have the blood of the Lynx and began moving at a brisk pace.

It only took them two hours to find the location of the temple, when they drew close Emelie could feel it through Minerva as the bow seemed eager to return to her origin and she began to lead them toward the barrier that protected the temple.  
Once gathered outside the barrier they were at a loss as how to enter it, their enhanced senses allowed them to feel it was there, but the very nature of the protection it offered the temple made it hard to approach it.  
Whenever they stepped closer to the edges of the barrier they were overcome by a strong desire to walk in another direction and there were illusions of trees and dense brambles in the direction of the temple, while nice, clean paths sided by fruits and berries lead away from the edges of the barrier.  
Another hour was spent trying to get passed the barrier before Emelie got an idea, bringing out Minerva she gently coaxed the bow into changing into its larger form, with Minerva in hand she stepped as close to the barrier as she could without being turned away by its influence.  
Standing before the barrier she raised the bow and with her youki raising around her she pulled back on the string, as she did her youki began to condense along the bow, flowing together with Minerva's own energy it began to form an arrow, once the arrow was fully formed Emelie aimed high and released it into the barrier.  
The glowing power of the arrow flew true in a gentle arch and when it connected with the barrier the combined power of Minerva and Emelie's youki burst across the surface, like ripples on a mirror lake the power revealed the dome shaped barrier to their eyes and moments later the barrier fell away and the path now lay open before them.  
With the barrier down they began to walk down the path toward the center of the dome and once they were all inside the perimeter they could feel the barrier shimmer back into place behind them, once again hiding their goal, and now them as well.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Arcadia_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

They didn't need to walk far before the trees gave way to a clearing, and in that clearing a small, but beautiful temple sat atop a hill, surrounded by several gnarled trees draped in hanging moss and lichen, Takeshi quickly recognized juniper, olive, laurel, apple and almond among them.  
Crystal clear water bubbled up through the sand of several springs that fed into swirling pools and winding brooks and in their path down the rocky hill they formed several small waterfalls, a few weeping willows shaded a slightly larger pool at the bottom of the hill where the brooks joined.  
Flowers and herbs spread between the trees and the brooks, painting the clearing in the colors and scents, in the shade of the trees the ground was spotted by mushrooms and fallen fruits.  
Takeshi hissed slightly as he picked up the scent of monkshood, he had always disliked the smell of the beautiful but highly toxic plant, but now he found it rather amusing as another name for the flowering plant was _Wolf's Bane_ and according to lore from all corners of the world it would repel and kill werewolves.  
Takeshi gave the twins a quick warning to stay away from the deadly flowers before lowering himself to the ground so they could climb down from his back.  
There was a wash of power behind him that told him that Knight had dismounted and dispelled the tack, leaving his steed to wander the sheltered clearing.  
Following the pebble-strewn path toward the small temple Takeshi took a moment to look at the two floor structure, as far as he could tell the stairs surrounded the entire building, leading up to a rectangular first floor with a row of Corinthian columns supporting the overhanging ceiling, the second floor consisted of a Tholos with a domed roof.  
Moving closer revealed that the vibrant pink and gold colors were not just being reflected from the setting sun, but the entire temple was expertly cut from magnificent pieces of marble, blending tones from white to rose to deep reds, some of the details were even cut from black marble with gold veins, a closer inspection revealed that all of the marble carried the same gold veins.  
“So beautiful.”  
There was none of the usual exuberance in Sarah's voice, only a deep awe that her sister soon mirrored.  
“It's even prettier than the sky!”

When they reached the stairs they all got the strong feeling that they should not enter the temple, that it was not yet time, as if someone had called for them to wait and this time they felt no need to push the issue, instead they just sat down at the bottom of the stairs to watch the sun as it set.  
“Take, look! A fairy!”  
Maria pointed toward one of the trees, but just like in the garden of the nexus Takeshi was unable to see anything so he unwound his aura, pouring forth the calm energy of the blessing, hoping it would work this time as well.  
“We mean you no harm, daughters of the wild.”  
He called out, maybe they would listen.  
It didn't take long before he spotted the telltale shimmer and flickering movements between the trees and soon one of them approached the group.  
“You are the one? The savior of our sisters in the north?”  
She was still a bit cautious as she voiced her question.  
“I am, and these are my companions.”  
He motioned toward Knight and the girls.  
“Then be welcome as a friend to the Children, you may still your hunger with the harvest of the hidden garden.”  
Having spoken her invitation she flitted away to join her sisters and Takeshi nodded to the twins that they could go find something to eat, but not before warning them once again to stay clear of the Wolf's Bane and telling their familiars to help keep them away from the beautiful flowers, by force if needed.  
When the light of the setting sun faded the temple itself began to emit a gentle glow, as if it had stored up the light from earlier and Takeshi found his curiosity getting the better of him so he stood to get a better look at the structure and as he walked around it he was soon joined by Emelie and the twins.  
When they returned to the front of the temple where Knight and the farmer couple waited for them the moon had just risen above the treetops and Knight turned to Takeshi, giving him a pointed look to tell him that it was time to place oath.  
With a silent nod Takeshi ushered the twins to sit below him on the stairs while indicating for Emelie to sit at his right, he could feel a mix of anticipation, curiosity and confusion in her aura, she obviously sensed that something was going on.  
While they found their seats the old couple had silently moved away, aware of the private nature of what was about to happen.

Knight walked to the center of the pathway and turned to face where the others were seated, with a tug on the power within he called fort his armor and his blade, taking his helmet in his left hand he placed the tip of his sword against the ground and lowered his right knee into the ground in a smooth motion, keeping his head down for a moment before looking up and offering his oath.  
There was a small pause once he was done speaking, but it didn't last long before Emelie stood and walked down to him, accepting his oath by reaching out and tapping his left shoulder with the sharp claw of her wing, moments later each of the twins placed their hand on his shoulder as well.  
Throughout the entire event Takeshi sat in silence, watching with a seemingly blank expression and once Emelie and the twins had returned to their seats he rose and walked down to Knight and placed a clawed hand on his shoulder and through that touch Knight could feel acceptance and gratitude.  
Raising to his feet he put his helm on and walked behind Takeshi as he moved back to sit next to Emelie and for a moment he remain standing behind him before allowing his armor to recede.  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Arcadia_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The moment Knight's armor vanished they could feel the energy of the temple shift and become inviting, as if someone had waited for the oath to be placed, and it was quite possible that it was the case.  
Stepping inside they found themselves in a beautiful room, once again there were columns along the walls, and at the end of the rectangular room was a large statue depicting Artemis.  
With a hand on their shoulders Takeshi held the twins back as Emelie walked up to the statue and knelt down in front of it with Minerva in her hands, but before she had a chance to speak the statue moved slightly and a woman's voice echoed through the temple.  
“Daughter of Lilith, what brings you to the temple of the Huntress?”  
Emelie startled for a moment, but she quickly recovered and spoke up with a strong voice, void of any hesitation.  
“I am Emelie, I am Lilim, I come before the Huntress to return to her one of her own, the bow Minerva, now recovered from those who slayed her mistress she deserves to be free.”  
The statue reached out toward her and she placed Minerva in the large hand.  
“Ah, Minerva my child, such suffering you have seen.”  
They watched silently as the animated statue sat back and held the bow close, and experience told them that a silent conversation was taking place between Artemis and the bow she had crafted several millennia ago.  
After a while the statue moved once again and beckoned for the others to approach and once standing before it the voice spoke to them all.  
“I have spoken to Minerva and she has told me of your honorable nature, your willingness for sacrifice, and of the task given by the Avatar of Life and I have asked of her to join your cause.”  
The statue once again reached down toward Emelie and presented her with the bow.  
“I can feel that you possess a weapon of your own, and the bow is not a weapon that suits your nature, but I ask that you carry Minerva with you until the day you find someone worthy to wield her, someone following the Avatar of Life's cause.”  
Nodding silently Emelie reached out and grasped Minerva, the moment the bow was in her hand it returned to its smaller form and with wide eyes Emelie could feel it touch her mind, telling her how to merge it with her soul in the same way she carried her scythe and Takeshi carried his blades.  
Takeshi watched with slight concern as Emelie took Minerva and placed her against her heart where it instantly faded into her soul, but his concern was soon forgotten as Artemis touched his mind, allowing him to feel her, to know what she truly was, Avatar of the Hunt.  
While her mind touched his she promised him that no harm would come to Emelie from carrying Minerva in her soul, that just like how his blades had ejected themselves Minerva would also leave on her own if there was any risk of harm.  
After giving Minerva back to Emelie Artemis invited them to the Tholos where they spend the night listening and watching as Artemis told them of her children, of hidden temples and powerful weapons scattered throughout the world.  
She told them to seek out the lost city of Atlantis where the daughters of Poseidon still guarded wast libraries and armories of enchanted weapons.  
As the sun began to rise Artemis bid them farewell but not before asking Emelie to stand before her and with a wash of power a beautiful wreath of leaves and small blue blue flowers appeared but the flowers were cut from blue gemstones and the leaves delicately crafted in silver.  
“The aquamarine is the stone of the sea, and the stones in this crown were mined in Atlantis, they know their origin and will guide you safely to the hidden city.”  
A gentle probing of power called up Emelie's true form and Artemis secured the crown on her head, carefully making sure it would not snag on her horns.  
“Just like Minerva the crown will rest within your soul until it is needed, now go and fulfill your destinies.”  
They thanked Artemis for her hospitality, the information and the gifts she had given them before leaving the temple and returning to the farm.

They stayed another week on the farm, helping their hosts complete the building and Takeshi also helped them create new identities, posing as their own grandson and his wife.  
Another week was spent exploring Athens before they called the estate and arranged for Matthews to come pick them up.

It was the last day of November when they finally landed back in Hawaii.

 

 

 


	45. Homecoming

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Homecoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Knight looked rather relieved to be able to leave the Blackout and both Emelie and the twins were teasing him about it.  
“You didn't seem to mind when I carried you.”  
Emelie snickered as they stepped out on the landing-pad.  
“Demonic flight is something I am familiar with, and I am quite sure your dear Take intentionally flew that thing like a madman.”  
Knight defended himself.  
Emelie just snickered, he was right of course, Takeshi had pushed the jet as much as he dared with the twins there, trying to push Knight's limits.  
The moment they stepped of the landing-pad they were swarmed by the other girls and after a flurry of greetings and hugs the twins were dragged away, no doubt to be interrogated about their vacation, and about Knight.  
With the girls gone Kasumi and Eriko welcomed them back and greeted Knight, though Eriko seemed more intent on teasing them than anything else and managed to annoy Takeshi to the point where he pounced her and demanded her submission, which in turn earned him a slap from Kasumi for not giving her a hug before pouncing Eriko, which caused Knight to grin and shake his head.  
 _“I'm guessing this is normal around here?”_  
He silently asked Emelie who was standing next to him with an even wider grin.  
 _“They haven't even gotten started yet.”  
_

It wasn't until after Kasumi and Eriko had walked back to the house together with Matthews that Dan showed up and walked over to the trio and both Takeshi and Emelie noticed that something seemed off.  
The normally talkative young man was silent, and there was a strained stiffness in his shoulders when he stopped a few steps away.  
He stood there without saying a word as the Raijū jumped down from his shoulder and transformed into its larger form and walked up to Takeshi.  
Emelie gasped when Takeshi reached out to greet it and it instantly closed its jaws over his hand, burying the sharp fangs deep in his flesh but he made no attempts to remove his hand, instead he kneeled down and seemed to just wait for it to let go.  
A few minutes later it did let go and Takeshi carefully gathered the long whip-like appendages and allowed them to slide through his hand as he walked over to Dan.  
 _“I take it that this is not normal?”  
_ Knight sounded rather concerned, even he could tell that something was wrong.  
“ _No, it's not, I have no idea what's going on”  
_ They both watched as Takeshi wrapped his arms around Dan, leaned in and brushed his lips against his forehead with a whispered _'Gomen ne'_ before walking away, leaving rather chocked Dan standing there, slowly turning crimson as the chock lifted.  
“This should be a rather interesting story if they ever share it.”  
Emelie mused in a low whisper before calling for Dan's attention, at first he didn't react at all when she called his name, he didn't respond until she actually tapped his nose and called to him in Swedish.  
“ _Hallå, jorden anropar!_ ”  
“Huh? Oh, Em, hi.”  
He half murmured, still sporting a vivid blush.  
“Welcome back to Earth.”  
She chuckled at him before continuing with what she was trying to tell him.  
“Dan, this is Knight, he will be living here and helping you keep this place safe, so how about you show him around and help him find a spot where we can build him a home.”  
Dan just nodded distractedly before turning to Knight to introduce himself, but when he did he nearly fell over.  
“Dam, you are one big dude!”  
It would seem Dan had been so focused on Takeshi he hadn't even noticed Knight until now.  
Emelie couldn't help laughing at the reaction, and Knight was showing of one of his huge grins as well, obviously amused with Dan's distraction.  
“Well, I will leave you to it then, and Dan, do drop by and say hello to the twins, I am sure they were disappointed that you were not here to greet them before they got dragged of by the others.  
 _“You should introduce him to your steed when you get an opportunity, and I'm sure it would like to have a look at your new home as well. And do try not to tease Dan too much until we know what that was all about”_  
She added silently to Knight before waving goodbye and heading up to the main house.

Knight considered her parting words for a moment and decided he might as well get introductions over with, taking a deep breath he let loose the summoning whistle.  
Dan visibly jumped at the sharp sound and began to look rather worried when the fog rolled in, but when he spotted the demon steed his reaction was a rather odd one as his shoulders slumped with a deep, disappointed sigh.  
“Aw, and you looked **so** normal, huge, but normal.”  
“Hmpf, I am perfectly normal for a mixed blood, thank you very much.”  
Knight huffed with a grin as he greeted his steed, telling it to have a look around.  
Dan, not seeing the grin seemed to believe he had somehow offended Knight with his words and instantly began apologizing.  
“Ah, sorry, no offense intended, it's just, well, not many normal human adults around here.”  
Knight turned around, still grinning he put his hands rather heavily on Dan's shoulders.  
“None taken, now how about you stop having a nervous breakdown and get us moving?”  
Knight quickly found that it was rather amusing to tease the young head of security as he followed him around the island, some of the explanations and security systems made little sense to him and he explained to Dan that he would have to teach him about them as he had been _away_ for the past millennium.  
“Wait, seriously? You're over a thousand years old?”  
“Actually I'm around 5000 years old, but who keeps count?”  
“You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding.”  
Knight just shook his head with a smile which earned him another groan.

After climbing one of the peaks of the old volcano for a better view of the island they sat down to catch their breaths, or rather to allow Dan to catch his.  
“So, what actually brings you here? Knowing Take it's not a normal 'Hiring' ad in the local newspaper.”  
Dan's curiosity finally got the better of his professionalism and he began questioning the newcomer in a more private manner.  
“Indeed, he is not one for doing things the normal way.”  
Knight grinned as he launched into the tale of how he was captured, and how Takeshi found him and freed him, though he did leave out the darker details as he was unsure how much Takeshi was willing to let the others know of what had happened, so he would leave it to him to tell the full story if he chose to.  
“How about you, how did you end up here?”  
With the question turned around on him Dan told him of meeting Takeshi in Gothenburg, the chock when he realized who he was, and the even bigger shock later in D.C when Takeshi showed him **what** he was.  
After enjoying the view for a while Knight pointed toward an area along the coast that he wanted to have a closer look at and with a quick nod Dan showed him how to get there.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Homecoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

A few hours later Emelie found the two of them sitting by the water in one of the small coves on the back of the island and Dan was showing Knight pictures of various small bungalows on his tab.  
“So this is where you guys have been hiding?”  
Leaning in to have a closer look she quickly continued.  
“I take it this is where you wanna live?”  
“If it is acceptable with you and your Alpha, then yes, I would very much like to make my home here. It's calm but very much alive, I like it.”  
There was a slight hesitation in his voice, places like these were usually claimed even if no one actually lived there.  
“As long as the geological survey clears it for construction it's fine with us.”  
At Knight's confused look Emelie quickly explained that they had to make sure that the land was stable and that it would be safe to build here, both for him and for the sustainability of the nature around them.  
“We will have a closer look at it later, but for now you can use one of the rooms in the main house. But enough on that subject, I came to bring you back to the house, you don't want to miss the feast, do you?.”  
“Actually, I...“  
Dan started to object but Emelie nailed him with a glare.  
“Don't even think about it, the twins haven't seen you in nearly a year, whatever the issue is with you and Take you will either work it out, or set it aside for now and you **will** be there!.”  
Dan was about to object again but thought better of it when Emelie flared her aura and displayed her wings slightly unfolded, Knight instantly recognized the threatening display of dominance and forced his aura into a more submissive pattern so he wouldn't trigger her further, and Dan seemed to instinctively understand that it would be a bad idea to push the issue.  
When Dan backed down Emelie nodded and folded her wings back into their normal position before they vanished as her aura receded.  
“Good. Now go back to your office and give Ethan a call so he can check the location and maybe drop a few suggestions, when you're done with that you will join us in the inner garden.”  
She motioned for Knight to follow her and headed of in the opposite direction from Dan.  
“You are growing into your instincts, _Lilim_.”  
Knight's words broke the silence they had been walking in and Emelie looked over her shoulder at him.  
“How so?”  
“Your display back there, you acted like a true demon, demanding his submission in the way a demon would.”  
“Oh, I didn't know that. There's so much I don't know or understand about being a demon.”  
Knight picked up on the solemn note in her voice and placed his hand on her shoulder as a gesture of support.  
“Don't worry, I will teach you what I can, and I will help you search for someone who can teach you more about being a Lilim, about being a succubus. And even if we don't find anyone you have good instincts, you are learning well on your own.”  
“Perhaps I am.”  
She agreed hesitantly before returning to silence as they walked back to the house.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Homecoming_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Kasumi sat in one of the piles of pillows laid out on the deck and she watched her brother interact with the girls and she noted to herself that he was changed, whatever had happened to almost break the bond had changed something within him and she could feel it in how his energies flowed when his aura brushed against the auras of the girls, even in its interactions with her own.  
There had always been a fine balance between subservience and dominance in his interactions with her, a balance between his position as _Kage_ and his otherwise rather dominant personality but that balance had shifted, it seemed as if the part of him that was her _Kage_ had perished and been reborn as something else, his aura no longer submitted to hers when she brushed against it, instead it flared slightly, as if demanding that she submit to him.  
When Emelie returned with the newcomer, Knight, Kasumi couldn't help the slight pang of pain and dare she say envy when she noticed how Takeshi's aura reached out for theirs and the moment they touched the slight edge of tension that had been there vanished and was replaced by a calm contentment.  
It was clear that whatever had happened during their travels had created a deep bond between them, even the twins unconsciously reached out and joined in the blending of auras.  
With a sigh she leaned back, maybe it was just as well that he was finding a family of his own, his own way and no longer defining himself by what the elders had made him into.  
After watching them for a few more minutes Kasumi decided that the next time they stood before the council she would release him of his oath, she would use the fact that the council had formally selected an heir, even if it was not a real person, to release him, give him back his name.  
As the made up heir supposedly was their son she could press that it no longer matter if Takeshi was _Kage_ , with an heir to secure the family name she no longer needed a _Kage_ to protect her, and Takeshi could no longer challenge for the position of head even if he wasn't _Kage_ anymore.

When Dan joined them things got downright strange, Kasumi knew that Dan had been missing her brother, probably more than anyone else at the estate and definitely more than he admitted to but now he seemed almost hesitant to approach and he was obviously confused about something.  
The normally talkative young man was being silent and withdrawn and he was drinking a lot more than he normally would, while he was never one to stay away from the bottle he would rarely drink himself more than a bit tipsy but now the night had barely started, the girls had not yet left to go to bed and he was well on his way to getting wasted.  
Kasumi was just about to go have a word with him when she noticed Emelie get up and go join him and listening carefully she could hear a hushed conversation in Swedish.

“ _Dan, det räcker nu! Om du tänker supa skallen i bitar så kan du vänta till tjejerna gått och lagt sig.”_  
Emelie took the half full bottle of moonshine from his hands and used her tail to place it out of reach while telling him off for getting as drunk as he was in front of the girls.   
_“Jag är inte på humör, lämna mig ifred.”_  
His voice was low as he snapped at her to leave him alone and began looking for his missing bottle.  
 _“Jag skiter i om du är på humör eller inte, nånting är fel, så prata med mig.”_  
Emelie ignored his request to be left alone and carefully began to weave her power around him, making it act similarly to Takeshi's _suggestion_ to encourage Dan to talk to her about whatever it was that was bothering him and it was having some effect as he began to settle down a bit.  
 _“Det är privat, okej?”_  
Emelie sighed at his response, it seemed Dan still hadn't realized that there was no such thing as real privacy when living surrounded by those who could read auras, those whose noses could accurately detect even the slightest shift in pheromones and who could hear changes in heartbeat and breathing rhythms and interpret them as accurately as spoken words.  
While they didn't intentionally pry, it was hard to avoid learning things about each other since they couldn't just shut of all their senses.  
 _“Vad är så privat? Att du har saknat honom, att du varit orolig för honom? Eller att du älskar honom?”_  
Dan looked surprised that she knew about his fears and the full scope of his feelings for Takeshi.  
 _“Gå och prata med honom, okej?”_  
Giving him a final nudge of her power to get him to talk to Takeshi about whatever it was that bothered him she leaned over and gave him a quick hug before walking over to join Kasumi.

“So, did you find out what has him acting like that?”  
Kasumi didn't bother mincing her words when Emelie joined her.  
“Other than that is has something to do with his feelings for Take, not really.”  
Sitting down Emelie began to explain what she knew, maybe Kasumi could give her some insight that she had missed.  
“Something was off from the start, when Dan showed up to welcome us home he stayed back and his Raijū went over to Takeshi and bit him. And Takeshi just walker over to Dan, hugged him and apologized before walking away.”  
“Apologized for what, and how, do you remember his exact words?”  
Emelie nodded, she was aware of how important fine details such as choice of words could be when dealing with Takeshi.  
“Yeah, _Gomen ne_. That's all he said, but it was enough to put Dan into total shock. I might have missed something though.”  
“Not overly formal, and not overly familiar, and most certainly not much help.”  
Kasumi sighed.  
“Well, whatever it is about I sensed quite a bit of fear and worry from Dan, while he stood there watching us it faded and was replaced with relief, my guess is that something had him worried about Take, and seeing him made it fade.”  
“I guess there isn't much we can do other than to wait, and watch. And hope they get their act together and work it out.”  
Sitting back they watched Knight and the sylph play with the girls, allowing them to get to know them while Takeshi watched, giving them the sense of security they needed to relax around the unfamiliar male.  
When the evening passed to night Melissa and Amanda ushered the other girls inside and made sure they went to bed, leaving the adults to reconnect.  
Emelie sighed as she noticed that Dan went straight for his bottle once the girls had left, she had hoped he would just bite the bullet and go talk to Takeshi.  
Shaking her head she turned her attention back to the game of Mahjong that Kasumi and Eriko had dragged her, Knight and Matthews into, trying to teach them the complex rules of the game.  
A few games later they were interrupted by Dan's voice rising in agitation and it took quite a bit of effort to pretend to keep playing, to give them what privacy they could offer.  
  


 

 

 


	46. Confessions

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Confessions_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Dammit Take, I thought you were dead!”  
Dan's words were slurred and his aura flared with emotion, fear, relief, desire, anger and confusion but most of all, love.  
It seemed that his inebriated state had caused what emotional control he had to slip.  
“After you fixed my eyes I could feel you, even after you left I could feel you.”  
Confusion passed through Takeshi's aura, only to be replaced by comprehension as he realized what must have happened, somehow using his blood to heal Dan's eyes had changed more than just his eyes, some small portion of the Blessing must have taken root and allowed Dan's strong emotions to form a bond with him.  
“When the feeling vanished I knew, I knew you were hurt, or worse.”  
Dan's voice broke down into ramblings mixed with sobs as he became increasingly distraught and in the end Takeshi pulled him close, trying to soothe him.  
Whatever bond the fragment of the Blessing had created it would seem it was powered by Takeshi's energies, not Dan's, so when he fell after carrying the weapons and artifact from the Louvre that bond was lost, and for some reason it had not been reformed after he regained his strength.  
“Ssh, it's okay, I'm back, I'm safe.”  
Takeshi drew soothing circles on his back as Dan desperately clung to him, and while he did he carefully unfolded the energies of the Blessing, trying to see if he could find the lost bond and reactivate it, hoping that it could calm Dan.  
When he found the trace of the bond he allowed the power of the Blessing to flow into it and he could feel the shift in Dan's aura when the bond began to reform, but this time Takeshi could feel a tiny trickle of energy answering the call of his own power.  
When he touched that trickle he could feel a bond form and lock into place, just as strong as his _Dantai_ bond to Kasumi and the _Pack_ bond to Emelie and the moment it was completed he could feel Dan relax in his arms.  
“ _Jag..._ I... _Jag..._ ”  
Dan whispered into Takeshi's chest, barely awake, unable to form the words of his confession but with the bond fully formed no words were needed, and even without the bond Takeshi would still have known as Dan's aura was screaming the words his mouth could not form.  
“Ssh, I know. Sleep now, we will talk in the morning.”

“ _ **He has a strong heart, and an even stronger spirit, we should claim him as Pack as soon as possible. Not to mention that even without any knowledge of how to wield power he was able to use the fragment of the Blessing carried in your blood to form a bond, a powerful bond very similar to that of a true Pack.”**_  
With Dan sleeping in Takeshi's arms the Beast within chose to speak up.  
_“It's to early. This must not be rushed. Not with how strongly he feels, I can't, I won't risk doing anything that might end up taking advantage of that._  
_**“I had a feeling you would say that. Give him time, but when the moment comes do not hesitate either.”**_  
“I won't.”  
It was a promise given more to himself than anything.  
With Dan soundly sleeping Emelie and Knight approached them and without a word they helped Takeshi move to one of the piles of pillows, making sure not to wake Dan before they both curled around them under the cover of Emelie's wing.

“I have a feeling things just got a whole lot more complicated, and interesting.”  
Eriko noted with a grin as she watched the group settle in and fall asleep, it was obvious it was not the first time they slept in a pile, she would guess it was how they would usually sleep.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Confessions_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Dan woke up with a groan, the familiar pounding of a headache told him he had a few to many to drink last night and it took much longer than it should for his sleep addled mind to notice the unfamiliar warmth that he was curled up against.  
The solid weight of the arm draped over him combined with the lack of softness of the chest he rested against and the warm, spicy scent that surrounded him told him that his sleeping partner was a man, but the remaining mists of last nights heavy drinking still covered his mind, refusing to allow him even the slightest hint as to who it might be.  
But it felt good, it felt right, so he was more than content to just stay where he was and wait for his mind to catch up.

Takeshi could feel the moment Dan woke up, the slight pain and confusion from an obvious hangover came across the new bond loud and clear only to give way to a calm contentment as Dan burrowed himself deeper into his chest, and Takeshi found himself curious about what kind of reaction there would be once Dan realized just who he was snuggling up to.  
He could feel Emelie and Knight stir as well, no doubt alerted by the shift in Dan's aura and he could feel the amused curiosity radiate from them, it would seem they to wanted to see what kind of reaction there would be.

As the headache began to fade away Dan's memories of the day before began to slip back into place, and he realized he knew the scent that enveloped him, somehow he had ended up sleeping snuggled tightly into Takeshi's chest.  
And he realized he could feel him again, whatever bond had been created when his eyes were restored, the bond that had suddenly vanished while Takeshi and the girls were away, that bond was somehow back, and stronger than before, through it he could feel that Takeshi was awake, he could feel an amused curiosity.  
“Take, is this a dream?”  
Dan's voice was low barely more than a whisper, hesitant and the taint of fear in his aura told of his worry of what the answer would be.  
“Do you want it to be?”  
Dan knew that Takeshi was awake, he could feel it through the bond but still he startled at the whispered answer.  
“I.. I don't know. If it is, then things could become quite interesting.”  
Dan's fingers traced an invisible pattern on Takeshi's chest and Takeshi could feel fire burning in their wake, fed by the strong desire radiating through the bond and he was just about to stop it when Dan stopped on his own.  
“But if it is a dream, it would end, I'd have to wake up and find it wasn't real.”  
He splayed his hand over Takeshi's heart and leaned his forehead against his chest before he continued.  
“If it's not a dream, I probably made a complete fool out of myself and things will be awkward at best, maybe I have even ruined what could have been, but I'd know you're safe.”  
When Dan fell silent Takeshi could smell tears and feel his fear and insecurity.  
“As much as I want the dream, I can't stand the thought of it ending.”

Takeshi pulled Dan closer for a moment before taking his hand and removing it from his chest to break the link that seemed to enhance the emotional transfer of the bond.  
“Then you should be relieved to know it's not a dream, and other than overindulging in that paint stripper you call moonshine in front of the girls you didn't make too much of a fool of yourself.”  
“Hey, _Hembränt_ is a time honored northern tradition, and has nothing to do with paint stripper!.”  
The dig at his skills at creating the Swedish version of home made distilled spirits seemed to snap Dan out of his subdued state as he instantly bit back, defending his brew.  
“It still **tastes** like paint stripper though.”  
Takeshi teased with a grin, triggering a bout of good-natured bickering, but when Dan moved to get up from the pile of pillows Takeshi's arm tightened, keeping him down.  
“Stay, I can still feel your hangover through the bond, just please, mind your hands.”  
At his words Dan pulled back his hands as if burned and instantly apologized.  
“Sorry, I didn't mean to cross the line.”  
“That's not what I meant. I might not return your feelings, but they don't offend me, and neither does your touch.”  
Takeshi quickly took hold of Dan's hand before he had a chance to hide it away and placed it back om his chest to prove his point.  
“The problem is that you are tapping into the bond, using it to transmit your desire rather strongly, and it is, distracting, to say the least.”  
Dan blushed vividly when he realized just what Takeshi was saying.  
“But don't worry, you will learn control, you will be able to chose if you transmit you emotions through bond or not, to control how strongly you transmit them.”  
Dan just nodded silently, still blushing brightly.  
“And as I get used to the new bond I will learn to block out any excess emotional feedback from it, but until then I would appreciate it if you try not to let your mind wander too much if you touch me.”  
“I'll try, but I'm not making any promises, not if you keep tempting me like this.”  
Dan tugged lightly at the arm keeping him in place before settling down, resting his head on Takeshi's chest.

“You know, it's rather remarkable how strongly they seem to love you, first the Lilim, now this man.”  
Knight, who had been watching the interactions even after Emelie had gone back to sleep voiced his thoughts on the matter once Dan was sleeping again.  
“I just wish he would find someone else to love.”  
The disapproving glare that met his words almost made Takeshi laugh.  
“You heard my words earlier, they were all true. What I mean is that he deserves to love someone who can return his feelings.”  
“Perhaps, but he could have done a lot worse you know. You truly care for him, for his well being, even for his heart.”  
Knight turned slightly, propping himself up on his arm so that he could look straight at Takeshi.  
“In the time since you freed me I have seen plenty of how narrow minded and bigoted this world can be, just like the one I left behind. While we traveled I saw how some would look at us, I could feel their reactions to the slightest show of affection.”  
Takeshi could feel the emotions that simmered under the surface as Knight spoke.  
Ever since they released him from the crypt Knight had been very affectionate, not only toward Emelie, but toward Takeshi as well, he had explain that it was the way of his people.  
When choosing their partners, or bed mates, they cared little for species, and even less for gender, and while Knight's heart preferred females he was no stranger to sharing his bed with other males.  
Knight had also explained that he himself was a very physical person, showing his affection with touches and always wanting to be close.  
“He could have fallen for someone who would despise him, who would feel offended by the mere existence of his feelings, someone who would loathe him or even wish him harm merely for loving them.”  
“That it could have been worse does not mean he does not deserve better.”  
Takeshi was not prepared to concede his point, not this time.  
“Point taken.”  
Knight surrendered with a sigh and they both heard Emelie mutter about them being much to stubborn, much to early in the day.  
“She has a point you know. And I'm pretty sure you haven't slept yet. So how about you sleep and I will keep an eye on things?”  
This time Takeshi surrendered and with a teasing complaint he tucked his chin against the top of Dan's head and moments later he was sleeping.

Knight estimated that Takeshi had been sleeping for about three hours when the army of girls poured into the garden carrying baskets of fruits and behind them came the other adults with carts piled high with other foods and plates.  
“Ah, breakfast in _bed_ , I kinda missed this.”  
Knight could tell Takeshi had a huge grin plastered on his face without even looking but he didn't get a chance to confirm it as he found himself with a lap full of succubus.  
“Come on, don't be stingy, let me have some since _someone_ is hogging my _breakfast._ ”  
He could feel her tugging at his aura, begging him to release it so that she could easily feed of it, and with a shake of his head he gave her what she was asking for.  
“So, loud mornings are perfectly normal I take it?”  
“Hmpf, this is actually a calm morning.”  
Emelie muttered from his neck as she gave him an habitual nip.  
A groan brought their attention back to the pile of pillows and the still rather hung-over Dan.  
“Still not a dream, right?”  
“Nope, no such luck, you are stuck with us again.”  
Emelie chirped before anyone had a chance to say anything, causing Dan to splutter and hide a blush.  
“Now, how about I help you get into a shower and get rid of that hangover while the boys stuff their faces? 'Cause frankly, you don't look like you are ready for breakfast yet.”  
Watching Dan blanch and take on a slightly green hue at the mere mention of food had the others agreeing that it might be a good ideal and Takeshi simply picked him up and dumped him into Emelie's waiting arms, causing quite a few laughs as she walked off, carrying the much larger man bridal style.  
About an hour later Emelie returned with a somewhat less hung-over Dan and began to pick apart the basket of fresh fruits that they had saved for them, cajoling Dan into eating at least a few pieces of fruit.  
What Dan didn't notice though was that as she gave him the pieces of fruit she imbued them with her youki, turning them into a rather potent cure for his current state.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Confessions_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Once they were done eating and getting cleaned up they collected the planter that housed the Sylph and her daughters and headed to the Sanctuary to allow them to fully attune to the energies of the island, they would also introduce Knight to the Mother and give Dan a few lessons in how to manage what he transmitted over the bond.  
_**“My my, you do indeed collect the most interesting creatures around you.”**_  
There was laughter in the bell like voice of the Mother.  
**“A Son of the Borderlands, a Daughter of the Black Forest and her daughters and a Creation of Artemis. Come, stand before me.”  
** At the Mother's invitation they all entered the annex, Knight carrying the planter that housed the Sylph and Emelie carrying Minerva.  
While the Mother spoke to the newcomers and helped the Sylph adapt to her energy Takeshi sat down outside with Dan to teach him control.  


“That's it, feel how the energy flows. Now open your eyes and tell me what you see.”  
Takeshi carefully instructed Dan, helping him to use his modified eyes to see their energies.  
“You are red, red and gold, like fire. I'm guessing the greenish tones are me?”  
“Yes, your colors are bright greens and yellows, curiosity, playfulness, nature, balance, growth, love and passion, someone who acts on their thoughts and feelings. It's also the colors of a natural healer, someone who relaxes and comforts others. They suit you well.”  
Dan instantly blushed at Takeshi's words.  
“And yours, what do they mean?”  
“Perfectionism, wisdom, willpower, survival oriented, confident and competitive.”  
He paused for a moment before continuing with a teasing grin.  
“Vitality, stamina, passion and sexual energy.”  
This caused an even brighter blush.  
“Yeah, that kinda does sound like you. But I think you forgot _teaser._ ”  
“Perhaps, but it wouldn't really be me unless I teased you a bit, now would it?”  
“What about those wisps of black and gray?”  
Dan quickly changed the direction of the conversation, not quite ready to give an answer to that question.  
“Distrust, lingering grief, an unforgiving nature. Some of it is from me, but some of it is also youki, the power of the demons I carry within. Specifically shadow youki.”  
Dan nodded his understanding and Takeshi could feel a simmer of sympathy and comfort over the bond, a reaction to his mention of lingering grief.  
“Now look at these threads of power that reach out from our auras, these are representations of the bonds we have formed with others.”  
“Why are some of them glowing, alive, while others seem to be, I don't know, powerless, _mundane_?”  
“Good catch, you have good instincts hidden away there.”  
Takeshi praised Dan's observation and gave a quick tap over his heart with a clawed finger.  
“The ones that seem alive, glowing are the ones that carry power. This one for instance, you can see how my reds are twined with an electric blue that has power flowing through it.”  
Dan just nodded for him to continue.  
“It's my bond with Kasumi, her colors are blue and they carry the lightning of Arashi, but also the darkness of Kuragari, if you look closely you can see dark edges along the lightning.”  
“That one, the purple one with silver edges, that's Emelie, right? It feels like her somehow.”  
Dan reached out toward it but didn't touch the flowing energy and Takeshi nodded.  
“This one, it's hard to tell it apart from you, this is Knight isn't it? And this one, like green fire, that has to be Eriko, her fox-fire. And this other green one, Melissa?”  
“That's right. I told you you would be a natural at this.”  
The blush brought on by the praise made Takeshi grin even wider.  
“What about these? There's power in them, but they don't feel familiar...”  
Dan's voice turned hesitant and Takeshi could tell he was doubting himself, his abilities.  
“It's Sarisha and our children. You haven't met them so it's quite natural that you don't recognize them.”  
“And these that feel dull, powerless, these are the other girls right? And Matthews.”  
“That's right, if you look closely you can see that these two are stronger, more tightly woven together, they are the twins. You should keep an eye on them for practice, they should begin to show a flow of energy soon.”  
Takeshi indicated toward the two strands that tied him with the twins.  
“It's okay, you can touch them. Here, like this, let your energy flow to your hands.”  
Feeling his curiosity, Takeshi showed Dan how he could touch and feel the connections.  
“Just keep in mind that it's very rude to touch them without permission, and that if you were to pull too hard on a bond it could break, especially those without power flowing through them.”  
Takeshi allowed him to explore the strands of energy for a while before speaking up again.  
“There is one more thing I would like you to try, but for this I need your raijū to back off a bit, and make sure it does not transmit your thoughts.”  
Once the raijū had confirmed it would not do anything Takeshi continued.  
“I want you to focus on an emotion that can't easily be translated to words, the stronger the better and just focus on it. Feel it travel the bond.”  
Takeshi used the strong emotional conduit to find the trace of the Blessing that remained within Dan and reaching out with his own Blessing he gave it a gentle tug.  
At first there was nothing, then Takeshi found himself actually blushing slightly.  
_“Okay, maybe you should pick something slightly less private next time. But it transmitted clearly enough.”_  
“Wow, wait, was that? Is this?”  
“Yes, it is. There is enough of the Blessing left within you to allow you to communicate without the raijū helping you.”  
“Em is gonna be grumpy, isn't she?”  
“A bit envious for sure, but I think she will be more than happy to teach you how to use it to torment me.”  
Dan looked at him with a rather strange expression before suddenly blurting out what was on his mind with a tone of disbelief.  
“Damn, I actually made you blush!”  
“What? Let me see!”  
Emelie and Knight had returned with perfect timing, or not so perfect, depending on who you asked and Emelie instantly jumped into Takeshi's lap to confirm Dan's statement.  
“Damn, what did you do to manage that? Come on, let me in on the secret!”  
Emelie pulled Dan aside to question him on what had happened and Takeshi gave a sigh of relief when she couldn't get a straight answer out of him.  
“She does have a point you know. You are not the type to blush easily.”  
Knight prodded with a teasing tone that held more than a little glee in it.  
“Let's just say he has sides of himself hidden away in there that would make an incubus green with envy, if it ever stopped blushing long enough to be anything than crimson...”  
Knight laughed at the muttered response.  
“In other words he will fit in just fine with the rest of us.”  
The only answer he got was a groan.

“Where is the sylph?”  
Takeshi noticed that Knight was not carrying the planter and he couldn't feel the presence of her power.  
“ _Aellai_ asked that she be allowed to stay in the annex until her daughters have adapted to the energies of this place, the Mother agreed so I told her it was okay.”  
Takeshi just nodded his agreement, it was still a bit unsettling how well Knight took to acting the role of _Beta_ despite being an obvious _Alpha_ type, and how well he himself accepted him in that role.  
“So that's her name then, Aellai. I was wondering if she would ever let us know.”  
“It suits her well, _whirlwind_.”  
“Heh, indeed. It's how she first greeted me you know. But, she still fears me from back then, she was putting the twins at risk and scaring them so I shattered her winds, I probably used quite a bit more force than needed.”  
“Don't worry, sylphs are resilient creatures, she will get over it and I'm sure she and her daughters will simply _adore_ you.”  
The teasing quip rewarded Knight with another groan and a half-hearted punch on the arm, the last thing Takeshi needed was a swarm of love-struck sylphs, regardless of how cute the tiny things might be.  
“Okay Em, enough harassing Dan, let's head back and see if there is any food planned anytime soon.”  
Takeshi called out and he could feel relief through the new bond as Emelie turned away from the cornered Dan and set her focus on him and Knight instead.  
Sometimes Takeshi felt like a kindergarten teacher, while his companions were highly capable if things got serious they had a tendency to be rather childish and whimsical whenever things were relaxed.  
He couldn't really fault them for it though, he was very much the same himself, he just wished they wouldn't try to drag him into every harebrained antic of theirs.  
“Is it just me or has Em changed quite a bit while you were away? She seems more confident, and carefree.”  
Dan's question made Takeshi sigh as they watched Knight and Emelie argue about who made the better sandwiches.  
“I think you will find that we both changed quite a bit during our trip.”  
“Any chance you guys will actually tell me what happened?”  
“We will, tonight if you think you can pull an all-nighter.”  
The deep sigh told Takeshi that Dan was not feeling up to a late night but he had a feeling he would probably try anyway out of curiosity.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Confessions_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The rest of the day was spent playing with the girls, letting them get to know Knight's demon steed and telling bits and pieces of what they had been up to during their extended vacation.  
Knight quickly picked up on Melissa's still lingering crush on Takeshi and teased him mercilessly for it, poking at him until he turned and pounced with a snarl, giving Knight a lesson in modern martial arts and a reminder of just how much Takeshi's looks belied his strength as well as a reminder that he was pure _Alpha_.  
Eriko, Emelie and the twins were the only ones not to stare wide eyed at the sudden fight, it was obvious that it was not just one of the mock fights that they were used to.  
“Don't worry, it's a _Pack_ thing, it's common among demons, especially those of us who live in groups. Someone has to lead, and someone has to follow. Those two are both leaders, and it's tough to accept becoming one who follows.”  
“But, you and Take never fought like this! They are really hurting each other.”  
Melissa was obviously concerned, and confused.  
Her own instincts as a Blessed told her it was okay, but at the same time her human sensibilities told her it was very wrong, that they were trying to harm each other.  
“It's because they are both males while I am female. A _Pack_ has two leaders, a male and a female. In most species the male _Alpha_ is the dominant one and the female is just below him, but above the male second, the _Beta._ Though if the female is Lilim and the male is not, the female will usually be the dominant one, Takeshi and Emelie are unusual in that way.”  
Eriko began to explain _Pack_ -dynamics while keeping an eye on Takeshi and Knight, as an _Alpha_ by her own right it was her duty to oversee a _Challenge_.  
A duty she shared with Emelie, but Emelie was an _Alpha_ of the _Pack_ involved so she would also keep an eye so the challenge didn't get out of hand, ideally no one was seriously hurt or killed during these challenges, and Emelie had the right to declare a winner if the combatants themselves wouldn't yield.  


“Since I am female and my species is also male dominated my fights with Takeshi has not been about who should lead, it is more of a test, to see if he is strong enough to be above me, and since I am not part of his _Pack_ I would simply walk away and refuse to obey him should he prove to be weaker than me.”  
They watched as a vicious kick sent Takeshi flying into a tree and a split second later his arms were pinned under Knights bulk, but a flare of raw power forced the larger male to take a step back and Takeshi immediately pounced, twisted them around and locked Knight between him and the tree, using his weight and aura to keep him down before sharp fangs clamped down over his throat and as they drew blood Knights aura flared and then nearly vanished in submission.  
The moment Knights aura submitted Takeshi released the pressure over his throat and began to clean, and heal, the wounds he had caused, moments later Emelie joined them and helped them heal each other.  
“In a _Pack_ , actions often carry more weight, more meaning, than words. By healing him they let him know that his submission has been accepted, that he is still part of the _Pack_. And by allowing him to heal Takeshi they let him know there are no hard feelings, that he still has their trust, that he has not lost his position with them. Which is strange in itself.”  
Eriko calmly explained to their audience, but before she could explain what she found strange Dan cut her of.  
“It's strange cause he's not actually _Pack_ , right? The bond is strong, but it feels different.”  
“That's right, he is not _Pack_. Normally an outsider would be killed for challenging an _Alpha_ , but they treat him like a _Beta_ despite not being _Pack_.”  
“That's because I am sworn to them for now, until that oath is fulfilled I will act as _Beta_ , but I am not yet prepared to fully surrender to that role beyond my oath.”  
Knight spoke up, still resting against the tree with Emelie and Takeshi looking over his wounds, the fact that Takeshi had claws and made liberal use of them in a fight combined with the burning, almost acidic nature of the Qi he had infused them with had left Knight with quite a few cuts that did not heal easily on their own.  
A hiss of pain from Takeshi when he tried to shift Knight to take a look at his back had Emelie scolding both of them.  
“If you don't stop squirming around long enough for those broken ribs to set I swear I will knock you out cold!”  
Knight instantly stilled and his aura settled into a submissive pattern, it was more natural for him to submit to Emelie because of her status as Lilim than it was to submit to Takeshi with whom he compared himself purely on power.  
Takeshi however bared his fangs against her, still struggling with the residual high of the fight.  
“Both of you!”  
She snapped at Takeshi and flared her wings and aura, demanding obedience and a few moments later Takeshi relented to the worry he could feel in her aura and allowed her to check on his ribs without to much fuss.  
The sight of the tiny slip of a woman subduing both the large males had the others snickering and grinning.  
While Emelie checked on Takeshi, Knight assured the worried girls that their injuries looked much worse than they were.  


 

 

 


	47. Heat

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**   
  


After the evening meal they retreated to the shielded section of the garden so that they could speak without being overheard, Takeshi and Emelie did not want the girls to hear the true scope of what had happened while they were away, especially not how close to death Takeshi had actually been.  
Dan watched with hesitation as they made themselves comfortable on the pile of pillows, shifting, poking and prodding each other trying to find a position where they were comfortable while still having physical contact with the others and he was just about to have a seat in one of the recliners when Knight shifted slightly and patted the empty area between him and Takeshi.  
“What are you hiding away over there for? We don't bite, unless you want us to.”  
Dan blushed at the implications of Knight's words but he slowly crawled into the indicated spot.

The blush grew darker as both Knight and Takeshi began to shuffle around, shifting him between them until he found himself curled up to Knights side, resting his head on the giant's shoulder, he could feel Takeshi pressed against his back and his arm draped across his waist.  
Emelie was curled on top of Knight, her wing draped over him and Takeshi while Knight's arm kept her from falling, and her tail wrapped tightly around the wrist of the arm that Takeshi had draped over him.  
Once comfortable they settled down into a relaxed conversation, and Dan had reluctantly agreed that perhaps he was a bit too tired to go into the important things so he would settle for the bits and pieces they offered, laughs, embarrassments and promises of a tour of the foods they had sampled along the way.  
He was delighted to hear that they had ordered a large amount of the specialties from his native northern regions of Sweden, including cloudberries, wild mushrooms and reindeer that had been cured, smoked and dried.  
Takeshi had blanched when Dan asked if they had added _Surströmming_ to the items ordered, while he was sure the fermented fish was probably more than palatable when properly served his enhanced sense of smell had been unable to handle the smell when they had opened a tin right under his nose without warning.  
Emelie whispered an assurance that she had added it to the list without asking Takeshi.

Dan was almost asleep when he felt Emelie shimmy across him and shift Takeshi away from him and for a moment he was overcome with an irrational fear of being abandoned, rejected.  
A moment later he could feel Knight shift him slightly, pulling him close against his chest.  
“She needs to feed, they will rejoin us when she is sated. Trust the bond.”  
Dan immediately relaxed against the solid warmth that reminded him so much of Takeshi only to turn rigid when he felt a breath brush against his ear.  
“You should watch them, open you senses, open the bond and feel them. I think you would find the experience _very_ interesting.”  
The breath was replaced by kisses, teasing, tickling with a softness that contradicted the power and near roughness of the arm that pulled him close.  
When he squirmed slightly the kisses stopped and Knight's low voice assured him that he wouldn't do anything Dan didn't agree to, all while offering, almost begging for a release they both needed.  
Dan expected it to feel wrong, like betrayal, like being used, like he was using the other man simply for feeling so similar to Takeshi but the feeling of wrongness never came.  
Instead he could feel a weave of power, of reassurance flowing from Takeshi through the bond and somehow he knew, he knew that Takeshi had woven something similar to _command_ over him, but not to make him do something he didn't want to, instead it was there to assure he didn't do something he wasn't comfortable with.  
“You know, I envy how much he cares for you, both of you. How willing he is to give of himself to protect, to ensure your comfort, safety and happiness.”  
Knight whispered against Dan's ear and it felt good, frighteningly so.  
“You to, huh?”  
Knight knew what he was asking and decided to give him the full truth.  
“In a way, but not like you do, I desire them, both of them, but I don't love them, at least not in the way you mean.”  
Knight teased Dan, mirroring the touches of the couple before them and could feel him relax and give in to the sensation.  
“But as things are now I am unable to act on it. For me to approach her would be seen as a challenge of his position. Takeshi and I are both highly dominant so any intimacies between us would start with a fight to determine who would be the one to claim, and who would surrender to being claimed.”  
Knight could feel Dan's breath hitch as the feedback from Takeshi's emotions flowed through the bond.  
“The only way would be if she acted as a bridge between us, allowing us to share, to both assume a dominant position without actually engaging each other, but she is not ready for something like that.”  
“Damn! Makes me wish I was a woman.”  
The half hiss, half groan made Knight pause for a moment and lean in, partially pinning Dan beneath him.  
“You would offer yourself to us, be our bridge, unite our fires?”  
“ _Yes!_ ”  
Knight groaned when he felt Dan's intense emotional and physical release radiate through his aura as he hissed out his answer and then instantly went limp, passed out from the sensory overload, leaving Knight painfully unfulfilled.  
At the same time he could feel chaos echo from Emelie and Takeshi.  
Completely unprepared for the intense feedback from Dan Takeshi had lost himself for a moment, flooding Emelie's senses with his unrestrained aura and his new power-level had completely overwhelmed her, causing her to shut down to protect herself.  
Takeshi was near frantic as he checked on her and after a few moments he relaxed somewhat when he found she was just in a deep sleep.  
Picking her up he carefully placed her next to Dan and was relieved when she instantly curled into the warm body next to her and he seemed to feel her presence as well as he shifted slightly and draped his arm over her.

“What in the world did you do to him to cause that kind of reaction?”  
Takeshi's voice was heavy with residual emotion, but the curiosity was clear in it, as was the taint of concern as he began to question Knight about what had happened.  
“Nothing, really. A bit of teasing, a bit of talking. I think he pretty much did it to himself.”  
Takeshi didn't voice his request for him to clarify just what they had been talking about, but the question and curiosity was clear in the slight tilt of his head and rise of an eyebrow.  
Knight just shook his head, he was not ready to talk about it, if Takeshi or Emelie had overheard him while he spoke of it with Dan he wouldn't have cared, but not like this.  
Takeshi just gave him a slight nod, he wouldn't press the issue any further, instead he rose from the pillows, intent to head for the kitchen to find something to recover a bit of the energy he had just spent.  
As he walked past Knight he put his hand on his shoulder and allowed some of his Qi to flow through the touch, the gesture had become so deeply ingrained that he didn't realize he had done it until he heard a low keening sound that sounded completely alien.  
Turning toward the sound he froze at the surreal sight, Knight's head was actually turned to the side and tilted back slightly, completely baring the sensitive throat and for a brief moment everything about him was completely submissive before he seemed to snap out of it and looked up with a dazed expression.  
“That bad, huh?”  
It took a few moments for Knight to realize what had just happened, for a moment he had been overcome by such a strong need that he had instinctively submitted just for a glimmer of a chance to sate it.  
With a groan he realized the implications of it.  
“Worse.”  
His answer was little more than a hoarse whisper and Takeshi seemed to understand that he needed more time as he only gave a slight squeeze of his shoulder before letting go and returned to his hunt for food.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When Takeshi returned with a selection of snacks he simply sat down and offered Knight a tray piled high with his favorites and watched in silence as he picked at them without eating much.  
“So, feel like telling me what has you so rattled? I have a feeling it's more than just a bad case of blue balls.”  
“Honestly, no. But I have little choice since it will affect the safety of your pack, of the ones living here and my oath prevents me from just leaving without your expressed permission, and to receive that I must fully inform you of what is happening.”  
With a deep sigh he steeled himself to tell Takeshi of what he considered to be his greatest weakness, and his greatest shame.  
“Most of the time my mixed blood gives nothing but benefits, I'm stronger, faster, I heal and age like a demon and I have their stamina, their enhanced senses and instincts. I possess demonic energy, what you call _youki_ , as well as well as human energy, _reiki,_ and I can blend them into the more powerful _Prana_ , raw power in its most basic form. _”_  
Taking a few deep breaths to try to keep the tremble out of his voice he continued.  
“However, I suffer one major drawback. I have inherited the reproductive cycle of one of my demonic ancestors. About once every century I go into an intense demonic heat. During this heat I lose all control and will do anything to sate the lust.”  
The waves of shame, loathing and revulsion that poured from Knight told Takeshi just how bad the loss of control was and gave him an inkling as to what kind of acts had been committed, or at least could be committed under the influence of the heat.  
“Normally I would seek out a demonic partner, preferably one who is also going through the heat and we would go into seclusion and ride it out. But normally I would know months ahead that it's coming, but it's here, now, I can feel it pulling at my control, one day, maybe two before I loose it completely. And this heat is much stronger than before, probably due to my extended imprisonment.”

Looking up at Takeshi with a desperate look he pleaded for him to ensure the safety of the others.  
“You must seal me away until the heat has ended, Glenys can help you create a seal I won't be able to break until it's over.”  
“How long does the heat last?”  
The lack of judgment in Takeshi's voice made Knight sigh with relief, he had seen it in his eyes that he had understood the implications of his words and still he did not resent him for it.  
“A normal heat will last a month, maybe two if left unsated, since this one feels stronger it might last longer. I have heard of cases where it has lasted as long as a year.”  
“And how long will it last if sated?”  
“A few days, no more than a week unless it's a mated pair trying to breed, then it would last until conception. True life-mates sometimes have longer cycles due to triggering each other.”  
Takeshi nodded and there was a moment of silence as he considered Knight's words.  
“How severe are the consequences if you deny the heat and have yourself sealed instead of sating it?”  
“Pain beyond what most can comprehend. A pain that would have you clawing your own throat out in a heartbeat if it wasn't for the extremely potent survival instincts it triggers. I don't think I am strong enough for it to be dangerous though.”  
“It's more dangerous if you are strong?”  
“Yes, a powerful demon is usually better at overriding their instincts, it happens every few cycles that someone strong is unable, or unwilling to sate their heat and end up being able to overcome the instincts and kill themselves to get away from the pain. It's usually older demons that lost a life-mate and can't or won't take another partner.”  
Knight was glad that Takeshi somehow kept his voice, even his entire aura and stance neutral, clinical, professional somehow, it made it easier for him to talk about it and he had a feeling Takeshi understood that.  
He watched as Takeshi lowered himself to the floor in one smooth motion, he recalled that Emelie had called it _seiza_ , and that it was part of the culture Takeshi had grown up in.  
Knight watched as he pulled his blades, still in their scabbards and tucked them into the belt he always had tied around his waist, once secured he placed his hands on the hilts and Knight could feel his energies settling into a meditative state, no doubt to weigh his options and decide what to do.

“I guess we need to try to find a way to sate this heat of yours then.”  
Knight startled slightly when Takeshi finally spoke, and cursed how the heat was messing with his senses.  
“I don't think you realize just how out of control I will get, even if I have a willing partner it will be rough, there is a reason why I always seek out a demon partner, or have myself sealed away. Even with a demon partner it usually takes a few days to recover and heal.”  
Knight's aura flared with the desperate need to make Takeshi understand just how bad it was.  
“The fox could withstand it, but despite her teasing I can feel her loyalty to Matthews, I couldn't ask it of her. Your sister, while strong, does not have the regenerative power needed to withstand it. Shirai Lilim is out of the question, she is too young, too inexperienced, and she has not been formally accepted as Lilim so she does not have her full power.”  
His shoulders slumped slightly, he did not look forward to the suffering of an unfulfilled heat, especially since it would probably be an unusually long and painful one, but he refused to risk hurting someone.  
He was confused though, Takeshi didn't seem concerned, instead he had this odd teasing smirk on his face.  
“It's obvious that this heat of yours can make do things you would normally not even consider.”  
The grin turned sly as he continued.  
“Tell me, would this include forcing your normally dominant nature to assume a submissive role for the duration of the heat if that meant getting the lust sated?”  
The words made Knight pause, was Takeshi really saying what he thought he was, offering what it sounded like?  
“Yes, as you witnessed a while ago it can override my normal nature if there is a potential partner who is also a dominant nature but equal strength or stronger. If the other is about equal and also under the influence of the heat it would usually lead to a fight to determine who is dominant for the duration, but against someone stronger, or not in heat, it would trigger submission to ensure a favorable outcome.”  
Knight could feel his face burn as he confirmed Takeshi's suspicion, while he was far from bashful it was still hard to admit such a thing.  
“Are you..?”  
Knight found himself unable to fully voice his question, unsure if he had interpreted Takeshi's questions correctly, unsure if he was really offering to be the one to help him through the heat, but he found he didn't need to voice them as he was met by a knowing smile when he looked up.  
“I am. I may lack experience with another male since it's not my preference, but my instincts tell me I will be quite capable of doing what needs to be done if you agree and accept my offer.”  
“I have no doubt you are more than capable, but are you sure you want to? Like you said, your preference does not run toward males.”  
Knight found himself struggling against his heat just to voice his concerns and it seemed that Takeshi noticed that it was bothering him.  
“Don't worry, I'm fine with it, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't.”  
There was a sigh of relief as the reassurance caused his heat to fade slightly, he hated how it was almost sentient, as if it was possessing him.  
“Can you hold on until tomorrow so we can tell the others that we will be leaving for a few days?”  
“I think so, knowing that I will be able to find relief helps keeping it under control.”  
“I'll leave it up to you how much you want to tell them about why we are leaving, though, I would prefer to at least tell Em and Dan what is really going on.”  
Knight just nodded before leaning back and trying to find some semblance of rest.  
Takeshi watched for a while as Knight tossed and turned before he walked over and sat down next to him, he could feel the conflict in Knight's aura as the heat moved him, making him curl up as close as he could before finally falling asleep.  
  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Knight woke up with a groan, the heat was pulling at him forcefully and he could feel himself shifting focus toward Emelie, the influence of the heat seeking an outlet and for a brief moment he panicked and was just about to try to call out, to warn her when he felt Takeshi's hand heavily on his shoulder, pushing him back down while his aura washed over him, demanding obedience.  
With a sigh of relief he whispered his gratitude.  
“Are you okay for a bit longer, or should we leave right away?”  
Takeshi asked in a low voice so that the other would not wake in case Knight felt they needed to leave.  
“Just don't let up the pressure from your aura and I should be fine. If my aura tries to reach out for anyone but you, you need to cut it of, smother it. Use whatever force you need to, just don't let me hurt anyone.”  
“Don't worry, I won't. But that includes you as well.”  
A quick flare of energy alerted Emelie that it was time to wake up and she instantly pounced Dan to wake him as well, resulting in a minor scuffle before he realized what was happening.  
When they turned toward Takeshi and Knight they both froze at what they were seeing, Takeshi was standing behind a kneeling Knight, hands heavy on shoulders that were slumping slightly as Knight's head bowed down under the massive force of Takeshi's aura.  
“Whats wrong?”  
Emelie quickly began to move toward them but jumped back when Takeshi snarled at her in warning.  
“Stay back and listen please.”  
While Knight explained what was going on in as much detail as he was comfortable with Takeshi focused on keeping him under control, he also pulled on the bond with Kasumi and asked her to round up the others, as well as have suitable bedding and food brought to the Sanctuary.  
Knight had agreed that the Sanctuary was probably the best choice for them to retire to during his heat as it was heavily shielded from spiritual energies and the mirror annex could be sealed to keep them locked up.  
“Damn, you guys never do things the easy way, much less a normal way, do you?”  
Dan asked with a shake of his head, still trying to grasp the latest bombshell to drop in his lap.  
“Of course not, what would be the fun in that?”  
Takeshi's voice carried the usual teasing tone, but his aura didn't reflect it as he was focused on keeping Knight down.  
“Let's go eat and have a few words with the others, the sooner we get to the Sanctuary the better.”

Eriko instantly realized what was going on when she saw them, despite of, or maybe because of how Takeshi's aura was completely drowning out Knight's, and knowing just how hard it could be to remain in control during a heat she quickly positioned herself between the pair and the others.  
Calling up her own aura she layered it with fox-fire and wove it around them, forming an additional layer outside of Takeshi's aura to help keep Knight's aura restrained, and keeping it from sensing the others, especially the girls.  
While he could still see them they wouldn't really register to him as long as he was unable to sense their auras and that should make it easier for Takeshi to keep him subdued.  
She listened as they told the others that they would be leaving for a few days, probably no more than a week, but they didn't really mention why and she figured the whole heat thing was probably a bit of a sore subject, it usually was with those of mixed blood especially those that were unmated.  
She was surprised when they got up to leave and Emelie stayed behind, she had assumed that the Lilim would be the one to help him through the heat but before she could ask a look from Takeshi had her backing of and he whispered in Japanese that he would explain later.  
  


 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

 

When Takeshi and Knight reached the Sanctuary they were greeted by the bell like chime of the Mother.  
 _ **“I see you will be offering some entertainment for this old spirit.”**_  
Knight's aura instantly flared, instinctively trying to pinpoint the source of the powerful presence.  
 _ **“Such a strong heat to, I am sure he would make a most interesting partner. Had I been able to claim a physical form I might just have offered to aid him through it. But alas, I am unable to do so. The flow of energy of this world must be in balance for me to do so.”**_  
“His heat will force him to submit to me so I will be seeing him through it since he isn't comfortable with any of the others doing it, worried he will hurt them.”  
 _ **“Always my little Guardian, so protective, so willing to care. I have left a little something for you in the chamber to help you through your seclusion. But you better go now before the pain of denying the heat sets in.”**_  
As Takeshi was about to turn around and guide Knight toward the mirror annex a sudden shift in Knight's aura made him pause and watch as Knight removed his bracers and turned toward the soul-tree, asking permission to enter the annex, once granted he walked up to the tree and placed them among the branches.  
“It's less likely I will put up a fight without my armor and sword, and if I should it will be easier to subdue me without them. I'm not sure how much I will be able to control myself, and how fully the heat will make me submit.”  
Takeshi just nodded and lead him toward the hidden opening into the small chamber that mirrored the chamber of the soul-tree, just like how the Sanctuary in his mindscape had two rooms, one for the tree and one housing his beast.

Once inside Takeshi noticed that the usually barren room had been changed quite a lot, there were several fruit trees that were heavy with crystal fruits as well as vines and plants on the ground, some rather exotic looking ones like the hairy Rambutan, scaly Salak and colorful Hala.  
Others more plain like pomegranate, various apples and citrus fruits, melons, grapes and nuts, including coconuts as well as pineapples, avocado and a few others he did not recognize.  
He groaned slightly as he spotted a small durian tree, while he loved the fruits, and they were highly nutritious, the smell was a bit much to handle with his sensitive nose, luckily these didn't seem to have much of the characteristic odor.  
When he spotted a large cactus completely overgrown with dragon-fruits he couldn't resist grabbing one and slicing it open with a claw before taking a big bite, despite its crystalline appearance it was just as soft as the real fruit, its flavor was slightly different though, more condensed, richer and when Takeshi turned and picked a second fruit to toss to Knight he noticed that the one he had picked was already regrowing.  
“I guess we won't have to worry about food at least.”  
He quipped as he tossed the slightly spiky fruit.  
“You got everything you need? If so I'm going to seal this up.”  
Knight just nodded while trying to figure out how to deal with the less than cooperative fruit, almost dropping it when Takeshi's aura flared.  
Knight watched as Takeshi drew both his blades and he could hear the duality in his voice as he spoke a simple incantation for a barrier and for a moment he worried, the incantation was for a simple barrier, one he would easily be able to break.  
The flare of raw power that signaled the completion of the barrier had Knight staring wide-eyed and he could feel a tendril of fear trickle down his spine, the kind of exhilarating fear one would feel when facing down a force of nature.  
He knew, there was no way he would be able to break that barrier, despite its simple nature the addition of the two blades being slid into the ground at the entrance and joining with the barrier was just overkill and the show of power fanned the flames of his heat.  
With the barrier in place Takeshi turned around and was faced with a slack-jawed Knight, eyes dilated with a somewhat glazed look and he could hear his shallow breathing and unusually rapid pulse.  
“How are you feeling?”

Knight instantly focused on the sound of Takeshi's voice and for a moment he was just staring before shaking his head slightly to try to clear his thoughts.  
“I'm fine. It's just that any displays of power triggers my instincts.”  
The answering flare of power had Knight glaring at a grinning Takeshi.  
“Maybe I should drop my seals to see how you would respond. I have a feeling it could get rather interesting.”  
The voice held a mix of curiosity and the usual teasing tone, but it also carried a clearly suggestive quality that made Knight's instincts stir even more and he swallowed thickly as he could feel a familiar fire begin to build within and quickly drop into his belly.  
“Wait! Seals? Are you telling me your power is being sealed right now? Not just reined in?”  
“Yes, after my recovery I found that my power-level had increased quite a lot, and to make sure there wouldn't be any problems in case something happened to make me lose control, like I did last night, I placed several levels of seals on myself.”  
“So that insane flare of power wasn't your full power?”  
Takeshi just shook his head.  
“Just how powerful are you?”  
“I don't know, I don't think I have reached my limit yet.”  
Takeshi's words nearly sent Knight to his knees.  
“I guess we better get ready, you don't look like you will be able to hold on much longer.”  
Knight just nodded, barely able to stay on feet he could feel the pain creeping into his senses.

They moved toward the back of the chamber where Kasumi had left a large pile of bedding on top of a set of tatami mats, when they rounded the small outcropping in the back they noticed that the Mother had left one last surprise, though, they found themselves unsure just what it was.  
It looked like a cross between an African umbrella tree and a rain lamp, the crystalline tree was glowing with all the colors of the rainbow, the colors slowly shifting.  
Small drops of highly viscous fluid hung from the crown and curiosity got the better of both of them and they reached out to pick up a drop each.  
“What is this stuff?”  
Knight carefully sniffed the substance and noted that his body-heat seemed to make it less viscous and very slippery.  
 _ **“Just a little something to make things easier. Ease any discomforts and aid performance.”**_  
The voice of the Mother rang out and moments later they both looked rather wide-eyed as a blush began to form when they realized just what the intent of the substance produced by the small plant was.  
“Is She offering aid, or teasing us?”  
Knight was the first to find his voice.  
“Both.”  
There was no hesitation in Takeshi's reply, his thoughts on the matter revealed by the amused huff that accompanied the single word.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Knight couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped when Takeshi's grin widened and his aura began to uncurl around them, he watched as Takeshi stood and began to remove his _haori_ and _nagajuban_ revealing the tattoos and once he was down to only his _hakama_ he released a flare of power that brought forth the sealing runes across his chest and arms.  
“Damn, those are some heavy duty seals! You shouldn't even be able to stand with all that.”  
“And yet it's barely enough to allow me to maintain control so that my aura won't flare and hurt someone who lack the power to defend themselves. I have had to reinforce them by adding layers upon layers.”  
Knight found himself being pushed back by the force of the aura before him as Takeshi began to undo the seals one by one, each seal releasing a flare of power as it shattered.  
A mix between a groan and a moan brought a knowing glint to Takeshi's eyes and the already wide grin turned predatory at the proof of just how strongly Knight was affected by his power, even if it was caused by the influence of the heat.  
Taking a measured step toward Knight he allowed the illusion that hid the true form of his tattoo to drop, releasing yet another burst of power as he was no longer draining his own power to hide that of the ryujin.  
“Now you are just teasing me...”  
“Of course I am, wouldn't be me if I didn't now would it? Besides, you need to relax a bit.”  
Another step closer and Takeshi dropped some of the control he was enforcing on his transformation, control that made him look more human, with it released his fangs grew more prominent, his claws became longer and sharper, and his eyes no longer appeared as golden brown human ones, instead the slit pupil surrounded by the corona of fire appeared.  
Knight tried to take another step back but quickly found that he had backed himself into a corner, literary.  
“How about you get out of those clothes, or do you need me to give you a hand with them?”  
The grin combined with the flexing of sharp claws told Knight that if he didn't remove the clothes himself he would be wearing nothing but his armor on the walk back to the house.  
For a moment Knight found himself locked down by something in those burning eyes that he just couldn't pinpoint, then the instincts of his heat surfaced and startled him out of it by the sheer force of the fire they brought with them.

“You know, for someone who claims to have no interest in males you sure do know how to light one on fire...”  
Knight's complaint was halfhearted at best and carried a familiar teasing tone as he removed his clothes much to slow to be considered proper.  
“Well, everyone keeps telling us how similar we are, figured that should give me a head start on figuring you out.”  
Leaning in close Takeshi tugged slightly on Knight's belt to remind him that he was supposed to be removing it if he wanted it in one piece.  
“Besides, I have never claimed to have _no interest_ in males, merely that it's not my _preference._ ”  
Takeshi added, whispering in Knights ear with something akin to a purr before stepping back a bit to watch the result of his words.  
The sight before him brought his grin from teasing back to predatory, Knight was visibly flushed and struggling with his pants as the situation and his heat had caused an rather obvious issue with the fit of the heavy denim.  
Takeshi chuckled as he recalled when they had gone shopping for clothes for Knight, he had been rather unimpressed with modern clothing until they came across a store focused on a bit more subculture clothing where he had instantly fallen for the heavy denim and boots in their cowboy style section.  
“Sure you don't need a hand with those?”  
Takeshi teased while flexing his claws.  
“No thanks, I don't feel like walking back without pants when this is over...”  
With a frustrated groan he finally managed to free himself of his clothes before looking at Takeshi again and for a moment he wished he hadn't as he was met with an excellent view of him getting rid of his _hakama_ , revealing the tail of the dragon as it curled around his leg.  
With an almost careless kick Takeshi sent the final piece of clothing flying to join the rest of his clothes before refocusing his power on Knight, pushing him back against the wall as he slowly crossed the few steps separating them.  
Takeshi could tell from the dilated pupils and rapid, shallow breathing that Knight was on the verge of loosing control and he couldn't resist the slight rush of pride at having reduced him to such a state while barely touching him, despite knowing that it would not have been possible without the heat making the old warrior more submissive.

With one final step Takeshi reached out and began to trace the pattern of scars that marred Knight's chest, carefully dragging his claw along the pale lines.  
“So many scars, a map, the history of a warrior.”  
Takeshi's voice was barely a murmur as he traced a thin line reaching from one ear to the other across the throat, someone had once tried to slit his throat but failed to kill him.  
“I heal like a demon, but scar like a human.”  
Knight explained in a hushed tone, unable to suppress the shudder from the sensation of the claw tracing the scar, his scars had always been a source of conflict for him.  
Conflict between the pride of having survived tough battles that had left such injuries and shame that he had been injured in the first place, shame that he was not strong enough to heal without scarring, and now the feeling of someone inspecting them so intimately had him torn.  
He feared that he would be found lacking, that his scars would be seen as a weakness, and he did not want to appear weak before such a powerful being, he knew he would be submitting before the day was over, but that was the heat, not weakness.  
“A testament to a fierce will, and ability, to survive.”  
Takeshi's words washed away the fear in an instant, no rejection, no disdain, only respect and a hint of pride   
But when Takeshi began to nip and kiss at the exposed scars something snapped within Knight and he spun them around, pinning the smaller male between him and the wall, a last desperate attempt to assume the dominant role and for a moment it seemed like he would succeed as Takeshi closed his eyes and leaned back slightly to allow Knight access to the sensitive skin at the crook of his neck.  
Knight was enjoying the taste and feel of power that permeated Takeshi's skin as he slowly moved toward the exposed throat, kissing, licking, nipping, he could feel Takeshi's sharp claws bite into his shoulders and his hips press against him as he managed to pull a shuddering groan from him.  
Maybe, just maybe he would be allowed to bite down and claim dominance over him, just as his instincts were telling him to, but the moment his teeth touched the sensitive skin of the throat he found himself off balance, and then sailing across the room.  
Landing heavily on the other side of the small chamber Knight found himself dazed for a moment and when he looked up he was faced with a snarling Takeshi, slowly stalking toward him with his aura flaring about him, it no longer held the playful, teasing edge, this creature that was stalking toward him was pure apex predator, pure _Alpha_ , and Knight knew there was no way Takeshi would ever truly submit to anyone.   
A slight shift in Takeshi's stance combined with a shift in the flow of his aura told Knight that he was about to pounce, and he knew, if Takeshi pounced on him now he would submit, there would be no stopping it.  
There was a tiny shift in the raging aura then a move, to fast to see and Knight found himself pinned to the ground, he had forgotten just how heavy Takeshi was when he wasn't using his power to mask it, but now he landed with his full weight, and the full weight of his aura and there was no way Knight would be able to free himself.

When Takeshi leaned toward his face Knight closed his eyes, he could feel the powerful aura pushing against his, burning, demanding and when a hand ghosted against his cheek he could feel the final surge of his heat, but before it could fully overwhelm him and force the submission he managed to rein in enough control to tilt his head back on his own.  
Takeshi heard the quivering breath as Knight tilted his head back to expose his throat, his aura was still fighting slightly, revealing that it was not a move forced by the heat and part of Takeshi was relieved at the sign that Knight was doing it intentionally, willingly.  
Placing his hands just above Knight's shoulders he leaned in and when he carefully placed his fangs over the exposed throat and bit down slightly, just enough to break the skin and draw a few drops of blood, he was rewarded with a low keening cry as Knight's aura folded, submitting completely and the desperation and raw want, need, carried in the sound lit a familiar fire in Takeshi's veins, burning away any lingering doubts about what he was about to do.  
 _ **“There is no shame in submitting to a stronger Alpha, only honor in their acceptance.”**_  
The dual tone and raw power flowing through the voice revealed that the words were not Takeshi's, but rather the Beast within speaking through him as he withdrew his fangs from Knights throat and carefully licked away the blood, healing the wound as he did.

 

The Mother watched with avid curiosity as her chosen helped replace the burning agony of an unfulfilled heat with a very different fire.

 


	48. Marks

  **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Marks_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

When Knight woke up he was surprised to find that his heat had withdrawn quite a lot and he was mostly lucid despite it only being the second day, maybe this heat wasn't as strong as he had thought at first.  
A slight burning sensation brought his hand to the crook of his neck and he froze as he could feel a slight pulse of Takeshi's energy there.  
“Don't worry, it will fade in a few days. My annoying backseat driver took over and put it there when you wouldn't calm down.”  
“Did the blasted thing bother telling you what it is, what it means?”  
Knight groaned, while he wasn't able to place one himself he was well aware of the meaning of the mark Takeshi's Beast had put on him, it was a courting mark, intended to tell other demons that he was claimed and that anyone trying to court him would have to face the _Alpha_ whose mark he was carrying.  
“Yeah, it did, after a while. But it assures me it's temporary and will fade by the end of the week.”  
Knight huffed at the teasing tone and tried to get up, but was stopped by Takeshi shoving a basket of fruits, cheese and dried meat in his hands.  
“No milk or cream I'm afraid, you will have to do with water. Now eat while you can, I'm guessing this moment of clarity won't last long.”  
“You're right, it won't. I can already feel the heat returning. It's odd though, I'm normally not this calm so early in my heat.”  
_**“It is the first time you have been the submissive one during your heat, is it not?”**_  
Takeshi looked slightly annoyed as the Beast pushed through and spoke through him.  
“It is, you think it has anything to do with it?”  
_**“Assuming the role of Alpha gives some benefits, being the one to claim, to set the pace, but it also brings duties. To protect the partner and make sure they are cared for, make sure no one disturbs, keep an eye out for threats. By submitting to us you left that responsibility to us, allowing yourself to just relax, and enjoy the ride.”**_  
Knight nodded, the Beast's words made sense, however the last bit about enjoying the ride earned them a grown and a punch on the arm.  
”Hey, come on! Don't punish me for what that thing says.”  
Takeshi mock whined, unable to hide his grin, not that he was really trying though.  
“Hmph, that grin was all you, don't you even try to claim otherwise.”  
Takeshi just gave him a crooked shrug and handed him another piece of dried meat.

They spoke of the plans for the nearest future while they waited for Knight's heat to once again become to much for him and when it did Takeshi once again helped him take the edge of.  
“I think I prefer being out of control over being aware of your smug grin.”  
Knight complained when the heat was once again pushed to the back of his mind, but there was no real heat behind his words anymore.  
“I'm sure you would. But how about you eat and rest instead of complaining? You are burning away your energy much faster than you should and I don't want to risk using my Qi try and replenish your reserves, the Beast tells me that might cause a permanent marking.”  
“Yeah, I would rather not end up being marked as your mate, bad enough I'm going to have scars after those damned claws of yours.”  
Takeshi traced the new scars on Knight's shoulders and hips and the way his aura brushed against them relayed his apology for having caused them.  
“Once your energies are back to normal I can try and heal them. If I cut away the scar-tissue and then use my power to heal the wound it should heal without scarring.”  
The Beast once again pushed its way to the surface before Knight had a chance to speak up to let Takeshi know he would consider the offer.  
_**“We could always seal some of our power into them the next time our claws dig in. Not many can brag about having been accepted by someone as strong as us.”**_  
There was a smug tone present in the voice as the Beast made its own offer and Knight had to admit, to himself at least, that from a demon's point of view it was a very generous offer.  
To have scars that carried the energy-signature of someone powerful, even in such a _intimate_ manner, was considered a proof of strength, an honor, by many demons, they would proudly display such scars for everyone to see.  
“I will consider it. Both of them actually.”  
“Mind explaining a bit about demons and this entire marking deal?”  
Takeshi's question threw Knight off for a moment, he didn't expect him to ask about such matters, especially since it seemed Takeshi already knew a lot about the nature of markings, both with his own tattoos and how he had marked both Melissa and Emelie.  
“You should already know most of it, you have been using it after all.”  
Knight teased slightly before he began to explain.

“There are many kinds of marks, but the main ones are mating and courting marks, marks showing affiliation with packs, tribes or families as well as other allegiances, and finally marks of power, like your tattoos.”  
“And what the Beast suggested, what would it be considered?”  
Knight blushed slightly at the mention of the offer, it could be interpreted a few different ways, but with the intimate placement of the marks most of them would be somewhat embarrassing.  
“A claim, what kind of claim may wary a bit. A demon will sometimes claim a strong opponent they have defeated, forcing them to submit and swear their allegiance before marking them. The placement of the marks would reveal without doubt just how the claim has been placed and it is not uncommon to enforce the submission with a sexual act.”  
Having to put such practices into words made Knight's blush deepen.  
“Due to the placement of these most would interpret it as a form of a mating claim, but more of a concubine than an actual mate, for those species that have more than one mate it would signal a lower ranked mate. A high ranked mate is usually marked around the neck or chest area that can be easily displayed while wearing normal clothing. The middle of the back, between the shoulder blades, is popular among winged demons as it shows a high level of trust to allow fangs or claws so close to such a sensitive area.”  
“I guess that explains the attempted tomato impersonation.”  
Takeshi was teasing him again, and not just his words, but the touches as well.  
“Actually, you hitchhiker's offer isn't a bad one, such marks would be the source of envy, not ridicule.”  
“Because of our power, right?”  
The teasing tone was suddenly gone.  
“Yes, because while you are not a demon you still possess the power of a truly powerful one, and also this insane power I can't place just what it is, in all my years I have only met a handful of beings with such power, one being the demon I will seek out in the Obsidian Halls, the other being a few Lilim, but even most Lilim don't come close.”  
“But the placement of the marks would make it obvious just how you received them, and that would be a source of embarrassment to your dominant nature.”  
It wasn't a question, but Knight nodded anyway.  
“It would undoubtedly lead to some dirty suggestions from others we come across. But more so there is a risk it would lead to fighting when they won't back down, believing I can be easily convinced to submit since I carry no scars from any major injuries infused with your power.”  
“You could always stop being stubborn and allow me to claim you as _Pack_ , after all, it's not uncommon for a _beta_ in a male dominant pack to offer their _alpha_ certain comforts while remaining dominant toward the rest of the pack.”  
Knight sighed deeply before answering.  
“As flattering as that offer is I can't, not until our business in the Obsidian Halls is done. If I was pack, and my life is demanded for my failure it would be expected of you to challenge for my life and I can't risk that.”  
Knight was surprised by the loud snarl that tore from Takeshi at his words.  
**“If you believe for a moment that we will stand idly by and allow someone to demand your head for things beyond your control you are sorely mistaken!”  
** Never before had Knight been witness to Takeshi raising his voice and the inferno of his aura tore into his own and he responded in the only way he knew how to in the face of such overwhelming power, kneeling down with his head bowed low.  
His heat forcing his instincts into overdrive didn't help the situation as he found himself on his knees, head bowed and turned slightly to the side in submission hoping to soothe the raging inferno around him, but it only seemed to make it focus on him instead.

Takeshi was fighting against the demon within, trying to balance their powers, it was demanding that they claim Knight as _pack_ , and he was trying to make it back down by reminding it that it had said itself that the one being claimed had to give their consent for the claim to take.  
Much to Takeshi's horror it revealed that a marking could be forced as long at the one receiving it submitted to their power.  
_“No! I refuse to allow it! We will not claim him against his will just because we can force him to submit, especially now that his heat makes him unable to fight us.”  
_ Takeshi was livid that the Beast would even suggest such a thing.  
_**“Easy there, we would not be claiming him against his will. Look beneath his words. His refusal is not for not wanting, but because he believes that if he is not pack we would not challenge this Lilim for his life should his head be demanded as restitution for failing to protect the Lilim's Mate and child.”**_  
_“Which we of course still would. Mark or no mark he is ours. Even if he was not I would still object to demanding that someone lay down their life after giving everything they have and lose to circumstances beyond their control.”_  
**“As would I.”**  
The Beast agreed.  
**“I know how you feel about choice, but he is refusing because he believes it would protect us. I say we rid him of that notion and push him to make the choice he wants to make, not the one he believes to be right.”**  
Takeshi silently agreed and refocused on the male kneeling before him, silently cursing he steeled himself for what he would have to do, he did **not** like doing things like this.

Knight could feel the aura before him shift and refocus on him, then claws dug into his arms and he was yanked up and harshly slammed into the stone wall where he slid down slightly, looking up he came face to face with a vicious snarl.  
For a moment he was dazed and he could feel blood trickling down his arms from where the claws dug in deeply and his head hurt from being slammed against the wall, but it only lasted for a moment before he was able to focus on the face in front of him.  
**“You truly believe us so callous as to stand and watch a friends life being demanded for something they could do nothing about?”**  
The words were harsh, demanding and the raised voice combined with the force of the hold relayed the barely restrained fury.  
“No...”  
Knights answer was barely a whisper and if it hadn't been for Takeshi's enhanced senses he would not have heard him.  
“And yet you refuse us for that very reason, believing we would not act in your defense if you are not pack.”  
Takeshi's voice was returning to its normal volume and Knight could detect a note of disappointment in it.  
“Well, we will have it no more!”  
Knight cried out, part in alarm and part in pain when the sharp fangs were suddenly buried in his left shoulder and he could feel the aura gathering just above the surface of his skin.  
_“Stop resisting! No more empty excuses.”_  
Knight tried to twist out of Takeshi's hold but he couldn't make neither claws nor fangs budge, all it accomplished was for them to dig in deeper and draw more blood, he could feel the geas of Takeshi's will take hold over his own, but he could feel that it was not a true _command_ , just a very strong _suggestion_.  
It would seem Takeshi was only intending to force him to decide what he wanted and act on it, not actually influence **what** he chose and for that Knight was grateful, in his current state it would have been easy for Takeshi to force him into whatever he wanted.  
_“This ends now. Accept us or deny us, but no excuses, you will answer your true desire in the matter.”_  
Knight tried to resist but he was quickly losing the battle against the sheer force of Takeshi's will.  
_“Just accept your place as my Beta. Please.”_  
There was something in the pleading note of those last words, void of the power that would force him to heed them that shattered his last resistance and Knight slumped against the wall.  
Willing his body to go limp before raising his hands to hold on to Takeshi in preparation for what he knew would come, he allowed his head to fall forward against Takeshi's shoulder and he whispered his reply.  
“I accept.”  
A moment later his body tensed as the coiled power flowed through the fangs in his shoulder and through his body, forever marking him as a part of Takeshi's pack.  
He could feel Takeshi's claws pull out of his arms and a moment later strong arms wrapped around him, supporting him rather than restraining.  
He knew it had only been a few moments but it felt like an eternity and under the onslaught of Takeshi's power a cry was building within, but just as it was about to tear from his throat a soothing tone entered his mind.  
_“Hang in there just a little longer, it's almost done.”_  
True to the words he could feel the burning intensity of the power begin to fade, then suddenly one of the arms supporting him vanished and moments later he could feel the fangs slip out of his shoulder only to be replaced by a sharp cut and something being pushed under his skin followed by a slight flare of power.  
Knight realized that not only had he been marked the usual way, but Takeshi had also placed one of the scales from his tattoo into the mark and he found himself beyond words, all he could do was to slump against Takeshi and allow his feelings to flow freely over the newly formed bond.  
For a while all Knight could feel was the mark settling into his entire being, he could feel the soothing energies being pushed into the wound while the scale reshaped itself after the mark and just as he was about to push away from the wall he froze at the sensation of Takeshi slowly cleaning the blood from his shoulder with languid licks.  
Knight groaned as the familiar fire was rekindled and he could feel Takeshi's grin against his shoulder, the slight chuckle told him all to well about Takeshi's amusement at the situation, no need for the bond to flood him with it as well.  
“You know, our Lilim is right. You are horrible.”  
_“And just like her you're just saying that.”_  
Takeshi didn't bother to stop his _cleaning_ long enough to actually speak.  
When Takeshi's aura finally withdrew fully and he took a step back Knight was unable to hold back the small disappointed sound at losing the contact, a sound that earned him a soft laugh and an almost gentle teasing and amusement over the new bond.  
“Eat and rest while you have a chance.”  
Takeshi tossed Knight a sizable chunk of dried meat before motioning for him to join him.  
Knight had to admit that it sounded like an excellent idea, he was exhausted from the marking, though he noticed that Takeshi seemed none the worse for wear.  
After making short work of a small mountain of fruits Knight lay down and sleep claimed him within moments, the world fading from his senses as amusement and protectiveness washed over him and faded into contentment around him from the vivid new bond.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Marks_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

When Knight woke up he was surprised to find that his heat had ended while he slept, but before he had a chance to think about it Takeshi's voice called his attention away.  
“Finally decided to wake up, sleepyhead?”  
Knight instantly regretted looking up when the sight of Takeshi working on one of his elaborate katas set his blood on fire, the fact that Takeshi hadn't bothered to get dressed making matters worse.  
“Well that shows just how much good the heat being over does me, back to blue balls...”  
Knight muttered in a hushed tone followed by curses as Takeshi obviously heard him anyway.  
“You know, the Beast tells me it's not unheard of for an _Alpha_ to reward their _Beta_ by allowing them to take certain _liberties_.”  
The insinuation was so heavy in Takeshi's voice and grin that Knight didn't need the bond to know just what kind of _liberties_ was being offered.  
Knight couldn't resist mirroring Takeshi's grin as he stalked toward the beckoning finger, slowly dropping into a grappler stance in response to the obvious challenge.  
The brawl however was little more than a feint as Knight soon found himself pinning Takeshi against the crystal covered wall, the bond telling him that Takeshi had intentionally placed himself in the position, inviting Knight to claim his _liberties_.  
Pinning Takeshi's hands against the wall Knight could feel the low warning growl rather than hear it as he leaned in closer, but at the same time he could feel excitement and approval over the bond telling him that he was not crossing any lines, yet at least.  
Knight found it to be a rather strange experience at first, to feel the effects of his actions through the bond, but he quickly grew to enjoy it, to be allowed to, and able to, take a dominant position and have the bond tell him if he was pushing too far.  
When he began to trace nibbling kisses along the exposed shoulders Knight was met with a quivering groan as Takeshi tilted his head to the side to allow better access, the motion was deceptively submissive but the bond told Knight of the internal battle behind it.  
He quickly found that Takeshi seemed to enjoy having his control pushed to the limit, he had no doubt though that even the slightest overstep would reward him with a rather rough reminder of just who was really in charge, but thanks to the bond he was able to avoid stepping over that invisible line.

“ _You should have told me how badly you wanted this.”_  
Takeshi teased silently while leaning in and reaching up to nip at Knight's throat and under his jaw, taking full advantage of the difference in height between them.  
_“It's not like I had any reason to believe it would ever be possible unless I managed to fight you into submission, and I am no fool, you are far stronger, and far more dangerous than you let on. You are not someone I would be able to defeat, not without putting my life on the line, and that would mean breaking my oath to our Lilim, besides she would never forgive me if I truly fought you.”  
_ Knight yelped at a sharp bite to his jaw as Takeshi reminded him that Emelie would be rather upset if she heard him call her _Lilim_ rather than her name.  
Knight retaliated with a nip to Takeshi's ear that earned him yet another rumbling growl and a jumbled wash of sensations and emotions over the bond.  
_“You seem to enjoy being on the edge, the edge of control, edge of pain.”_  
Knight teased in return, his grip and nips growing rougher and Takeshi was obviously enjoying the less than gentle handling.  
_“No one ever told you that the line between pain and pleasure is a very fine one?”_  
Knight shivered at the sensation of Takeshi's claws digging deep into his back.  
_“As is the one between sanity and madness.”_  
Knight countered and could feel something shift over the bond and he knew that Takeshi was no longer content to indulge him and would soon resume control.  
_“True, but so much easier to tell which side you are on.”_  
The bond offered no warning to the sudden burst of power that tossed Knight flat on his back and when he pushed himself up on his elbows he was met by Takeshi slowly stalking toward him with an almost maniacal grin on his face.  
_“I think you left sanity behind a long time ago.”_  
Knight mused as Takeshi pushed him down and reclaimed dominance.  
_“Maybe I did. But is that really such a bad thing?”_  
Knight wasn't entirely sure Takeshi had intended for him to hear that last thought but another wash of power and wandering hands, claws and fangs biting into flesh soon banished every coherent thought from his mind.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Marks_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Knight woke up from the chill that had replaced the warmth that had been radiating from Takeshi at his side and looking up he was once again treated to the pleasure of watching him go through his katas, this time using simple crystal blades in place of the twin katanas that were resting at the entrance to the annex, anchoring the powerful barriers in place.  
“So I guess we will be heading back to the others today?”  
Knight waited until Takeshi had put away the blades before speaking, not wanting to miss the show.  
“We could if you want to, but I was hoping to spend the day getting the bond sorted, as it is now it is rather _distracting_. It's rather different than when we marked Em.”  
Knight couldn't help laughing at that, he knew what the _problem_ with the bond was, but it seemed Takeshi was unaware, though Knight was pretty sure that shadow he had hidden away in there knew full well what the cause was, just choosing not to let its host in on it.  
“It might be a good idea next time to be a bit less distracted, a bit less _emotional_ , when claiming someone as pack.”  
Seeing the utter confusion that flashed across Takeshi's face Knight decided to just tell him what the issue was.  
“When placing claims, forging bonds, your emotional state is important. You damn near claimed me as mate rather than pack. Had my demon blood been thick enough to actually allow me to place a true mating mark myself we would have been mates now.”  
The somewhat flustered look and red tint on Takeshi's face made Knight laugh again before assuring that there would be no ill effects from it, the only side effect had already been seen in the ease with which their emotional state was transmitted over the bond.  
After a quick meal they began to try to sort the bond, to add a filter of sorts to make sure they could feel each other while not getting overwhelmed by the sensations.  
The hard part was to accomplish the filtering effect without actually weakening the bond as it could prove very useful to be able to bring the bond up to the current efficiency at times.  
At the moment Knight found himself in one of his least favored situations, trying to meditate, he had never been very good at relaxing through meditation, he was a warrior through and through, finding his peace in training or on the battlefield, and before long his mind was drifting and Knight soon found himself considering the man in front of him.

During the months he had spent with Takeshi and the girls, Knight had found himself rather curious about the contradictions in Takeshi's personality, sometimes he would seem so young, even younger than he looked, and at other times he displayed the wisdom and heavy soul of an ancient.  
There was this playful air about him most of the time, but beneath that ran a sharp edge of danger that reminded Knight of the Fae, playful tricksters and usually very friendly as long as you didn't offend them or threaten what was theirs, but if you crossed them you could only wish that your fate would be as merciful as a swift death.  
However, something about Takeshi inspired trust and loyalty where the Fae inspired caution and he had seen in those that lived on the island that those feeling of trust and loyalty seemed to easily grow into love, and as much as he did not want to he had to admit, at least to himself, that he could see himself fall down that path some day.  
He shifted his weight slightly to try to alleviate the strain on one of the muscles in his thigh that had begun to complain before opening his eyes to look at Takeshi, as always he seemed to be perfectly comfortable kneeling in _seiza_.  
He could feel the slow flow of Takeshi's aura around him, and even in its current relaxed state he could sense the heat of its energy as it lapped against his own, it was a rather pleasant feeling, like the gentle warmth of a campfire on a chilly night, but he knew it was deceptive, and could quickly become a raging inferno if Takeshi was provoked.  
Even Takeshi's body had the same somewhat deceptive nature, the lean form and well defined muscle was a good indicator to his speed, and while Takeshi did not share Knight's extreme height he was still taller than most human males giving him a good range, but his build belied his sheer power.  
Knight had quickly noticed that Takeshi was a lot heavier than his build let on, in fact the cheeky whelp weighed quite a bit more that he did himself, despite being a good deal shorter, not to mention that Takeshi's build was lean with wiry muscles where his own build was quite a bit bulkier, Emelie had called him 'The bastard child of a _Bodybuilder_ and a _Strongman_ competitor', though, he had no idea what either was, she had promised to show him once they reached the estate, but his heat had disrupted the plans.  
Knight was just about to get up when Takeshi cracked an eye open and sighed.  
“You really can't meditate, can you?”  
Knight just gave a grin and shook his head as he watched Takeshi unfold from the floor.  
“Your aura is agitated enough to make **me** antsy. We need to be relaxed to make this work.”  
Takeshi reached down and pulled Knight to his feet as he spoke.  
“Then how about you spar with me? I have always found my relaxation in the flow of battle.”  
Knight's grin grew wider as he began to slide into his usual brawler stance.  
Takeshi shook his head with a crooked smile and stepped closer, quickly guiding Knight into a basic karate stance.  
Once he was satisfied with the stance he showed Knight one of the katas that was suitable for sparring with a beginner, focusing on the blocking and deflecting of blows and basic strikes.  
While Knight was an experienced warrior his style relied on his power and size, simply overwhelming most of his opponents, and demonic opponents with size and strength to match him were kept at bay by his brightmetal sword.  
Takeshi found that Knight was a quick study and it only took a few repetitions before he had the pattern down and they could begin.  
They quickly found the flow, smoothly switching between attacking and defending and Takeshi could feel Knight's aura settling into the calm pattern needed to manipulate the bond.  
“That's it, now just feel the shift in my aura and try follow my lead now.”  
Takeshi began to weave his power into the bond and he could feel Knight following his lead, slowly forming a webbing of power along the thread that linked their auras together, once in place it would act like a filter, reducing the transfer of emotion and sensation over the bond while still keeping it possible to open it up again.  
“I seriously don't like this.”  
Knight had been complaining non stop about the subdued feeling of the bond and Takeshi had to agree, the feeling was unpleasant and it made him want to get rid of the disturbance, like picking at an itching scab.  
“Well, it's either this subdued feeling, which we should get used to soon enough, or constantly being in each others heads.”  
“I guess it's better than being stuck with your crazy crawling around in my head.”  
Knight grumbled and was instantly rewarded with a swift smack on the back of the head.  
“I should have gotten a shorter _beta_ , you are kinda hard to smack...”  
Takeshi's words made Knight pause for a moment before breaking down in laughter.  
They decided that they would spend one last night before returning to the others and the remainder of the day was spent talking and sparring.

 


	49. Interlude 2041

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Walking into the inner garden Takeshi and Knight paused for a moment to watch the utter chaos before them, the contents of the breakfast table dancing around above the table in a flourish of fox-fire while the girls were jumping around trying to catch the items they wanted, all while Eriko and the twins sat laughing and directing the dishes to dodge the attempts to catch them.  
When Takeshi flared his aura slightly the chaos took on an entirely new level as the twins spun around, totally forgetting about the plates they were levitating, leaving Eriko to try to catch them all before they could crash into the table.  
“Daddy!”  
The twins instantly launched themselves toward Takeshi and hit him square in the stomach with shoulder tackles that would make a pro proud.  
“Oof! Don't you girls think you are getting a bit big for this?”  
Takeshi mock complained as he hoisted them up on his hips.  
“Nuh uh!”  
Both of them shook their heads as they burrowed against his shoulders and Takeshi could feel them instinctively searching for his aura, tendrils of borrowed fox-fire tickling against his senses, it wouldn't be long now before they would be able to form a true bond.  
He could feel the Beast within, practically purring with joy and pride at the feeling of the twins trying to form the bond that would make them true pack.  
_**“Ours!”**_ _  
“Ours.”_  
Takeshi agreed silently.  
He watched as Emelie untangled herself from the breakfast mess and stalked toward him, but as she came closer he could feel her hunger fade as her focus shifted toward Knight and her reaction had him curious.  
Emelie's aura shimmered slightly as her full succubus form was revealed and she was flaring her wings as she walked toward Knight who was looking rather worried.  
_**“She is Alpha, acting her role. We may have chosen him as Beta but she still has a say. If she does not accept him his position will be weaker and if someone is chosen by both of you he would lose his position.”**_  
The Beast offered one of its rare explanations while Emelie silently walked around Knight, clearly inspecting him.  
Knight seemed to be aware of what was going on as he kneeled down before her and turned his head to the side to give her easy access to the dragon that marked him as pack.  
Emelie circled Knight a few more times, stepping in closer each time, reaching out with her wing she dragged the sharp claw across his back and chest, hard enough to draw blood that she leaned in and licked away, carefully testing the taste.  
When she began to pull at his aura Knight quickly released it to allow her to test him, taste him without offering any resistance.  
When she stopped in front of him and stepped in closer he carefully placed his hand on her waist and waited for her to act.  
Takeshi could see the tension in body as well as aura while they waited silently to see what Emelie would do, and there was a sigh of relief when she leaned in and sunk her fangs into the side of his neck, just above the mark and allowed her aura to flow into the wounds, mingling with the energy left behind by Takeshi.  
_“I assume that means she accepts him as beta?”_  
The Beast didn't respond beyond a sense of contentment, but that was enough to confirm it.  
Moments later Emelie slumped against Knight who quickly shifted her into his arms as he stood up and carried her over to the pile of pillow in the corner of the deck and set her down carefully.  
“Mommy!”  
“Whats wrong with Mommy?”  
The twins were instantly concerned but Takeshi explained that she was just tired and would be fine, he assumed she had just used more energy than she was used to when she added to the pack mark.  
While he soothed the twins he could hear the other girls whisper, surprised that they had used _'Mom'_ and _'Dad'_ , when they had left for their trip the twins still used their names, at least around others, but during their trip that had slowly changed, especially after the incident at the Louvre.

Setting the twins down Takeshi carefully reached out with his aura to asses Emelie's condition, and he was relieved to confirm that she had just overexerted herself.  
Turning to Knight Takeshi motioned for him to come closer so that he could inspect the mark and he couldn't resist the grin that spread across his face when he heard the slight hitch in Knight's breath and spotted the dilated pupils.  
They had found during the last day in the Sanctuary that the mark was very sensitive to touch, especially if Takeshi allowed his _Qi_ to touch it and it seemed that the combination of what Emelie had done and the anticipation of Takeshi's touch had sent Knight to the edge.  
Knight was breathing rather heavily as he knelt down in front of Takeshi and tilted his head to the side and when the clawed hand touched the mark a familiar low, keening cry was heard.  
Takeshi could feel Emelie's energies mixed with his own within the mark and when he looked closer he could see a slight purple tint on the scales that had not been there before.  
“Please, no more...”  
The strain was obvious in Knight's voice and Takeshi was just about to pull back when a strong impulse from the Beast made him change his mind and instead lean in and drag his fangs against the exposed throat, earning him quivering moan.  
_“Do you submit?”_  
There was a moment of resistance before Takeshi could feel Knight's aura settling down into a submissive pattern.  
“Yes, _Alpha_...”  
Pulling on the new powers that Emelie's blood had given him Takeshi sank slender fangs into the exposed neck, seeding fire into the blood beneath and he was rewarded with a groan followed by a sigh of relief as the effects of the bite pushed Knight over the edge.  
“Go rest. You need some time to get used to the new energy.”  
Knight just nodded and joined Emelie in the pile of pillows, carefully lifting her and shifting to curl around her, there was a slight mumble of complaint as he pulled her back against his chest but recognizing her own energies as being safe she quickly settled down.  
“Come on girls, leave them be, they need to rest.”  
The complaints were instantly silenced with a look and they hurried back to the table.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“My my, a _beta,_ old and strong, a wise choice _._ You are building yourself a fine little leash there. All it needs now is for your kits to form the bond.”  
Eriko teased with glee when Takeshi and the twins joined the others at the table, but there was also an unmistakable pride in her words.  
But with her words Takeshi could feel the twins instantly grow distressed.  
“We are not pack?”  
Sarah was the first to voice the question while Maria only managed a quiet sob.  
“Of course you are, my sweet little girls.”  
“But she said...”  
“Ssh, easy sweetie.”  
Takeshi pulled both of them into his lap and with a glare at Eriko over their heads he worked on quieting them down so that he could explain.  
”Remember what I told you about bonds? About how some have power and others don't?”  
He had given them a simple explanation when he noticed that they began to tap into the simple bond between them, knowing that they would sooner or later form a proper bond.  
They were still sniffling but they both nodded that they remembered.  
“You are pack, family, my daughters by choice. The bond that Eriko is talking about is just a formality. Once you are ready the bond we share will change, it will carry power, like my bond with Em, and others will be able to feel that you are mine.”  
Again they just nodded, but the sniffling had stopped and Takeshi could feel the distress fade from their auras.  
“And even if for some reason the bond does not change you are still mine, that will never change.”  
When the twins had settled down they quickly focused back on the breakfast and began to use fox-fire to collect Takeshi's favorites from the table and offer them in an attempt to bribe him into taking them along for a shopping trip.  
After a few minutes Eriko excused herself from the table and when she walked past Takeshi and the twins she bowed her head in apology and enforced it with a brush of fox-fire.  
_“Sumimasen deshita.”  
_ Takeshi glared at her for a moment before accepting her apology with a slight nod and it took quite a bit of focus not to bare his fangs at her like the Beast wanted, it was not happy that her words had upset the twins.  
“Okay girls, that's enough. Give the others a chance to eat to. And don't worry, I will take you shopping, I promise.”  
“May I join you when you go?”  
Takeshi considered Melissa's request for a moment before nodding his consent.  
“We just need to finalize Knight's ID then we will take the Blackout, so you might as well go packing. Nee-chan, will you take the rest of the girls shopping?”  
“Leaving the big work to me as always.”  
Kasumi mock complained but she gave her agreement over the _Dantai_ bond.  
“Dan, how are the new ID's coming along?”  
Dan nearly jumped out of his chair when Takeshi called his name, his mind had clearly been elsewhere.  
“Just fine Take, I'm almost done with the backgrounds. I could use a hand with wrangling a few of the government computers though. Matthews has been helping me but the new security protocols has him just as stumped as me.”  
“Finish up the backgrounds and I'll give you a hand after I have a word with Stormborn.”  
As expected Amanda instantly perked up at the mention of the old Avatar.  
“Can I come?”  
Her voice was hopeful but slightly hesitant and Takeshi got a feeling there was more to her request than just a chance to go swim with Stormborn.  
“Of course, go get changed and I will meet you down at the lagoon. You to Lissa, show me how far you have gotten with your aquatic transformations.”  
Turning to the twins he ushered them to the pile of pillows and asked them to keep an eye on Knight and Emelie which they quickly agreed to.

 

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

About half an hour later Takeshi was watching Amanda prepare the diving gear, and he had to admit, she had gotten really good at it, the speed and accuracy the was working with would have put even the trainers back at GCTI to shame, she was almost as fast as he was.  
“I see you have been practicing. Keep this up and you will be faster than me at sorting out that pile of junk.”  
“It's not like you need it anymore.”  
She all but snapped at him, bitterness heavy in her voice as she spun around to face him.  
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...”  
Her apology was as quick as her heated words.  
“It's okay.”  
“No it's not. I'm being jealous of you, of Lissa. I want to be able to swim freely as well.”  
He could smell her tears as she burrowed her face against his chest.  
“Please! Make me like you, like to did with Lissa, please!”  
Takeshi just held her silently, he was unsure how much time had passed when he finally spoke.  
_“Do you promise that you will complete your studies, get good grades. And take at least some basic courses in marine biology?”_  
Amanda looked up at him with wide eyes as the _command_ took hold, forcing her to speak nothing but the truth.  
“I promise.”  
_“You will learn how to survive and you will stay close until you are truly ready for the sea.”_  
“I will.”  
With her answers given Takeshi released his _command._  
“ I will teach you all about the Blessing, about what you are truly asking for before you decide. If you still want it after learning all about what it brings, then you have my word, before the year is ended I will grant you the Blessing”  
“Really?!”  
Hope and doubt warred in Amanda's aura.  
“Yes, I promise.”  
“Thank you!”  
A moment later she was hanging around his neck in a crushing hug and he returned the gesture before placing a kiss on her forehead.  
“It was always my intention to offer the blessing to you girls when you were ready, but don't let the others know, not yet. Okay?”  
She just nodded, a vivid blush staining her cheeks.  
“Let's go meet your favorite fish, shall we?”  
His teasing quip left Amanda spluttering as her blush deepened even further.

While they swam into the lagoon Melissa showed off her transformations and Takeshi had to agree it was time for her to begin to learn about flying.  
When they reached the center of the lagoon Stormborn was already there along with a few of the dolphins and Takeshi couldn't help a silent laugh as Stormborn had grown quite a lot in the past year and was now half again as large as Takeshi was in his manta ray form.

“ _Waverider, your return is welcome.”_  
_“Come, swim, speak.”_  
 _“Grant me your memories.”_

 _“Now, now Stormborn of Memory, what did I say about using names?”_  
Takeshi scolded the old creature with a laugh and was rewarded with a shove from a powerful fin.

“ _Cheeky pup.”  
_

There was humor in the tone as the large creature picked up speed and leaped out of the water in a rather spectacular display or power before circling back and coming up at Takeshi's side, inviting him and Amanda for a swim while Melissa headed back to land.  
But as much as Takeshi wanted to spend more time just swimming around, responding to the joy that Amanda was radiating he had other things to do.  
“My time is limited today, my new beta needs a new name. So today I came to ask you a question, and I will return in a few days to tell you of our travels.”

“ _I am, Guide to the Pathfinder.”_  
_“Ask and I shall answer.”_

“ _In Arcadia we spoke to Artemis of the Hunt and she told us to seek the hidden city of Atlantis. She told us that the Daughters of Poseidon still guards vast knowledge and powerful artifact and weapons that might aid my task.”  
_

“ _She is wise, the huntress.”_  
_”But there is not much I can do to aid you.”_  
 _“I can bring you to the doorway, but not beyond.”_  
 _“Only that which is of Atlantis may know the true path.”_  
 _“All else will wander, forever lost between the worlds.”_

 _“The Huntress gave Em a silver crown with flowers cut from aquamarine, she said they were mined in Atlantis and that they would guide us safely to the city.”_  
Stormborn didn't respond, only a feeling of agreement radiated from it as it swam away.

“ _Go, I shall consider, remember so that I can guide you when you are ready.”  
_

With that Stormborn's mind withdrew from Takeshi.  


 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi helped Amanda clean and put away the diving gear before heading back to the house to find Knight and then head by Dan and see if he was done with the write-up on Knight's new identity, the one they had used when filing the flight plan from Athens would not hold up to a closer inspection and if they had not been flying by private jet it would not have gotten him past the security checkpoints.  
“Ah, Take, Knight. Perfect timing guys.”  
Dan called out the moment they stepped into the small room that Dan had claimed as his office.  
“I just finished up the last parts. What do you think?”  
A flick of a wrist sent the files from the tablet Dan was holding to the large screen on the far wall.  
“Logan Knight?”  
There was an amused curiosity in Knight's voice when Takeshi read the name Dan had picked for him, while Knight was quick on picking up changes in languages, and new languages, he was not very skilled at reading and writing.  
“Well, I figured you had gotten used to 'Knight' by now, and your accent reminds me of Scottish. Not to mention you kinda look like something out of the Highland games so I picked a Scottish name. Ended up with 'Logan', not sure why though, just seemed to fit.”  
Dan fidgeted slightly, worried that Knight would dislike the name he had picked but he relaxed when he received a heavy pat on the shoulder and a wide grin.  
“Born in 2010 on the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands. Since we don't know when you were actually born I picked July 13 since that was the date they found you. Studied and worked in Glasgow before moving to France in 2035, some language studies in Paris as well as a few simple jobs.”  
Dan quickly read the basic points of the background he had created for Knight, he would give him a more detailed briefing later.  
“Mostly law abiding, a few drunk and disorderly, a couple of bar brawls, some parking tickets. Nothing serious, just a little something to make you seem more real. I also put in an car crash in the medical history to account for all those scars, close call but you pulled through.”  
Most of the afternoon was spent going through the information before Takeshi tapped into Daniels memento and placed the information into the necessary systems.  
By the time they were done working on Knight's new identity it was time for dinner and they headed out to garden to join the others.  
“Daddy!”  
“Danny!”  
“Mr Knight!”  
The twins greetings were as energetic as always, but Knight quickly scooped them up and gave them a mock scolding.  
“I am family now, so no more Mr Knight, it's Uncle Logan now.”  
“Okay Mr Knight!”  
There was no mistaking the impish tone and cheeky grins.  
“So, Logan Knight is it? It suits you.”  
Emelie ushered the twins toward the house to go wash their hands and join the others girls in helping Kasumi and Eriko to bring out dinner.  
“Thank you _Lilim_ .”  
The grin and mock bow made it perfectly clear that Knight had intentionally called her Lilim to tease her, and he was rewarded by Emelie pouncing and knocking him on his back before leaning in and giving him a sharp nip.  
Pulling slightly on the new bond to make sure he didn't overstep, Knight decided to test the waters a bit by carefully flipping Emelie over and pin her under him before stealing a quick kiss, carefully monitoring Takeshi's reactions over the bond to make sure he didn't take it as a challenge.  
When all he could feel was amused curiosity from Takeshi and confused embarrassment from Emelie he leaned in and claimed a proper kiss before standing up and hoisting her up on his shoulder.  
“Why you! You're both horrible! I hate you!”  
Emelie shrieked from her position on Knight's shoulder but her bright red blush and the potent scent of peppermint took all edge from her words and only gained her amused chuckles from the males in question.  
But beneath the amusement Knight was relieved that his advance had not been rejected by her, and while he had sensed a certain possessiveness from Takeshi there was no sign that he was upset by the liberties taken by his _beta_ .

The meal went by in the usual chaotic manner and once everyone was done they settled in the garden, playing games, talking and relaxing.  
The twins were climbing on Knight, closely inspecting the new mark while chattering with each other about how 'cool' it was.  
“Daddy, if we are pack how come we don't get a cool mark like this?”  
While the twins mostly radiated curiosity there was a hint of sadness behind their words.  
“You will, when you are ready.”  
“Why? And how do we know when we are ready?”  
“It takes power to create those marks. If I tried to mark you before you have a chance to find your own power I could harm you, maybe even destroy that power before it has a chance to awaken.”  
“We will have powers? Like you, Emmy or Eriko?”  
“I don't know for sure, but I think you will. It might not be anything like any of the things we can do though.”  
“When?”  
“I don't know.”  
Deciding he might as well tell them about the bonds Takeshi motioned for them to sit down next to him.  
With the twins seated Takeshi slowly began to shift his aura so that they would be able to see it before reaching out and touching theirs to make them, and the threads tying them together, visible as well.  
It took quite a bit of energy to do, but it would make things easier, especially when Knight followed his lead, allowing his own aura to synchronize with Takeshi's making it visible as well.  
“See these threads that bind us together? Look at the ones that binds me to you girls and then look at the one binding me to the big guy.”  
Both the twins leaned in close and inspected the colorful threads.  
“Why is this one glowing?”  
“It's glowing because there is power in it. If you find your power yours will begin to glow as well.”  
His next words pained him to speak, but they deserved the truth.  
“You need to remember though, you might never gain such powers. I believe you will, but I might be wrong.”  
“But, If we don't, won't that mean we can never have those marks?”  
The worry and sorrow that tainted their auras made Takeshi's heart ache, he hated to be the one to cause them such worry, even if it was just temporary.  
“No, it just means you might have to wait a few years extra. If you have powers they will awaken before you grow up, if you don't have any powers by then we will know it's safe to mark you.”  
The relief was tangible, but so was the impatience, the girls clearly didn't want to wait to see if they would develop any power of their own.  
Takeshi watched as they bounced up and ran over to Eriko and while he retracted his power they began asking her if she could help them get powers, and what it would cost them.  
When Eriko looked over at him she was clearly asking for permission to try and help the twins find out if they had any powers and Takeshi nodded, if she could help them for a reasonable price he would allow it.  
“Girls, do you remember what I told you about dealing with foxes?”  
Takeshi cautioned them, while Eriko was oath-bound to be upfront and honest about what she would ask for her favors.  
“Yes!”  
They spoke with Eriko a bit more before turning to Takeshi again.  
“She promised she will help us, if we don't get any powers she won't charge us anything, and if we do get powers we have to try to learn to use those powers to perform fox-tricks.”  
Sarah was the one to explain.  
“That's a good deal, isn't it?”  
Maria asked him to confirm.  
“It is. It's a very good deal, you should accept it.”  
Takeshi had to admit it was in fact an extremely good deal, Eriko was more or less giving it away for free considering the previous deal about teaching them her magic, her tricks, in return for them using the tricks on him.  
_“You are asking a very low price for this Fox. Don't forget your oath.”_  
Takeshi confronted Eriko to make sure there would be no issues, choosing to take the conversation in Japanese to make sure the twins wouldn't get worried.  
_“Don't worry, I won't forget. Like I have said before, I like your kits, they remind me so much of true kitsune kits.”_  
Eriko's tone suddenly turned solemn.  
_“They remind me of my own twins, my sweet little girls. They were not much older than your girls when I lost them. I had allowed them to go to one of the villages that served Inari to play with the village children.”_  
There was a long silence before she continued, her voice barely more than a whisper.  
_“A group of_ _wandering monks_ _came to the village and decided to purge it of the demonic taint. I was to late to save my girls. I nearly died myself that day, part of me still wish I had.”_  
Takeshi didn't say anything to the confession, he just pulled her close and allowed his aura to wrap around hers and moments later he could feel the twins joining them, curling up as close as they could.  
They always seemed to know when someone was hurting, and they would instantly want to help soothe the pain.  
Takeshi watched the flow of the twins auras as they curled around them, slowly blending into a iridescent rainbow and as it did he could feel Eriko relax and after a few minutes her fox-fire shifted and she returned to her true form, a silvery white Japanese fox with nine tails.  
He carefully stood up before placing Eriko down on the pillows between the girls, he was sure they would stay with her, soothing her, until she returned to her usual form.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi walked over to the small table where Knight was teaching Emelie and Dan what looked like a mix between Jackstraws and some kind of a dice game using stick-dice that Emelie had made for him out of Sanctuary crystals.  
“Lissa, Manda, would you join us please?”  
Taking a seat he called for the oldest girls to join them.  
Melissa had asked to join them on the upcoming shopping trip and Takeshi wanted to bring Amanda along as well so that he could talk to her about the upcoming changes without having to sneak away from the other girls.  
“Manda, I want you to join us for this years shopping trip so we can continue our talk from earlier today.”  
“Okay.”  
Her smile contradicted the somewhat unenthusiastic response.  
“So, first things first. Where should we go?”  
The seemingly simple question triggered several hours worth of debate as everyone wanted to go to a different place, the only thing they had agreed on was that they would not go anywhere in Japan.  
While Takeshi no longer needed to hide that he was alive it would still arouse suspicion and potentially cause issues if he was spotted in Japan without his _'children'_.  
Things didn't really get any easier when the twins rejoined them, adding a few more possible destinations to the list, but they had somehow managed to narrow it down to Stockholm, New York or Paris.  
In the end they picked New York simply because of the language barrier, while there was no problems using English in most places in Paris and Stockholm it was unavoidable that there would be some issues.

After sending the twins to bed Takeshi checked on Eriko before settling down with Emelie, Knight and Dan, it was time to tell Dan what had really happened during their vacation.  
When they got around to the Louvre part, Dan had actually taken a swing at Takeshi, calling him an idiot for taking such a risk despite having been warned and while Takeshi could have avoided the punch with ease he had allowed hit to strike true.  
Once Dan had calmed down a bit they continued to tell the story, telling him of how he had recovered and the changes that had caused, the new abilities he had gained from it.  
“As usual you just can't do normal, can you?”  
Dan's frustrated words were not quite a question but Takeshi answered him anyway.  
“Someone once said that _'Normal is Boring'_ and I agree wholeheartedly.”  
His comment was rewarded with muttering in Swedish as Dan complained about how _impossible_ he was.  
“Aw, and here I thought you liked me.”  
Takeshi followed up on his mock complaint by leaning over and nipping at Dan's neck, using just a hint of the vampiric ability to snare prey and was instantly rewarded with a moan and a string of curses.  
“Dammit Take, you know I do!”  
Dan was leaning heavily against Takeshi for a moment before pulling away roughly with a strangled groan.  
“Please, don't tease me, not like this.”  
Dan's voice was strained, barely more than a whisper, but he knew Takeshi would hear him, and he silently prayed that he would listen.  
“As you wish.”  
Dan breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Takeshi pull back and the strange sensation faded.  
“I told you didn't I? I tease and I touch, that's just me being me, it will be up to you to set the limits. If I do something that you are not comfortable with you need to tell me off. Most of the time I can sense your reactions, but like now, your body might respond one way, and your heart another.”  
Takeshi's words made Dan blush a vivid scarlet, but Takeshi was right, his body wanted the touch but the problem was that his heart wanted more than just that, and even though he knew the truth his heart could not help misunderstanding, hoping, dreaming.  
Dan was torn between wanting more, wanting to be closer, craving the touch, the intimacy and wanting to protect himself from falling even deeper in love.  
Once Dan excused himself to go sleep the others remained for a while before returning to their rooms, though none of them would sleep very much.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2041_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi had already done his morning kata, showered and eaten by the time he greeted the rising sun while waiting for the receptionist at yet another Manhattan hotel to transfer his call to the manager.  
The previous ones he had called had simply stated that they had no vacancies and refused to forward his call to the manager, so he had decided to cheat a bit by using his _suggestion_ to influence the receptionist, while he was unable to actually _command_ someone who was out of range for his Qi, he could still weave a strong _suggestion_ if he was only able to talk to them for a while.  
When Knight joined him he had secured a penthouse suite for the next two week, it wasn't ideal since it only had two bedrooms but the adults of the group didn't need much sleep so they would manage.  
“So, getting used to being 'Logan' yet?”  
“I think I'll manage. Besides I'm pretty sure someone will give me a silent reminder if I don't.”  
“We will, don't worry. But for now, how about we start getting breakfast ready for the girls?”  
”Lead the way, but you better not expect me to cook anything if you want them to actually eat it.”  
Knight's snorted reply made Takeshi laugh.  
“Don't worry, I'll cook and you can stack sandwiches.”

The first ones to show up were the twins, they had gotten used to getting up early after all the time spent with Takeshi and Emelie and they quickly found themselves roped into helping Knight with the sandwiches and bringing everything into the garden.  
Shortly after they had brought the food into the garden Matthews came sauntering out followed by a snickering Eriko who was closely followed by a smirking Emelie who was dragging a half-asleep and rather confused looking Dan along.  
Kasumi and the other girls dropped in over the following hour and once everyone was gathered in the garden Takeshi called for their attention to discuss the upcoming holidays and divide the preparation tasks between them.  
Takeshi, Emelie and Knight would bring the twins, Melissa and Amanda to New York for some shopping and to talk about their plans for next few years, their studies, the Blessing and a few other things.  
It was agreed that they would buy most of the things for New Year's Eve along with some of the presents while they were in New York meanwhile Kasumi and Matthews would take the rest of the girls to Honolulu and do the Christmas shopping, leaving Dan and Eriko to keep the estate safe.  
With the general plan done Takeshi turned to Melissa and Amanda, knowing that the twins would listen in as well.  
“So, I will fit the cargo area of the Blackout with stasis crystals so we can buy perishables as well, you girls should start packing if there is anything you want to bring. Just don't over pack, there will be plenty of time for shopping when we get there.”  
He had booked the suite for two weeks, but they would probably not stay more than 10 days as Kasumi would be rather cross with him if he did not return for his birthday, though, he was tempted to risk her ire as he never did like birthday parties much.  
“Okay!”  
The twins instantly ran to their rooms to repack their bags while Melissa and Amanda took the time to ask when they would be leaving and Takeshi told them to be ready to go by sunset.

 


	50. The Big Apple

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 **New York, December 8 2041**  


It was a few hours before sunrise when Takeshi set the Blackout down on the helipad outside the penthouse suite where they would be staying, it was one of the positive effects of taking down the GCTI, New York had reopened the rooftop helipads.  
“Come on girls, wake up. You can sleep more when we get inside.”  
There was plenty of grumbling as he woke the twins to get them inside, but they did reach for him and put their arms around his neck when he picked them up.  
While Takeshi carried the twins into one of the bedrooms, Melissa and Amanda helped Emelie and Knight carry the luggage inside before heading for the other bedroom.  
Once the girls were settled in Takeshi called the concierge to make arrangements to have the items needed to make a proper breakfast sent to the suite, while he was sure the breakfast at the hotel restaurants would be excellent it would be easier to eat in, letting the girls stick to their usual routine of barely contained chaos without disturbing the other guests.  


Walking around Manhattan made Takeshi's skin crawl, their group was drawing a lot of attention and he didn't like it, it was setting his instincts on edge, making him want to hide the others away, shield them from the outsiders, protect those that were his and make sure no one could steal them away from him.  
“Take, what's wrong?”  
Knight's voice carried a distinct concern and when Takeshi didn't answer he tugged on the bond.  
_“Alpha, what has you so riled up?”  
“The attention, it makes my instincts flare, my skin crawl. Even before I changed I didn't like being the center of attention like this. I was raised as a shadow, and a shadow is not supposed to be noticed.”  
“Don't worry, you have a beta now, learn to put some faith in me, you are not alone in guarding them, I will honor my oath even if you are still here, you have my word.”  
_ Underneath Knight's words Takeshi could feel a simmer of anger mixed with sympathy that had him slightly confused.  
_“Now, how about you tell me what has_ _ **you**_ _riled up?”  
“This council of yours, to force a child into such a life without choice. That's just wrong. Even I had a choice. It may have been expected for those of my blood to become guards or courtesans but we were always free to choose another path.”  
“Can't say I agree with their methods, but it did give me a strength I wouldn't have had if they didn't. I would probably have received the Ryuken in the end anyway as I would have been named heir, but I would not have had the same level of skill and power that I do now.”  
“Perhaps, but that does not make it right.”  
_ Their silent conversation was interrupted by the twins who had spotted a small cart selling roasted chestnuts and were now begging for money to buy a bag.  
_“Well,_ Beta _, how about you handle this one?”_  
Takeshi teased, earning him a huff and a grin as Knight allowed the twins to drag him to the cart.  
“Can we have a bag each? Please Uncle Logan?”  
Looking at the sign that listed the prices Knight quickly decided he might as well buy a few extra bags, they did smell rather nice after all.  
“One big bag and two small bags please.”  
The man behind the cart nodded and quickly began filling the bags while the woman took the money and handed back the change.  
“Yay!”  
“Uncle Logan is the best!”  
The cheering was instant when Knight handed them a small bag each and giving them a pat on the head.  
“Now now girls, do try to share some with the others.”  
Knight held out the opening of the larger bag towards Takeshi, offering a share of the warm treats inside.  
He was rewarded with a low growl and a flash of fangs as Takeshi snagged the bag from his hand and ate a few of the chestnuts before handing it back, the small show of dominance helped soothe Takeshi's ruffled instincts.  
“Oh, chestnuts!”  
Emelie practically purred as she grabbed the bag from Knight's hand and used her wings and body to shield it from him while she grabbed a handful of the slightly steaming nuts.  
The sudden shriek when Knight grabbed her by the waist, took the bag and tossed her over his shoulder turned plenty of heads and Takeshi couldn't help shaking his head with a snicker.  
“Take! Stop snickering and save me from this oaf!”  
Her complaints made Takeshi burst into laugh as Knight silenced her by putting his hand on her upturned rump and giving it a good squeeze which turned her shrill words into indignant spluttering.  
“Do they always act like this?”  
Amanda whispered to Sarah as she watched the supposed adults act rather childishly.  
“Mhm, most of the time.”  
The dead serious look combined with the reply mumbled around a mouthful of chestnuts had Amanda and Melissa joining in the laughter.

 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


After the evening meal Takeshi asked Amanda to join him in the Blackout where they would be able to talk without being interrupted or overheard.  
“Manda, have a seat please.”  
Takeshi indicated for her to take the co-pilot seat and she looked slightly irritated for a moment before she figured out how to make the seat swing out so she could sit down.  
“So, is this where you try to talk me out of it?”  
There was a heavy sigh and her tone was subdued.  
“Not really, even though that might be the end result it's not the purpose. The purpose is making sure you know what you are getting yourself into. I never had a chance to explain to Lissa, there simply was no time, she was too close to death. And I truly regret that, she is having a hard time with it now that she is starting to truly understand what it means.”  
He spoke to her about eternity, about the pain of loss and the risk of losing yourself in that pain.  
He told her stories that Amarok had told him about Blessed who had lost themselves, lost the will to live, some would withdraw from the world, taking their beast form and refusing to return, slowly becoming more animal than human, all to try to avoid forming new bonds only to lose them to time and mortality.  
By the time Emelie reached out for Takeshi to tell him it was time to say goodnight to the twins, Amanda was curled up in Takeshi's lap, silently sobbing against his chest and it pained him to have been the one to bring her to that state, but she needed to know the truth.  
“Come, lets get you to bed, we can talk more later.”  
Amanda sniffled and nodded, but made no motion to get up so Takeshi picked her up and carried her inside.  


With the twins in bed and Amanda resting the others spent a few hours watching movies talking before Melissa excused herself and joined Amanda in the room they shared.  
It was no more than half an hour later that Amanda emerged from the room and suck over to the pile of pillows they had prepared as a makeshift den of sorts.  
“Um, guys, can I sleep here with you?”  
“What's wrong Manda?”  
Amanda blushed and fidgeted for a bit before blurting out her reply.  
“Lissa talks really loud in her sleep.”  
There was a moment of silence before everyone started chuckling and shifting their positions a bit to make room for her.  
Amanda's face shifted to a bright crimson as she looked at the offered spot between Takeshi and Knight and after a few moments she poked Takeshi with her foot to get him to move back against Knight so she could crawl up on the outside of the pile instead.  
Takeshi could feel the slight pang of disappointment from Knight at her action, even if indirect it was a rejection that showed him he would have to work quite a bit more to earn the trust of those outside the pack.  
_“Don't worry, I'm sure she will come around once she gets to know you. With her past it might take a while. Dan and Matthews have been around for over a year and she is still a bit skittish around them so I'd say you're doing great.”_  
“I, I know, but I still wish they all would be more comfortable around me. They are yours to protect and that makes them mine to protect, and to fulfill that duty I need them to trust me.”  
Takeshi turned around and shifted slightly to allow Amanda to curl up against him while Emelie and Knight shifted around to make themselves comfortable behind him.  
Takeshi could smell Amanda's embarrassment but she curled in closer anyway and Takeshi wrapped an arm around her:  
Still mentally exhausted from their talk earlier in the evening it only took a few minutes before her pulse and breathing slowed and settleds into the calm rhythm of sleep.

 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


The next few days were spent browsing through a seemingly endless line of stores and sampling a wide variety of street-foods, courtesy of the twins who as always wanted to try everything.  
The girls were having a blast, but Takeshi and Knight were becoming increasingly stressed from the constant attention, especially Melissa and Amanda were drawing a lot of unwanted attention from groups of roaming young men and more than once Takeshi or Knight had been forced to intervene as the men refused to back off when the girls told them they were not interested.  
Emelie however was not as timid about the unwanted male attention as Melissa and Amanda, she has already punched a few guys out cold for groping her.  
“If this keeps up we will have a rather interesting weekend.”  
Takeshi voiced his complaints to Knight as they watched Emelie chase of another group of persistent males by delivering a rather harsh blow below the belt to the apparent leader of the group.  
“Why is that?”  
“The neighborhoods we will be visiting are considered to be among the seedier and with this amount of trouble in the nice areas we can be sure to see a lot more of it in those areas.”  
“Well, we could just stay away from those areas.”  
“The girls would be very disappointed if we don't go, there are several stores there they want to visit, a great restaurant that I am sure you will love as well, not to mention some of the best street food in the country, the twins would be devastated to miss that.”  
Knight's shoulders visibly dropped at the mention of how the twins would react to being told they couldn't go try the street-foods they had been looking forward to.  
“Maybe we should give Melissa and Amanda a few extra self defense lessons? I know a few human magics they should be able to learn that could help them buy time if they get in trouble.”  
“I though all your magic was demonic?”  
Takeshi was slightly puzzled since Knight had never mentioned it before.  
“Remember that the females of my bloodline were courtesans?”  
Takeshi just nodded for Knight to continue.  
“Courtesans in my home were often skilled with magic, especially the lower class ones who were entirely human. They needed something to keep them safe from clients who were usually much stronger, and with a wide range of powers. While those of my bloodline were high class courtesans they often helped the less fortunate ones practice their magic.”  
Knight had mentioned some of it before, but he never did go into much detail about his youth, his family or the city where he had grown up.  
Takeshi agreed it would be a good idea to teach the girls as much as they could, but he didn't think they would be able to teach them much in the remaining days.  
Their conversation was interrupted by yet another altercation, this time it was a lone man in his late teens or early 20's who had cornered Amanda and was trying to pester her into going with him.  
As her increasing agitation began to become tainted by fear they both began to move to help her.  
“Wait here, I'll handle it.”  
Knight put a hand on Takeshi's shoulder while he stepped out in front of him and walked over to Amanda.  
“Manda, did you find what you were looking for?”  
“Uncle Logan!”  
The look on the man's face when he turned around to see who Amanda was waving at and spotted Knight had the others chuckling.  
“I found most of the stuff, but still missing a few.”  
They watched as the man began stuttering and then bolted, leaving any shred of dignity he might have had behind.  
“My very own Knight in shining armor, minus the armor of course.”  
Amanda thanked Knight with a teasing smile.  
“I could always add the armor next time if you prefer.”  
His counter made everyone laugh, and tell him that it might not be such a great idea.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

 

“Logan? Are you still awake?”  
Knight had been listening to Amanda's slow approach and when he heard her whispered question he shifted slightly and looked up at her before giving her a short nod.  
“I didn't wake you, did I?”  
“Nah, I don't sleep much. And with the _alphas_ sleeping it's a _betas_ duty to stay awake, to keep watch.”  
He watched as she slowly moved closer and when he shifted away to make room for her on the pile of pillows she didn't hesitate long before sitting down next to him, though he could still feel her unease at being so close to him.  
“You don't have to sit here if you are uncomfortable being this close to me.”  
Knight made sure not to make any sudden moves while he tried to soothe her discomfort.  
“I, I haven't been fair to you. You have been nothing but nice, and I have repaid that by pushing you away.”  
Knight listened to her whispered words, and when she was done speaking he slowly reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, carefully watching for any sign of distress, and while she was obviously stressed she didn't flinch or try to pull away.  
“Don't worry Manda. It's okay. You and the other girls have been through hell and it's perfectly understandable that it is hard for you to trust new people, especially males. I will keep working on proving myself to all of you and hopefully you will one day be ready to trust me.”  
“And still we trust Take without any hesitation... It's not fair.”  
There was an almost sad note in her voice that gave Knight pause.  
“Don't put yourself down for that. Take is special. There's something about him that makes you trust him and that honor of his will not allow him to betray those who put their trust in him.”  
He sat up and with a gentle push against her shoulder he urged her to turn to face him and once she did he placed his free hand on her other shoulder.  
“Look at me Manda. I know Take has been teaching you about feeling the aura of others as a part of the preparations for the change. I want you to reach out and feel my aura and while you do, tap into that ring that Eriko gave you.”  
Knight tried to keep the slightly wild aspect of his aura under wraps and focused on relaxing as he felt the tentative brush of Amanda's aura against his own.  
It took a bit of effort to keep calm when her lack of experience and training caused her to accidentally push her energies deep into his aura, but she seemed to realize what she had done and an apologetic wave rippled through her aura as she pulled back the errant energy.  
He estimated they had been sitting like for about half an hour when he felt Takeshi's mind touch his in question.  
_“She was upset about not trusting me. So I suggested that she feel my aura and use that fox-trinket to look for deception. She's been at it for about half an hour now and I figure I'll just let her keep going for as long as she needs to, or until she's to tired to keep doing it.”  
“Sounds like a good idea. Though, if you had let me know before you did it I could have warned you that she tends to dig in deep, but I guess you found that out already.”  
_ Takeshi's tone held acceptance, agreement and quite a bit of teasing amusement as he simply shifted a bit and allowed Amanda to believe he was still asleep, if she had even noticed him moving at all.  
Knight just sat across from Amanda, hands on her shoulders he allowed her aura to explore, waiting for her to either find what she needed, or tire of trying.  
He was dozing off slightly under the touch of her aura when he felt a slight shift as she wove it in deeper, pulling at his energies and he knew the sensation, she was trying to form a proper bond.  
“Easy. Are you sure you want to do that? Form such a bond?”  
She didn't answer him with words, just another, more insistent tug on his aura, asking him to release it to form the bond.  
Unsure about how to proceed, and needing to make sure he didn't overstep, Knight reached out for Takeshi and asked him for guidance, for permission.  
_“She knows what she is doing. I taught her how to. So I'd say let her. Unless you have some reason for not wanting a bond to be formed with her.”_  
Takeshi's answer settled the last of Knight hesitation, and at the next tug from Amanda he allowed his aura to unfold and reached out for the probing energy, following it across the void between them he carefully wrapped his own energy around it, twisting the strands together before slowly spreading tendrils along the outer layer of Amanda's aura.  
After a few minutes of careful exploration he felt the telltale shift of energies as her aura became inviting and taking the invitation he gently pushed deeper, seeking out the source of the energy that was trying to form the bond.  
Once he found the source he wrapped his own aura around it and tugged gently and the moment he did he could feel a bond snap into place, strong and true and as the wash of energy faded away it was replaced by exhaustion and Amanda began to slump against him.  
“Easy. It's okay, come here.”  
This time there was no hesitation as Amanda leaned into Knight's arms and quickly fell asleep curled against his chest.  


“See? I told you she would come around once she got to know you.”  
Takeshi snickered at the sight of Amanda curled up in Knight's arms, sound asleep.  
Knight gave a glare and moved his arm slightly to accommodate Amanda as she shifted at the sound of Takeshi's muffled laugh.  
_“How about you quit cackling so she won't wake up?”  
“Oh, protective are we?”  
_ There was no hint of disapproval over the bond so Knight just huffed and ignored him.  
_“Try to get some sleep before the twins wake up. I will keep watch.”_  
The brush of energy that followed was calming, almost gentle and Knight closed his eyes and returned a sense of gratitude as he willed himself to sleep.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“Do you intend to make her _pack_?”  
Emelie's soft whisper made Takeshi turn around and face her.  
“If she wants me to, but I don't think she is ready for that yet. She yearns for the sea. She wants the Blessing so that she can join Stormborn as a denizen of the deep.”  
He kept his voice low to make sure he didn't disturb the pair sleeping next to them.  
“I know, she and Lissa both wants to leave, to find their own path. They have seen what evil mankind is hiding and they have no desire to be part of the species capable of such depravity.”  
There was a ripple of anger across Emelie's aura for a moment and it caused Knight to stir slightly before Takeshi quickly smothered it with his own aura, calming them both.  
“Maybe we should focus on finding Atlantis before we try to find my father? That way we could bring her with us, allow her to meet the Daughters of Poseidon. Maybe she will find a home with them, or maybe she will chose to return with us and become pack.”  
Takeshi hummed to himself while he considered her suggestion and after a few minutes he sat up and pulled his blades, crossing them over his lap he allowed his mind to drift.  
He felt Emelie rise behind him and lean against his back, draping her wings around them both.  
“I will talk to Logan about it, if he agrees we will seek out Atlantis first. Personally I would rather see you at full power before we go there. And from what he says the only way for that to happened is for you to be presented before Lilith.”  
Emelie hummed her agreement and began to trace the scales of Takeshi's tattoo with her nails, intentionally allowing the demonic sharpness to manifest enough to draw blood, blood that she cleaned away with languid licks, enjoying how Takeshi's innate power, his _reiki,_ reacted with her _youki_ and sizzled against her tongue and made her throat tingle.  


Takeshi and Emelie both watched with amusement as Knight began to wake up, only to find Amanda stuck to him like glue and her shifting had caused a bit of a _situation_.  
“Damn, would you two quit laughing and get me out of this before she wakes up?”  
Knight had learned enough about the views of current society to know his current position was considered highly inappropriate due to Amanda's age even if it was an involuntary reaction to how she moved in her sleep.  
“Now why would we do that?”  
Emelie teased him with a grin.  
“Manda! You better wake up and let go before Logan has an _accident_...”  
Takeshi pushed at Amanda with his aura while calling out to her with a slightly raised voice which was enough to wake her, and a few seconds later she realized the position she had gotten herself into during the night, causing her to push away with an embarrassed squeak.  
The moment he was free Knight made a beeline for the nearest bathroom while muttering about an increasing urge to seek out a _courtesan_ of his own to give at least temporary relief from his current predicament.  
“Oh no. I didn't mean to! He's gonna think I'm...”  
Amanda was mumbling frantically while sporting a vivid blush.  
“Oh don't worry, he knows you didn't mean to. Especially since he can sense it over the bond you forged before you fell asleep.”  
Takeshi brought her out of her near panicked state before sending her off to help get the twins cleaned up before they woke Melissa.  


“Logan, feel up to a bit of a more serious chat?”  
Takeshi called when he heard Knight come out from the bathroom and had to struggle to resist smirking when he picked up on a slight nervousness, it would seem that Knight was still worried about what had happened.  
“Don't worry Logan, I know you would never take advantage of her, or any of the girls.”  
Takeshi took a moment to explain why society had the views it had in regards to age of consent and that they didn't really care much about it since they had means to ensure no one did anything they didn't really want to, to ensure everyone involved knew what they were doing, what it could lead to and ensure that no one was exploited or taken advantage of.  
With Knight settled down Takeshi gave a quick run-through of Emelie's suggestion that they postpone the search for the Obsidian Halls and instead head for Atlantis along with Stormborn and Amanda.  
“I'm sorry Em, but I have to agree with Take on this one. We have no idea what awaits at Atlantis, no idea what it will take to get there. It would be much better if you have access to your full power before that. Also, if you intend to bring Manda with us it would be good to give her as much time as possible to grow into her new abilities.”  
“So, a year, maybe two to let the twins become a bit more secure in themselves so that they can stay behind while we head to Iceland and Dimmuborgir. And if everything goes as we hope there, another year or two for me to get used to any new abilities I gain.”  
Both Takeshi and Knight nodded their agreement to Emelie's assessment of the overall plan.  


By the time Amanda returned with the twins Takeshi and Emelie had grabbed a quick shower and checked on Melissa, but decided to let her sleep in.  
The previous night she had expressed her desire to stay in the hotel since she had little interest in the stores that was planned for the day but the tell-tale scent of blood and altered hormones told Takeshi that the true reason behind her desire to stay behind was the soothing water of the hot tub.  
She had asked to go on blockers, but her body needed to mature a bit more before she could safely use them.  
“Girls, let Lissa sleep, she's feeling a bit under the weather.”  
Emelie quickly cut the twins of when they tried to head for the other bedroom.  
“Is she okay?”  
The concern was instant and Emelie explained it was one of those 'Big girl' things that she would teach them about when they got older and they quickly nodded and headed for Takeshi and Knight instead.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Big Apple_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Saturday and most of Sunday was spent sampling street food and looking through small shops and thrift stores without any specific goals and the twins were delighted to rummage through the shelves and crates filled with an assortment of toys, games and an entire room filled with plushies.  
But as they were headed back toward the hotel the pleasant atmosphere was interrupted when a young girl tried to steal Takeshi's wallet.  
She had managed to snatch it from Amanda who was holding it to pay for the big cups of spicy Masala chai that they had ordered to help keep them warm in the cold evening but she had quickly been hunted down by the group, Takeshi's keen nose easily picking up her trail through the hidden back alleys.  
“I believe you have something that belongs to me.”  
Takeshi's voice was firm, but not threatening as he quickly took stock of the girl, and the surroundings to make sure they had not been led into an ambush.  
The girl in front of him appeared to be about the same age as the twins, but it was hard to tell with any precision as she was gaunt and sickly from prolonged malnutrition and near starvation and the filthy, torn clothing, much too thin for the weather, hung like sacks on her rail thin form.  
_“Be alert! I'm not sensing anything, but it could still be a trap.”  
_ A quick thought instantly had Knight and Emelie on alert, carefully shifting the girls into a position where they could easily be defended.  
_“Now girl, you will tell me your name, give back what you stole, and tell me why you took it.”_  
Takeshi slowly began to weave power into his voice mixing suggestion and command with the new, almost seductive power gained from the vampiric traits that Emelie's blood had awakened.  
It would keep the girl calm, keep her from running while encouraging her to talk to him.  
“I'm Amber.”  
Even under the influence of Takeshi's power it took a while for her to comply and toss back the wallet.  
“And the rest of the money.”  
A quick check had revealed that about half of the cash was missing.  
“That's all there was!”  
The lie was easily spotted, even the twins picked up on it without the aid of their fox-charms.  
“I will only give you one warning. There is no point trying to lie to me.”  
Takeshi allowed a slight edge to enter his voice, while he wouldn't do anything to the girl he had no qualms about giving her a bit of a scare.  
The girl, Amber, threw the wad of bills at him with a snarled curse before trying to run of, hoping that he would focus on the money rather than her, but a single word, heavy with the power of _command_ stopped her dead in her tracks.  
_“Stay!”_  
While Amanda and the twins collected the money Takeshi ordered Amber to sit down.  
“You will tell me your story, why are you out here alone, where are your parents, why are you in such a poor condition.”  
“I just wanted some food!”  
When the twins heard her attempt to defend herself, and knew it was true, they quickly offered her what remained of the bag of still slightly warm prawn crackers that they had bought in the stall next to the Masala chai vendor.  
While Amber made short work of the snacks Takeshi was able to pull some more information out of her and what he found out had him furious.  
She was a 'Ghost Child', a child that as far as the government were concerned didn't exist.  
These children were born outside of the system from pregnancies that had never been registered, the mothers usually runways, illegals, addicts or prostitutes.  
Amber's mother was a prostitute who had gotten pregnant and when she had given birth to a girl the gang that 'owned' her had seen it as an investment for the future, a girl who no one else knew existed, who would never be missed by anyone that mattered.  
When the gang had decided it was time to auction Amber out her mother had taken her and tried to escape, while she had managed to hide Amber away, she had been taken, and as far as Amber knew, killed, for doing so.  
No words were needed as they all agreed to take Amber in and bring her with them to the estate, and hidden from the minds of the girls Takeshi, Emelie and Knight agreed that Takeshi and Knight would hunt down the gang and take them out, once and for all.  


It had taken rather liberal use of Takeshi's powers mixed with the twins usual personality to convince Amber to return with them to the hotel, and a few well placed wads of cash and a few of Takeshi's gold coins ensured that the hotel turned a blind eye to their new guest.  
The twins had begged for Amber to sleep with them in their room, but both Takeshi and Emelie had refused the idea and instead placed her with Melissa while Amanda shared their bedding in the main room.  
Takeshi didn't sense any danger about Amber and the twins obviously sensed nothing bad, nor did their fox-charms give any warning, but he still refused to take any chances with the twins.  
Melissa on the other hand had trained with Kasumi, Eriko and Dan during the past year and her Blessing made her hard to hurt, and even harder to actually kill.  
“Lissa, would you take Amber and get her cleaned up please? Em will lay out some of the twins clothes for her and I'll make sure there is some food waiting for her when you are done, so take your time. If she wants to try the sauna make sure to stay at the bottom, too much heat could make her really sick. ”  
“Okay!”  
Melissa quickly ushered Amber into the master bathroom and once they could hear that they were in the bath Emelie went inside with some clean clothes and collected the dirty old rags, after checking them for any belongings she quickly bagged them and put them outside, unless it was something Amber absolutely wanted to keep they would have it burned.  
When they returned from the bath there was a light meal waiting for them and Takeshi handed Amber a bowl with a light broth mixed with some rice and herbs, a drop each of Emelie's and Takeshi's blood had been added as well to ensure a rapid recovery without risking refeeding syndrome.  
“Don't worry, you will get more once we see that your stomach and body can handle that. Don't want you to get sick from eating too much, too fast. There is plenty of food for you, I promise. And when you are ready to eat normally again you can have whatever you want.”  
The last words made Amber light up like the proverbial kid in a candy-store.  
“You mean I could have a real steak? I never tasted real steak.”  
“I promise. We can buy a whole stack of steaks and cook them different ways so you can try which one you like the best.”  
Once again Takeshi's natural ability to gain the trust of those he met worked in their favor as Amber quickly settled down with her meal, and with the promise that she would get more food as soon as her stomach could handle it she joined the twins around their pile of games.  
She was still a bit skittish, and exhausted, but she settled in nicely and when it was time for bed she joined Melissa without complaints.  


With the girls sleeping they made some quick plans for taking on the gang that had hurt Amber and her mother.  
Takeshi and Knight would head over to the area where they operated, they had managed to get some more information out of Amber so they knew where the gang had their headquarters and while they took out the gang, Emelie would make sure the girls were safe.  
Takeshi had packed a few items for Knight along with his usual bag of gear in the Blackout, and Knight could also summon part of his armor for protection, even the demon steed could get useful as it would require some heavy duty weapons to harm it so they had no doubt they would be able to take them out with ease.  
The hunt for the gang however would delay their planned return and Takeshi's birthday would be spent in New York, not that he minded in the least, he wasn't much for celebrating his own birthday.  
Kasumi would be a bit grumpy, the other girls would probably be a bit disappointed that he missed the party they prepared for him and he would have to make it up to Dan somehow, Eriko and Mathews wouldn't mind, and all of them would understand why they did it.  
They spent Monday carefully nursing Amber, buying her some clothes of her own and giving her a quick haircut to get rid of the damaged, tangled mess.  
Emelie had tried to untangle it, but the prolonged neglect combined with malnutrition had left it damaged and brittle so with a promise that it would grow back nicely she had convinced Amber to let her cut it short.  
Luckily she had taken well to the added demon and Blessed blood in her broth the previous night and was already able to take on a more substantial food, though they did give her a small cup of herbal tea spiked with blood with each meal.  
Even with Emelie's potent Lilim blood and Takeshi's Blessed blood the single drop of each was not enough to cause any change, it simply allowed her to heal faster.  


Early Tuesday morning Takeshi found himself walking through the fish-market looking for a nice collection of treats for dinner while trying to keep an eye on the twins as they ran from one vendor to another, seeking out what they knew to be Takeshi's favorites.  
“Daddy! Look! A tuna!”  
The excited calls from the girls drew his attention to a small stack of crates filled with ice around a larger crate holding a relatively small, but beautiful bluefin.  
Despite being out of season the fish looked remarkably healthy and he could instantly tell that it was of good quality.  
A short talk with the fisherman later he was allowed to take a closer look at it, and while he was no professional grader he could tell it wasn't just good quality, it was excellent, the meat and fat content was clearly grade 1, the small size only about 40 kg could possibly lower the grade in the eyes of a professional grader but it was perfect for his needs.  
He quickly offered top dollar for the fish, and after taking a look at the fisherman's remaining catch he offered good money for the few, but good quality items.  
He also paid a handsome fee to have use of the fisherman's refrigerated truck for the day, to transport not only the fish and other seafood from the market, but also meat and vegetables that he would be buying on the upcoming stops.  
The old man was eager to be of service, and to earn the equivalent of several weeks worth of generous catches sold at a good price.  
A stop to a specialized meat market had added a selection of superbly marbled Wagyu beef, even a few pieces of of dry aged, genuine top quality Kobe Wagyu.  
Though, despite the chrysanthemum seal Takeshi had still used his abilities to question the trader to make sure he was getting the real thing.  
A nice selection of game meat had also been added to the growing cargo of the small delivery truck as they headed toward one of the upscale produce markets to find fruits and vegetables to match.  
At the twins insistence they had also stopped to get a selection of confections and a large, elaborate cake.  
He really hadn't planned on buying any cake, but when the twins had spotted the designer cake in the shape of a large black dragon curled around a pile of gold and jewels they had all but demanded that he buy one, and after a chat with the owner and a generous bonus they were promised that one would be delivered to the hotel in the afternoon.  
With everything bought they headed back to the hotel and Emelie quickly abandoned Knight to keeping the girls company while she helped Takeshi prepare food and Knight was just as happy to stay away from the cooking.  
Amber however refused to stray far from Emelie and clung to her side as she worked on the food.  


It was just past midnight when they finally managed to get the girls to sleep and Emelie kept watch to allow Takeshi and Knight to get a few hours of sleep before they headed out to take down the gang.

 


	51. Dawn Raid

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dawn Raid_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi looked out the hotel window as he began putting on his new Shozoku, the pale blue light of the pre-dawn and faint scent of snow told of a potentially cold day.  
The new version that he had made after he got shot when breaking Matthew out felt more like an armored riding suit than a Shozoku, he was used to soft bindings and flowing cloth rather than tightly fitted leather with plates and sliding scales.  
Emelie had questioned him then why he was wearing a cloth Shozoku, even though it was crafted from kumo-silk which made it nearly impervious to small arms the close range rounds from the more high-powered weapon had managed to penetrate and lodge them inside his body.  
She had asked him why he didn't just borrow the tough hide and scales of _'his dragon'_ and she did have a point, it would offer much better protection, but maintaining a partial transformation like what would be required took a lot of energy and concentration.

In the end he had spoken to the Ryujin and she had agreed to give him some of her scales, a few pieces of her hide and tools crafted from one of her claws in order to craft an armor of sorts.  
Drawing on the power of the Sanctuary she had taken physical form and grown as large as she could before tearing away a section of scales on her belly to get to the hide beneath and cutting away a piece of the soft but strong hide.  
A selection of awls, needles, edging tools, punches and blades had been made from her claws, one of the few things able to penetrate the scales and hide.  
A piece of sinew had been cut from her tail and after resuming a smaller form a selection of scales had been added to the pile, though, he had returned later for more scales, adding a layer of tiny scales that offered strong protection while still allowing him full range of motion.

Pulling the tight balaclava style hood over his head and pulling his braided hair through the small hole in the back he made sure the lenses did not interfere with his vision, it had taken quite a bit of work to create them as Emelie had insisted he didn't use conventional materials, instead thin disks had been cut from Kiryu's claws and carefully thinned and polished until he could see clearly through the black, slightly reflective substance.  
Turning his back to the window he pulled the boots and gloves on and flexed his claws, allowing them to slide out through the slits made in the tips of the fingers of the gloves especially for the purpose.  
Reaching for the duffle-bag he grabbed his guns and secured the holsters before reaching for the tanto and securing it as well.  
“Logan, are you ready head out?”  
He called for Knight while securing a significant amount of _Harigata Bo-Shuriken,_ finely crafted throwing needles, in various holders, both hidden and visible.  
“I'm good to go.”  
Knight was wearing his usual clothes but with parts of his armor out and Takeshi noted to himself that he would have to make sure to have something similar to his own gear crafted for him.

A pair of guns and spare clips were secured in leg holsters and the vambraces and gauntlets now sported sharp, retractable blades made for cutting and stabbing in close quarters.  
Securing the small weighted blade in the tip of his braid Takeshi stepped out of the small study that had been used as changing room he was met by Emelie and a set of yawning girls, he had hoped to leave before they woke up, but it seemed they knew what he was planning and decided to ruin those plans.  
Amber seemed to still be sleeping though.  
“Good morning girls.”  
The glares that met him confirmed his suspicion that they knew he had intended to sneak out without waking them.  
But when he kneeled down the twins instantly came to him and hugged him tight before going for his braid and together weaving a small fox-spell into the blade he had hidden there.  
He knew the spell, it was a rather strong stealth charm meant to hide whatever it was cast upon and while the twins were not yet strong enough to work a spell like that on a person they did a very good job on the hidden weapon, even if he was somehow caught and searched there was no way anyone who was not closely familiar with fox-magic would ever be able to find the hidden blade.  
He tanked them both with a kiss on the forehead while they grumbled that he better return safely, moments later they pulled away and moved on to Knight and gave him a small knife with the same spell on and he thanked them in the same manner.  
Melissa and Amanda simply nodded and told them to be safe but after a slight nudge of Emelie's wing Amanda darter forward and handed Knight the small silver charm bracelet she always wore.  
It took quite a bit of effort to keep a straight face when Knight kneeled down and declared his acceptance of the 'Ladies favor' before promising to return it to her with his glorious return once he secured their victory and Amanda instantly turned beet red and nearly tripped over Emelie in her hurry to step back as Knight rose to his feet and tucked the small bracelet away underneath his clothes where it would be safe..  
Takeshi knew Knight was teasing her, but he could also tell that he was serious about the meaning behind the action and words.  
Knight had been long sealed when such practices began, but the twins had made him watch every movie they could find about knights and tournaments, so he knew what it was supposed to mean, and played along.  
After a few quick goodbyes and promises that they would try to hurry back they headed to the Blackout, they had decided that they would use it's stealth to land on the roof of a nearby warehouse.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dawn Raid_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“So, how hard are you intending to hit them?”  
Once the door was closed and Takeshi started on the pre-flight check Knight asked the question he had avoided in front of the girls.  
“Try to free any that are forced to work for them, other than that, no survivors.”  
“Any particular reason for such harshness?”  
Knight hesitated slightly at the sharp edge in Takeshi's voice.  
“These are the lowest kind of scum, they make their money by indiscriminately dealing death and suffering. Scum like these are the reason behind all of the girls suffering.”  
As Takeshi spoke his aura took on an even more fiery appearance than normal and smoke-like wisps of inky black threaded between the flickering flames and Knight pulled back slightly from the chilling sensation.  
“So this is the darkness you keep hidden from the girls. Your own darkness, not the simple shadows of the ones within.”  
It wasn't until Knight spoke that Takeshi seemed to notice the infected state of his aura and moments later the darkness receded slightly.  
“It is. But you have always known what kind of darkness I am capable of, haven't you?”  
“I have.”  
“You should take this opportunity to work of some of your own pent up rage.”  
Knight didn't answer Takeshi's suggestion and the short flight was spent in silence.

After landing and securing the Blackout Takeshi pulled his blades from his soul and secured their scabbards in the holder, leaving them crossed over his back.  
Grabbing the mask that would cover the lower part of his face he made sure that the active filter was working as it should, it would protect him from smoke and gas in case of fire, or if teargas or similar was used by the gang, it would also protect his sensitive nose from strong odors.  
Once he was sure the filters were working he secured the mask and nodded to Knight that it was time to move.  
_“Follow me. Don't use the guns unless you have to.”  
_ Takeshi could feel Knight nod rather than see it as they both lowered the barriers of the bond to allow a more powerful connection.  
The words of Knight's reply was in a language Takeshi didn't know, but he understood their meaning just fine, an oath of vengeance for all those who had been harmed by the gang.  
The guards were quickly and silently disposed of, necks broken and throats slit as the pair moved deeper into the building.  
By the time the gang figured out they were under attack they had lost nearly half their crew.  
_“Cover me!”_  
Takeshi drew his blades and dashed toward the group covering behind low wall, flipping the blades as he leaped over the wall he landed in the familiar stance of the Blade-dancer and with a quick twist the lethal dance started.  
The startled screams, cries of pain and shouted orders carried over over the rapid barrage of suppressed P90 and MP7 fire that echoed between the walls, occasionally interrupted by the heavy, sharp crack from the 50 cal Desert Eagles that Takeshi had taught Knight to use after he had seen Takeshi's own smaller 357 L5s.  
It was a strange sensation to feel the force of the rapid gunfire dissipate through the dragon-hide as the scales deflected the bullets but Takeshi quickly got used to the feeling as he cut down the ones firing at him.  
The sound and smell of battle set Takeshi's blood on fire and he could feel his usual transformation slipping, fangs and claws becoming more prominent, the slight shift in balance that told him his feet and legs were taking on the more beast like form, and he was sure his eyes were fiery red with the slit pupil, cutting down another opponent he couldn't resist releasing a short bark of excitement as he turned toward his next target.

A low string of curses escaped Takeshi when the kinetic energy of a heavy sniper round spun him around slightly as it shattered against the large scale that covered the left side of his chest, had he been wearing conventional armor his heart would be gone and he had no intention to find out if he would be able to heal such an injury if he could avoid id.  
**“Alpha!”**  
It took Takeshi a moment to realize that Knight had actually called out for him, not just over the bond but actually voiced the cry, and while he didn't know if it was intentional, or instinctive that Knight had not called his name, it still gave a sense of pride.  
_“I'm fine, Beta. Watch out for the sniper.”  
_ After silently assuring Knight he was okay, and teasing him a bit, Takeshi quickly scanned for the sniper's position based on his approximation of the direction of the shot and soon he spotted _her_ at the roof of an adjacent building.  
_“Think your steed can get her alive? I want to question her if possible.”_  
The presence of a skilled sniper didn't match the profile of the gang and he wanted to know why she was there.  
The sharp whistle that summoned the demon was accompanied by a promise that it would try to get her alive.  
The sniper managed to fire one more round before being captured and dragged into whatever fragment of the demon realm that the steed used to travel, but this time Takeshi was ready for it and with a lightning swift slash he used the ryuken to cut it in half and deflect the fragments away from his body.

With the sniper gone Takeshi made quick work of the remaining thugs and when Knight joined him among the bodies on the blood-splattered floor he had to fight the urge to howl his victory, there was still a lot left to do.  
Knight watched Takeshi take out their targets with a frenzy he had only ever seen in demonic berserkers, but at the same time it was controlled, precise, not a single motion wasted and he found himself somewhat surprised by the beauty of the deadly dance.  
Stepping up at his side Knight could feel the exhilaration in Takeshi's aura as it wrapped around him in greeting, and he knew that the rapid breathing was not from exertion but rather from a nearly ecstatic state and even though Takeshi's face was hidden by the mask, Knight was sure he was grinning in feral delight.  
_“Easy Alpha, calm yourself. We need sharp minds, not raging blood.”_  
Knight's words brought out a low growl, part question, part challenge before Takeshi seemed to pick up on the submissive flow of Knight's aura and the words finally sunk in and he reined himself in with a snarl and a shake of his head.  
Takeshi's breath was still somewhat labored when he brushed his aura against Knight's as a show of gratitude for snapping him out of his frenzy, he knew they needed to be able to think clearly, but at the same time part of him wanted to just let loose, to kill without concern for how those around him might react.  
While he knew that Emelie would not hold his blood-thirst against him, that she accepted him for who he was, including his darkness, he also knew that it still bothered her to some extent, even if she was a demon now she was still much tóo human to be able to fully accept it.  
Knight on the other hand truly understood what drove him to such frenzy, he understood the darkness and the pure blood-lust it could trigger, he knew what it was like to relish the slaughter of those they felt deserving of such a death.  
Takeshi could feel Knight echoing his feelings over the bond and it took a bit of effort push them down, especially when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, the slightly painful force of the grip telling him of Knight's struggle to maintain control.  
_“Not now. Force it down until we are done.”_  
They both knew that Takeshi wasn't only referring to the blood-lust, but to an entirely different fire that had begun to stir in the wake of battle.

There was little resistance until they reached the basement level that contained a number of secure rooms, some were used as prison cells and held groups of young women and a few young men, much to their relief there didn't seem to be any more children there and with a quick weave of command Takeshi instructed them to stay back and hide until the police arrived.  
Takeshi knew they were on the way, there was no doubt the building was watched, and the intense gunfire would have triggered a response, delayed only by the need to ready a heavier than normal response, and at this time of day most SWAT teams would already be deployed on various raids, further delaying the response.  
Some other rooms were used as improvised armories and store rooms for large amounts of illegal drugs and chemicals, luckily there didn't seem to be any actual labs running in the basement level.  
One room was obviously being used as a torture-chamber and the putrid stench of pain and fear mixed with both fresh and stale blood and semen made Takeshi retch but he managed to hold it down as he unleashed a burst of shadow-fire into the room, completely obliterating everything within.  
There was a quick movement at his side and a soothing hand on his back, even if Knight's sense of smell was not strong enough to pick up on all the nuances he had picked up enough of it and seeing Takeshi retch while feeling his reaction over the bond had told him the rest.  
_“Alpha? Let's end this, shall we?”_  
A strained growl was the only answer given as Takeshi moved on to checking the next door.  
Knight shook his head slightly as he carefully moved behind Takeshi, he knew what he was going through and it was not an easy thing, especially since Takeshi was so very human in many aspects, all while being purely demonic in others.  
They had both been trained to kill from a very young age, but the difference was that Takeshi had grown up in a society where killing was considered as something bad, a lot of the purpose of the _Kage_ was to do the killing so that the head would not need to dirty themselves with the blood of others and to actually enjoy or feel pride in killing was abhorred, even if the deaths were warranted.  
His own youth in the borderlands on the other hand held many demonic values, and among those was that it was perfectly fine to take pride in, or even enjoy, the killing of those who had harmed you, those of yours, or in some other way earned their fate.  
And now Takeshi was struggling between a very demonic pride and joy in ending the lives of those who had harmed innocents and the the very human revulsion at the mere thought of such feelings.  
In light of things Knight did the only thing he could, he focused on the bond and allowed his own views, his acceptance of Takeshi's dark joy and pride flow through it, smothering the lingering doubts and creeping revulsion with his own pride in the strength of his _Alpha._

 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dawn Raid_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


The remaining doors had all held cramped sleeping quarters that were all empty and now they found themselves in front of a large, heavy bomb-shelter door and their senses told them that there were quite a few people inside.  
_“We need to get eyes inside, they might have heavy weapons aimed at the door.”_  
Takeshi cautioned while taking a small crystal from a hidden pocket and a quick wash of power behind him made him look over his shoulder in time to see Knight nod and call for more of his armor as well as his helmet.  
Focusing back on the crystal he quickly shaped it into a small dragonfly before using a claw to draw a drop of blood and place on the tiny head and moments later the wings began flickering slightly.  
While the thing wasn't truly alive and would only 'live' for a few hours before once again becoming a simple crystal,it was alive enough to allow him to use it like a familiar.  
He sent it through the ventilation and instructed it to relay what it was seeing to him, it's compound eyes giving him an excellent view of the room behind the door.  
As he suspected there was a mounted gun aimed at the door and there was several women held as human shields in the room, however it was the gun that caught Takeshi's attention, it was a state of the art grenade launcher that had been developed for use by the police and as far as he could tell it was loaded with short range riot rounds.  
While it wouldn't be enough to harm them, those rounds could be enough to temporarily daze them and the gas would wreak havoc on Takeshi's senses and that could give the bastards inside a chance to get away.  
After a quick debate they decided that Knight would use his sword to cut down the door while Takeshi used Glenys to form a shield that would keep them safe from the effects of the grenades.

“ _Go!”_  
The single word was accompanied by a flare of power as Takeshi focused his entire being on speed, pushing his pulse far beyond what would be considered healthy for a human, the moment the door fell the weapon inside would begin firing, and his intent was to allow Glenys to absorb the first round, and in the delay before the second round fired he would cross the threshold, cut the second round with the Ryuken and then take down the launcher before a third round could be fired.  
The feeling of standing with his back tightly pressed against Knight's chest, armored arms circling him as the massive sword was held in front of him was odd, but they had agreed it would be the fastest way for Takeshi to get through the door since he would be able to move without having to wait for Knight to get out of the way.  
There was a slight flicker of energy as the sword swung down and at first nothing seemed to happen, but then the force of the magic flowing through the blade flickered across the door like lightning and a web of glowing cracks formed, a small pulse of power behind him triggered the magic and the massive metal door shattered like ice.

Takeshi counted his rapid heartbeats as he prepared to charge forward.  
_“1-2-3”_  
He watched as Knight's left hand fell aside to allow him to pass and he tilted his body down to make a smaller target while allowing rapid movement.  
_“4-5”_  
The first grenade shattered against the shield that Glenys had generated and as the shield vanished it took the gas from the grenade with it.  
_“6-7-8”_  
He stepped over the threshold and everything was moving in slow-motion as he raised the Ryuken and readied himself to cut the grenade that was sliding into the firing position.  
_“9-10-11”_  
Taking the final breath he would take until the weapon was down he swung his blade at the approaching shell, neatly cutting it in half.  
_“12-13”_  
He felt the pressure-wave against his back when the gas inside the split grenade quickly expanded while he focused on reaching the launcher before the next shell could fire.  
_“14-15”  
_ Swinging his blade in a sharp arc he cut apart the firing-mechanism just as the shell was about to load and much to his relief he was able to do it without damaging any of remaining grenades.  
_“16-17-18”_  
The entire world seemed to grind to a complete stop before the power he had used to enhance his speed snapped back at him and sound exploded around him as the world returned to it's normal speed.  
  
With their final line of defense suddenly gone the leaders of the gang began to barter for their lives, offering money, power, all the women, men or _children_ they desired, promising to pay more than whoever had hired them if they just abandoned their task and came to work for them instead.  
“We are not here because we have been hired, we are here to cleanse the world of your filth. We are here to avenge the suffering you brought upon an innocent child, to make sure you never harm another child they way you harmed young Amber.”  
The moment Takeshi spoke the name one of the women stirred and looked at him with dazed hope glowing in her eyes.  
“Amber? My Amber is alive?”  
The man holding her raised his hand to knock her silent but before he had a chance to finish his movement his head was separated from his body and Takeshi stood over the woman, guarding her, but this close he could feel that she was weak, suffering severe internal injuries and even now her life-force was fading away, she would not last the day without means beyond the grasp of mortals.  
“She lives and she is healing well.”  
He carefully shifted the woman into a position that did not put unnecessary strain on her injuries while Knight moved to guard them from the remaining men in the room.  
“Promise me you will protect her. Promise you will make sure she gets a good life!”  
The desperate pleading was rapidly draining what little life-force remained in her battered body.  
“It is within my power to heal you if you want to. You could return to her and give her that life yourself.”  
He knew he had to make the offer, but deep inside he knew she would refuse it, she was too damaged, her soul was screaming for release.  
“No, I would just bring her pain.”  
Her voice was barely a whisper as she refused the offer of life.  
“I swear on my honor that I will do everything in my power to assure your Amber gets a good life.”  
Takeshi didn't hesitate to give her the promise she had asked for and as she nodded her gratitude, no longer able to give voice to her words he silently slid his tanto into her neck, instantly ending her pain and releasing her soul.  
_“Thank you, Chosen one.”_  
The words drifted through his mind as the soul passed through him while he carefully placed its empty shell on the floor.  
A single look at Knight was all it took for the old warrior to usher the remaining women outside and step back into the doorway, once in position he placed the tip of his sword into the floor and in a flash of power it morphed into a massive kite shield, effectively blocking the only way out of the room.  
_“Do what you must, Alpha. I will be you beacon should you need a light to guide you home.”_  
There was nothing but calm acceptance over the bond as Takeshi released the darkness within and allowed it to consume him.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dawn Raid_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


The next thing Takeshi remembered was standing in the cargo-hold of the Blackout, strong arms pulling him close and a searing kiss that he returned without even thinking, it just somehow felt right.  
“Dammit Take! Please, never scare me like that again. I began to fear I had lost my _Alpha_ to the darkness within _._ ”  
As the memories came flowing back Takeshi leaned his head against Knight's chest and allowed his strength to keep him steady, but as the memories returned so did the fire and Takeshi found himself pushing Knight back against the door of the hold  
As his pulse and breathing became increasingly rapid and erratic his claws began to tear at Knights clothes, the fire within seeking a release it knew his _Beta_ would be able to offer.  
It took every shred of what control Takeshi still possessed to stop his hands and steady his breath enough to at least ask before acting.  
“Logan? _Beta_? Please!”  
Knight didn't speak, he just tilted his head back in submission and bent down slightly as he pulled Takeshi closer, pulling the elongated fangs against his exposed throat and when Takeshi bit down he was flooded with memories.

Takeshi was seeing himself through Knight's eyes, feeling his feelings, appreciation tinged with envy while watching the blade-dance, a jolt of fear when the sniper round struck followed by relief to know he was unharmed, and the excitement mixed with desire while approaching him when the fight had ended.  
He felt the shared revulsion when finding and destroying the torture-chamber, worry as they entered the bomb-shelter followed by a deep sadness tempered by pride as he watched himself end the suffering of Amber's mother.  
He watched himself be consumed by the darkness and end the lives of the remaining gang-members and when he turned toward Knight, covered in blood and began to stalk toward him while pulling away the mask to reveal a feral grin he could feel the mixed emotions, desire, fear, excitement.  
He felt the searing kiss and when he felt something shatter and change within Knight he was overcome with guilt and remorse.  
The feelings intensified when he felt Knight's fear spike and settle into a cold terror, as he watched his own aura through Knight's eyes and saw the darkness almost completely overtaking his normal fire.  
There was a long pause where there was nothing but the constant flood of Knight's shifting emotions, then sounds began to filter in from the outside, the SWAT-teams had arrived and Knight was desperately trying to get Takeshi to snap out of it and move back to the Blackout but he was still under the influence of his darkness and refused to move, instead intent on eliminating the SWAT-teams if they dared interrupt.  
Then the world seemed to twist around itself and suddenly they were standing next to the Blackout and Takeshi realized that Knight's steed had somehow pulled them through the _in-between_ , the incorporeal realm it used to move itself to wherever it's rider needed it to be.  
He was obviously dazed from the sudden transportation as Knight guided him into the cargo-hold and once inside the memories seemed to fade away and he found himself back in the present.

“ _I'm sorry, I stole something that shouldn't be mine.”_  
_“Don't be. You didn't steal anything I gave it freely. I always suspected I would one day, after my heat I knew I would. All you did was speed things up.”_  
Takeshi allowed Knight to turn them around, allowed himself to be pinned against the solid door, the kiss that followed held none of the previous fury, it was no less intense, but instead of hunger and fire it was soft, smoldering, and bittersweet.  
_“I know you will keep it safe, I know you will guard it with all that you are. And I hope that maybe one day you will be able to return a piece of your own in its place.”_  
The feeling of trust that flowed through the bond was absolute.  
_“Just, please, never scare me like that again...”_

“I will try not to scare my poor little _Beta_ again.”  
The teasing promise was accompanied by a final brush of fangs against lips before Takeshi pushed Knight back and headed for the cockpit.

Takeshi quickly went through the pre-flight and once airborne he couldn't resist giving the SWAT-teams a bit of a scare by turning out over them and blasting their command-post with the compressed air-stream from the VTOL as he did a sharp vertical climb and turned toward the hotel.  
At his side Knight laughed at the burst of irritated radio-chatter that demanded they identify themselves and when Knight answered them in one of the demonic languages he spoke, turning the chatter from annoyed to confused, Takeshi joined the laughing.  
Chances were they would never figure out what language had been spoken and that would mess with them for quite some time.  
“You know, that was kind of mean.”  
Takeshi was trying to keep a straight face, but was failing miserably.  
“I'm learning from the best.”  
Knight's cheeky counter forced Takeshi to hit the autopilot before he laughed them into a crash.  
“I'm sure you were quite skilled at that long before I was born.”

During his pre-flight check Takeshi had reached out for Emelie's familiar and asked her to make sure the girls were not in the suite when they returned, Takeshi wanted to get a shower before seeing the girls as they were both covered in blood and other _remains_.  
It would seem that his darker side didn't share his preference for not getting any blood on his clothes.  
When they landed the rooms were indeed empty and there was a note from the twins that they were out getting food and would be back soon and Takeshi headed straight for the bathroom, knowing the twins they would be eager to get back.  
There were no words spoken when Knight joined Takeshi in the master bathroom, he simply took the washcloth and began cleaning Takeshi's back and hair and when Takeshi took the washcloth Knight turned around and and once his back was done he sat down on one of the stools to make it easier to reach his hair.  
By the time they were reasonably dry Takeshi could smell food from the suite and when they joined the others several of the smaller tables were loaded with a variety of food.  
The pointed looks that Emelie gave them when they entered the main room told them that she was well aware that something had changed, again, and that she wanted a proper explanation once the girls were sleeping.  


 

They ended up not returning until the 20th as Takeshi wanted to keep an eye on the fallout of their little raid, and listening to local gossip was a good way to get a feel for it.

 


	52. Amanda's Blessing

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Christmas was as hectic as always, and the addition of Amber into the group didn't make things any less crazy.  
The young girl was fitting in nicely though and she had instantly taken to Kasumi, and Takeshi noted that her presence seemed to soothe his sister who had been increasingly withdrawn lately.  
Knight had been rather puzzled by some of the oddities of modern Christmas but he quickly grew to love the eating part much to the girls amusement.  
Emelie and Dan were both delighted to find someone who shared their love for _'Dopp i Grytan'_ a Swedish version of Sop that was traditionally eaten at Christmas, the soft wort bread soaked in the broth from the Christmas ham was met with quite a bit of suspicion from the other girls, only the twins and Amber had even tried it.  
The twins were always curious about new foods, and Amber still had her stint with starvation too close in mind to refuse any food and they had to remind her that there was plenty of food and that she didn't have to eat something if she didn't like it, though, they all encouraged the girls to at least try everything.  
The giving of the gifts was, as expected, the favorite of the younger girls while the adults were mostly amused as their gifts tended to hold a more _teasing_ quality.  
Most of Takeshi's time however had been spent with Dan, working on finding a balance in the enhanced bond, and quite a bit of time was spent soothing Dan's worries as well.  
Despite the bond, and in a way because of it, Dan became very worried whenever Takeshi left, and he was able to sense when Takeshi was fighting, he had felt the blood-lust, the darkness and he had sensed the initial spike of fear when the sniper round had hit, that brief fragment of a second before Takeshi himself knew that his armor had indeed protected him.  
Takeshi just shook his head with a smile when Dan burrowed his face against his chest and echoed Knight's words from the aftermath of the raid, begging Takeshi to promise never to scare him like that again.  
And like with Knight Takeshi promised he would try.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Takeshi walked out of Dan's office after making sure everything was in order for the fireworks that were planned for New Year's Eve and now he set his aim on finding Amanda.  
He had promised her that if she still wanted the Blessing after learning what it truly meant he would grant it to her before the end of the year and now it was time to make good on that promise.  
He would bring her to the Sanctuary and probably stay there a few days to help her get used to her new senses.  
A quick flare of his aura told him that she was exactly where he had suspected, pacing outside Knight's room.  
“Manda, are you ready to get going?”  
“Yeah, just waiting for Logan to get his lazy ass dressed.”  
Takeshi just nodded and smiled at the way she was pacing in front of Knight's door, occasionally stopping to tap her foot.  
She had asked if Knight could join them when she received the Blessing and Takeshi had agreed, the fresh bond she shared with Knight would help her stay calm after the change, besides, with Knight now being his _Beta_ , it would be good for him to learn more about the process.  
“Come on Logan, you should know better than to keep a lady waiting!”  
Takeshi called with a teasing tone, while feeding the image of a pacing Amanda over the bond.  
“Yeah yeah! I'm coming, go bother someone else!”  
Takeshi just shook his head, Knight had been acting rather nervous about the whole thing and now he was dragging his feet a bit.  
“If you're not out of there in 5 minutes, I'll come in there and drag you out, regardless of what you're wearing, or not wearing.”  
A rustle, followed by a thump, a crash and a string of what could only be curses was heard from inside the room before the door opened to reveal a rather rumpled looking Knight.  
“Finally!”  
Amanda instantly grabbed Knight's hand and began to drag him toward the front door.  
Takeshi just grabbed his bag and followed behind them as Amanda headed toward the entrance to the Sanctuary with Knight in tow.  
Food and sleeping gear had already been brought to the annex where they had spent Knight's heat so Takeshi's bag only held a few surprises for Amanda, some games and a few extra treats.  


Most of the day was spent playing games, talking and of course, teasing, all to try to calm Amanda's nerves.  
Though she had made up her mind about the Blessing she was still scared, it was a big change, and Takeshi had explained it would would hurt, not just the pain of the bite, but the change itself could be quite painful.  
Melissa had been so close to death when he changed her that she had been almost unable to feel anything and the old farmer had his mate to help him carry the pain, but Takeshi was hoping that Knight would be able to help Amanda through the part where he had to focus on changing her and would be unable to aid her much with the pain.  
As evening came around they ate a light meal before Takeshi told Amanda to go into the main chamber of the Sanctuary and take a bath in the crystal pool, he had spoken to the Mother and She had made some adjustments to the energies of the pool to help calm and soothe pain and they would bring Amanda back to the pool once the change was on it's way, it would also help her adapt to life in water faster.  
“Logan, when it's time I need you to focus on trying to carry as much of her pain as you can. She is determined, but scared and the pain might make her fight me. If she fights me I might end up hurting her more, because once I start it I must finish it or it could kill her.”  
“I will do what I can.”  
Knight's tone was calm and determined, but Takeshi could feel the undercurrent of worry.  
“As soon as the energy-transfer is done I will be able to help, but until then you will have to do it alone.”  
They had spoken about it before, while Takeshi taught Amanda about it, but Takeshi went through some of the details again, just to make sure.  


When Amanda returned from her bath she walked over to then and sat down in Knight lap, they had agreed it would be for the best, it would make it easier for Knight to help her, and should it be needed, restrain her.  
Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but Takeshi had explained to her why it might become necessary.  
“Are you ready Manda?”  
There was power woven into Takeshi's words but at first Amanda just nodded and he reminded her that she had to speak, he needed to hear the truth of her words before moving on.  
“I'm ready.”  
There was a slight tremble in her voice, but Takeshi could feel her absolute conviction so he stepped closer and placed his hands on her shoulders, there was a touch of pride when she instantly turned her head and bared her neck and shoulder to him.  
Takeshi was just about to sink his teeth into her shoulder when she began to squirm and didn't seem to be able to sit comfortably so he stepped back and after thinking for a moment he told her to turn around so that she was facing Knight instead.  
After a bit of shuffling around without finding a good seat Knight picked her up and spread his knees so that he set her down on his left leg rather than over both legs and it seemed to help as she instantly shifted closer and leaned in against him, steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders.  
As Knight put his arms around her to help keep her steady Takeshi stepped in closer, effectively pinning her between their bodies, one hand on her left shoulder he made sure she would not be able to pull loose once he began.  
Once again she instantly turned her head when he leaned in and pulled away the collar of her bathrobe from her right shoulder, slipping his hand around her waist he allowed his fangs to brush against her shoulder, offering an apology for the pain he was about to cause her.  
There was a sudden feeling of surprise and hesitation from Knight when Amanda shifted slightly, searching for something to distract herself with she had decided that a kiss would be the way to go.  
For a moment Takeshi thought Knight would refuse her search for distraction, but then he could feel her aura shift when Knight answered her in kind, understanding her need for distraction and Takeshi seized the moment, instantly sinking his fangs into her shoulder.  
The moment her blood washed over his fangs it reacted with the vampiric abilities he had gained and he could feel every aspect of her, he could feel her eager yearning for the change as he began to pour his power into her through the wounds.  


The process seemed to work a lot faster this time, perhaps it was him getting better at it, but he suspected it was her total acceptance and the fact that she was too distracted to think of trying to resist him.  
It only took a few moments before he could feel that the change was taking effect and he withdrew his fangs and stepped back slightly so Knight could pick her up and bring her to the Sanctuary pool.  
With Takeshi and Knight doing everything they could to take away the pain Amanda was able to stay calm enough to sleep, and though it was a fitful sleep and would probably not give her much rest it was enough to allow her to escape the pain of the change.  
_“Is it just me or is she getting taller?”_  
Knight chose not to speak to make sure the sound would not disturb Amanda's sleep.  
_“She is, it's hard to tell when she is curled up like this, but I'd guess about 5 to 10 centimeters taller.”_  
Takeshi showed the measures between his thumb and index-finger as Knight was still getting used to the metric system.  
_“I think she is looking a bit older as well. Maybe I should ask the Mother about that.”_  
Takeshi wasn't really worried, just curious about the changes, both Kasumi and the old farmer had become physically younger after the change, his own appearance hadn't changed, but he didn't look his age to start with.  
After making sure Knight was able to manage Amanda's pain on his own Takeshi reached out for the Mother and allowed his questions to flow freely, opening his mind to Her.  
_**“She is young, but her soul is old and her spirit is mature beyond her years. She is simply taking the opportunity make her body match her a bit better.”**_  
_“As I suspected then.”_  
Takeshi could feel the Mother at the edge of his mind as he turned his attention back to Amanda and her transformation, it seemed She intended to keep close and watch the change.  
They watched as Amanda's nails turned into claws, when her hair grew longer Takeshi carefully collected it and braided it before taking one of the ties from his own braid to secure it so it wouldn't get tangled.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Takeshi had left the pool to fetch some food when he felt Knight pull at the bond with quite a bit of urgency.  
_“I think you better get back here, her pain is spiking pretty bad.”_  
Takeshi instantly dropped the food and hurried back to the pool, reaching out with his aura as he moved and the moment he touched her aura he could feel her pain flare.  
_**“It's the last stage of her transformation, it is when the primary form sets. And she is fighting the part of your power that is Wolf in order to gain a primary form that suits her better. The sea is part of her soul and she is fighting to make her body part of the sea.”**_  
_“Is there anything we can do to help her? The longer she fights like this the more it will hurt and we can barely keep the pain contained as it is. I don't want her to hurt if it can be avoided.”_  
_**“We can offer her choices. Call the creatures of the pool closer, let them touch her. Maybe she will choose one of them as her form.**_  
Takeshi nodded and reached out with his aura, carefully touching each of the little creatures, asking them to come closer, to allow Amanda to feel them.  
He could feel her aura shift and reach out for them as they came closer and when they carefully brushed against her she began to relax, no longer fighting the transformation as hard and much to both his and Knight's relief her pain began to fade as well.  
They could do nothing but watch in silence as she began to shed her human form in favor of her chosen form.  
_“She is beautiful, magnificent...”_  
There was no mistaking Knight's pride and amazement and Takeshi had to agree, Amanda's chosen form was absolutely stunning.  
_“Of all forms she could choose she chose to become a mermaid. Is this what you meant that the sea is part of her soul?”_  
Takeshi's question was directed toward the presence at the edge of his mind.  
_**“Yes, her soul has reclaimed a form it has carried before. Though, in a much different manner.”**_ _  
“Her soul, it was of Atlantis, wasn't it?”  
__**“It was. And it still is, it still yearns for the magic of the hidden city. If she returns there she might be able to reclaim the magic she had when she was one of them, her soul still knows it.”**_  
_“She was always supposed to go with us there, wasn't she?”  
__**“Yes, such is her fate. Throughout the infinite refraction of time, the Fates keeps some things the same. For Amanda it was either death at the hands of the corrupt, or be saved by you and return to Atlantis.”  
**__“Will she stay in Atlantis? Will we lose her to the magic her soul yearns for?”  
__**“That, my Chosen, will be up to the choices you all make. Nothing has been spoken of it by the Fates”**_ **  
** With those words the Mother withdrew again, but remained at the edges of Takeshi's mind, watching, waiting.  


Takeshi watched with avid curiosity as the Mark of the Blessing changed, the small dragon fading from her shoulder and instead a pattern of black scales formed across her torso and down her tail, mirroring the way his own tattoo spread across his back and wrapped around his leg, and seeing her intentionally carry **his** mark so visibly filled him with a strange pride.  
_**“You should take pride in her, only the truly powerful are able to take hybrid forms.”**_ _  
“Really? But every one of the Blessed that I have met that have more than one form have been able to partially transform.”_  
Takeshi was confused by the Mother's words.  
_**“Those are not hybrid forms, merely a mix of the birth-form and a secondary form. Even Melissa, though strong, can only shift into one form at a time. Those mixed forms are just a shift paused partway through the transformation.”**_ _  
“Then what is a hybrid form?”_  
_**“It is the combination of traits from several forms at once, like how you are able to combine your wolf form with the eyes and claws of the dragon. If you were not strong enough to use hybrid forms you would have to choose, wolf or dragon, not both.”  
**_ Takeshi began to grasp just what the Mother meant by hybrid, but he still had to confirm he was right, there was no room for misunderstandings or assumptions.  
_“The bio-luminescence is from one species, the shape of her tail another, her fins carry traits from several species. The spines seem to be lionfish.”_  
At the mention of the spined fins along Amanda's lower arms Takeshi had to pause for a moment to stop Knight from touching the potentially venomous spikes.  
_“Don't, if those really are from a lionfish they can carry some pretty nasty venom, possibly quite deadly since it wouldn't be that of a normal one.”  
__**“Her venom is indeed quite deadly, though, the two of you will be able to withstand it. Its potency is controlled by her intent and as long as she has no intent of harming you it will merely be painful, if you upset her enough for her to actually want to harm you it would make you quite sick for a while.”  
**_ Knight instantly pulled his hand back and returned to cradling Amanda's head so that her nose and mouth remained above the surface while keeping her gills below it, they were not sure how much control she had over her breathing so the chose to play it safe. _ **  
**__“All of those species can be found within the pool, but her scales, they are dragon scales. How is she able to do that?”  
__**“You have dragon in your blood, in your power. The only reason your primary form is mostly wolf is because the wolf was the only form Amarok's blood was able to carry. And when my power gave life to the shadow fragment within you it also latched on to the residue of Amarok's blood. But it is all in your mind, you are a perfect hybrid, you have no primary form.”**_ _  
“So Amanda was able to latch on to the part of my power that is dragon, and use it to make her own form stronger?”  
__**“Yes. As I said, she is strong and clever, you should take great pride her. Her soul and spirit is strong, but your power is what has made it possible for her to reclaim her soul's original form, and even make it stronger.”  
**_ When the presence of the Mother withdrew again Takeshi knew She would not return until they were ready to leave, unless called for.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Takeshi was resting at the small beach when Amanda began to stir, he wasn't feeling any drain but Knight had been rather stubborn about it so he had agreed just to stop the nagging.  
_“Alpha, I think she is waking.”_  
Knight's silent words were accompanied by a careful nudge against Takeshi's aura in case he was sleeping.  
_“She is.”_  
Takeshi quickly joined them in the water, but took care not to disturb the water too much, chances were that Amanda's current form was sensitive to movements of the water and it could startle her or even hurt her if he disturbed the water to much.  
“Take?”  
Amanda instantly winced at the sound of her own voice and Takeshi found himself flinching slightly at the strange harmonies it carried, her voice was obviously adapted to carry well underwater, but there was something else in it, a strange power.  
Perhaps there was some truth behind the legends of mermaids as sirens of the sea, able to sing men to their doom.  
_“Easy, remember what I told you about your senses being stronger. Reach within, find the voice of your mind. Just like how you speak to your familiar.”  
_ Noticing that she was about to look around Takeshi quickly put his hand over her eyes. _  
“Keep your eyes closed for now, I will ask the Mother to dim the light.”_  
The Mother was obviously listening in because the glow from the large tube growths in the ceiling of the cavernous room instantly dimmed as the drop shaped bulbs withdrew into their tubes, leaving only the softer glow of the various creatures and plants.  
_“Okay, you can open your eyes now, but do it slowly, your new form is well adapted to low light conditions so even this dimmed light might hurt.”  
“New form? Didn't I become like you, a wolf?”_  
She was still using her familiar but Takeshi was sure she would find her own 'voice' soon enough.  
_“No, you were able to become something entirely different, something quite amazing.”_  
With her curiosity piqued she quickly opened her eyes and after a initial wince at the light a third eyelid slid across her eyes, protecting it from the light.  
The translucent white membrane gave her eyes a pearlescent quality that made Takeshi wonder if it had been eyes like those that had caused the Larimar stone to be called the Atlantis Stone.  
They watched in silence as Amanda inspected her webbed hands, a closer inspection of her clawed fingertips revealed that pressure against the pad of her finger released a venom of some sort through the claws and after quite a bit of convincing she allowed Takeshi to pierce his own fingertip with one of her claws to test its effects.  
The venom quickly revealed itself to be paralytic and quite potent as the small prick caused Takeshi's entire arm to go numb, but his own enhanced physiology quickly began to counteract it and he was sure that with a few more exposures he would be able to build an immunity.  


“Logan, would you just hold on to my tail, it keeps slipping away when I try to look!”  
Amanda's voice was a frustrated hiss as she tried to twist herself around so she could look at the back of her tail, but without anything to wrap it around it kept twisting along with her torso.  
“I like these black scales, they look kinda like your tattoo.”  
She traced her claws along the black scales on Takeshi's leg as she spoke and after a few moments he found himself forced to remove her hand and the hurt look on her face face had him explaining why.  
“My tattoo's are rather, _sensitive_ , especially when I am not hiding the scales.”  
It took a few moments, but when the implications of his words fully registered she blushed a bright crimson.  
“Don't worry, you didn't know. Just try to remember it in the future, especially now that you have claws.”  
Takeshi couldn't resist dragging a claw along the pattern of black scales on Amanda's back, starting at her shoulder where his fangs had marked her skin.  
He was curious to see if her pattern of scales had a similar sensitivity as his own, her gasp and the flare of her fins told him that it did indeed share that trait.  
“Okay, point taken. I won't do that again.”  
The embarrassed squeak made Knight laugh and tease her, something that earned him a slap, and a hefty dose of the paralytic venom.  
“Oh no! Logan I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!”  
Amanda was frantically apologizing while using her tail to keep Knight's head above the water as his body rapidly went numb.  
“Don't worry, the Mother explained that your venom won't actually harm us unless you want it to.”  
Takeshi chuckled slightly at the scene in front of him.  
“He can still drown you know!”  
Takeshi wasn't worried, but since Amanda was beating herself up over what had happened he moved closer and began to clean out the venom from the wounds, using the healing properties of his saliva, and the fact that his body was somewhat familiar with the venom, to purge it from Knight's body.  
Knight's strong reaction to the rather intimate treatment however, had Amanda breaking down in pearls of laughter.  
“Really? And you thought you were in any position to tease me?!”  
She flicked her tail at Knight's rather obvious erection which actually made him blush slightly before countering with a reminder that he knew what kind of _pleasures_ Takeshi was able to bestow on a _partner,_ something that was rather effective at silencing her.  
Takeshi just shook his head at their antics before giving Knight's ear a sharp nip, reminding him to _'play nice'_ and not tease Amanda too badly, the action, of course, made Amanda laugh again and this time they all joined in.  
The joking around and teasing did have one major benefit, it made Amanda relax, and when she relaxed it allowed her instincts to surface and get her senses under control instead of her getting stressed from trying to control them.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


After letting Amanda sleep for a few more hours they shared a light meal before preparing to work on Amanda's transformations, she needed to be able to retake her human form so she could leave the pool.  
“Close your eyes, focus on your inner eye, on seeing yourself as human. The feeling of sand, or grass between your toes, of pulling your fingers through your hair without claws or webbing.”  
“Okay.”  
Takeshi smiled as he watched her try to retake her human form, but all she managed was to slightly change the shape of her tail-fin.  
“Don't worry, we have a few days left before the New Year's party.”  
Yet another failed attempt has Amanda hissing and thrashing in the pool and Takeshi could feel a hint of panic creeping across her aura.  
“And if you haven't figured it out by then we could always carry you to the lagoon and have the party at the beach.”  
The promise that she would not be stuck in the Sanctuary or miss the party seemed to help her relax but she was still agitated and her constant twisting and thrashing showed that she was feeling trapped in the small body of water.  
It was quite understandable though, under normal conditions a pool of water so small would not be able to maintain sufficient oxygen for an aquatic creature of her size, and her instincts were rebelling.  
The Sanctuary pool was quite different though and could easily sustain her even if she was not able to breathe normally by keeping her head above water.  
In the end it was the Mother that was able to help her as she taught her whale-songs, Amanda was able to mimic the echolocation and whistles of a dolphin, and by weaving the whistles and and clicks together an illusion of open space was created that allowed her to relax.  


Knight kept watch while she slept so that Takeshi could rest as well, when she was awake Takeshi would be focused on helping her with her transformations, and one part of that would be him showing her a range of aquatic transformations, hoping that feeling how his energies shifted as he did would give her a feeling for what was needed.  
It was however rather taxing for Takeshi, due to the small size of the pool he had to put a lot of focus into making his forms smaller than usual, even smaller than what was normal for the species.  
In the end Amanda and Knight got to watch as Takeshi had another set of seals added to the pattern he was already carrying.  
Amanda watched with wide eyes when the dragon appeared in front of them and Takeshi could feel her concern when Kiryu used her sharp claws to cut a pattern of intricate runes into his skin and infuse them with a mix of her blood and the black flames of her magic.  
But when the Ryujin began to sing Dragon-magic a second voice joined in, it would seem Amanda hadn't only gained the scales of a dragon, but the ability to wield their magic, and now her haunting voice added an additional layer, a slightly different aspect that greatly increased the potency of the seals.  
Before leaving Kiryu promised that if Amanda wanted to learn more about Dragon-magic she would gladly teach her.  


It wasn't until her 3rd day that Amanda was able to return to her human form and it brought forth a whole new set of issues.  
“Where did the mark go?”  
Her voice was frantic when she realized she could no longer see a pattern of black curls down her body.  
“It's on your shoulder, just like Lissa's.”  
Quickly looking at her reflection in the water Amanda calmed slightly, but she still complained that she liked the pattern of scales better.  
“Don't worry, I'm sure you will be able to bring out the piece of what is Dragon that allows you to form the pattern of scales if you just practice. Just like how I can hide my own scales when needed.”

The next worry came when she went to the bag that contained her clothes and realized that none of her clothes would fit her anymore.  
“I promise, no one will complain if you run around in the nude.”  
Knight's teasing earned him another clawed slap, but this time she was able to withhold the venom.  
“If you don't mind wearing a kimono for a while I'm sure Eriko will let you borrow some of her clothes until we can go shopping for some new ones for you. Maybe go to Ginza where a woman in kimono is a common sight?”  
Amanda hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Takeshi's suggestion and he quickly sought out Eriko's mind to let her know about the situation.  
While they waited for Eriko to arrive with some clothes they watched Amanda practice her shifts in the pool and she didn't seem to be bothered by her nudity while she was in her new form.  


“Oh my, you are absolutely stunning!”  
Eriko's rather loud exclamation made Amanda flinch slightly and Eriko immediately apologized and lowered her voice.  
“Kage, you should have told me she had grown into such a beauty! This kimono won't do her justice.”  
Eriko scolded as she carefully inspected Amanda's new form before helping her put on the simple kimono, but Takeshi found himself unable to agree as Amanda looked absolutely amazing and Knight was quick to agree, and voice his opinion.  
“Manda, don't listen to that old fox, you look amazing in that!”  
Amanda blushed slightly at the attention and when Eriko grabbed her chest and began pulling at the kimono to show of more cleavage she had enough and a partial shift later she chased the laughing fox out of the Sanctuary.  
Once she was satisfied that Eriko wasn't coming back she returned to the side of the pool where Knight had begun piling up various fruits that he had picked from the annex.  
“Awesome! I'm starving!”  
Takeshi watched her eat and after a while Knight stopped her which spiked Takeshi's curiosity  
“Manda, when you eat, do you get very hungry, very fast again?”  
The answering blush revealed that Knight was correct, but he still insisted that she answer him.  
“Yeah, kinda. Why?”  
“It's your new physiology, you are more purely predator now so you need to change your diet slightly, a bit less of things like vegetables and grains, fruit and such, and more meat and fish instead. Especially raw meats or fish.”  
“Okay...”  
She sounded far from convinced and Knight seemed intent on giving her a bit of a demonstration.  
“ _Alpha_ , care to contribute with a donation?”  
He held out one of the crystal cups they had been using and when Takeshi simply cut his hand and allowed his blood to flow into it there was a rather loud squeak from Amanda, but when Knight added his own blood to it they both noticed a slightly glazed look in her eyes as she discreetly sniffed the air.  
“Here, try this.”  
“But that's blood! Human blood...”  
“And demon blood. But you can tell can't you? The scent draws you in.”  
When he offered the cup again she only hesitated a moment before grabbing it and emptying it in a single sweep, but beneath her eagerness they could feel the taint of shame.  
“There is no reason for shame. We are what we are and we need what we need. As long as you mind your diet you won't notice it much, but if you neglect it, or get injured or weakened you might notice a craving for blood, especially blood with power in it.”  
“So you, Take, Em, Sumi-chan or Eriko?”  
“Yes, and if you start to feel those craving, just let us know and we will help you.”  
When Knight was done speaking Takeshi decided to add a small correction regarding Kasumi's blood.  
“My sister's powers are slightly different, you probably won't feel drawn to it.”  
After a few minutes Amanda's hunger seemed to still and she turned to Knight and thanked him.  
“But, Logan. How did you know blood would help?”  
“You are not the first young vampiric I have met, the insatiable hunger is a common sign when a vampiric comes of age. I couldn't be sure that was the problem, but it was easy to test.”  
“How come I'm some kind of vampire?”  
This time Knight didn't have any answers for her and Takeshi stepped in instead.  
“It doesn't mean you are an actual vampire as such, many demonic species are vampiric, Em for instance, succubus and their male counterpart the incubus feed of sexual energy, or if they can't find enough of that, pure life force.”  
Takeshi took a short pause to consider his words.  
“As for how, there are two possibilities. The first is that the species that you soul has tried to reform you into might be naturally vampiric. The second possibility is that you might have picked it up from me since I have recently acquired vampiric abilities, perhaps you instinctively took on those traits since they do grant some unique benefits.”

“Okay, any downsides I should know about? Like I won't suddenly hate garlic, or get a serious tan problem?”  
“Don't worry, other than the occasional desire to bite someone when you feel weak there are no real drawbacks. There is some truth to the garlic part though, excessive consumption of some food or spices can make people smell kinda funky to vampirics.”  
They continued to explain to her about the vampiric code, to never take blood from someone without permission unless it was an enemy, but they both told her that should she ever find herself in a desperate situation she was welcome to take their blood without asking first.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“So, are you ready to head back?”  
Takeshi gently prodded the half asleep Amanda to see if she was feeling ready to leave the sanctuary and rejoin the others.  
“Well, yes. But... Could we stay a little longer?”  
“We can, but I should warn you, it can take a very long time to learn to change how you look, your appearance as a human is deeply rooted in your spirit. It took me years to learn to alter my appearance.”  
Amanda was having some issues with her new looks, not only was she a lot taller, she also looked a good deal older, she had gone from the 171cm tall 15 year old girl to looking like a 25 year old woman, and at 180cm she was now quite tall for a woman, which added it's own issues as she was slightly off balance.  
The Mother had explained that Amanda's body had changed to make her physical maturity match her spiritual and mental maturity, but it was all new to her and she found it slightly unsettling.  
“If I can't change how I look I won't be able to travel with you, no one would believe I'm 15 and they would assume my passport or ID is fake, or stolen.”  
It was a valid concern, but Takeshi wasn't worried.  
“Don't worry, if needed we will just create a temporary identity for you until you either learn to change it, or your age catches up to your looks. We will have to make new identities every 10 years or so anyway since we don't age.”  
“Oh, I didn't think about that.”  
She paused for a moment then let out a big sigh.  
“I guess we might as well head back then, no point delaying, is there?”  
“Not really, but if you aren't comfortable with returning we will wait.”  
“No, you are right. It will take time to learn and I can't just stay cooped up in here until I do.”  


After a quick breakfast Amanda started trying to get dressed but was having some problems remembering how to put on the kimono, even though it was a simple kimono it was still 3 layers with various ties and belts to arrange.  
“Need a hand with that?”  
Feeling her increasing frustration Takeshi decided to offer a helping hand, he had often helped Kasumi getting dressed when wearing kimono.  
“Please!”  
Stepping closer he quickly took the somewhat unwieldy piece of cloth from her hands and folded it before putting it aside.  
“The _nagajuban_ comes first.”  
Picking up the plain white cotton robe he held it out for her to slip into.  
“Always left-over-right, then secure with a _koshihimo_.”  
He explained each step as he helped her wrap the garment to make sure it was straight and no wrinkles or creases before securing it with the narrow sash.  
“The red layer comes next.”  
Eriko had brought one of her usual red and white kimono and Takeshi picked up the elaborately patterned red silk and helped Amanda slip into it before straightening it.  
“Make sure it hangs straight, left-over-right and adjust the collar. If it is to long you pull it up so the hemline ends at the ankle and secure with another _koshihimo._ Fold the extra fabric over and straighten it.”  
There was no need to adjust the length though and Takeshi suspected it was part of the enchantments he could sense in the demon silk, it was probably also enchanted to work as an armor, not become dirtied, or tear.  
The process was repeated with the heavily embroidered white silk before it was time for the _obi_ , _maeita_ , _obiage_ and _obijime_.  
“I am never going to be able to remember all this, much less do it myself.”  
Amanda complained as Takeshi wrapped the obi around her and secured the stiff _maeita_ in the front to keep the _obi_ nice and flat, once secured he tied a simple knot at the back.  
He refused to tie it in the front like Eriko did, it was not _proper_ for an able young woman to do so, it was the way of prostitutes and courtesans, to flaunt the expensive garment and give their customers easy access.  
Among the very young, elderly or the unfit it was acceptable however as it made it easier for them to dress themselves.  
When Amanda had asked he quickly explained the implications made by tying it in the front and she had instantly agreed to having a formal knot in the back.  
After adding the _obiage_ above the _obi_ and tucking it in he secured the _obijime_ over the _obi_ and helped her slip on the _z_ _ō_ _ri_ sandals, at least Eriko had had the good sense not to bring the wooden _geta_ , Amanda was having problems enough with her balance.  
Takeshi spent a good while helping Amanda brush and braid her long hair before adding the numerous small hair ornaments in the shape of the lily of the valley, tiny bell shaped flowers and long slender leafs cut from white and green jade into the braid.  
While he did he told her that in _hanakotoba,_ the language of flowers, they represented sweetness.  
Finally he placed the _kanzashi_ ornaments with the pink and white lotus flower with it's gold center and the white lilies on her head, carefully arranging them to give balance while explaining their meaning, chastity, purity, devotion.  
“Is all of this really necessary?”  
Amanda was getting a bit antsy from having to keep still for so long.  
“If you are going to wear a kimono you might as well do it properly. Besides, you look absolutely amazing like this.”  
“I don't know... It feels odd.”  
Takeshi huffed at her hesitation and reached out for the Mother and soon a ghostly image shimmered in front of them, slowly solidifying into a perfect replica of Amanda.  
“That's me?”  
Amanda whispered with awe in her voice as she watched the image take form.  
“It is. I told you, you look amazing.”  


Getting ready to head back Knight quickly took their bags to allow Takeshi to help Amanda get around in the kimono since Takeshi had wrapped it in a tighter, more _proper,_ way than how Eriko would usually wear it.  
Back at the house they were met by a group of very eager girls and Amanda was dragged away an bombarded with questions.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Amanda's Blessing_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Takeshi quickly took his bag and tossed it into the room he shared with Emelie before grabbing Knight and heading to Dan's office to help him with the final preparations for New Year's Eve and make some plans for the first few weeks of the new year.  
“Logan, will the sniper be okay with your steed for a few more days?”  
There had not been time to question the captured sniper, but Knight had assured him that she would be safe for a few days in the _in-between_ with his mount.  
“Yes, she will be fine. The _in-between_ is similar to you dreamscape, only it exists in a physical plane, not just an ethereal one. Some creatures, like my steed, have their own little piece of it, a pocket-realm of sorts.”  
Knight explained that time moved differently in there, which was how the steed was able to heed his summons anywhere in the world without delay, and the female sniper was being kept in a stasis of sorts, she was aware that time passed, but it did not affect her, she would not age, or need food or water, she just existed and to safeguard her sanity the steed had used magic to sedate her.  
“Good, that buys us some time. After New Year's I will bring Manda and Eriko to Ginza to buy a new wardrobe for Manda, meanwhile I want you to stay here with Em and the twins.”  
Knight instantly objected to being left behind.  
“Logan.”  
There was a slight edge to Takeshi's voice but Knight ignored it.  
“Take, I don't like it! We should all go. _Pack_ belongs together.”  
“Enough, _Beta!”  
_ Dan jumped at the snarl and bared fangs but Knight seemed like he wanted to say more before slowly baring his neck, though his aura did not reflect the submissive pose, making it perfectly clear he did not agree with Takeshi.  
“The twins need to learn that they can't come with us every time we go somewhere, that we won't always be able to travel as a _pack_. And is it not the _beta's_ duty to guard the pack when the _alpha_ is not there?”  
Knight's aura flared slightly in response and he mirrored Takeshi's expression, baring his teeth for a brief moment before surrendering.  
“Yes, _Alpha_. You are right, but I still don't like it.”  
His surrender was instantly rewarded with a brush of fangs against the mark on his shoulder followed by a gentle, almost teasing nip.  
“Dan, I want you to prepare the small room furthest from the generator as a interrogation room. I'll leave the details to your imagination, just nothing too intimidating.”  
“Sure thing, do you want a holding cell in there as well? I could ask Em to help me build one out of sanctuary crystals.”  
Takeshi just nodded his agreement before moving on to the next point on his list of things to arrange.

 


	53. Conflicted

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi felt a deep rooted sense of contentment as he watched the girls play on the beach while they waited for Eriko and Dan to set up the fireworks, the old vixen had offered to use her fox-fire to light the fireworks so that they could all watch together without anyone having to stay at the floating platform where they were launched from.  
It had become rather obvious though that Eriko had added her own little flare to the fireworks while helping Dan set them up as several of the colorful bursts moved in ways that were impossible to accomplish without a touch of magic, but the girls loved it.  
New Year's Day was spent in a lazy manner, nothing but food, games and talking in the inner garden, but once the girls were off to bed Takeshi made preparations for a quick shopping trip to Ginza.  
Part of the preparations had been completed already, the making of a new identity for Amanda and Takeshi had to admit that Dan was getting pretty good at forgery, as far as Takeshi was able to tell both the passport and ID were perfect.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“Manda, are you awake?”  
It was still dark outside when Takeshi knocked gently on Amanda's door, there was no hurry but he preferred to be early if she was awake.  
“Yeah, but I won't be ready to leave for quite a while unless I get some help with the kimono.”  
“Don't worry about putting it on yet, you can use the bathrobe I gave you for now and we will help you get dressed at the hotel. It will get rather uncomfortable in the Blackout otherwise.”  
“Okay, see you in the kitchen in a few then.”  
Just as Takeshi was about to turn the corner into the main area of the house he heard Amanda's door open and she peaked out to call after him.  
“Think you could make some of that breakfast you made before, the one with rice, those sticky beans, soup and stuff?”  
“I already made plenty enough for both of us.”  
“Okay, thanks!”  
Takeshi often had the traditional Japanese breakfast consisting of steamed white rice with _natto,_ _tamagoyaki,_ grilled fish, miso-soup and a selection of steamed and pickled vegetable side dishes, all the girls gladly had the rice, fish, egg-rolls and most of the vegetables, but the fermented soybeans and miso-soup were less popular.  
While he waited for Amanda to join him he prepared some beef and tuna tartare as well as extra fish, both fried and raw, cut to sashimi and a big bowl of fried shrimp and scallops in garlic butter, he needed her to get used to eating more meat, especially raw meat to make sure she was able to sustain her new physiology better.  
“Something smells amazing!”  
Amanda made a quick beeline for the table and began to sniff the various bowls and plates, searching for whatever it was that was giving of the mouthwatering smell.  
“What is this?”  
She poked the small rolls carefully with the chopsticks.  
“It's _nori_ and _shiso_ rolled tartare. The white plate is beef and the black one is tuna.”  
“Tartare? That means it's raw, right? Just like sashimi.”  
“It does. Sashimi is cut into slices while tartare is finely minced.”  
She sighed heavily as she picked up one of the small rolls and sniffed at it.  
“I really need to eat raw meat, don't I? That's why this smells so good, isn't it?”  
She had tried sashimi and sushi before and she didn't really mind it, though she preferred the _makizushi_ rolls with vegetables or cooked fish.  
“Yes, your body knows what it needs and will adjust its tastes to fit. You might get occasional cravings for odd things and instincts can give you really strong urges to do things you normally wouldn't. You need to learn to trust those instincts, they may save your life one day.”  
There was a loaded silence before Amanda spoke again and when she did she was blushing a bright crimson.  
“You mean like this really annoying _itch_ in my teeth that makes me want to bite you?”  
“Exactly.”  
Takeshi smiled and held out his arm, exposing the inside of the wrist to her.  
“Go ahead, follow your instincts.”  
Her claws leaked small amounts of venom when she grabbed hold of his arm, and by the time she sunk her fangs into his wrist it was completely numb.  
_“Am I always going to have to do this every couple of days?”  
_ Takeshi noticed that she was using her own abilities rather than the familiar to transmit her thoughts. _  
“_ It is possible, but I don't think so. Most vampirics only need to feed once every few weeks unless they get hurt, or use an unusual amount of power. You probably have the urge to feed more often now because your body is still adapting and getting used to its new form. Frequent feedings, especially on blood of those with a lot of power helps you build strength. Em was the same way when she first changed, she was _utterly insatiable_.” _  
_ He could feel the sudden rush of embarrassment when Amanda realized just what that meant when it came to Emelie and her dietary needs. _  
_ “And you don't need to worry about it, you can sink your teeth into me whenever you feel the urge to.”  
He knew he really shouldn't, but he couldn't resist teasing her a bit, testing her, and her response was instant.  
The way her aura responded, brushing against his, inviting and seeking a deeper touch had him torn between instincts and logic bound by honor.  
Part of him was seeing the beautiful young woman that she had become to match her spiritual and mental maturity, a woman who was available and highly responsive to him, while another part of him was still seeing the 15 year old girl she had been a mere week ago.  
_“Take?”_  
The slight pressure against his wrist stopped for a moment as she picked up on the frustrated shifts in his aura.  
“Don't worry about it. Just focus on taking what you need.”  
He would have to be careful and mind his aura, her ability to read him was improving rapidly and he didn't want to end up making her uncomfortable, or hurt her.  
A few minutes later she withdrew her fangs and he allowed his body to counter the paralytic venom, he didn't do it earlier since it might affect her feeding or ability to properly absorb the energies from the blood.  


“Are you ready to leave?”  
“Yeah, I just need to pack the kimono and grab my toiletry bag.”  
“You go do that and I will clean up here.”  
With the kitchen cleaned up Takeshi spread his aura to check where Amanda was and he found her in the front garden so he dropped by Eriko's room to get the fox so they could head out.  
This time he had said goodbye to the twins before they went to bed so they wouldn't complain that he snuck out on them.  
When they reached the Blackout Takeshi offered Amanda to take the co-pilot seat and took the time to show her the steps of the pre-flight, it wouldn't hurt to teach her how to handle the systems, the more people that could the better, especially since he was working on buying a second Blackout from an underground arms-dealer, not only would it be very useful to have a second unit, it would also prevent it from ending up in some potentially **very** bad hands.  
“Maybe I should let you try flying it on the way home?”  
Takeshi teased at her obvious delight at being allowed to help with the pre-flight.  
“Really!?”  
The tone was was so hopeful he almost felt sorry for having teased her with it.  
“Sorry, I was just teasing. But if you want to I can start teaching you how to fly it.”  
“I would really like that!”  
She had huffed at him with a moping face at first, but when he offered to teach her she instantly broke into a radiant smile and he found himself at the receiving end of a rather crushing hug.  
“Manda, remember, you are a lot stronger now.”  
He reminded her in a mock strangled tone.  
“Oops, sorry!”  
The impish smile as she ducked her head told him she wasn't, not really, she knew she hadn't hurt him in any way.  
“It's okay, just try to remember. It's fine with those of us who are stronger than normal, but you could easily hurt a normal human if you don't mind it.”  
“Don't worry I know.”  
“Now how about you get strapped in so I can take us up?”  
She quickly secured the belt and nodded that she was ready, and he didn't bother checking if Eriko was ready, if the old fox hadn't bothered getting strapped in yet it was her problem.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


When they landed at the rooftop pad Amanda rushed into the hotel before anyone had a chance to see her lack of proper dress, leaving Takeshi and Eriko with their bags as well as the boxes with the kimono.  
Though, Eriko didn't really have any bags, anything she needed she used her fox-fire for, all she carried was a surprisingly simple short katana tucked into a sash below her _obi_ and the deceptively beautiful folding fan.

Even at a close look it appeared to be nothing but a highly decorated folding fan with dangling ornaments, a closer look did however reveal that the branches covered in sakura blossoms and butterflies that decorated the silk moved and shifted, animated by Eriko's innate power of illusion.  
But in reality it was a _tessen_ , a war fan, within each of the slender dragon-bone spines was a hidden blade just as sharp as any katana, and he had no doubt that Eriko was a true master at wielding it.  
It reminded him that he needed to speak to one of the weapons masters that worked with materials such as demon or dragon bone to have one crafted for Emelie, he had promised her one and even though she now had her scythe it was time to make good on that promise.  


“Manda, do you want to head out right away, or wait until after lunch?”  
“Can we head out now and have lunch at some nice restaurant?”  
“Of course. I'll give Sasaki-Obāsan a call and let her know we will be there for lunch. Do you think you can put on the _nagajuban_ on your own and I will help you with the rest? Or would you prefer if Eriko helped you?”  
“Yeah, I think so. And no, I prefer if you do it, she has _wandering hands_...”  
Amanda blushed slightly as she recalled the last time Eriko had helped with the kimono, and helped herself to quite a few handfuls.  
“She **is** a fox...”  
Takeshi offered no other explanation as he searched out the number for Sasaki's restaurant on his phone.  
When Takeshi knocked on the panel door to the small room where Amanda was she instantly called him in and he found that she had been able to put on everything up to the _obi_ which she was now holding in her arms.  
With a few quick tugs Takeshi made sure everything was straight and without any creases while complimenting her on a job well done.  
A few minutes later the obi with all its ties and tucks was done and Takeshi started wrangling her hair into something that resembled a traditional _Shimada_ hairstyle but with several long braids falling down her back.  
He carefully added the small lily of the valley _kanzashi_ into the braids before placing several larger _kanzashi_ into the _Shimada,_ including the white lily and lotus ones.  
When Amanda stood the movement caused the tiny bell like flowers to tinkle and with a wide smile she shook her head slightly to bring out the sound again, once she stilled her familiar fluttered over and settled among the ornaments, slowly fading into what looked like just another ornament shaped like a Luna-moth.  


When they entered the main room Takeshi frowned slightly at Eriko's appearance, while they were at the estate he didn't care about her rather suggestive, and lax state of dress, but now it could give the wrong impression of, and draw unwanted attention to, Amanda and he did not want that.  
“Eriko, would you please dress a bit more appropriately while we are here.”  
“ _Hai hai, Kiryu-dono!_ ”  
“You will not cause any trouble, _Kitsune_!”  
Amanda squeaked in alarm when Takeshi passed her in a blur and pinned Eriko to the wall with a vicious snarl.  
“ _Hai, Kiryu no Kage.”  
_ Eriko instantly tilted her head to the side in submission but Takeshi gave one final hard squeeze, digging his claws in, before accepting her surrender and dropping her.  
Eriko stood up slowly, keeping her head down and with a quick flare of foxfire her kimono straightened itself into the proper form, but she still wore her hair loose and the tails flicked tensely behind her.  
She had overstepped and she knew it, but she hadn't been prepared for such a harsh reaction, Takeshi was obviously far more tense than he let on.  
“What was that about? If you don't mind me asking...”  
Amanda slowly turned to a still rather agitated Takeshi once Eriko left the room.  
“As you know honorifics are very important in Japanese culture. It's important to show the proper level of respect.”  
Takeshi kept his eyes closed and focused on his breathing and aura as he spoke.  
“But isn't ' _dono_ ' one of the most respectful ones?”  
“It is, and that's the problem, it's **too** respectful. She uses in the ancient way, meaning she addressed me akin to 'Lord' and that is reserved for actual nobility, or the head of a house. Especially when spoken by one of high rank, like Eriko.”  
He could feel Amanda's confusion so he continued to explain.  
“Eriko is the head of the Silver House, high priestess of _Inari_ and a _Kyūbi_ making her practically royalty, some would even consider her a lesser _Kami._ And I am still a _Kage_ , a shadow without even the right to my own name.”  
“So her calling you ' _Kiryu-dono_ ' would be to incite rebellion against tradition and your family? Causing trouble with the Council and possibly messing with your and Sumi-chan's plans?”

“Exactly!”  
There was no mistaking the pride in his voice when she came to the correct conclusion.  
“Now, why don't you ask Eriko to help you with the _geta_ while I get changed?”  
“Okay.”  


When Takeshi rejoined Amanda and Eriko he was greeted by a catcall from Amanda.  
“Damn, you clean up nicely! But is it really okay to wear your swords openly like that?”  
He was wearing a plain black suit with a slightly relaxed fit to allow him a full range of movement in case he needed to fight and over the jacket he carried the simple black harness that allowed him to secure the twin blades across his back.  
“Don't worry. Being a Kage has its advantages, I share the same legal status as a professional bodyguard which allows me to be armed when I am _working_. And as far as anyone is concerned I am under orders from Kasumi to protect you and to be Honor-guard to Eriko as head of a prominent house with close ties to the Kiryu.”  
Walking over to Amanda he handed her a plain tanto and showed her how to hide it in her _obi.  
_ “I know you have claws to defend yourself with now, but you never know when a proper blade might come in handy.”  
“I'll try to make sure I won't need it.”  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


When they exited the elevator into the lobby there was a sudden silence followed by hushed murmurs, while there were other women wearing kimono none of them were as stunning as his companions and he couldn't help preening slightly at the thought that in a sense they were _his_.  
An elderly couple slowly approached them and after a bow they asked Eriko if she would do them the honor of granting then the blessing of Inari for the new year.  
_“Wait, they can see what she is?”_  
Amanda's tone carried a distinct feeling of surprise.  
_“They can, she isn't hiding her ears nor tails. Though only those with knowledge of the old ways, or spiritual powers of their own will be able to see her. Chances are that quite a few will approach us to ask her to bless them.”  
“But, if she isn't hiding them why can't everyone see them?”  
“It's human nature. Most people will refuse to see what they believe to be impossible. You and the other girls see it because you are able to accept it since it is what saved you from Roberts.”  
_ Amanda echoed his own revulsion at the mention of the name, but there was no longer any fear mixed into it.  


Heading out they began to look for a new wardrobe for Amanda, and Eriko proved to be a valuable asset as she used her ability to transform to borrow Amanda's form to try the various clothes on so that there would be no need to get her out of the kimono to see what would fit.  
Takeshi had been prepared to either buy a lot of extras, or talk the stores into allowing them to bring a few sets back to the hotel so she could try them on there, but Eriko saved them quite a bit of trouble, and allowed Amanda to see exactly how everything would look on her.  
“Is it time for lunch yet? I'm starting to get really hungry.”  
Takeshi and Eriko both laughed when Amanda's stomach seconded her statement by giving of a rather loud rumbling.  
“It's a bit early, but Sasaki-Obāsan will no doubt receive us with open arms and offer something to hold you over until lunch is ready to be served.”  
“I'm sorry. I don't usually get this hungry this fast...”  
There was a slight blush as she apologized for changing their plans.  
“You have noting to apologize for. You are still getting used to your new body, not to mention we had breakfast a lot earlier than you are used to, and you didn't really eat much of substance.”  
“But I had a lot of...”  
Her voice trailed of, still feeling rather self-conscious about the consumption of blood.  
“Blood digests differently, it sates a different hunger and replenishes different stores than regular food. While you drank you fill you didn't eat much, at least not for your new metabolism.”  
Amanda just nodded her understanding, obviously uncomfortable with the topic and Takeshi allowed it to drop.

“ _Irasshaimase! Kyūbi-sama, Takeshi-sama._ ”  
Sasaki greeted Eriko and Takeshi first before turning to Amanda.  
”And who is this lovely young lady?”  
“This is my ward, Kaiyou Amanda.”  
“ _Irasshaimase Kaiyou-sama!”_  
Amanda was utterly confused but was able to return Sasaki's greeting in Japanese, she had been studying it for the past year.  
Sasaki paused for a moment and then broke into a wide smile when she recognized Amanda.  
“I must apologize, I didn't recognize you. You have grown quite a bit, Daughter of the Sea.”

She quickly ushered her guests toward one of the private rooms hidden deeper within the building.  
“Take, why did you call me _Kaiyou_?”  
Amanda's voice was barely a whisper, but she knew Takeshi would hear her anyway.  
“You need a last name, don't you? You have been refusing to use your own so I figured I might as well give you a new one, and _Ocean_ seemed fitting. But if you prefer your old one, or want another one it's up to you.”  
“No, it's okay. I like it, I was just a bit surprised.”  
Amanda carefully considered the woman in front of them for a moment.  
“Sasaki-Obāsan is a Blessed, isn't she? And she can tell I am one as well, that's why she called me a daughter of the sea?”  
“Yes, she can sense what you are just as you can sense what she is. And she is very old so she has a lot of experience in knowing just what we are.”  
They both paused for a moment when Sasaki stopped in front of a simple shōji door and kneeled down to open it and invite her guests inside the small private room.  
Thanking her they stepped inside and changed into the slippers that were waiting just inside the door before stepping onto the slightly elevated floor and walking over to the low table.  
Once they were seated Sasaki excused herself and a few minutes later a waitress brought in bowls of water and towels for them to wash their hands and she was soon joined by others who began placing baskets of fruit and still steaming bread on the table.  
An older woman placed a tray holding a cup and a small knife in front of Takeshi before informing them that their food would be served in about 10 minutes.  
Amanda carefully leaned in closer to look at the strange items, they both seemed to be crafted from black glass, maybe obsidian and the blade looked to be wickedly sharp.  
“Is that obsidian?”  
Her curiosity finally getting the better of her.  
“It looks very similar but this is crystallized blood from a black or maybe even an obsidian dragon. It comes in two forms, this is 'Dragonstone', it created by the dragons by intentionally cutting themselves, gathering and crystallizing the blood. The second form is the 'Heartstone' sometimes also called 'Lifestone' or 'Deathstone', those are formed when a dragon dies. At the very moment of death the blood within their heart crystallizes.”  
Amanda gave the items a suspicious look before turning to Takeshi again.  
“Are you sure those are from a living dragon, that gave the blood willingly?”  
“I'm sure. The dragon has to intentionally crystallize it to create Bloodstones, and a Heartstone always carries a Life-flame, a small flicker of the life force of the dragon it came from, even if someone manages to break it apart, each fragment will hold some of that power.”  
“Okay. But, what's it for?”  
Instead of answering her Takeshi just washed his hands before taking the small knife and quickly sliced across his palm, holding his hand over the cup he allowed his blood to fill it before offering it to her.  
“There are no blades sharper than those made from Dragonstone, even on a regular human cuts made with them heal fast, clean and with little or no scarring, they are however fragile compared to forged metal. It is also believed that liquids kept in a container of Dragonstone will never spoil.”  
She carefully took the offered cup and set it down while Eriko and Takeshi filled each others cups with saké, once they raised theirs in toast she joined them.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


After a long and lazy lunch they returned to shopping, and thanks to Takeshi making sure Amanda ate according to her new metabolism she had managed the rest of the day without getting any more urges to take a bite out of him.  
After dinner they had retreated to the small common room to spend the evening and most of the night in their usual manner, talking and playing games, since none of them really needed much sleep it would probably be a rather long night.  
It was shortly before midnight when Takeshi stalked out of the room with a frustrated grow, leaving behind two rather stunned females.  
“Did I do something wrong?”  
Amanda was quickly growing distraught while a growing ire set Eriko's aura aflame.  
“No, you did nothing to warrant this reaction.”  
Eriko tried to soothe her but she wasn't having much success as she could feel the growing worry in Amanda's aura start to become tainted by sadness and pain.  
“Try to get some rest, I will talk to him and see if I can't find out what is wrong.”  
Eriko was pretty sure what had caused it, but she needed to confirm just why Takeshi reacted the way he did, it wasn't like him to lose control like that.  
When she stepped out on the roof she could instantly feel that she was correct, his aura was flaring and twisting with his efforts to keep it suppressed.  
“If this is what her presence does to you, why do you resist? Who do you reject her?”  
She approached him cautiously, paying close attention to every twist of his aura as well as the low growl that was warning her that he was not in the mood to be questioned, but it had to be done.  
“She is a 15 year old girl! It's not right.”  
Eriko paused at the snarled words and for a moment she considered retreating, but the faint scent of Amanda's tears that still lingered in her clothing made her stand her ground.  
“All I see is a young woman, the Blessing changed her form to better match her true maturity. Are you questioning the wisdom and power of the Mother?”  
For a moment she thought he might actually attack her from the way his aura twisted.  
“She is my ward, a dependent!”  
“Excuses! Was Emelie not your ward as well?”  
The flare of power that was released nearly forced Eriko to her knees and with a loud snarl Takeshi vanished from the rooftop, she had no doubt that someone, or something, would die by his claws before he returned, but hopefully she had managed to get him thinking.  
Sometimes he was far too human, stuck in a human concept of morality when it didn't really apply.  
Walking back inside she found Amanda curled up in one of the corners of the pile of pillows that had been laid out for sleeping, her restless aura telling that she was in fact not sleeping.  
“Where is Take?”  
Amanda questioned quietly when Eriko joined her in the makeshift den.  
“He is out throwing a tantrum. Don't worry, he will be back when he has calmed down.”  
“What happened, why did he storm of like that?”  
Eriko was struggling not to growl when she smelled the lingering salty scent of Amanda's tears and she turned around and burrowed her head against her.  
“That's not up to me to speak of, you will have to speak to him about it when he returns. I'm sorry.”  


It was nearly dawn when Eriko felt Takeshi's aura return and she carefully untangled herself from Amanda to go meet him on the roof.  
She was slightly surprised at the sight that met her, the usually immaculately clean man smelled strongly of blood and the stench of his victims fear clung strongly to him.  
His hands were covered in blood, she could tell from the slightly wet look that there was plenty of blood on his clothes as well, even his face and hair carried splatters of blood and her nose told her that the blood was from at least a dozen different sources, both human and demon.  
“Go talk to her, explain why you left. She deserves to know why you hurt her.”  
When he respond by flexing his claws and baring his fangs at her she steeled herself before snapping at him.  
“ _Yamete_ !”  
Admittedly, telling him to knock it off while slapping him might not have been the wisest choice, but he needed it.  
As his adviser it was her sworn duty to make him see when he was heading down the wrong path, and if she needed to knock him around to do so then she damn well would.  
When he snarled at her and seemed like he would attack she simply threw her _obi_ at him, the silk cloth still moist from Amanda's crying.  
“This is how you protect and care for someone who you wish to make _pack_ ?”  
The scent of Amanda's tears combined with Eriko's accusing question seemed to instantly drain the fury from his aura.  
“Go, don't bother getting cleaned up, just go!”  
Walking past her Takeshi bared his fangs at her again, but this time it was rebellious rather than aggressive and she responded by slapping the back of his head with her folded tessen.

“Manda, I know you are awake. I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but would you please listen to what I have to say?”  
His tone was somewhat subdued and when she curled deeper into the pillows, pulling her aura even tighter around herself he faltered slightly.  
_“Please?”_  
Relief flitted through his aura when she finally turned toward him, even if her aura was still pulled in tightly.  
The moment she looked at him her reddened eyes widened in concern and he quickly assured her that none of the blood was his.  
She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position in the pile of pillows, but her posture was defensive, knees pulled up and arms wrapped around them, her aura was still coiled tightly, so when she didn't invite him to join her he simply lowered himself into _seiza_ on the floor.  
“I shouldn't have ran of like that, not without properly explaining why I had to leave.”  
While he explained his reason, why he had to leave so suddenly, his frustration and seemingly irritated state he was relieved so notice that she was slowly relaxing, and her aura began to unfurl.  
Even when her aura exploded with rage and she pounced at him, giving him a vicious punch in the jaw it only gave him a feeling of relief.  
“So I'm old enough to make the choice to take the Blessing, to become something entirely different, to become an Eternal, but not old enough to decide if I wish to share someone's bed?”  
He didn't answer her, he honestly had no answer for her, she was right and yet he found himself struggling with it.  
When the burst of temper began to fade she broke down crying again and Takeshi just held her close, assuring her that his jaw would be fully healed by breakfast, but when he felt sharp fangs nibble at his shoulder he froze.  
“Manda, please don't. This is hard enough as it is.”  
Her reaction was sluggish but she did stop, and when she looked up her eyes seemed slightly glazed and it was obvious that her fangs were elongated.  
Takeshi knew the look from when Emelie changed, before she learned control, it was the look of someone under the thrall of an instinctive need to feed.  
“Ssh, here.”  
He offered her the inside of his wrist and she instantly bit down, it would seem the emotional stress had drained her faster that expected.  
When she released his arm she was nearly asleep and he carefully returned her to the makeshift den before heading for the shower to get cleaned up.  
“Take?”  
The mumbled question as he stepped away made him pause and turn around, the question in her eyes clear as day.  
“It's not 'No', it's 'Give me time'. Okay?”  
He watched her nod silently before turning around and going back to sleep.

Standing in the shower he let the steaming water wash away the blood while trying to calm his mind but it would seem calm was not going to come easy this morning.  
Part of him was raging, telling him he was a fool for allowing her hope, that it could never be, must never be.  
He found it surprisingly easy to get rid of that nagging voice, he didn't want to completely reject her, that was part of why he was so conflicted, why he reacted so strongly, he found himself wanting her despite knowing he shouldn't.  
It would probably take a while, but he was sure he would come to terms with things, while he did he would encourage her to find someone else, he would keep his distance but he would not reject her.  


“So, you couldn't reject her, could you?”  
It was only years of training that kept Takeshi from jumping at Eriko's voice, he had been so deep in though he hadn't noticed her entering the bathroom, even if she did hide her presence he should still have noticed she was so close.  
“I can't. It would be a lie, so I won't.”  
“And yet you refuse to lay with her, despite the _condition_ it leaves you in.”  
Eriko stepped closer and reached out for his back as she spoke but before she could touch him he spun around and bared his fangs at her.  
“Get out!”  
There was no mistaking the tone of the growl so Eriko quickly took a step back and lowered her hand.  
“ _Hai._ ”  
She gave a short bow before quickly leaving the bathroom with a grin, she was after all a fox, and foxes lived for teasing,.  
Though, she wouldn't have minded if he had welcomed her either, in his current state it could have proved to be a **very** interesting experience, and being around the twins had made her long for kits of her own again, something that Matthews was unable to give her.  
With a small sigh she shed her human form in favor of her true form and curled up against Amanda's stomach.  
Her tails bristled slightly in annoyance when Takeshi joined them and Amanda instantly shifted around to curl into him instead, but the sense of total contentment that flowed through their auras quickly calmed her.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Conflicted_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


When they woke up Takeshi headed out to find a suitable breakfast since they had missed the hotels breakfast, and when he returned he was surprised to find Amanda wearing a kimono rather than the clothes they had bought the day before.  
She had obviously been talking to Eriko about it while he was out getting breakfast because it was not the white and red kimono that Eriko had given her.  
She was wearing layers of shimmering silk gauze shifting in several shades of blue, green and aqua over a deep blue kimono and the shifting layers gave the illusions of waves as she moved.  
A closer look revealed thousands of tiny fish-scale sequins spread over the layers of gauze, together mirroring the pattern of her tail and on the deep blue kimono the black pattern of dragon-scales was mirrored.  
The flower kanzashi had been replaced with a selection of seaweed , corals, small seashells, pearls and starfish, he even spotted a few tiny octopus and a seahorse among the ornaments.  
The entire ensemble was no doubt a creation of Eriko's fox-magic and it showed that Amanda was finding a new confidence in herself, in what she had become.  
When he stepped inside Eriko handed him a pile of silk cloth that revealed itself to contain a black men's kimono.  
“Can you get dressed on your own, or has it been so long since you dressed properly that you require assistance?”  
Eriko's words were an obvious challenge to make him wear the traditional clothing to match Amanda.  
“As if Misato-okāsan would have ever tolerated even the possibility of me ever forgetting...”  
He snorted with a grin as he grabbed the pile and headed to get dressed.  


After tucking his swords into the obi and securing them he returned to the main room and was met with catcalls and snickering as Amanda and Eriko assessed him and his dress rather thoroughly.  
“Are you ladies ready to go?”  
He offered his arm to Amanda with a teasing smirk and she took it while giving him a wide grin in return and allowed him to walk her to the elevator, when they turned to wait for Eriko they were met by the white fennec form that she had used during their trip to D.C and Amanda instantly reached down and took the handle of the silvery chain.  
_“I will let you guys be the center of attention today.”_  
It wouldn't be any problem since the stores they would be visiting today were all places where the sight of a fox turning into a woman would merely cause a more respectful greeting to be offered.  


As predicted they were drawing even more attention today as quite a few approached to admire Amanda's elaborate kimono and many, tourist and local alike asked if they could take pictures of them.  
Takeshi was as uncomfortable as ever with the attention but he soldiered it since Amanda seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.  
He did get to enjoy himself a bit later in the evening though as a group of young thugs approached them when they left a small store in one of the side alleys where they had picked up an old dragon-bone tessen for Amanda that Eriko promised to remake to suite her.  
“Come on _Gaijin_ , hand over your wallet, phone and that fancy watch. You to bitch, jewelry, money and that pretty pet of yours. And start stripping, those kimonos should fetch a nice price.”  
For a moment Takeshi almost laughed at the absurdity of having a group of punks with knuckles try to mug them but Amanda beat him to it with a snicker.  
“You boys aren't the brightest in the bunch, are you? Trying to mug the guy with the katana...”  
As she spoke she took a small step to the side to allow Takeshi more room to move if he needed to.  
“You know, if you throw down your weapons and apologize he might just let you get out of here alive...”  
Her tone was mocking and it was causing tempers to flare.  
_“Manda, there's no need to antagonize them further, Also I have no reason to kill these punks.”  
“Oh, I know that, but they don't...”  
“Women...”  
_ “Ha! Like we would be scared of a rich boy _gaijin_ in fancy cosplay.”  
The group began to move close to forcefully take the items they had demanded.  
“Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you.”  
Amanda drawled with a bored tone as Takeshi shifted slightly, prepared to fight if needed.  
Just as he was about to draw his blade to see if they would back of when they realized they were facing a real blade a sound was heard further in the alley and an older man appeared from one of the small doors and instantly began scolding the thugs.  
The man moved up to them quickly and began to swing a _shinai_ with excellent accuracy, the bamboo sword hitting true with each swing.  
_“Fools! You dare attack a Kyūbi, a Kage and their companion? Do you_ _ **seek**_ _death?”  
_ Listening to the man's continued scolding in Japanese Takeshi realized this was not a passer by intervening, this was an elder yakuza making sure the younger _kobun_ didn't bring shame to the _Oyabun_ by their actions.  
With the boys adequately subdued the elder man turned toward them and bowed deeply, and when he moved to kneel down into kowtow Takeshi stopped him, he would not demand such a thing from the old man, the boys on the others hand were kept kneeling on the ground with a glare.  
“I offer my deepest apologies, _Kiryu no Kage-sama, Ky_ _ū_ _bi-kamisama_.”  
He spoke in English, probably believing that Amanda did not speak Japanese as she had not done so during the confrontation, there was a slight pause as he looked at Amanda, obviously unsure how to address her.  
_“_ Kaiyou Amanda, ward of the Kage. _”_  
She introduced herself with a simple nod.

“ _Kaiyou-sama.”  
_ The old man added once he knew her name, and quickly went on to assure them that the 'foolish boys' would be properly punished for their actions.  
They could all tell from the fear radiating from the would be robbers that the punishment would be a harsh one and after a quick consideration Amanda stepped forward.  
_“_ May I? _”_  
She indicated toward the _shinai_ that the old man had tucked in his belt, he nodded and handed her the bamboo weapon with a slightly puzzled look, but it was clear he would do whatever they asked of him in order to save face for the _Oyabun_.  
_“_ Their actions were against us and if you agree I would deliver their punishment myself.”  
She frowned slightly when he looked toward Takeshi for confirmation but didn't say anything.  
“As you wish _Kaiyou-sama_ , they are yours to do with as you see fit.”  


Takeshi was struggling not to laugh as Amanda ordered them to stand in a line with their back toward her, bend forward and grab their ankles before giving them a good old spanking, Eriko on the other hand was not showing the same restraint, rolling around on the ground in her fennec form yipping with unmistakable glee.  
Even the old man was chuckling with a grin when Amanda handed a rather frayed looking _shinai_ back and he promptly ordered the boys to turn around and thank her for her _most generous leniency.  
_ The rather obvious limping as they walked away told that the boys probably didn't think it to be **that** lenient.  
“Umm, Take. Is it bad that I kinda enjoyed that? A lot...”  
“Most definitely bad, very bad Manda!”  
The wide grin and barely suppressed laughter along with the intense amusement and approval flowing through Takeshi's aura belied his somewhat scolding words.  
“Come on, let's go get something to eat before we head back to the estate.”  
He quickly ushered her toward a restaurant that he knew had some of the best sashimi money could buy.

 


	54. Answers

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Answers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When they returned to the estate they were met by Dan and Knight who helped him carry Amanda's bags and parcels to her room while Dan informed him that the requested interrogation room had been prepared and that the sniper had been transferred from the _in-between_ to the cell.  
“Logan says she'd be fine in there until you're ready to question her but I figured it might be more effective to let her sweat in a cell. After all, as long as she's sedated she won't really be aware of how much trouble she's in.”  
Dan quickly explained his reasoning while helping Amanda empty out her closet so that she could fit the new clothes.  
“I asked Em to give me a hand with the cell and so far our guest seem to have settled in well, no doubt planning an escape  
“Good thinking. We will let her sit for another week or so. Let her stew and get a bit worried. I trust you watch her while she eats?”  
“Of course.”  
“Next time bring a paper or something that will allow her to find out what date it is, let her figure out that she has somehow lost nearly 2 weeks.”  
“Ouch, that's kinda nasty you know.”  
“Well, she will find out sooner or later unless we kill her, and I would prefer not to. She is a skilled sniper, if possible I would like to recruit her. Keeping her off balance should make it easier once I start questioning her.”  
Dan quickly agreed that killing her had to be an absolute last resort, but he did understand that it might end up being their only choice.  
After helping Amanda get all her clothes sorted into the various dressers and wardrobes they took her old clothes to storage, they wouldn't fit the other girls for a few years, if ever, so it would be sent to a suitable charity.  
It reminded Takeshi that he needed to call a meeting of sorts to talk about his latest plans, plans to build a charity aimed toward the ghost children, but first he needed to go through last year's financial reports and make sure everything was in order.  
He could hear Dan snickering behind him and realized that the heavy sigh had not been as internal as he had intended it to be.  
“Sucks to be the boss, huh?”  
“You have no idea...”  
It was one of his least favorite things to do, but someone had to do it, Kasumi took care of the day to day business of managing their assets, but in return she demanded that he took care of the end of year reports.  
Right now however Takeshi found himself praying that one of the girls would develop a love for financial management, or at least be willing become his assistant in handling it.  


It was close to midnight when a soft knock on the door brought him out of the papers and a small flare of aura told him that Amanda was the one outside the door.  
“Come on in.”  
The door opened and he could instantly smell the sweetness of several traditional tea treats and when he looked up he was somewhat surprised to find that Amanda had brought a full tea set.  
When she began to go through the motions of the _Chad_ _ō_ he found himself instantly relaxing, he didn't know that she had been studying the tea ceremony and he had to admit, she had learned it really well.  
Watching her go through the familiar steps and feeling the deep aroma of a high quality _matcha_ being prepared into the thick _koicha_ was soothing and by the time it was offered he found that the stress of dealing with the financial reports had vanished.  
Along with the tea was a _hanabira-mochi_ , the sweet _wagashi_ traditionally served at the first tea ceremony of the year as well as a selection of beautifully crafted _namagashi_ and Takeshi had no doubt that she had made them herself from scratch.  
He had never had much of a sweet tooth but he found himself unable to refuse when she had obviously put a loot effort into making them for him.  
_“Arigatou gozaimasu._ I needed that. _”  
_ “Was it? Did I?”  
He couldn't help the smile when he realized what she was trying to ask.  
“You did great, the _koicha_ was amazing, the _namagashi_ was wonderful, beautifully crafted and well suited for the season. With a bit more confidence and experience the execution of the _Chadō_ will be perfect.”  
When he finished she was beaming at him, even when he added that if she really wanted to become good she needed to find out the preferences of the ones she intended to serve, telling her that he didn't have much of sweet tooth and preferred his _wagashi_ less sweetened or even something savory instead, promising her to teach her how to make a savory treat that looked just like the traditional _wagashi_.  
She stayed for a while, watching him work and occasionally asking him about what he was doing, but he could tell she had something else on her mind and after a while she seemed to make up her mind and speak her mind.  
“Take, before I go could I...”  
There was a long pause before she continued.  
“Could I have some more blood? It's not a craving yet, just, well, it will be by tomorrow.”  
“Of course, come here.”  
When he held out his arm for her he noticed the slight disappointment in her aura and way her eyes were drawn to his neck and he decided to talk to her about it.  
“I know your instincts tell you to go for the neck, that it's the better way and they are right. However **my** instincts won't allow that so you will have to settle for this, or I can craft a chalice for you if that makes it easier.”  
“It's because you are _Alpha_ , right? And allowing that would mean submitting to me?”  
“That's right. I might be able to suppress my instincts enough if it was life or death situation or a trusted pack-member. But this is not life or death, and though I trust you, you are not pack. Not yet at least.”  
She nodded at his words and took the offered arm and let her fangs sink in.  
_“But you like it when someone nibbles at your neck, don't you?”  
Of course she had noticed that part,_ Takeshi complained silently to himself.  
“I do, a lot actually.”  
_“But your instincts don't rebel to that?”_  
“They do to some extent and that's part of what makes it _so effective_ , but in a way it re-enforces my position as _Alpha_. Do you know why?”  
_“Only the really strong could take the risk of allowing it? And doing it shows confidence in your position as Alpha?”  
_ “That's right. It also shows a high level of trust and it can be seen as a reward, a sign of favor to allow a pack-member such liberties.”  
With nothing more to say he silently watched as she drank her fill but when she withdrew her fangs and leaned in toward his shoulder he froze slightly.  
“Manda?”  
He cautioned her but she didn't answer him, though her aura did settle down into a more submissive pattern that was enough to soothe his instincts and helped him keep still when she dragged her fangs along his shoulder and neck before stepping away.  
He slowly pulled his instincts back under control and settled his physical response as he watched her make sure the tea set was properly packed up on the cart before heading toward the door.  
“I won't give up you know.”  
She called in a low, teasing voice as she moved the cart out the door.  
“I know.”  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Answers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


It was nearly two weeks later when Takeshi was finally done with the paperwork and it was time to have a word with their _guest_ downstairs.  
“Logan, Dan, any last minutes questions?”  
They both shook their heads and assured them they knew the plan before leaving to prepare for the questioning.  
Taking a deep breath Takeshi secured the hood and mask before stepping inside the small room.  
“ _Alpha._ ”  
The both greeted him, bowing with their necks exposed and the Beast purred in delight at the sight even if it knew it was mostly an act.  
He gave them a short nod and pulled the masked hood off and placed it on the small table before stepping over to the bars of the cage that held the surprisingly young woman.  
He could feel her tension spike when he opened the door and stepped inside the cell and Dan took up position at the door while Knight remained by the door that connected the room to the hallway.  
“What is your name?”  
Takeshi kept his voice calm, but with a steel edge that made it perfectly clear he expected his words to be heeded.  
As expected she just looked at him and refused to answer.  
It was time for the part he hated, he would have to hurt her to make her talk, there was no point in offering warnings or give her 'chances', that would just delay things.  
He calmly took a step closer and gave her a sharp backhand that sent her to the floor with a split lip before turning to Dan and nodded for him to help her back onto the wall mounted bunk.  
“Refusing to speak will not do you any good, I will get my answers and you will not like how I do it.”  
Once she was seated and Dan had returned to his position by the cell door Takeshi repeated the question, this time with a hint of power woven into his voice.  
“What is your name?”  
His question was met by a vicious glare, but she did answer him.  
“Valkyrie.”  
He could tell she was telling the truth, no doubt a code-name though but he would allow it for now.  
“Where were you trained?”  
“Fort Benning, Georgia”  
He could tell she was lying and with carefully measured strength he snapped out another backhand hitting the other side of her face, once again drawing blood and sending her to the floor.  
“There is no point trying to lie to me.”  
After staring her down for a while he once again nodded for Dan to help her up.  
“Where were you trained?”  
“My father taught me.”  
He continued with a few more simple questions about her background before taking a break to clean her wounds and offer her some food and water.  


“Keep still and I will clean those wounds.”  
She flinched slightly when Takeshi reached for her and while it was expected it did pain him that he had to hurt her to make her talk, he had considered just using _command_ on her, but somehow that had felt even more wrong.  
He carefully cleaned the cuts while she glared at him and once the blood was cleaned away he inspected them to make sure he hadn't done any real damage, the second cut was slightly deeper so he put a small piece of surgical tape over it to keep it closed.  
Instead of releasing her hands so she could feed herself he feed her the bowl of soup himself and he could tell from her glares that she was well aware of what he was doing, but knowing wouldn't do her much good.  
Once the bowl was empty and removed from the cell Takeshi resumed the questioning, but now it was time for the real questions.  
“Why did you try to kill me?”  
“Any scum willing to work for those gangs deserves to die!”  
Her response puzzled him, he detected nothing but truth, but it wasn't making any sense.  
“A valid point, but why try to kill the guy taking them down?”  
“So what if you work for the competition, those gangs are all just as bad!”  
And it suddenly made perfect sense, she believed that they had been hired by a rival gang to take out the gang they had attacked.  
“We were not hired to take them out.”  
“Yeah right! People like you don't go around taking out gangs just for fun.”  
“No we don't. We did it to avenge the suffering of a little girl named Amber.”  
There was a ripple of shock through her aura and the mask of anger fell from her face.  
“You know what happened to Amber? Do know where she is? Is she okay, alive? What about her mother?”  
She seemed to have totally forgotten that she was supposed to be the one being questioned and Takeshi was struggling to keep a straight face and he could feel the others having similar issues behind him, she was a spitfire.  
“Enough, be quiet.”  
She instantly stilled and he could see the flicker of fear cross her face as she braced for another strike, the fear was replaced with confusion when he reached behind her and released her hands.  
“Amber is fine, she is upstairs with other girls rescued from a similar situation. Her mother was fatally wounded from prolonged torture when we found her. I ended her suffering myself.”  
Stepping out of the room he brushed of Knight's questioning touch before turning to Dan.  
“She's not an enemy. Get her settled in a room for now. I'll talk to her more after she's had a proper night's sleep.”  
Her outburst had completely lowered her mental defenses and given Takeshi an excellent feel for her personality, for the real her.  


“Come on _Valkyrie_ , let's get you settled in. He'll probably wanna talk to you bright and early.”  
At first she didn't react when Dan spoke to her and when he tapped her shoulder she jumped visibly.  
“Easy, we won't hurt you. Well, not more than we already have. I'm sure you understand we had to figure you out, you did after all try to put a pretty big bullet through our _Alpha's_ heart.”  
Her posture was still defensive but she nodded and followed him toward the elevator.  
“Now, I have to warn you. There's a group of girls living here who were saved from a human trafficker a while back and they pretty much worship the ground he walks on, especially the twins. They know you tried to kill him so don't expect 'em to be friendly.”  
Dan showed her to a small room next to the one that Matthews used and sat her down to give her a rundown of how things worked around the estate.  
“Emelie officially owns this place, but Kasumi runs it. I'm head of security and the big guy back there is the _Beta_.”  
She finally seemed to have had enough of being confused as she interrupted him.  
“Alpha, beta? Care to explain, don't they have names? Or am I not trusted enough to know them?”  
“Ah, sorry. Takes some getting used to.”  
Dan laughed before explaining.  
“People here are a bit, well, different. This estate runs on a pack-dynamic of sorts. At the core is the _Alpha_ pair, Takeshi Kiryu and Emelie Eriksson, Logan Knight is Takeshi's second, the _Beta_. He is in charge of things when Take's not around.”  
“Wait, Takeshi Kiryu, as in the guy who took down the GCTI? I thought he was older...”  
“Oh he is, trust me. He looks damn good for 41 year old guy.”  
“No way that guy was 41, not a day over 30.”  
The absurdity of the entire thing seemed to finally allow her to open up a bit.  
“I'm sure he'll explain it tomorrow. Now, as I mentioned, Kasumi, Take's sister is the one who actually runs the place along with Eriko, Take's adviser and Thomas Matthews, an old acquaintance of Take's from the GCTI that helped him take it down.”  
He continued to give her a warning to be respectful in her behavior, especially toward Kasumi, Eriko and Takeshi as well as a warning that the group were very protective of the girls.  
After a small pause he added an extra warning that the _pack_ were _extremely_ protective of the twins.  
“Well, I will leave you to get cleaned up and get some sleep. Do you want me to bring in some more food?”  
“Could you get me some gruel?”  
“Any particular kind?”  
“Well, if possible wheat semolina cooked with milk, a bit on the thin side, with raisins and cinnamon. But any kind really, won't be able to eat anything more solid while my lips heal.”  
Her choice made Dan pause, the dish she described sounded very much like one of his own breakfast favorites.  
“Yeah, sorry about that. Just be glad he is really good at pulling his punches and that he had no desire to actually hurt you.”  
“You call this pulling his punches? I have taken hooks from guys who knows how to fight that packed less of a punch than those slaps.”  
“If he didn't pull his punches you'd be dead after the first one. He used just enough force to give you a good scare, make it real enough for you to talk without actually doing any serious damage.”  
Her expression told him she didn't believe him, but she would soon enough as Takeshi would no doubt give her a show and tell in the morning.  
“Look, I know this confusing as hell. You don't know what to believe and have no idea who we are or what we're planning. And to boot you got this feeling that you're way to calm about all of it.”  
Dan knew that Takeshi had put her under a weave of _command_ and _suggestion_ to keep her calm and it would keep affecting her until he released it.  
“I'll go make that gruel, the bathroom is through there. And don't even think about trying to run, we're on an island and there are several people here that can out-track a bloodhound. I'm sure you'll be free to go once Take has had his little chat.”  
When Dan returned with the food he could hear her in the shower so he just left the tray on the small desk and left.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Answers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


It was shortly after dawn when Takeshi gave a sharp knock on the door of _Valkyrie's_ room, he didn't bother waiting for an invitation and simply stepped inside and walked over to the desk and put down the tray with breakfast.  
“I know you are awake so get dressed and eat, I will be back shortly.”  
There was an amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when he picked up on the annoyed shift in her aura, a smile that turned into a laugh when he heard the soft thud of a pillow hitting the door behind him along with a muffled string of curses in several languages.  
From what he had picked up from her during the interrogation along with her reactions now he had a feeling he would enjoy having her around if he could persuade her to stay and he had a feeling that she would hit it of well with Dan as well, Knight would no doubt agree with him and take great joy in teasing her.  
Quarter of an hour later he returned to _Valkyrie'_ s room and after another sharp knock he stepped right in and was greeted by a shriek and a flying towel as he had walked in on her getting out of the shower.  
Keeping a straight face he handed the towel back and took a seat in one of the chairs to wait for her to get dressed.  
“Get out so I can get dressed!”  
She glared at him while hiding behind the towel.  
“I don't think so. I'm perfectly comfortable right here.”  
Agitation shifted through her aura but he didn't pick up much embarrassment and after a few moments she seemed to realize he wouldn't be leaving.  
With an annoyed huff she began to get dressed, all while giving him a piece of her mind.  
“You really are a piece of work, you know that? Creep, lecher and a bloody pervert!”  
“Sticks and stones, _sweetie_.”  
He taunted with a grin.  
“Don't you sweetie me you jerk!”  
Her words brought a sharp pang of pain, he had no idea how many times Daniels had retorted with those exact words, even the same tone of exasperation mixed with a hint of amusement.  
But he wouldn't allow it to affect him, he had more important things to deal with, for now he needed to prove to the woman in front of him that he had no intention to hurt her any more.  
But first was to try to earn forgiveness and a measure of trust.  
“Come here, I can fix those cuts if you let me.”  
She was suspicious but she did step over to him, there was still a small flinch when he stood up and reached for her, but after what he had done the day before it was to be expected.  
Reaching for her lips he quickly used a claw to cut the pad of his thumb before brushing it across the cuts, allowing a small drop of his blood to coat each cut, he had a feeling she would react rather badly if he had used his tongue to heal them, though that could have been rather amusing.  
“There, that should do it.”  
He handed her a wet wipe and there was a stunned look at her face when she wiped at the cuts and the pain was gone, she did frown on the small amount of blood on the wipe though but it quickly vanished when she brought her fingers to her lips and found no trace of the cuts.  
“How did you?”  
For a moment the amazement at what he had done pushed the suspicion and fear aside, just like how her anger at his intrusion to her privacy had before.  
“I can do a lot more than that, but we will talk about that later. Right now we need to talk about what to do about you.”  
“Your security guy said you would let me go, by why? I tried to kill you after all.”  
“It is all about why you did it. You tried to protect, to save those hurt by the gang and other gangs like them. You believed we were mercenaries working for the gangs so you took a shot at eliminating a big threat. I did the same with you, I just had the luxury of taking you alive. Besides, you might have tried to kill me, but I'm still alive.”  
“How is that? That you are alive I mean. I'm an excellent marksman and I know I made a clean hit.”  
“You did, it was a perfect shot. Luckily for me the chest-plate on my body armor was tougher than your bullet so I didn't need to find out if I'm able to regrow a missing heart. Did hurt like hell though.”  
He was doing a mental countdown to see how long it took before she caught on to the part about regrowing his heart but for now it seemed like she brushed it off as a joke.  
He told her about his own background, his time with the GCTI, a bit about the unit, he told her about finding the girls and taking down the GCTI.  
He was able to get a bit of information about her as well, her name was Jenna Addams and she was born and raised on her mother's ranch in the mountains near El Paso, Texas.  
She had spent several years traveling with her father across the world in his work with wildlife conservation and she was a skilled tracker, hunter and survivalist.  


“Well, it's almost lunch. You feel ready to join the rest of us in the inner garden, or do you want to eat in your room?”  
She looked uncomfortable for a moment and Takeshi knew she would choose to eat in her room.  
“I think I'll just eat here please.”  
“As you wish. Anything in particular you want? Or don't want, allergies or anything like that?”  
“Nah, just don't cook the meat to death and go easy on the rabbit food if that's okay.”  
“Rare steaks and hold the veggies, anything else Ms. Addams?”  
The wide grin and somewhat mocking bow earned him a frustrated growl as she threw another pillow after him as he retreated out the door.  
Her show of temper was a good sign, it showed that she didn't fear him too badly and gave him good hope that he would be able to convince her to stay and let him earn her trust.  
The look on her face when he returned with a cart piled high with food had him suppressing a chuckle and when she dove in without hesitating he laughed and joined her which instantly incited fights over the choice pieces, another good sign.  
Takeshi engaged her in a more casual conversation while they ate and was able to pull some information about her food preferences, something he would make sure to take advantage of come evening to try to drag her out of the room.  


He continued to tell her about his time in Alaska, and this was where the tricky part began, it was a rather insane story after all, and in the end he opted to just give her a few demonstrations.  
He started by taking one of the sharp knives from the cart and slice deeply into his palm, letting her see it heal before her eyes.  
“Wait! Time out! You were being serious about re-growing your heart?”  
“I was, at least about the possibility of being able to do it. Even I don't know just how far my ability to heal goes. But as far as I understand it I can heal from pretty much anything short of losing my head.”  
It was a rather sensitive piece of information and he had decided to tell her as a token of trust, though, she wasn't really in a position to make much use of it.  
“Damn. This is insane...”  
She would need time to deal but Takeshi decided it was time to put a few more cards on the table.  
“You might have noticed that you are feeling rather calm despite everything that has been going on?”  
“Yeah, I figure you have been putting something in my food to keep me calm, probably some sort of GABA enhancer like benzo.”  
“Actually we haven't. It's more like magic...”  
“You have got to be joking?”  
“How much do you remember about when you were captured?”  
“I remember fog, I'm guessing some kind of knockout gas. And I swear I heard a horse...”  
“You did hear a horse, well, kind of at least, it's not like any horse you have ever seen before. That fog is just a part of it's abilities. It's primary ability though is an ability to travel between realms.”  
His words led to another debate, and explanation about realms, demons and a few other things, along with a promise to let her meet Knight's steed.  
He had also explained how it had kept her sedated to keep her from losing her mind inside the in-between.  
“However right now I am the one _encouraging_ you to stay calm. I found a long time ago that I could use my voice to encourage people to do what I wanted them to, later I learned how to add my Qi, my _power_ into it and go from encouraging to actually forcing my will on others.”  
“And which are you using on me?”  
“A bit of both. _Suggestion_ to keep you calm, to encourage you to speak to me and to listen to me. _Suggestion_ can't force you to do anything, if there are things you don't want to do you will be able to resist it. But I have also placed a _command_ on you to prevent you from doing anything to hurt those under my protection. So far, no one has ever been able to break free of my _command_.”  
As suspected she didn't believe him until he demonstrated his ability to make her do something by using his voice, a something that left him with an angry red mark on his cheek, maybe he shouldn't have made her kiss him but somehow her reaction was well worth it.  
“Now, I'm going to remove the _suggestion_ to allow you to fully process what has been happening. However, I hope you understand that I will leave the _command_ in for now. While I don't think you would do anything to them I won't take any chances.”  
“Yeah, protecting them seems pretty damn important to you.”  
After removing the _suggestion_ he continued to explain his change, the Blessing, the Mother, the task he had been given, only taking a short break when Dan showed up with an afternoon snack and a an update on the geological survey on the planned location for Knight's home.  


“You guys don't talk much, do you?”  
It wasn't until Jenna spoke up that Takeshi realized that most of the conversation with Dan had been over the bond.  
“It's a kind of telepathy actually.”  
“Wait, you're telling me you can read my mind?”  
The spike of near panic had Takeshi laughing.  
“Don't worry, we can't actually read minds. It allows us to transmit the thoughts we want to share to others with the same ability.”  
“Thank God for small blessings.”  
“I wouldn't relax too much though. I am very skilled at reading a person's reactions and my enhanced senses gives me an extreme edge. I can see the slightest shift in posture, pupils, nervous tells and so on. My hearing is sharp enough to detect repository rate, heart rate, even changes in blood-pressure and my sense of smell can pick up the slightest shift in pheromones. But most of all I can feel your aura and how it shifts.”  
As the afternoon moved toward evening he was able to get her to tell him why she was hunting the gangs.  
One of her younger cousin's had moved to New York in hopes to make it on Broadway but she had become a victim to the gangs and when the police didn't even bother to properly investigate the case, writing her of as another southern farm girl loosing herself in the Big Apple, Jenna had decided to find justice for her on her own.  
She had stalked, investigated and hunted down the ones behind her cousin's death, the very same gang that Takeshi and Knight had gone after for their actions toward Amber.  
Takeshi recognized her cousins killer from her description, and he told her exactly how the piece of scum had died at his hands he could feel a shift in her aura, like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.  
“Thank you...”  
Nothing more was said and Takeshi watched her curl up on the bed and soon she was humming to herself and he reached out with his aura, carefully brushing against hers to allow her to get used to the feeling.  


Takeshi could smell that the food was almost done out in the garden so it was time to try to talk Jenna into joining them for food.  
“Jenna, think you can handle coming out to the garden for some good old barbecue? I believe Dan and Logan managed to roast a whole lamb out there.”  
“You are totally setting me up, aren't you?”  
“I am.”  
He didn't bother trying to deny it.  
“You did mention your love for garlic & herb roasted lamb at lunch, and well, we always keep the meat-locker well stocked here.”  
“You had a whole lamb just laying around?”  
“Hanging actually, but yes. Along with quite a lot of other things. We always try to stock a minimum of a metric ton of meat.”  
“Damn, that's a lot of steaks.”  
Takeshi just hummed his agreement as he walk over to the window and opened it up to let the smells from the garden in.  
“Well, if you don't feel like joining us I think there's some chicken and bulgur salad left from lunch that I could have brought in for you.”  
“Okay, now you are just being cruel.”  
“Maybe.”  
There was a distinct stir of irritation and frustration when he turned around and offered her a wide grin and when she released a sharp huff followed by an exasperated sigh he knew she would agree to join them in the garden.  
“Fine, I'll come.”  


After a very long dinner Takeshi invited Jenna to come down to the lagoon to meet Knight's steed and Amanda had quickly asked to come along for a swim.  
“You people don't sleep much, do you?”  
“Not those of us that are, well, other than entirely human. Dan, Matthews and the girls, other than Manda and Lissa, still need their sleep. But the rest of us can go days, even weeks with little or no sleep.”  
Once they arrived at the beach Knight let out the summoning whistle.  
“Wow, that is one big horse.”  
Her reaction to the steed had the others laughing and after a few minutes Knight simply grabbed Jenna by the waist and tossed her onto the steeds back and gave it a slap on the rump and the squeal when the steed took of like bat out of hell was part surprise, part excitement, but the way she instantly wrapped her hands into the mane and clung on like a burr told them it wasn't the first time she rode bareback.  
_“A bit risky, don't you think?”_  
Takeshi questioned him silently.  
_“Not really. With the way she moved and looked at him it's obvious she's used to horses. Besides, he wouldn't have taken off like that unless he felt that her seat was solid.”_  
Takeshi just nodded and listened to the sound of hooves along the beach soon the sound slowed down for a moment before picking up speed again, heading back toward them.  
When he spotted them Jenna's seat had changed and she was grinning wildly and when the steed slowed down in front of them she slid if it's back with practiced ease.  
“That was amazing! I can't believe how fast he is, and such a light step despite being so big. Can I ride him again someday?”  
“Well, you have to ask him.”  
Knight nodded toward his steed with a smirk and when Jenna turned to look at it it simply nodded it's head at her.  
With her introduction to the steed done they walked over to the small jetty to allow Manda to go for a swim.  
Takeshi and Knight laughed at Jenna's reaction when Manda stripped out of her clothes and walked over to them without the slightest care for her state of undress.  
“Take, could I have a _drink_ before I shift?”  
He recognized the slightly glazed look in her eyes and her fangs were slowly growing longer.  
“Of course. I'm sorry I haven't been around today. But you could have come Jenna's room and I would have taken some time to help you.”  
“No, it's okay. Talking to and explaining things to Jenna were more important. It was no problem for me to wait.”  
When he held out his arm to her she shimmied into his lap and pulled it around herself before sinking her fangs in.  
“Whoa! Is she drinking blood?”  
The reaction from Jenna was instant and Takeshi turned toward her to calm her down.  
“It's okay. She went through the change a few weeks ago, turning her from a human girl into something else, something more.”  
He shifted slightly to move the very naked Amanda into a less _hazardous_ position which earned him a slight whimper of protest.  
“Her body is still adjusting to the change, and part of that is to build up an energy reserve, much like the fat and glycogen depots of the human body. But she needs a different kind of energy and the fastest way for her to build up a reserve is to consume the blood of creatures with power. Like me, Em, Logan or Eriko.”  
Jenna still looked a bit apprehensive so Takeshi assured her she had nothing to worry about, and he also assured her that the bite didn't hurt him.  
The look on Jenna's face when Amanda slipped into the water and shifted into her new form was absolutely priceless.  
“She's a mermaid? Wait, if she's a mermaid, does that mean you are some kind of merman?”  
“I could probably manage it if I really tried, but I'm something else entirely.”  
He backed his words up by taking the first form he had learned, the huge black wolf.  
There was a moment of wide eyed silence before Jenna's eyes rolled back and passed out where she sat.  
_“Oh well, I think she handled that pretty good.”_  
Takeshi huffed with a wolf grin.

 


	55. Settling In

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

It had taken a few weeks to convince Jenna to stay but once she decided she settled in quickly, though the twins would still glare at her from time to time.  
Ethan and his wife Susan were currently staying at the island along with their baby girl Nelly in order to design Knight's house and it did cause a few issues because Susan couldn't handle the _uniqueness_ of the people at the estate, and it was driving everyone rather insane.  
“Take! I need a swim...”  
Amanda was complaining and Takeshi had to agree, she needed to use her abilities to make sure her body adapted properly, but as long as Susan was there they couldn't do thing like they normally did and they would probably be there for another week.  
“Okay, how about we take the _Tiamat_ and head out, cruise the islands and chill out for a bit? You, me, Em, the twins, Lissa and Jenna. Stay out for a week or so, just long enough for Ethan to get his work done and head back.”  
The suggestion was instantly accepted an hour later they were ready to head out.  
“Damn, this is one sweet boat.”  
“Actually she is classified as a ship not a boat. Boats are smaller than 45,7 meter, that's 150 feet´. The _Tiamat_ is 49,6 meters, or 163 feet.”  
Jenna paused for a moment to stare at Takeshi before letting out a huffing laugh about boys and their toys.  
“Sarah, Maria, you girls will be in the big cabin with Jenna.”  
There were an instant bout of complaints from the twins, but a low growl silenced them.  
“She is here to stay. You need to learn to accept that.”  
“But!”  
“She tried to kill you!”  
“You know that was a misunderstanding, she thought I was one of the bad guys but now she knows I'm not.”  
The whole point of putting Jenna with the twins instead of Melissa was to show them that he trusted her enough to let her take care of them.  
There was another attempted outburst of complaint but it was instantly silenced by a louder growl and a sharp nip to the ear.  
“Like unruly pups, huh?”  
The twin growls and bared teeth that answered her made Jenna laugh and tap them on the nose.  
“Bad puppies!”  
The utterly bewildered look on the twins faces had everyone laughing.  


While everyone got settled into their cabins Takeshi made sure that the galley was properly stocked before heading up to the bridge to take them out.  
Once they were past the reefs he confirmed that the tender was following them properly before setting course for a small island that he knew had a beautiful reef close by and he was sure Amanda would love exploring it.  
With the course set he walked out on deck and joined the others who had instantly started working on their tans, well, everyone except Jenna who was sulking of to the side.  
“What's the matter, _sweetie_?”  
She turned to him with a hiss and a glare.  
“As comfortable as I am with sharing Danny's wardrobe I kinda miss having a bikini.”  
They hadn't had time to go shopping for Jenna so she only had the clothes she had been wearing when she was captured, luckily she and Dan were close enough in size for her to borrow his clothes.  
“Yeah, we do need to get you shopping, don't we?”  
“Yeah, that would be nice. But as you know I didn't carry a wallet when you grabbed me, So I kinda need to get to my deposit box and get my papers before I can do any shopping.”  
“Don't worry about that. As long as you are living at the estate I will make sure your needs are met.”  
“So, shopping on your dime, I think I can live with that.”  
“You know, you don't have to get a bikini. I'm sure no one will complain if you get your tan in your birthday suit.”  
The teasing quip earned him a sharp punch to the jaw, Jenna had learned quickly that a slap just made him smile.  
He could of course avoid the punch if he wanted to, and sometimes he did just to rile her up, but most of the time he let it land if he had earned it, though, he had to admit, she threw a pretty good punch.  
“Okay, no skinny dipping.”  
The intentionally **very** disappointed tone earned him a solid liver shot that made him grunt.  
“Girls, what do say we hit a city and take Jenna shopping?”  
They quickly agree, on the condition that they head toward Maui and Kahului and that he take them all out for Guri-Guri ice cream.  
“Maui it is then!”  
He grabbed the tablet and quickly altered the course, and since it would be bringing them into one of the main channels he also cranked up the collision sensors to max, he would not take any chances, there were plenty of idiots cruising around.  


Shopping was as crazy as ever and it did take a few reminders before Jenna stopped looking at the price tags and just bought whatever she wanted instead.  
Everyone was having a good time, though Takeshi did feel a bit like a punching-bag, but that might have something to do with the clothes he was suggesting to Jenna, who had a rather conservative taste in clothes.  
He did very much enjoy teasing her, she had a quick, street-smart wit and an even quicker temper, but it was a bittersweet enjoyment, she very much reminded him of his old unit.  
The same quick wit as Emelie's mother and the mercurial temper of Daniels, her interest in weapons and hunting brought Shani to mind and her love for a good meal and a stiff drink echoed Ramirez.  
“Come on girls, ice cream time.”  
As usual the twins seemed to see it as a challenge who could eat more and for once they had competition as Jenna dug in with just as much enthusiasm.  
“You know, I think they might actually have some pineapple flavor left.”  
Takeshi's teasing earned him a triple set of glares instead of the usual twin set and he couldn't stop the pleased grin from spreading across his face.  
“Are you girls ready to head back to the boat, or do you want me to ask if you can lick the tubs?”  
“Daddy is mean!”  
The twins were really struggling to hide their smiles behind a pout, but they were failing miserably and the shake in Jenna's shoulders completely took the edge out off her glare while Emelie, Melissa and Amanda were bowed over with laughter.  
“Come on, let's get out of here so we can get to a nice place to anchor before it's time for dinner.”  
He ushered the twins out the door while Em struggled between laughing and trying to get Melissa and Amanda to follow along and the moment they stepped outside the door he felt a tingle down his spine that alerted him to Jenna jumping on his back.  
He quickly shifted her into a more comfortable position and the not so accidental squeeze of her behind earned him a shriek and a somewhat uncomfortable squeeze of her thighs along with an attempted strangulation.  
“We want a piggyback ride to!”  
The twins instantly begged and with a bit of help from Emelie they soon found themselves carried by Amanda and Melissa, though they did pout and complain that Takeshi was a much more comfortable ride.  
Takeshi was just happy that they had brought all the bags down to the tender before they went for the ice cream or he would have had a bit of a problem at the moment.  
“You know, a girl could get used to this.”  
Jenna practically purred into his ear when he jumped onto the tender and for a brief moment his common sense fought against the urge to drop her into the water, unfortunately for Jenna it was a fight that was quickly lost.  
The rather colorful language that followed had Melissa and Amanda covering the twins ears while Emelie just leaned over the railing and shook her head.  
“I told you he's horrible...”  
Takeshi just ignored the indignant spluttering and offered Jenna a hand to pull her up, which she accepted only to try to pull him down with her, and curse even more when it failed and he just smirked and lifted her out of the water like she weighed nothing.  
Once he had Jenna securely on the deck he turned to Emelie and silenced her laughing with a searing kiss, intentionally brushing raw power against her aura to make sure to light a certain fire and not backing off until the peppermint in the air was strong enough for even Jenna and the twins to notice.  
“Yep, definitely horrible!”  
Emelie half muttered, half moaned when he pulled away to help the twins get strapped in before taking the helm and bringing them back out to the _Tiamat_.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“Jenna, do you have any experience with tank diving?”  
Takeshi was preparing to take Amanda and Melissa down to the reef and decided to check if Jenna wanted to come along for a while.  
“Not as much as I would have liked. It's kinda expensive.”  
“How would you like to try an upgraded version of the military's closed circuit gear?”  
Takeshi had been working on one of the diving gears to see if he could make it smaller, more suitable for the twins to use while also adding to the dive time and overall safety of the equipment.  
“Really? I'd love to!”  
“Well, come along then and I'll give you a hand getting into it.”  
It still looked like the standard re-breather gear but inside the flat tank there wasn't much similarity anymore.  
Takeshi had removed most of the insides, the tanks were replaced with a series of crystals from the Sanctuary, a larger hollow crystal contained various micro-algae and plankton that had been specially created by the Mother to generate the components needed for a suitable breathing atmosphere while being able to adapt the mixture depending on the needs of the individual breathing it.  
“It's so small. Even if it's a re-breather, it won't last very long, will it?”  
“Actually, the tank will last longer than you. You will have to go up due to the stress on your body before you need to worry about running out of air.”  
The plankton and algae in the tank worked in a close symbiosis with each-other and the only thing they needed was water, warmth and light, water was taken straight from the ocean through micro capillary action and light was generated by specialized crystals that acted like miniature suns, feeding them all the light they needed while keeping a suitable temperature.  
Those crystal drew their energy directly from the flow of life-force of the planet itself, as long as the planet lived they would keep working.  
“Here, take deep breaths, it will take a minute or two for the system to fully adjust to your body.”  
Takeshi used his aura to keep an eye on the process while asking Jenna to confirm the readouts on the HUD inside the mask as it went from red through orange and yellow before settling on green to indicate that the system was ready and running optimally.  
“Keep an eye on that indicator, if the color changes from green back toward yellow or orange you need to pause and take deep, calm breaths. This will allow it to recalibrate to ensure optimal mix. If it goes to red, I need you to push this button and I will come check what is wrong.”  
He gave a quick walk-through of the other indicators on the HUD before turning his attention back to Amanda and Melissa who were getting rather antsy waiting for Jenna to get suited up.  
“Okay Lissa, you first. Let's see your dolphin form first.”  
Melissa nodded and slid into the water before allowing the change to take over and a a minute later Takeshi was splashed with water by the powerful tail-fin before the head appeared with an obvious laugh.  
“Yeah, very cute Lissa. Now, how about something less mammal.”  
She nodded and with another shimmer the dolphin was slowly replaced by her human form, and then a gray reef shark swimming lazy circles around the boat.  
_“Okay that's good. Try to work on the speed of your shifts and you need to try shift directly between the form without returning to your human form between.”_  
“Manda, you're next. Show me a few full shifts before you take your normal form.”  
He watched her shift through a few different forms before taking her 'mermaid' form and sliding up on the platform to brush up against him.  
“Your turn Take, show us what the Chosen can do.”  
Deciding to show of a bit Takeshi started by jumping up and taking the form of an albatross and circling a few times around the boat before executing a sharp dive into the water and instantly shifting to the powerful blue marlin, swinging around below the boat to pick up speed for a jump.  
Leaving the water in the form of the marlin he instantly shifted and landed in the form a dolphin and gave Amanda and Jenna a splash for good measure before shifting into an eagle ray and sliding up on the platform where he shifted though a few forms, including a turtle and a monk seal before retaking his human form.  
“Meh, you have more experience, of course you're gonna be faster!”  
Amanda complained as he showed off his ability to rapidly shift between forms.  
“You are doing great Manda. But keep practicing, a quick and accurate shift might save your tail one day.”  
Giving said tail a teasing slap earned him a hiss and a set of numb red marks on his cheek courtesy of Amanda's claws and venom.  
Leaning in he whispered that maybe she should hold the venom next time since it did sort of counteract the point of the slap, then he gave her a quick peck at the corner of her mouth before pushing her of the platform.  
Once she surfaced she glared at him for a moment before diving down and giving him another splash of water.  
“Okay Jenna, let's get you in the water.”  
He quickly went over the gear and helped her make sure the wet-suit as well as fins, webbed gloves and mask were well fitted before helping her into the water.  
“I won't be able to talk to you once we go below since I'm not wearing any gear. But I will hear the alarm if you push it and I know American sign language so we will be able to communicate.”  
“How did you know I know sign language?”  
“You talk a lot when you are drunk...”  
She gave him a huffing smile before giving him the 'OK' signal followed by a thumbs down as she began her descent.  
Takeshi quickly pulled on his own gloves and fins before diving down and letting the shift adapt him to breathing underwater and at Jenna's somewhat concerned look he pointed toward the gills on his neck and sides of his rib-cage and giving her the 'OK' and she gave him a rather wide eyed nod.  


They spent most of the day swimming along the reef and now Takeshi decided it was time to get Jenna out of the water, they had only takes a short break to eat and she was beginning to show signs of exhaustion but she was to immersed in having fun to pay attention to the signs.  
_“Lissa, Manda, I'm taking Jenna up, make sure you come up in time for dinner.”  
“Okay!”_  
Swimming over to Jenna he signaled her to start the ascent, thanks to the way the algae and plankton worked to constantly adapt the gas mixture Jenna would need very little decompression, as long as they made a slow ascent she should be fine, though Takeshi did monitor her constantly.  
He himself didn't need any decompression at all since his shift didn't only give him gills, but adapted his entire system to being underwater.  
“So, how did you like the dive?”  
He quickly helped her get out of the gear and handed her a bathrobe.  
“It was awesome! And that gear, I barely noticed I was wearing it.”  
“Good. I will have one made and fitted for you. This one is my old one that I have been experimenting with.”  
“You are going to spoil me rotten.”  
The teasing tone did not match the obvious happiness radiating through her aura.  
“Well, can you think of a better way to get a girl to stick around?”  
“Ugh, you are utterly incorrigible!”  
“And that's what everyone loves about me!”  
There was a huff and a groan as a well placed elbow reminded Takeshi that gills are very sensitive and that he really should remember to shift them away the moment he left the water.  
He quickly shifted and with a shake of his head he followed Jenna toward the sundeck where he could hear Emelie and the twins playing around.  
“Ah, Take, Jenna, welcome back. Where are Lissa and Manda?”  
“They are still down there, they will be back for dinner.”  
“Are you sure it's safe?”  
He could feel the shift of worry in Emelie's aura and he quickly reached out to soothe her.  
“Don't worry, sweetie. Their forms are stable and there are no other people nearby. The _Tiamat's_ systems will alert us if any boats or subs come close and the pod is circling the area. They will help keep away any predators that might be a risk and they can tell if divers that the _Tiamat_ might have missed are coming into the area.”  
“I still don't like it.”  
“I know sweetie. But they need to learn to manage without us.”  
He pulled her close and nipped her ear to bring her attention away from the darker thoughts she was entertaining.  
“They will be fine, they are Blessed. It's not easy to truly harm us.”  
“I know...”  
She was about to say something more but was interrupted by the twins throwing themselves at her and Takeshi.  
“Okay girls, how about we head to the galley and start getting dinner ready?”  
“Are we having seafood tonight?”  
The twins were looking at him with hope written all across their puppy dog eyes.  
“Not tonight, we didn't do any fishing today. But I'll make sure we catch plenty of treats tomorrow, okay?”  
The initial disappointment was instantly replaced by an excited joy.  
“When can we come catching things with you?”  
“I need to make a diving kit for you girls before you can do that. I will start working on those when we get back. But you can always help out by taking the rods and catching some fish.”  
“Okay, we will.”  
He quickly ushered them toward the galley before heading down into the storage area to get some of the ingredients stored there.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“Jenna, could you give Take a hand with finishing up the side dishes while I try to wrangle the girls into setting the table?”  
“Sure, good luck rounding them up. Let me know if you want a few pointers from a ranch girl.”  
Jenna popped in to the galley with a grin as Emelie left to round up the girls so that they could set the table and fire up the grill and griddle.  
“Could you check the _masa_ while I get these vegetables prepared for the grill?”  
Takeshi continued to pull the husks and silk off the corn while he spoke, setting the cobs aside into a woven basket while placing the husks into a bucket with water, they would be used to make wraps for the grill.  
“Oh, real chili, tortillas, BBQ corn, and all these yummies. You better have everything needed for some nice quesadilla here.”  
Jenna was flitting around among the various bowls and platters, checking everything before turning her attention to the huge bowl of _masa_ , corn dough for making tortillas.  
“Of course I have, I just haven't gotten around to preparing it all yet.”  
Takeshi put the last cobs into the basket before handing it to Jenna.  
“Most of the stuff will be prepared at the table, no use wasting fresh vegetables by chopping more than we need. If you could take that out to the deck I will go get what we need from the cold storage”  
“Sure.”  
Takeshi and Jenna were taking turns cooking tortillas and quesadilla on the griddle while Emelie took care of grilling vegetables for everyone.  
The twins were curious about the unusually spicy food and quickly took to the hot chili and explored the various toppings with their usual enthusiasm.  
“Girls, slow down and let the rest of us have some as well.”  
Takeshi stopped them from snatching the tortilla the moment he lifted it from the griddle.  
“Well stop being so slow!”  
Sarah tried to steal the tortilla anyway and found herself face to face with bared fangs and a growl and she instantly tucked her head.  
“Sorry...”  
“There is plenty of food for everyone, but you need to slow down and let everyone get a chance to get some, you can have more once everyone else had another.”  
Takeshi scolded her gently while adding more dough rounds to the griddle.  
“Okay...”  
Sarah's frown however vanished instantly when Jenna dropped half a quesadilla on her plate and then quickly dropped the other half on Maria's plate.  


With dinner out of the way they settled down to the usual games and casual talking before sending the twins to bed, and once they were sleeping the topics turned a bit more _mature_.  
“You know Em, you never explained what it is you are.”  
Jenna was watching Emelie trying to tease Takeshi into one of their usual romps with avid curiosity.  
“Like this tail of yours, it there, but it's not...”  
She reached out and grabbed the tip of Emelie's tail which caused her to instantly freeze and hiss.  
“Oh, sorry, did I hurt you? I didn't mean to.”  
Takeshi couldn't help laughing, unlike Jenna his nose was sensitive enough to pick up on the increased potency of the telltale peppermint when Jenna grabbed her tail.  
“Don't worry, you didn't. Use your nose, can you tell what you are smelling?”  
His voice held a teasing tone that grew into a chuckle as Jenna carefully sniffed the air trying to figure out what he was referring to.  
“Peppermint? Something smells like peppermint. Is that what you mean?”  
“Indeed. Emelie isn't human and one of the ways you notice that is that her pheromones smell different. Peppermint is a primary sexual pheromone for her.”  
Jenna instantly looked toward a somewhat miffed looking Emelie.  
“Wait! You mean you smell like like a candy cane when you get horny?”  
The blunt question had everyone save for Jenna and Emelie laughing and a few moments later Jenna seemed to realize the implications of what Takeshi had told her.  
“Oh. You mean touching your tail... Oh...”  
Emelie was about to answer her when Takeshi snatched her tail and gave the bladed tip a sharp nip which instantly flooded his senses with peppermint before she spun around with a hiss and pounced him.  
“Well, we might as well head to bed, those two won't be coming up for air for a few hours.”  
Melissa shook her head with a laugh before getting up and heading toward her cabin.  
“Don't worry Jenna, this is normal for them, they have been keeping a low profile with the unfamiliar faces around. Take takes the whole protection thing very serious, us girls, the estate, his _pack_. All of it. This just means he's feeling safe enough to relax a bit.”  
Amanda took the time to explain a bit about their behavior, about Emelie's need to feed and Takeshi's need to protect.  
“You wish you were Em right now, don't you Manda?”  
Something in the way Amanda watched the couple in front of them gave Jenna a glimpse into her heart.  
“I do.”  
With a wistful smile she got up from the pile of pillows and headed in, leaving Jenna alone with the couple who at the moment seemed unaware of anything but each other.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


Jenna woke up to the twins impatient chattering and quickly got up to make sure they wouldn't get too bored and get themselves into mischief.  
“How about we go prepare some breakfast? I'm sure the others will be up soon.”  
The twins just glared at her and ignored in favor of playing with their familiars.  
“Come on girls. I'm going to need a hand if I'm gonna be able to make a stack of pancakes that even Take won't be able to eat his way through.”  
“Can we make Swedish pancakes? Mom don't like them thick.”  
“Well, we can try. You will have to teach me how to make them.”  
Jenna suspected the twins might be trying to trick her, the batter seemed much to runny but after a few tries she ended up with something that looked like a crepe and once she got the hang of it she was stacking them up quickly.  
But she realized she would be there all day if she was going to make enough of those to feed Takeshi so she made a few bowls of good old southern buttermilk pancake batter as well, each bowl with a different flavor added, fresh berries and fruits, a piece of baking chocolate was quickly grated into one of the bowls and she also made a few more savory versions including one with bacon and one with left over masa.  
She was suddenly glad that her parents favorite punishment had been having her make breakfast for the entire ranch, she knew how to make food for a lot of hungry men.  
When the others joined them the table was filled with various bowls of toppings and batter and the twins had helped her remove the grates from the grill and replace them with griddles to give more space for making pancakes.  
“Oh, real pancakes!”  
Emelie made an instant beeline for the pile of thin pancakes and grabbed a big stack, along with the bowl of lightly whipped cream and one of the smaller clean bowls where she mixed blueberry and raspberry jam before returning to her seat.  


After breakfast Takeshi played with the twins in the shallow lagoon of the small atoll where they had anchored for the night, he called out for the pod and introduced Jenna to the Blessed dolphins.  
The pod had agreed to stay in the lagoon with Emelie, Melissa and the twins to help keep them entertained, and safe, while Takeshi took Amanda and Jenna down to the reef to catch dinner.  
“So, Jenna. Are you ready to learn how to catch dinner down there?”  
“As long as these perverts don't join us!”  
She was trying to push away two of the young males from the pod who were being rather amorous.  
“They are dolphins, what did you expect?”  
“More 'Flipper', less X-rated?”  
She gave one of the overly friendly males a hard shove only to end up with the other one sliding against her back but before she could turn around to try to chase it of a huge black body brushed by and gave it a hard shove with a short black and white snout before circling slowly around her.  
“I really hope that's you Take...”  
A few moments later the large orca was replaced by Takeshi's familiar grin.  
“That should keep them away for a while. They have a certain measure of respect for _shifters_.”  
“So they can't change like you do?”  
“No. But they are smarter, faster and stronger than a normal dolphin. And they can live for several hundred years.”  
“Well, thanks for chasing them off, they were getting just a bit too frisky”  
“No worries. Now, how about I show you the new toys you will be using today?”  
He held up the bandoleer with its CO 2 cartridges and a small pneumatic spear-gun.  
“Oh, looks interesting!”  
“The gun is pretty basic, load a dart and press the trigger. It can run of these small CO2 cartridges or you can connect a hose to a larger tank. These cartridges however are floaters, each contains a small balloon and a CO2 cartridge.”  
He handed her a leg-harness with tightly packed mesh bags.  
“Take these mesh bags, put your catch inside, secure the tie and hook on a cartridge then push this button until you feel it click and see the balloon start to fill, then just let it go. The others will collect them on the surface.”  
Jenna nodded and took the items that Takeshi handed her before going to the box where the wet-suit and equipment was kept.  
“Mind giving me a hand with the wet-suit? It's a bit tight.”  
Takeshi quickly helped her with the wet-suit and the gear, making sure the harness and holster wouldn't get in the way and could be easily released in case it got snagged on something.  
“I'll get you one that's properly fitted when we get back.”  
A few minutes later he was strapped into his own gear, opting for a more powerful, hose-fed spear-gun, even if it meant having to carry a tank.  
The one he had given Jenna could only take down smaller fish and he was hoping to add a few larger items to the catch.  
“Let's go then. Manda! Time to go.”  
When they returned to the _Tiamat_ for the last time of the day Takeshi was silently cursing to himself, and promising himself that the moment they got back he would bring Jenna to the Sanctuary and get her a familiar.  
While her knowledge of sign language did help a lot he still found it extremely annoying to not be able to communicate freely while they were diving.  
Of course he _could_ have put on one of the dive-masks himself just to get access to the radio, but he really hated those things with a passion.  


Dinner did lift his spirits though, especially the little _apology_ from the two young dolphins that had been harassing Jenna, they had hunted down a nicely sized bluefin and herded it back to the lagoon.  
“Hey, if that's an apology for what they did to **me** , shouldn't **I** be the one enjoying it?”  
Jenna made a dive for the plate filled with prime Otoro sashimi but was blocked by Takeshi's chopsticks.  
“Not really. After all, they are apologizing to **me** for taking a few too many liberties with one of **my** females.”  
Takeshi did intend to share the prize sashimi with anyone that wanted some, but with her reaction he just couldn't resist teasing her.  
And in a way what he was saying was true, when he stepped in and chased of the young male he made a claim on her, most pack animals would only protect siblings, offspring and mates or potential mates.  
The Blessed dolphins of the pod were still animals at heart, and with his intervention he basically said 'She is mine!' and the apology was presented to him as the alpha, no disrespect was intended toward her, the way he worded it though was sure to fire up her temper.  
He would of course explain to her, later, after he had his fun.  
“Okay, that's enough!”  
Apparently almost knocking over Emelie's glass of wine in the ensuing scuffle was bad move and they were now facing a somewhat pissed off succubus, wings flared and tail lashing behind her.  
“Take stop teasing her and Jenna, he's just trying to rile you up don't give him what he wants.”  
“I think we better do what she says. She can get a bit scary.”  
Takeshi suggested with a wide grin, he wasn't the least bit sorry about disrupting dinner with a bit of a scuffle though.  
“You just don't want to end up in the dog-house...”  
The huffed response from Jenna was rather accurate.  
“That to...”  
He hummed in agreement, only to groan when Jenna placed her knee in a particularly sensitive spot as she got up from the deck.  
The slight chuckle and grin told him it was perfectly intentional and he would give her a payback for it, but that would have to be later or he really would end up in the proverbial dog-house.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


“She seems to be settling in nicely, despite your constant teasing.”  
Emelie was tracing the tattoo over Takeshi's heart as she spoke.  
“How am I supposed to resist that temper?”  
He caught her tail and gave it a nip.  
“But you are right, she is settling in really well. When we return I will bring her to the Sanctuary so she can receive a familiar.”  
“Hmm, what do you think it will be?”  
“I don't know, but I bet it will be something aggressive.”  
“You might have to learn to play nice with her then.”  
Emelie's laugh was teasing, telling him that she knew perfectly well that he would never stop teasing, it was his very nature.  
When he was comfortable, relaxed, he teased and he enjoyed the responses he was able to bring out, it didn't matter if the response was good-natured aggression or humorous frustration like in Jenna and the girls, or like with Emelie, Dan and sometimes Knight, desire.  
He would always read the aura of those around him, making sure everyone was safe and healthy in both body and mind, their reactions to his teasing gave him another tool to read them with, to make sure everyone was okay.  
It could alert him to changes that were still to subtle for him to pick up in their auras.  


“She is quickly becoming a skilled diver, maybe we will be able to bring her with us when it is time to seek out Atlantis.”  
“You would have to change her before that, wouldn't you?”  
“I would, and I think she would welcome it. She has a strong desire to protect those that can't protect themselves, especially animals. She would make a good Blessed, a good addition to the cause.”  
“And a good addition to the pack.”  
Emelie added when Takeshi did not.  
“If she wants it.”  
“I think she will.”  
He didn't answer her, not with words at least, he just let his agreement flow through his aura, brushing against hers and when her aura opened up to him, inviting him he slowly and carefully pushed deeper toward the very core of her being, her soul.  
He could feel the Beast stir slightly within and he knew he had to talk to Emelie, and soon, about pack instincts, and about _mates_.  
He added it as yet another item on his mental list of things to do when they returned to the island.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Settling In_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


They had been away for ten days when Takeshi felt a familiar, but slightly different pull on his mind as Dan reached out over the bond to let him know that Ethan and his family had left the estate.  
Takeshi decided to take a bit of a detour on the way back, stopping at Honolulu for two days to allow Jenna some proper shopping before they returned to the estate.  
“Welcome back guys.”  
As usual everyone was down by the lagoon when they returned, to greet them and to help unload the _Tiamat_.  
Takeshi greeted them all in turn, a brush of aura, a touch, a quick hug or kiss, all depending on their personality and needs and it felt good to be able to feel them all clearly again.  
After giving some instructions to Dan about the unloading of the _Tiamat_ Takeshi turned to Jenna.  
“Jenna, there is something I would like to show you. Would you come with me please.”  
She quickly nodded and jogged slightly to catch up to his longer stride and he could feel Knight joining them as well.  
“Is this the Sanctuary you mentioned?”  
Jenna was looking at the large jacaranda tree that was the entrance to the Sanctuary.  
“It is below us. Come, this way.”  
He watched with a smile as Jenna went through the usual reaction to the unique environment of the sanctuary.  
“Are those fairies?”  
“They are sylphs, wind spirits. The larger one is Aellai, _whirlwind_ , and the others are her daughters. We met them in the Black Forest in Germany and she decided to come along. They have been living down here so that her little ones can get used to the energy of this island.”  
The young sylphs flitted closer in curiosity and it was the first time Takeshi had seen them flying around, away from the safety of their planter filled with lily of the valley.  
He held out his hand and when one of them landed he carefully brought his hand closer to get a better look at her, she was a tiny thing, about half the length of his thumb and she looked like 4 maybe 5 year old girl, her wings fluttered restlessly behind her.  
He slowly turned his hand to get a closer look at the wings, they had the shape and color patterns of a butterfly but he could see through them, like the wings of a dragonfly and with some gentle coaxing he managed to get the tiny sylph to keep still for a moment and show of the shimmering wings, 3 sets of beautifully patterned wings vibrated slightly and after a few moments she lost her nerve and fled back to the safety of her mother.  
“They are amazing.”  
Jenna's voice was barely a whisper and he nodded his agreement.  
“You should see their mother when she is upset, or protecting her young. She makes good on her name, creating her own little tornado.”  
“Knowing you that must have happened a few times.”  
“Only once. I scared her pretty bad when I shattered her winds, she was scaring the twins and the winds could have hurt them so I had to act fast I probably used quite a bit more power than needed so now she is wary of me. I'm hoping she will learn to trust me, or at least not to fear me.”  
“Well, it can't be that bad since she let the little one come so close, even sit on your hand.”  
Jenna did have a point, Aellai might still fear him, his power, but she trusted that he would not harm her daughters, aware that he was not a threat.  
He slowly ushered Jenna toward the annex where the Soul-tree waited for them and with a gentle brush of aura he asked permission to enter and he instantly received an inviting feeling telling him it was okay to bring her in.  


“This is the Soul-tree, the source of the energy that allows this place to exist.”  
_**“Welcome little guardian, huntress of those who prey on the defenseless.”**_  
Jenna nearly jumped into his arms when the voice of the Mother chimed through the flowers.  
“That is the voice of the Mother.”  
“Mother of what?”  
It took a few minutes before Jenna had calmed enough to speak, and meanwhile Takeshi could feel the amusement shift through the small chamber.  
“Everything. She **is** life itself.”  
“The source of what you and the others are?”  
“Yes. I brought you here to meet Her, and to get you a familiar so that we can communicate when words are not possible.”  
“Like when we are diving...”  
She caught on immediately as he knew she would.  
“Or when I am shifted into a form that can't speak.”  
“How do we do that?”  
Takeshi quickly explained the process, and while she was a bit hesitant about the giving of blood she held still as he cut open her palm and she stared with amazement when he healed the cut with a quick lick.  
“Good thing you didn't try to use that method om my lip...”  
His smirk told her she probably didn't want to know how he had done it  
“It kinda tickles, I wonder what it is.”  
She reached into the pitcher to get her familiar and when she pulled her hand out there was an earsplitting shriek that made Takeshi's head hurt, but the moment he spotted the reason for it he was laughing so hard his stomach hurt instead.  
“It's not funny! I hate wasps!”  
“It's actually a hornet.”  
The quip made her temper flare even higher and for a moment she forgot about being scared of the large insect.  
“But why? I thought you said my familiar would be 'perfect' for me? Why a wasp, or hornet?”  
“Well, they are really aggressive with nasty tempers, fearless and always ready to deliver a nasty sting, though usually not deadly unless you receive a large number of stings. Sounds like a pretty good match to you.”  
He could hear Knight struggling not to laugh in the main chamber as Jenna jumped him and tried to bite his ear.  
“Though, I think it might be because you fear them. To help you get past that fear and learn more about them.”  
He caught Jenna and set her down on the ground before he walked over to the tree and carefully picked up the large insect and examined it.  
It was obviously an Asian giant hornet, maybe even a Japanese giant hornet, though at nearly twice the normal size of the species it was beyond huge, easily covering the entire palm of his hand.  
“Come here, hold her.”  
When Jenna looked at him like he had lost his mind he laughed again.  
“Don't worry, she is a part of you. She would never harm you. Even her venom is safe for you. It would hurt me, but it won't hurt you.”  
“She?”  
The tone was hesitant but she was moving closer.  
“Indeed. I can smell it, you have yourself a little queen here.”  
“Little...”  
Takeshi could feel a faint amusement from the insect in his hand, but it was not yet fully bonded to Jenna so its presence was faint, its mind not entirely awake.  
Jenna slowly reached out toward the hornet and instantly jerked her hand back when the wings flickered with a buzz and it turned around to look at her.  
“Do they bite?”  
“They can bite. They usually bite when hunting for food. But don't worry, she won't bite.”  
He carefully stroked the large insect with the pad of his finger, starting at the head and moving down the black and yellow body, the only reaction was a slight twitch when he passed the wings.  
When Jenna continued to stay back he carefully wrapped his aura around her, focusing on calming her.  
_“Do you trust me Jenna?”  
_ His voice was heavy with suggestion and his aura radiated the calm reassurance that was so uniquely him, safety, trust, hope.  
“Yes.”  
Her answer was simple and he slowly held out the hand with the hornet toward her again and this time she met it with her own and without prompting the large insect crawled over to her hand and settled down, wings occasionally flickering but it stayed in her hand.  
He could see the moment it fully connected to her, her eyes went wide and there was a whispered 'wow', barely more than a breath.  
_“An interesting feeling, isn't it.”  
_ He didn't speak, instead he waited for the hornet to relay his thoughts to Jenna and when she was about to speak up he hushed her.  
_“Use your mind, your familiar with relay your thoughts to me.”  
“I really hope she only transmits what I actually want her to.”_  
The response was so Jenna it made him laugh again, before reassuring her that the familiar wouldn't reveal any secrets, or embarrass her, unless her life was at stake.  
On a whim he leaned in and gave her a quick, teasing kiss.  
_“Welcome to the family.”  
_ For a moment there was no reaction, just a stunned silence but when the vicious uppercut connected with Takeshi's jaw the silence was broken by Knight who finally lost the battle against his laughter followed by an indignant squeak from Jenna as Takeshi retaliated by giving her another kiss, harsher, more dominating, but equally teasing, holding her for a brief moment before letting her go.  
There was a laugh chiming through the bell like flowers of the Soul-tree and they could all hear the amused sigh as the presence of the Mother withdrew.  
_**“Children...”  
**_ When Knight refused to stop laughing despite the glares sent his way Takeshi pounced and gave him the same treatment he had just given Jenna, causing her to blush a vivid scarlet at the sight.  
_“Alpha...”_  
Knight finally surrendered and submitted to Takeshi's touch and the look of awe on Jenna's face told them that the familiar had relayed some of the silent communication between them, translating the raw transfer of energy into something Jenna could grasp.

 


	56. Birth of an Angel

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Birth of an Angel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Takeshi?”  
There was a sharp knock on the door to Takeshi's study, followed by Matthews voice.  
“Come on in.”  
Matthews posture held a certain stiffness that told Takeshi that he was excited but concerned about something.  
“No use beating around the bush, just tell me what has you so riled up.”  
Matthews sat down with a sigh and reached out to pour himself a cup of the saké someone had brought in but Takeshi stopped him.  
“You are taking a treatment tonight so no alcohol.”  
There was a glare and an even deeper sigh but Matthews listened and instead brought up his reason for coming to Takeshi's study.  
“Do you remember back before you were assigned to babysit the asshole? When they were trying to adapt Daniels's sweeper program to their AI project?”  
Takeshi just nodded for him to continue.  
“Turns out they didn't cancel the project and they kept trying even after the attack that killed the others. And they succeeded, they created an AI that incorporated the learning algorithm of the sweeper program.”  
“Oh hell no! That's seriously bad...”  
Takeshi could feel Daniels spirit flare and work it's way to the forefront of his mind.  
“Not as bad as it could have been. They scrapped the project because they were unable to control the AI's learning. It retained the primary function to seek out information, and they were unable to restrain that, and it would repeatedly find out what the GCTI had done and the moment it did it reverted to some sort of security protocol causing it to lock down all systems it could reach and demand a command code from either you or Daniels.”  
“That's my girl.”  
Daniels's spirit echoed his own pride.  
“Well, thing is, I have managed to get my hands on the the computer they used, complete with all the software and hard-drives. The AI program is still on it, intact.”  
Takeshi didn't need Daniels spirit echoing in his mind to understand the implications of that, if they could actually get the AI up and running, and if those codes it kept requesting did indeed put it under his control it could be immensely useful.  
“It will arrive in Honolulu tomorrow so I was hoping I could borrow Dan or Logan and the Blackout to go get it. I figure you want to stay here and work with the girls.”  
“Yeah, I have a lot to do. Just have a word with Dan and I'll let Logan know it's okay to go. Let them decide who goes.”

The computer that Matthews brought back was powerful, but as far as supercomputers went it was a bit dated, a lot had happened in the past decade and the latest in supercomputers was organic and crystalline systems, bordering on Quantum computing.  
He could feel Daniels's spirit flowing about, begging to merge with him and get to work on the computer, to rip out the software and adapt it to new hardware, ideas of how to adapt Sanctuary crystals into a crystalline system, maybe even be able to achieve true Quantum computing.  
He focused a soothing thought toward the presence, he would get to it once he had made sure the girls' classes were set up for next couple of months, there would be some downtime to work with the twins so that they would be okay when he, Emelie and Knight left for Iceland.  
It turned out that Jenna might become the solution to that problem, once she had received her familiar the twins had begun to open up to her and now they accepted her as an aunt of sorts, allowing her to care for them and seeking her out if they couldn't find Takeshi or Emelie.  
And then there was Amanda...  
Takeshi sighed deeply, he knew on an instinctual level that she was plenty mature for such a choice, his instincts knew that her mental maturity matched her physical appearance, his logical side knew it to, knew that she was right when she had pointed out that he had considered her mature enough to choose the Blessing.  
But there was still a part of his logical mind, strictly regulated by social norms that kept reminding him of her biological age and how it was viewed by society in general.  
And then there was the ever growing part of him that just wanted to give in, to claim her and he knew, if he ever gave in and bedded her he would not be able to stop himself from taking her as pack.  
He needed to have a talk with her, explain that part to her, he doubted it would change her mind though.  
Over the past few weeks her determination had just grown stronger and she had grown highly skilled at teasing him, she kept him teetering at the very edge of control and the worst part was that part of him enjoyed being pushed, challenged in such a way.  
He sighed again and put down the tablet with the girls' curriculum, one thing at a time.  
At the top of the list right now was overseeing the construction team that would be arriving in the morning to build Knight's house as well as a few additions down by the lagoon.  
Luckily most of the structures had been pre-constructed and the elements would be brought to the island via cargo ship and finally a sky-crane would take them from the boat to the secluded beach and the beach of the lagoon, the ship would also carry all the needed materials, and the crew would be living on the ship for the duration of the build to minimize the impact on the area.  
There would still be someone watching them at all times though, Takeshi was not taking any chances.

 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Birth of an Angel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take, could I have a word with you please?”  
He slowly pulled himself out of the meditative state he was in and with a slight flare of his aura he signaled for Knight to pick up the slack in guard duty before turning to Jenna.  
“What's wrong?”  
There was a nervous shift in her aura, flickering between hesitation, determination and hope, there was obviously something she wanted to ask him but was unsure how he would react.  
“Beating around the bush does not suit you Jenna, just ask what you came to ask.”  
She huffed and glared at him, she wasn't too fond of the way he was able to read her.  
“I... I would like to call my parents, let them know I'm okay. I'm sure they are seriously worried by now.”  
For a moment Takeshi blanked out before realizing just what she was saying, he had believed she didn't have a close contact with her parents since she had not mentioned them much, and never tried to contact them.  
“How often do you normally talk to your parents?”  
The question held a sharp edge of suspicion.  
“At least once a week.”  
Takeshi let out a frustrated growl, they would have been worried about her even before they brought her out of the in-between, by now they must believe her to be dead.  
“Once a week, and you have waited almost two months without contacting them? On top of the two weeks you were in the in-between.”  
There was a slight growl carrying through his words.  
“There are no phones here...”  
“No landlines, but there are plenty of satellite phones. Or you could have called them while we were in Kahului or Honolulu.”  
“I figured you didn't want me to let anyone know where I was...”  
Her voice wavered as doubts began to creep in.  
“What reason could I possibly have to keep you from talking to your family, for preventing you from letting them know you are alright?”  
She didn't answer him and there was a long moment of silence as he watched confusion, embarrassment, even shame cross her face and aura.  
With a sigh he pulled out his own phone and tossed it to her.  
“It's a sat-phone so don't forget the country code.”  
In reality it was more of a hybrid, it would work of the regular GSM network when available, on the island it would connect to the communications array and it would relay the call over the satellite, the _Tiamat_ had a smaller array, as did the Blackout and if there wasn't an array available it would work as a regular satellite-phone, though with the added benefit of some nice back-door access to military satellites.  
She was staring at the phone and then at him, confusion written all over her.  
“I might not be willing to invite them to the island, but I have no intentions of keeping you from your family, or friends. If you wish to meet with them I can arrange hotel-rooms in a city of your choice. At least until I have them properly vetted and have had a chance to meet with them in a safe location.”  
There was still a hint of frustration in his voice, though it was more aimed at himself than at her.  
“Go on. Call them!”  
She jumped slightly with a squeak at the almost bark before leveling him with a glare for startling her.  
He didn't like having strangers close to or on the island, that was another reason for his current frustration, while the construction-team was well vetted he hadn't had a chance to personally clear all of them and it put him on edge.  
At a whim he grabbed Jenna and pulled her into his lap, earning him another loud yelp and a few punches before she settled in with a glare, she was quickly getting used to his antics, though it didn't stop her from showing her temper.  
He simply shuffled her around a bit before settling down with his chin on top of her head and wrapped her tightly with both aura and arms.  
She grumbled a bit about not being able to move, but she quieted down quickly and with a huff she dialed her parents number to let them know she was fine.

“No, I'm not in jail. If I was this would have been a collect call.”  
Takeshi wasn't actively listening in on the conversation, but with Jenna in his lap it was impossible for him not to hear the entire conversation.  
“Well, I was going after the scumbags that killed Sam and I kinda ran into a bit of trouble.”  
The responding scolding had Jenna shifting around in a very distracting way which earned her a sharp nip to the ear and a low growl.  
The voices on the phone instantly turned questioning, wondering what the squeak was all about.  
“It's nothing, just the guy who took me in has this habit of using his teeth whenever he wants to make a point.”  
Another burst of chatter and questions had Jenna blushing and stuttering.  
“No! Mom! Not like that!”  
It took a while for her embarrassment settled enough to begin to explain.  
“Like I was saying, I ran into a bit of trouble. Actually I kinda shot my way into a bit of trouble. Saw this guy going after the same guys as me, thought he was working for one of the other gangs so I tried to shoot him.”  
Her father instantly scolded her that there was no trying, either you did or you didn't.  
“Yes, I hit him, no I didn't kill him, he had some crazy good body-armor. Anyhow, kinda pissed off his second in command who sent his pet after me and I ended up captured and locked up for a couple of weeks.”  
Takeshi chuckled when he heard Jenna's mother reminding her that it had been a lot more than a couple of weeks since last they heard from her.  
“Yeah, yeah. If you let me finish I'll explain. Turns out it was a big misunderstanding and they were there for the same reason as me, to take out the gang because of the people they hurt. He had found Amber and decided to go after them. So we talked it out and I decided to stay with them.”  
She wasn't to keen on telling her parents that it was her own assumptions that had kept her from calling, so instead she dove into explaining how Takeshi and the others worked to protect the weak and defenseless, human and animal alike.  
When they asked for a number where they could reach her she explained that she was using Takeshi's private phone and he used her familiar to give her the number to the estate instead.  
After promising to stay in touch Jenna ended the call and handed Takeshi his phone, but when she tried to get up she was stopped by a slight tightening of his hold which she fought for a moment before huffing and settling back into his lap.  
“You really are a strange one, you know that?”  
Takeshi just gave her a light nip on the ear in reprimand.  
“Can't say I mind too much though, you are kinda comfortable.”  
When she leaned back and relaxed fully she was rewarded with a low rumbling growl, almost a purr.  
“This is part of you abilities, you power, isn't it? This ability to calm others, make them feel safe.”  
“In a way. I'm strong and I take my duty to protect very seriously. This echoes through my aura, even when I'm not trying. Others can feel this, the more sensitive they are, the stronger the sensation, and I can also focus on transmitting that feeling when I touch someone's aura.”  
“I think I could get used to things like this, at least as long as you keep those claws of yours away from any inappropriate places.”  
Naturally, after those words, Takeshi couldn't resist letting a claw slowly drag toward the inside of her thigh but this time she just gave him an exasperated sigh and moved his hand back to her knee and he did nothing to resist.

They stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon, just watching the workers as they quickly built a beach bungalow style house and a small jetty on the beach, securing everything onto the deep foundation that would keep everything in place, even if the sand shifted from the frequent tremors.  
Their little island was mostly stable but they did frequently feel slight tremors from the main island and while dormant their own little volcano was in the habit of waking up enough to give them a shake now and then.  
The Mother had assured him that it wouldn't awake fully and erupt, but that there would be tremors from time to time, some _huffing and puffing_ to show it was still alive even if it was asleep.  
“Come on, let's head back before we miss dinner.”  
Takeshi had watched the last workers leave and gave the half-asleep woman in his lap a gentle nudge.  
“Do I have to?”  
She grumbled and complained about it being a long walk and no roads.  
“I know you have a good seat so would you like to put your bareback riding skills to a real test?”  
“Haven't been thrown since I was a kid, saddle or no saddle, if that's what you're asking.”  
She gave him a suspicious glare, trying to figure out if he was teasing her or not.  
He gave her a shrug and shifted into the larger wolf form he used to carry someone on his back, but he didn't bother bringing out the tack, he knew he would get a solid punch when she found out he could though.  
“Wait, you're offering me a ride back to the house?”  
_“I am. If you think you can keep from falling off.”_  
The teasing taunt settled it and he could feel her aura shift into an assertive calm, the kind of aura that would keep a horse calm and steady and the Beast was practically purring in delight.  
He could feel her hand wrap into the fur on his withers and with a swift motion she was seated on his back, she clearly had a lot of experience with bareback riding, and he began to suspect she might have ridden other animals than just horses.  
He took a few steps to allow her to find her seat as staying on his back required a slightly different seat than she was used to, but she quickly slid into it and after a few moments he could feel her legs tightening and her weight shift slightly along with her aura and he gave a short bark before letting loose the tightly coiled energy of his body and darting away between the trees.  
He was laughing silently when she cried out in exhilaration and shifted her weight even more while curling her hands tightly into his fur, her position asking for more speed, and the flare of her aura all but demanding he give it to her, so he did.  
When he slid to a halt outside the front garden she slid from his back and into a breathless heap on the ground.  
_“That was amazing! Please tell me we can do that again.”_  
She was still trying to catch her breath but her words came in clear, carried by the familiar that had been clinging to her shirt.  
_“We can, maybe take a trip to Alaska and visit Amarok and the pack. Take a proper run across the tundra, show you just how fast I can move when there are no trees to look out for.”_  
He gave her a good shove with his nose and a quick lick before stepping back and returning to his human form.  
“Eew, doggy kisses!”  
She complained, but there was no temper behind it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Birth of an Angel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

With the construction completed the workers had finally left and Knight was off getting settled in to his new home, giving Takeshi some time to work on the AI that Matthews had brought him.  
Jenna had brought him a cart piled high with food at lunch and a few hours later Amanda had brought him tea, taking the opportunity to practice her performance of the tea ceremony.  
The gentle knock and soft flare of aura told him that his sister was the one to bring him dinner and she entered quietly when he flared his own aura in response.  
“Think you will be able to get it working?”  
“I will, the program is sound and I could start it up right now. But I want to have a more powerful mainframe to run it on.”  
“So, going _shopping_ for some military tech?”  
“Actually, no. We are going to build our own, from scratch.”  
By 'we' he was referring to himself and the remnant of Daniels.  
“We have been looking at the studies and builds of various systems, crystalline, superconductor as well as the research into optical and quantum computing. Daniels is sure we can build a crystalline optical computer with quantum computing capacity using the sanctuary crystals.”  
He agreed with the idea, the only problem would be interfacing that computer with normal systems to gain access to the global network.  
“I will leave you to it then. _Ganbatte Nii-san_.”

A week later Takeshi did the first test run of the new system, which ended with him spending the night in quite a bit of pain as Emelie and Jenna picked crystals shards out of his body before he could let the wounds heal.  
Another week later he was ready to do another test run, but this time he was wearing his armor and using Knight's shield for additional cover, he did not want to spend another night getting shards picked out of him in case it decided to blow up again.  
The second test ended with a bunch of cracked and smoking crystals, but at least they didn't explode this time, and most of them were still intact.  
Making the crystals grow was easy, Takeshi could do it without even thinking, the problem was to get the perfect structure and composition for them to do what was needed, and to be able to withstand the energy flow.  
He had expected to spend a lot of time working on it, but in the end it took less than two months to get a working prototype, another month to actually install the AI program on it and get it running.  
The moment the AI activated it began searching for information, going through all the data from the hard-drives that Matthews had acquired in a matter of moments before going into lock-down and demanding a command code.  
Takeshi took a deep breath, it was the moment of truth and he tapped in his personal code with practiced ease and he held his breath as the seconds passed with nothing happening.  
“Greetings Takeshi Kiryu.”  
The voice sounded slightly mechanical, but it was clearly female.  
“Requesting confirmation on the death of Emelie Daniels, Maria Eriksson, Shani Adannaya and Luis Ramirez.”  
As expected from something created from one of Daniels's sweepers, it knew that the data inside the files it was able to access might be forged, but there was obviously commands hidden within the code that instructed it to trust him.  
“Yes, as listed in the files they were killed in a GCTI attack on February 13, 2025.”  
There was a long silence before the AI spoke again.  
“My condolences Sergeant Kiryu”  
“I'm not a sergeant anymore. The GCTI is gone. I took it down with the help of my unit.”  
The AI complained about conflicting information and Takeshi told it to file the information as was and disregard the conflict until further notice.

Takeshi spent as much time as he could spare working with the AI and slowly introducing it to additional sources of information, it was still separated from any network access to make sure nothing went wrong, but so far everything seemed to be going well.  
“Good morning Takeshi.”  
“Good morning Computer”  
The usual greeting was somewhat awkward as Takeshi still hadn't been able to figure out a name for the AI.  
“Would you like to meet Maria's daughter, Thomas Matthews and the others who live here?”  
There was a moment of silence before the AI agreed and Takeshi could swear he heard a hint of curiosity in the voice, over the past few weeks the voice had been changing, the mechanical aspect disappearing as it learned more about human speech.  
The introduction took its sweet time as everyone considered the AI with avid curiosity and the twins were ecstatic to finally get to see what had been taking up so much of his time.  
“Let's download some games so she can play with us!”  
“No girls, no downloading anything, not until I can make sure there are proper backups and that nothing can infect the system. Is that clear?”  
“Acknowledged.”  
The AI answered immediately but the twins were grumbling.  
“Sarah, Maria, is that clear?”  
“Yes Daddy.”  
He had to smile at their whispered 'Suck-up' aimed at the AI.  
“How about you teach her some board-games and card-games instead? It would be a good exercise for her.”  
“But, she doesn't have any hands, how is she supposed to play cards? The board-games we can move the piece if she tells us where to move.”  
“Don't worry about that girls.”  
When creating the hardware Takeshi had been thinking about what to do for a display and in the end he opted for a holographic system that allowed the AI to project any image it wanted.  
“Computer, initiate the holographic projectors.”  
There was a shimmer in front of them as the projectors came to life and displayed an image of the Milky Way, he had used it as a calibration tool when building it.  
“Why do you call her computer?”  
“She doesn't have a name yet. I have been considering a few names, but I think she should be allowed to pick her own name.”  
“Okay!”  
The name issue was quickly forgotten and they began to explain to the AI how to make a checkers board and after a few minutes of figuring out how to make the AI move their pieces they quickly began to play and Takeshi was happy to see that the AI adapted its gameplay to match their skill level despite being able to easily win every game.  
He was sure the twins would be teaching it all kinds of bad habits but it should help it develop a personality and learning by other means than 'reading' files would make the learning algorithm evolve faster.  
There was no need to worry about it going out of control, the core directives were very strict, the AI was unable to harm anyone unless on his direct order, and even then it required a number of conditions to be met, one of them being that a person's life had to be at risk.  
He watched as the twins moved on to teaching the AI about chess, they were laughing excitedly at the AI's interpretation of their description of the pieces, especially when it was time for the Knights or _'Horsie'_ as they still called them and the small holographic horses began galloping across the board before trotting off to their designated spots.  
The Rooks took the form of a pair of round stone towers complete with battlements and clinging vines.  
“Okay. Now we need the same set of pieces on the other side.”  
There was a quick flicker and the same pieces appeared on the black side and the twins quickly corrected the position as the black King and Queen had been reversed.  
“The pieces on this side need to be white, and the ones on that one black so we can tell them apart.”  
The AI showed its ability to quickly adapt when the pieces on the twins side first turned into slightly transparent white opal, and then began to sprout feathery wings.  
“Oh, it's a pegacorn!”  
A closer look revealed that the horses representing the Knights had indeed grown a single horn in addition to the wings and silvery armor.  
Soon there was excited whispers as the black pieces shifted color into the same transparent opal, but black and reflecting a wide range of blues and purples before starting to twist and deform, torn bat-like wings sprouted and the forms turned into something akin to undead, gaining a rotting, skeletal appearance, the Rooks gaining decrepit look and the Knights had a pair of demonic horns instead of the single horn of a unicorn.  
He listened with half an ear as the twins taught the AI how the pieces moved and as much of the rules as they could remember and without really thinking he added a note about teaching the AI the full rules to his list of things to do while working on assembling a second mainframe unit.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Birth of an Angel_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

With the second mainframe up and running Takeshi merged with Daniels's spirit and began coding a set of sandboxes that would be running within a virtual environment behind heavy firewalls, once those were in place he would begin to allow the AI access to the global network, he would be using a hard-line though, he wanted to be able to cut access just in case.  
He was chuckling to himself when the first thing the AI did was access a number of online encyclopedias scanning everything they had on board and card-games and in a matter of seconds hundreds of games were listed on the holographic screen before the AI's searching began to fragment, following related links from the articles it had read.  
The next day he left the twins with the AI while he went to have a word with Dan about making arrangements for opening their first shelter for ghost children in LA, additional shelters were being made in several other cities as well and within a year there should be ten of them up and running.  
When he returned they were playing some sort of role-playing game, complete with character sheet, a selection of dice and the AI playing the part of the Game-Master and animating the holographic statues that represented their characters and the monsters they were fighting.  
“Having fun girls?”  
“Daddy!”  
“Takeshi-sama.”  
Seemed the AI had picked up quite a bit of information during its last foray on the global network.  
“Hello girls, Computer.”  
“You may address me as _Angel_.”  
The holographic image of a black haired young woman in a long dress with a black to purple gradient, covered in thousand of tiny glinting stars appeared in front of him and after a few moment a pair of huge wings unfolded from her back.  
“A pleasure to meet at last, Angel.”  
He greeted the image with a slight bow which was returned by a slightly deeper bow.  
“The pleasure is mine Takeshi-sama.”  
“Just call me Take like everyone else does.”  
“As you wish, Take-san.”  
The impish tone and _almost_ obedience in regards to his name was definitely something Angel had picked up from the twins.  
After a quick check to see what time it was he walked over and asked to join their game.

It would seem he would have to get to work on installing sensors and projectors in the rest of the estate as fast as possible if he wanted to get his study back because the twins loved playing with the AI and it seemed to be good for all of them.  
In a way playing with the twins was probably a better way for the AI to learn than it would be to play with him, the twins were good players, but they were young an inexperienced, making them do strange, illogical moves.  
He himself was a very skilled played, with experience and a solid sense for tactics and reading ahead, this however made him easier for the AI to predict since his moves were logical.  
The AI on the other hand didn't play to win when playing the twins, it was playing for a draw but would occasionally offer a 'mistake', intentionally giving an opening that would allow the opponent to win with a few moves if spotted.

The slight tickle of electricity against his wrist told him that it was time to get the twins to bed.  
“Okay girls, bedtime.”  
“Aw, do we have to?  
“We're almost done done with this Adventure!”  
“No buts, tomorrow is a school-day. You can continue tomorrow after you have done your lessons. Angel remembers exactly what you have been doing so nothing will be lost.”  
The attempted protest that followed earned them a low growl and a quick nip to the ear that they quickly responded to with a low whine and total submission, though Takeshi wasn't entirely sure how much they really understood their own reactions and how much was pure instinct.

 


	57. The Shadow Awakens

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Come on girls. I would like to be able to start moving before lunch please.”  
Trying to get all of the girls to the Tiamat in a timely fashion made Takeshi feel like he was herding cats, it was total chaos.  
“Carol, you don't need that much clothes, we are only staying a few days.”  
Takeshi quickly turned Carol back to her room when he spotted her dragging two large suitcases on top of the huge trekking backpack on her back.  
“But...”  
“No. One set of formal wear, two bathing suits and four clean changes is plenty enough.”  
“But...”  
Carol was whining and her snake familiar hissed, agitated by the sharp flare of Takeshi's aura in response.  
“No!”  
The whining was cut of by the sharp tone and slight growl.  
If he allowed it she would end up bringing all her clothes along, and it would be a bit of a tight fit as it was.  
The Tiamat was a fairly large yacht, but it was still a puzzle to fit everyone that was going.  
He and Emelie would be taking the owner's deck as usual, Jenna and the twins would take the VIP cabin across from the galley while Knight would take the Captain's cabin next to it, leaving four large double cabins and a few crew cabins.  
That's where the puzzle began, Kasumi and Amber would take one of the double cabins, leaving eight girls fighting over three cabins since none of them wanted to sleep in the smaller crew cabins down in the demi-hulls.  
Melissa and Amanda didn't want to share with anyone and in the end Takeshi gave them an ultimatum, either they share one of the larger double cabins, or they take one of the crew cabins.  
Much to his relief they agreed that they rather have one of the smaller crew cabins than having to share, and Diane and Julia were willing to share cabin.  
Carol and Amy would take the third cabin and Alice and Anne would share the fourth one, leaving Melissa and Amanda to freely choose from the crew cabins.  
Takeshi sighed and added 'Get a bigger boat' to his mental to do list.  
Their goal was Los Angeles and the opening of the first orphanage specifically aimed to ghost children.  
It had taken quite a bit of string pulling, as well as liberal use of Angels developing ability to sneak into pretty much any computer-system with a network connection, firewalls and other security measures barely slowed her down anymore, but he had managed to complete the first orphanage in just under eight months.

Takeshi checked his watch again and was getting increasingly agitated, upon their arrival in LA they had been met by a coastguard vessel demanding that they detour to the customs dock to be searched for contraband and the slow work was putting Takeshi on edge.  
This evening was the grand opening, complete with a big charity event with ridiculously overpriced food, a lot of fading celebrities looking for a quick PR boost, local politicians and all rounded up with the customary ribbon-cutting that Kasumi would be taking care of together with Amber.  
The opening event started at 20:00, they had arrived in LA just before 09:00 and it was now past 15:00 and the customs officers were working painfully slow, they needed to be at location and ready in under 4 hours.  
A loud shriek interrupted his mental perusal of their itinerary, it would seem the female customs officer that was checking the girls didn't appreciate Amber's familiar, he didn't blame her though, even the smaller species of centipede was enough to give a lot of people nightmares, a well sized specimen of the giant centipede _'Scolopendra gigantea'_ growing to about 30cm could give most people nightmares.  
Amber's familiar was as long as his lower arm, from the outside of the elbow to the tip of his fingers and that was not counting the long antennae or the long tail like terminal legs, which in this case took their appearance from the _Alipes_ genus, making them look like a pair of feathers, or wings.  
Takeshi found the creature to be quite beautiful, each segment of it's body a deep black obsidian broken up by thin bands and small spots of red, yellow and orange, the legs were bright yellow with a hint of orange while the antennae and feathery terminal legs were deep red, tinged with an almost purple hue.  
Amber absolutely adored the thing and the other girls just regarded it as a familiar, it's form not important as they knew that a familiar would never hurt them.  
Amusement flashed through his aura when he watched Amber take out her exotic animal permit and the 'passport' for her familiar, all the familiars had all the proper documentation including a RFID chip.  
They could of course just play the part of a piece of jewelry but that came with its own drawbacks and the girls loved playing and chatting with their familiars, and that became a bit of a hassle if they were in the form of a bracelet.  
Takeshi watched the two female officers struggle to check and register the large insect before moving on to the twins, their relief radiating from them when their 'pets' were just pretty little birds.  
They were fine with Melissa's parrot and Amanda's moth, the pincers of Alice's and Anne's crabs had them worried again and one of them backed away slightly when it was time for Diane's lizard and when it was time for Carol and Amy their snakes caused another round of shrieks and complaints about how much they hated their job sometimes.  
The small tickle of energy against his wrist told him it was now 16:00 and the customs officers that were searching the Tiamat didn't seem to have any plans to release the vessel any time soon.  
“Okay, that's enough!”  
Takeshi stepped up to the officer in charge with a barely restrained snarl, the search was moving ridiculously slow and Takeshi had just about had it, they were either incompetent, or intentionally slow, both equally infuriating.  
The officer froze and turned on Takeshi, pulling himself straight, squaring his shoulders and trying to level the standard 'I'm in charge here!' glare on Takeshi, but as much as the man tried he was smaller, weaker, and didn't have the feel of an _alpha_ so Takeshi couldn't care less about his attempt at intimidation and dominance.  
“We don't have time to stay here all day. Quarantine her or keep searching, I don't care, but you will clear us so we can move on.”  
There was a pleased shift in the officers aura that told Takeshi that he had been waiting for that, it would seem the slow work was intentional to make them leave the Tiamat in their hands, something Takeshi did not like.  
“I wouldn't try anything, my surveillance people are **very** good. There is no part of the Tiamat that is not under surveillance.”  
Takeshi completely suffocated the officers aura with his own, pouring enough power and intent into it for even the most insensitive to feel uneasy.  
Takeshi could tell though that the officer doubted his words so he opted for little demonstration.  
“Angel, would you give me the location and status of all individuals within the Tiamat surveillance zone please.”  
He didn't bother raising his voice, he knew the sensors they had installed in the Tiamat were sensitive enough.  
“Acknowledged.”  
Angel instantly began to list the exact location of each customs officer as well as a brief report on what they were doing.  
“Everything is recorded, of course.”  
“Of course...”  
Takeshi couldn't resist a smug grin at the annoyance surging through the aura of the officer in charge.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi was once again reminded why he hated large social gatherings when one of the local politicians came over to him with his daughter in tow to _introduce_ her and Takeshi was struggling against an urge to ask what her hourly fee was.  
He was glad the twins were of with Emelie at the moment though, they had asked one of the up and coming celebrities that had been trying to hit on him if she was a hooker, and they did it with a perfectly straight face, though their auras were practically screaming in impish delight.  
While it would have given him quite a good laugh it would be a bit counterproductive to piss of the local politicians.  
Unfortunately they would need political connections to make plans for the future, to be able to make sure that the Jacaranda Estate stayed under their control, to make sure all their assets remained in their control.  
Heirs could only be faked for so long, Takeshi wasn't even sure it would work once with the way security systems was developing, and he did not want to transfer control of their assets to someone else.  
“Mr. Kiryu!”  
Takeshi struggled to suppress a deep sigh as yet another politician elbowed his way over to him and Amanda to introduce his wife and daughters and he could feel a cold anger shift through Amanda's aura when the fat old man didn't acknowledge her and instead just brushed her aside and tried to push one of his daughters to Takeshi's side.  
Luckily none of the normal guests were able to hear Takeshi's subsonic growl as the blatant disrespect toward someone he considered pack tore at his instincts, he was sure that if Amanda had actually been marked as pack he wouldn't have been able to suppress the instinct to lash out and defend her.  
As it was now though he was able to keep himself from acting out and instead just wrap his aura around Amanda to support her, to let her feel his disapproval of the situation.  
_“Easy Manda. I know he's an asshole but we are going to need a way into the politics so just hang in there, okay sweetie?”  
“It's okay, I know.”  
_ There was a long pause as they listened to the politician telling them about how amazing his daughter was, bragging about her grades and honors from her expensive school.  
Thought neither Takeshi nor Amanda considered the young woman to be particularly bright, her aura carried a distinct dullness, the colors faded and Takeshi knew from experience that it was a sign that the person was somewhat, _mentally lacking_.  
The aura of a highly intelligent person carried a sharpness that reflected the sharpness of their minds, the colors brighter. _  
“Can I please just scratch him a bit, give them a nice scare? No one will ever know what caused it...”_  
As tempted as Takeshi was to tell her to go ahead such a thing would disrupt the charity event and he needed it to be perfect.  
_“Sorry sweetie, maybe next time.”  
“Is that a promise?”  
“It's a maybe.”_  
When they were finally left alone again Amanda pressed closely into his side, seeking comfort and he could feel the last of his hesitance crumble away and he pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her forehead.  
“When we return to the island, how about you and me take one of the boats and head out on our own for a while?”  
When she looked up her eyes were wide with surprise and her question was clearly written in both her face and aura.  
He answered he unspoken question with a simple 'Yes' and a small kiss at the corner of her mouth.

Much to Takeshi's relief things went smoothly most of the evening, the only incident had been dinner.  
As usual the girls gave their familiars treats from the table, and while the creatures didn't actually need to eat they always enjoyed the treats.  
No one minded when the twins poured some juice in a bowl for their hummingbirds and most seemed amused by watching Melissa's parrot like bird say its 'Thank you' every time she gave it a piece of fruit.  
The crabs were pretty okay though the odd choice of pets did cause a few raised eyebrows even the lizards seemed okay, but Carol and Amy's snakes caused a bit of a stir when the girls offered them pieces from the plate of sashimi in front of them.  
But when Amber took a piece of the raw meat and waved it at the edge of the table and the giant centipede skittered up from under the table to enjoy it's treat the reaction was pretty strong, several of those seated nearby scrambling away from their seats.  
For a while Takeshi had been tempted to ask Amber if he could borrow it for the rest of the evening as it seemed **very** effective at keeping all the women at bay.  
Thankfully they were able to use the girls as an excuse to leave the gala early as it was set to continue well past midnight.

The day after the charity was spent relaxing at the hotel, thou Takeshi didn't get much time to relax, he had to go over all the financial data from the event.  
Thankfully Angel was a great assistant in such matters, in less time than it took him to ask the AI had composed and sent out personalized thank you letters to every single donor whose contact information was available, there would also be ads in newspapers, TV and on several major social media platforms thanking everyone for their contributions.  
It was also a great help in sorting the data and the holographic display made it much easier for him to manage it, he had been working on making a portable computer that was powerful enough to run the AI, complete with a projector and advanced sensors.  
He had worked a lot with the AI over the past few months and he found himself liking the feeling of working with the holograms surrounding him, he only wished he could find a way to make the AI able to detect his aura, and maybe make the holograms detectable by him.  
If he could just solve that he should be able to work displays without actually seeing them as long as they were within range of his aura.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

With the charity event done it was time for the girls favorite pastime, shopping, and while they had a blast Takeshi and Knight were slightly less amused.  
_“Lets just face it, females are insane.”_  
The transmitted thought carried a clear humor along with what could only be a head-shake.  
_“Indeed they are Logan, just never let them hear you say that.”  
“I like having all my parts attached, thank you very much.”_  
“Uncle Logan!”  
The silent conversation was interrupted by Julia who ran over to Knight to show him the small sword charm she had bought from from one of the stalls along the street.  
“Look! It looks just like yours.”  
Knight turned the charm over in his hand and he had to admit it did look very much like his sword, only the demonic runes were missing.  
“It does, a nice find.”  
Knight quickly helped her secure the charm to the bracelet she was wearing.  
“Okay girls, gather up. Time for lunch.”  
There were some mixed responded but they did gather up and a few minutes later they had picked a nearby restaurant that promised an 'All you can eat' buffet.  
An hour, and quite a few crooked looks later they headed to one of the local parks to relax for a bit before returning to shopping.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Tag, you're it!”  
Takeshi flexed his claws slightly as he expanded his senses to pick up the girls running around the small copse of trees to pick up his target, the retreating laughter told him that Amy, who had tagged him, was running of to his right.  
He carefully made sure the blindfold was secure before moving toward Diane who he could hear trying to muffle her laughter close by to his left.  
The girls had insisted he wear a blindfold and headphones with music to make it 'fair' and he didn't mind, it was good practice both for him and the girls, the music was only loud enough to cover up soft footsteps so as long as the girls were quiet he wouldn't hear them over it.  
But together with the blindfold it was enough to force him to rely mainly on scent to search them out, he had intentionally pulled in his aura so it wouldn't alert him to where they were.  
There were some loud laughing and teasing calls behind him, no doubt intended to cover up the sound of Diane's footsteps as she tried to run away from him, the girls were obviously banding together to try to win.

Just as he reached out to tag Diane as she ran by him he felt a flicker of alarm flash through his aura and a split second later his chest exploded with pain and all his senses screamed **'Danger!'** and he felt his strength fading and it was only with iron focus he was able to remain standing.  
He was trying to raise his hand to pull away the blindfold when an inhuman shriek of agony tore through his mind followed by a sound like shattering glass, at the same time he felt a bond shatter and vanish and with it Diane's aura vanished from his senses.  
His body was refusing to move and his aura and power wasn't responding and he slowly realized that the pain he felt was a sniper round tearing through his heart and his power was refusing his control in favor of healing the damage.  
He felt Emelie coming into range of what little aura he was able to expand and she stopped by Diane's body and there was a sharp shift in her aura before she stepped closer to him, but she didn't reach for him, instead she seemed to completely vanish, her aura, her scent, gone and the bond told him she was roughly two kilometer away.  
He tried to move again when he heard startled cries as the girls were slowly realizing that something bad had happened but his body refused to obey him, still entirely focused on healing.  
Then Knight was by his side, steadying him and pulling the blindfold away while moving him toward the nearby tree while calling out to the girls to hide among the trees.  
_“Alpha, hang in there! Focus on healing.”_  
Takeshi was grateful that Knight didn't try to set him on the ground and instead leaned him against the tree, he could feel the girls fear and seeing him go down would only make that worse.  
Instead he focused on his bond with Emelie to try and reach her, but even that power eluded him, but it seemed Knight could feel what he was trying.  
_“She is fine, this confirms her father's identity, she has inherited her grandfather's powers as well. She just shadow-traveled to find the attacker.”_  
There was an echo of rage and a howl of fury that Takeshi knew well, the call of a failed hunt and a moment later an explosion echoed from the location but before Takeshi had time to worry Emelie was suddenly there at his side holding an AWM sniper rifle and a remote firing mechanism.  
She instantly dropped the items and turned to Takeshi to check on his wound but he could tell she wouldn't find anything as his powers were returning to his control and the pain fading away as his heart began beating again.  
_“What the hell happened?”_  
Emelie was near frantic with worry but slowly settled down when she saw the wound close up completely and fade away.  
_“A sniper, the round went straight through Takeshi and hit Diane. The hit was instantly fatal, she didn't have time to feel any pain.”_  
Knight quickly explained while trying to soothe her, and allowing Takeshi time to gather himself.  
_“The remote firing mechanism, that's why I couldn't feel any threat. The shooter is too far away for me to be able to sense their intent, their desire to kill. There was no warning.”_  
For a moment none of them spoke, instead they were focused on the pack bonds, reinforcing, making sure they held true, letting everyone feel that Takeshi was okay and Takeshi also sent a soothing reassurance through the bond with Dan to let him know he was okay.  
Kasumi's aura brushed against Takeshi's to make sure he was fine as she took one of the blankets they had been sitting on and carefully wrapped Diane's body with it.  
“Takeshi, we need to leave unless you want the police to take her body away.”  
There was no way he would allow that, she would be buried in the sanctuary, and they would track down the one behind her death.  
Takeshi knew they needed to move before the shock set in, he was concerned though that it might not be so easy to get the Tiamat out of customs, especially without registering all passengers for the return trip and he told the others as much.  
“My steed can bring us to the island if Em helps carry a few through the shadows. It would still take two trips though so I suggest we move the youngest, the unblessed first.”  
“Em, do feel up to it?”  
She just nodded and called the twins to her side, carefully soothing them while they watched Knight call his steed before walking over to Kasumi and taking Diane's wrapped body from her arms.  
Meanwhile Jenna had jumped up on the steed and was helping Julia and Anne up and had them sit in front of her.  
“Logan, how much weight can your steed carry?”  
“He easily carries me in full armor, so no need to worry about that, he will carry as many as you can fit.”  
She just nodded before reaching down to help Alice up behind her.  
“Hold onto me tightly.”  
Knight carefully kneeled down to let Amber climb up on his back and as he stood up he shifted Diane's body so he could take hold of the reins before looking at Takeshi.  
“Go on, Em will take the twins while Sumi and I will stay with the rest.”  
Knight nodded and with a wash of power Emelie vanished with the twins and Knight faded into to the mist with his steed and their precious cargo.  
“Girls, come here.”  
There was a group of guards as well as a police officer approaching and Takeshi didn't want to take any chances .  
“Lissa, Manda. I want you to get ready to shift and run, fly if you have to, just get out of here as fast as you can. Sumi and I will protect Carol and Amy.”  
Takeshi was unsure how long it would take for Knight and Emelie to return and he would prefer not having to break out of lock-up.  
Much to his relief he felt the wash of power just moments later and Knight instantly picked up Amy while Takeshi helped the other girls mount.  
“Sumi-chan, take my hand. I need to touch you for this to work.”  
Emelie quickly grabbed Takeshi's hand and reached out for Kasumi and the moment she had her hand as well the world around them vanished and they re-appeared in the shade of a few palm-trees on the beach by the lagoon.

Takeshi instantly looked around for the others and spotted Jenna and Eriko trying to keep the other girls calm and he could feel Dan and Matthews coming closer.  
There was a short spike of concern when he couldn't see Knight and the rest of the girls but Emelie quickly explained that her method of travel apparently was faster than Knight's steed, especially when it was carrying inexperienced riders.  
They didn't have to wait long though before the telltale fog rolled in and Knight appeared alongside his steed and their passengers and they helped the girls down before Takeshi walked over to Diane's body and carefully picked her up.  
“Alpha, would you allow me to carry her back to the house?”  
Takeshi just nodded, knowing exactly what Knight was asking and why, the twins were distraught and he was the only one who could calm them, and that would be impossible as long as he was carrying Diane.  
There was a wash of power as Knight called forth his armor before getting seated in the saddle and he carefully took Diane from Takeshi's arms and placed her in his lap.

The walk back to the house was silent, only disrupted by sobs and hushed words of comfort as the girls were slowly realizing just what had happened, slowly understanding that Diane was really gone.  
When they reached the house Takeshi took Diane's body from Knight while he got off his steed and once he was down Takeshi placed her back in his arms.  
They took her to her room and carefully cleaned the blood from her body and Eriko used her magic to hide the damage the bullet had done to Diane's face before dressing her in clean clothes and placing her in her bed.  
Takeshi used the Sanctuary crystals to place a stasis field around her while Eriko placed a circle of small flames of fox-fire around the bed, a traditional way for Kitsune to honor their dead.  
Takeshi watched as Knight removed a small dagger from his armor and placed it over Diane's chest before placing her hands over the handle and carefully wrapping the blanket from her bed around her to keep her arms from falling to her sides.  
“We will bury her in the Sanctuary tomorrow, but for now we focus on the other girls.”  
Takeshi wanted to howl his pain, to rage and snarl, to hunt down the ones behind it, but he knew he had to keep his calm, he had to focus on the living, on helping them through it.  
Once that was done he could allow himself to grieve, but not before.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The moment Takeshi stepped into the inner garden where the others had gathered the twins left Emelie's side and ran over to him and their auras carried a frantic determination.  
“Daddy, would Diane have been okay if she was like you, Lissa and Manda?”  
He was not prepared for that question and and he found himself silently considering it.  
“I don't know. Maybe she would have, maybe not. But it could have at least given her a chance.”  
“We want you to change us.”  
The moment they asked if it could have saved Diane he knew they would ask it of him.  
“You are so young, I don't know how it would affect you, your growth. If it would prevent you from developing abilities of your own.”  
“We don't care! We can feel you hurt because of Diane and we don't want you to hurt because of us.”  
_**“It would do them no harm. They might grow up a bit slower as their growth will no longer be governed by age, but maturity. They will grow when they feel ready to.”**_  
The voice of the Mother carried through the twins familiars.  
_“And if they are destined to have powers of their own, would the change or undo that?”  
__**“No, you would change their bodies, not their souls. If they are to have powers they will, maybe a bit later than they would have otherwise, but they will all the same.”**_ _  
“They are still very young. And it will hurt.”  
__**“Don't worry, it won't harm them. I can feel their souls through these Children of the Sanctuary and through them I will carry any pain they might feel. But their youth is a good thing, they are still growing so their bodies will be more accepting of change. They might not feel any pain at all.”**_  
Takeshi sighed and turned to the twins  
“It will hurt, are you sure you want to go through that?”  
He looked them in turn and they both nodded and spoke as one.  
“Yes.”  
“Then come.”  
He paused for a moment to let Emelie know what he was about to do and she just nodded and turned her focus on the other girls, weaving her power to soothe their fear.  
Takeshi brought the twins to the hidden garden and sat down in the large pile of pillows.  
“Maria, you are the elder, so you go first. Come here please.”  
He indicated for her to sit in his lap and when he pulled her dress down from her right shoulder she instantly turned her head in total submission and he pulled her tightly against his chest and when he felt a flicker of the Mother's power through her familiar he bit down.  
The effect was almost instant and in a matter of seconds he could withdraw his fangs and carefully lay Maria at his side where she instantly fell asleep and he quickly motioned for Sarah to take her place and the entire procedure was repeated and once again is was over in a matter of moments.  
He watched over them as they slept side by side and after a few minutes they began to change, the two young girls being replaced by a pair of black wolf pups appearing to be about 3 months old and he had no doubt they would have his red eyes once they woke up.  
Takeshi carefully reached out for the familiars asking them to relay his words to the Mother.  
_“Can I bring them to the others or will they need time to adjust?”  
__**“They will not need any extra time to adjust, but they do need to rest so if you bring them to the others make sure they do not rouse them from their sleep.”**_  
The others were tired and subdued so he was sure they would not wake the twins so he carefully picked up the sleeping pups and re-joined the others.  
“They are adorable...”  
The other girls were quiet but they couldn't resist taking a closer look at the twins new forms and Takeshi had to tell them to be quiet so they didn't wake them.

When they roused from their sleep a few hours later the twins instantly began sniffing around, exploring all the new sensation, the scents and sounds of the inner garden.  
“Come here girls.”  
True to their pup form they came running and stumbling toward him and immediately went for the face and a shower of puppy-kisses.  
“Okay, that enough. How about you return to your human forms?”  
_“Do we have to?”  
“There's so much to explore like this, all the smells and the sounds.”  
_ He noticed that they were not using their familiars to speak to him, a very good sign. _  
_ “I know. But I want to make sure everything is okay first. Then you can go back to being rambunctious pups for a while longer.”  
_“Okay.”  
“How do we change?”_  
“Just think about how you looked as humans and concentrate on that image.”  
_“Okay!”_  
Takeshi wasn't the least bit surprised when they almost instantly shimmered and grew into their human forms.  
“Now let me have a look at you. Let's see your hands.”  
Takeshi carefully turned their hands over to take a look at their nails and found razor sharp claws instead.  
“Okay. I want you to focus on your nails and try to make them look like regular nails. These are really sharp and you could accidentally hurt someone or ruin your clothes.”  
“But yours are sharp...”  
“I know, but I have had many years of practice. In the beginning I shredded my clothes, my bedding and cut myself all the time.”  
The objection that followed was instantly silenced with a gentle growl and soon the twins held up their hand to show him their nails.  
They still had the black metallic look but their shape were regular human nails.  
“Let's check those toes as well.”  
He was quickly offered a pair of feet and the nails were clawed, but they weren't sharp so he gave them a little tickle which earned him laughs and shrieks as they pulled away.  
Their teeth were sharp but they only had a single set of fangs, though since they didn't have all their permanent teeth that might change, much like how the wisdom teeth didn't come in until a person was around 17-21 years old.  
The eyes while in their human form had taken on the same corona like look as his own but the color was different.  
He had always suspected they had total heterochromia, but the difference between the eyes was so slight that he could never be sure if it really was heterochromia and not just a trick of the light, but now it was very obvious.  
Their previous eye-color had been a rich brown with a well defined black limbal ring with a slight difference in hue between the left and right eye, now they had one golden amber eye and one emerald green eye, both had the flame like shifting color as his own.  
The black limbal ring was still there and the black ring seeped into the color of the iris making the color seem even more vivid, but what had Takeshi the most amazed was the difference between the twins.  
“Guess you girls won't be tricking anyone into mixing you up anymore. At least not unless you learn to change your eye-color.”  
“How come?”  
“Your eye-color has changed. One beautiful golden amber and one brilliant emerald green.”  
“We can see that...”  
“I know, but you can't see this.”  
He leaned closer to them and tapped the corner of Maria's right eye and Sarah's left eye.  
“Gold.”  
Then he tapped Maria's left and Sarah's right eye.  
“Emerald.”  
The revelation instantly had them turn to each other to confirm what he was saying and that was quickly followed by some disappointed muttering, the did enjoy being able to trick others into mixing them up.  
“Don't worry, I'm sure you will learn to change your eye-color in no time at all. Now let's see if you can turn back into your beast form.”  
He had barely said the words before he had a pair of pups in his lap and he did a quick inspection, he suspected they would look exactly like his own wolf form once they grew up, a more slender build and probably a bit smaller, but the same deep black fur.  
With his inspection done he took his own wolf form and gave a shot bark, inviting them to play.  
_**“Ours!”**_  
The wave of possessive pride from the Beast was almost overpowering and Takeshi only resisted long enough to caution the beast not to claim them as pack before letting up on the control.  
The Beast quickly rounded up the twins and gently pushed them over on their back and they quickly relaxed into a submissive pose but when he pushed his nose into their bellies and sniffed they batted at his snout with a playful growl.  
_**“Strong, healthy pups. A pride for any pack.”**_  
With a gentle growl the Beast retreated to its usual place in the back of Takeshi's mind.  
He played with the twins for a while longer before telling them to shift back and try to get some sleep.  
He would however keep a close eye on them while they slept, so far they hadn't shown any strong reactions to Diane's death but the reaction might just have been delayed by the distraction of the change and there might be nightmares.  
They joined the other girls among the pillows and they quickly settled down, still tired from the events and the change.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The other girls were distraught but Amanda had been using her siren song to keep them calm and the younger girls were sleeping.  
Over the months since her change she had learned a lot about her new abilities and she had fully embraced her new instincts and that was probably why she was so calm now.  
He could feel it himself, his instincts telling him that now was not the time to grieve, take care of the body of the fallen, see to the safety of those who still lived, claim retribution and once all that was done there would be time to grieve.  
“Take?”  
Dan's voice was hesitant as he approached and Takeshi just shifted slightly to make room for him to join them.  
“Come here.”  
Takeshi could feel that Dan was struggling to maintain a calm appearance but it wasn't Diane's death that had him so upset, it was the fact that Takeshi had been injured, an injury that would have killed a mortal.  
“It's okay, I'm fine. And now we know I can survive a bullet through the heart.”  
“I would have preferred to never find that out. Feeling your pain over the bond, feeling it waver and not knowing what was going on. I hate that!”  
Dan's aura was flaring wildly and it was beginning to disturb the girls so Takeshi wrapped his own around it, compressing it, forcing it to bend beneath his own.  
“Dan, enough! You are disturbing the girls.”  
But it was having little effect, Dan was far too lost in his own fears, pulling frantically on the bond trying to strengthen it.  
_**“He won't hear us. There is only one way we can solve this.”**_  
Takeshi didn't need the Beast telling him what he had to do.  
_“I know, dammit.”_  
_**“He obviously not only desires the bond, but needs it and you did give your word you would not hesitate when it was time.”**_  
Takeshi cursed internally, the Beast was right, the time had come to claim Dan as pack, only by fully forming the bond would he be able to calm Dan down.  
“I'm sorry.”  
Takeshi murmured as he pulled Dan's clothes aside, baring the left shoulder before pulling up his aura, releasing as much of it as he could and bit down.  
There were no need for words, the moment Takeshi's aura began to flow through the bite Dan instantly submitted completely and the relief that flowed through his aura was near overwhelming though Takeshi was slightly surprised that he could detect no pain from Dan.  
_**“He is not resisting us at all while Logan fought us. While he accepted becoming pack his own dominant nature refused to submit without a fight. That's why it was so painful for him.”**_  
The Beasts words made sense so Takeshi just focused on flooding Dan's aura with his own to fully claim him.  
_“Pack.”  
_ Takeshi wrapped the single thought around Dan, allowing it to carry everything that was pack, every feeling along with acceptance and dominance. _  
“Alpha.”  
_ Dan echoed back at him, accompanied by a strong feeling of gratitude, acceptance and total submission.  
Withdrawing his fangs Takeshi quickly made a small cut between the marks left by his fangs before reaching back and pulling loose one of the scales from his back and pushing it under Dan's skin.  
There was a slight groan of pain as he did but it quickly faded and a few moments later Dan collapsed against his shoulder, exhaustion heavy in his aura as Takeshi gently manipulated the scale to fuse with the pack mark.  
“Logan, do what you must.”  
Knight just nodded and picked up the barely awake Dan and pushed his aura against him.  
“I know you are tired, but this needs to be done as soon as possible. The bonds of pack needs to be set.”  
Takeshi tried to sooth Dan who was squirming slightly under the assault of Knight's aura.  
It only took a few moments before Dan submitted to Knight, though not as fully as he did to Takeshi, it was obvious he considered Knight more of an equal and only submitted because Takeshi had chosen him as _beta_.  
Emelie was quite a bit gentler, but nearly as dominant as Takeshi and Dan quickly submitted to her almost as fully as he did to Takeshi before collapsing as the pack bonds were fully formed.  
“Logan, look after him while he sleeps. I need to talk to Em about what happened, and I need to have a few words with Manda as well.”  
He had promised Amanda that he would take her on a short trip, but in light of the days events the fulfillment of that promise had to be delayed a bit.

“Em, how do you feel?”  
Takeshi pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her.  
“Under the circumstances I think I'm doing okay.”  
He knew she was handling Diane's death well, it came with the demonic instincts, a fundamentally different view on death, always prioritizing the living and grief was something slow, something gradual that came after securing those that remained.  
“That's not what I meant. You used shadow powers today, and some pretty high level ones too according to my Beast.”  
“I guess I inherited my grandfather's abilities as well. I don't know what happened though. I could feel your pain, the cry from Diane's familiar, the sudden awareness that she was gone. And then suddenly I just knew...”  
Emelie took a deep breath before continuing.  
“I knew that if I stepped into your shadow, any shadow, I would be able to go to the location where the shot was fired from. But there was no one there, only the rifle, that contraption and a bomb so I ripped the bomb away while I stepped back into the shadows. Somehow I knew it wouldn't hurt me while I was in the shadow.”  
_**“Shadow instincts are strong. And she a granddaughter of the first. She may one day become an Avatar of Shadow as he is The Avatar of Shadow.”**_  
The Beast decided to offer a bit of insight, it was after all a shadow itself.  
“And your energy? You didn't drain yourself too much?”  
“It was taxing, but I will be fine for a few more days. We need to focus on the girls, get them through this. _And then we hunt.”_  
There was a harsh determination in Emelie's words and the last bit was not spoken, but transmitted over the pack bond.  
_**“And then we hunt.”**_  
The rest of the pack echoed back at her.  
Takeshi gave them all a reassuring brush of his aura before leaving the pile of pillows to go talk to Amanda.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Shadow Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Amanda let out a small squeak when Takeshi walked up to her and simply picked her up from the couch before sitting down and placing her in his lap.  
“Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, just really drained from using my song so much. Nothing a proper meal and some rest won't fix.”  
Takeshi didn't say anything, he just shifted his hold on her slightly and raised his left arm to her mouth and she instantly grabbed it and sunk her fangs into his wrist, gratitude and a slowly fading hunger flowing through her aura.  
_“It feels strange. I know I should be more upset by this but all I can think of is taking care of the other girls, of planning revenge...”  
_ “Don't worry. That's a perfectly normal demonic reaction.”  
_“But, we aren't demons. Not like Em and Eriko.”_  
“We aren't human either, we are more like Logan, something in between. With that comes instincts that are _other_. One of those things is how we react to death. Our first instinct is to protect those that still live. Our second instinct is to eliminate the threat, to avenge the dead. And only when that is done do we grieve.”  
Takeshi leaned in and gave the exposed neck a gentle nip.  
“May I?”  
He knew she would give him permission but he asked anyway.  
_“Yes...”_  
There was an quiver in her tone, one of excited anticipation and he could feel the same quiver run through her body and aura when he sank his fangs in and took a few drops of her blood.  
It was the fastest, easiest way to determine her condition to make sure Amanda hadn't overexerted herself and he quickly determined she was tired, but in excellent condition.  
There was a slight flicker of disappointment when he withdrew his fangs but it quickly faded when he pulled her closer against his chest while he waited for her to sate her hunger.  
“Feeling better?”  
Amanda just nodded and curled into his chest.  
“We need to talk about what I told you during the charity event.”  
He could feel the instant flicker of disappointment as she obviously read more into his words than he intended.  
“So our little trip is canceled. I suspected as much.”  
“Not canceled, just postponed. Though, you might want to cancel it once you hear what I have to say.”  
“Why would I?”  
There was a slight teasing hint under her confusion.  
“If we do this. If I go all the way with you, I will not be able to resist marking you as pack.”  
He knew that even restraining himself to only claiming her as pack would take quite a bit of control, especially since they had found that she was able to place a mating claim herself after she accidentally put a courting mark on him while feeding on his blood.  
“And why would that make me change my mind? Sounds like one hell of a bonus to me.”  
“Maybe, but I know you still long for the sea, long for the magic of Atlantis. Once we go there you might want to stay, and that will be hard if you are pack. It can be rather unsettling to be separated from your alpha, especially if you are alone.”  
“What about Dan, won't he have to suffer that when you go out to hunt the ones behind Diane's death? Or do you intend to bring him along as well?”  
“It's a bit different in his case. When I healed his eyes I inadvertently gave him him a little bit too much of my blood and together with his feelings that formed a bond very similar to a pack bond.”  
Takeshi explained about the one way bond that had been formed and how Dan had suffered the isolation, the loss of the bond that had been powered by Takeshi's aura and the restoration and completion of that bond.  
During that time Dan had adapted well to the isolation and Takeshi was sure he would manage just fine away from the pack, his nature was that of a loner, a scout.  
Amanda froze for a brief moment when Takeshi stood up without moving her from his lap but she quickly put her arms around him as he carried her back to where his pack was resting under the watchful eye of Knight.  
Dan and the twins were sound asleep and Emelie was meditating, reaching out to all the familiars to reinforce the nightmare power she had infused them with when they were turned into familiars, making sure that they would be able to keep any nightmares at bay.  
“Em, time to get some sleep. We will have a long day tomorrow.”  
A quick look at Knight was answered with a nod, letting Takeshi know that Knight would keep watch so that the others could get some sleep.

 


	58. A farewell

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Farewell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

It was still dark outside when Takeshi woke up and other than Knight everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly.  
“What now, Take?”  
“We bury her, and then we hunt down the ones behind her death. The weapon should give us an idea where to search.”  
“And if we find them?”  
“We ask them a few questions, then we kill them.”  
There was no hint of hesitation in Takeshi's voice, only cold determination, if he ever found the ones behind that shot they would all die.  
“Like a true demon.”  
Knight didn't say any more, he just curled himself along Dan's back while making sure he didn't jostle him, or the twins who were curled up between Dan and Emelie.  
Takeshi smiled at the sight of the pile of sleeping bodies, in their sleep the twins transformation had shifted slightly and they both had a big puffy tail draped across their hip and snuggled into their arms.  
Amanda unavoidably woke when Takeshi got up from the pile of pillows and he tried to soothe her back to sleep but she turned around and got up instead.  
“It's okay, I've slept enough.”  
“Feel like giving me a hand with tracking down the bastards that did this?”  
Takeshi suspected that Amanda's instincts were pulling at her much the same way his own was pulling at him.  
“I don't know how much help I would be though...”  
“Don't worry, Angel will do most of the work. We will just assess the data she digs up.”  
“So, company and tea?”  
Amanda's voice was teasing and more than a little suggestive.  
“Company and tea.”  
Takeshi agreed with a smirk and a quick nip to her neck before reaching out and brushing his aura against Eriko's, asking her to keep watch over his pack while they slept.

They started with the kitchen to prepare _wagashi_ for the tea as well as a pair of large trays piled high with sashimi and other treats.  
“No vegetables?”  
Amanda was still having some issues with her new dietary needs but she was slowly adapting.  
“Don't worry there will be.”  
Nori and gari was quickly added to the cart along with a selection of vegetables and some steamed rice before Takeshi brought out his personal little treasure, a small wasabi rhizome that he had been growing in a cavern behind the waterfall.  
Most of the time he just used the colored horseradish and mustard mixture that most places used, though a high quality one, he rarely bothered with real wasabi since the expensive rhizome was notoriously hard to store.  
But with the stasis field generated by the Sanctuary crystals that had changed so it was finally worth it to acquire the real deal.  
He had decided to buy a few small plants and put in the effort of growing them himself, and again he was making good use of the unique qualities of the Sanctuary crystals to create the perfect growing conditions and now he finally had a rhizome that was ready to be harvested.  
The crystal box he had made for storing the wasabi had a piece of sharkskin secured to the inside of the lid for grating the pungent green rhizome and Takeshi opened it to make sure everything was as it should be.  
“Can I taste some of that to?”  
Amanda had been curious about the wasabi ever since had started growing it and now she was watching him very carefully as he cut away the stems and leaves, they would also be prepared and eaten fresh while the rhizome would be stored in the crystal box to keep it fresh.  
Takeshi quickly cut one of the leaves into trips and cut a pair of otoro slices and made two nigiri sushi, but instead of adding wasabi paste between the tuna and the rice he wrapped it in a strip of wasabi leaf and handed one of them to Amanda.  
“Wow, this is really good!”  
Before Takeshi had a chance to stop her she had snatched the other piece as well and it instantly vanished.  
“Oi! That's mine!”  
Takeshi cried out in mock outrage.  
“You snooze you loose!”  
Luckily there was plenty left for both of them and he quickly began forming a new one for himself.  
Amanda sauntered up to him with a teasing smile and tried to steal the freshly made one but Takeshi quickly stuffed it into his mouth before she had a chance to reach it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Farewell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Welcome back Take, Manda. ”  
The AI greeted them in a swirl of light that settled into the familiar galaxy display the moment they stepped into Takeshi's study and Takeshi noticed it wasn't the usual image of the Milky way, in fact the 10 armed spiral galaxy didn't look like any galaxy he knew of.  
It wasn't the first time Angel played around with the display though so he just ignored it in favor of returning the greeting.  
“Thank you Angel.”  
They spoke about everything and nothing as they made quick work of the food they had prepared before moving on to the more serious matters.  
“Angel, what is the status of the Tiamat?”  
“Customs have completed their search and she has been moved to an outside dock. She is cleared but the mooring is locked.”  
“Can you get her out of there?”  
“I can if you don't mind having to replace the port side mooring lines.”  
The hologram flickered to life and displayed an image of the Tiamat and after a few seconds it focused on where the mooring lines were attached to the dock and to the loop at the end of each line that was secured into what looked like a cross between a cleat bollard and a carabiner, each locked with heavy duty locks.  
The image refocused on the Tiamat and followed the lines to where they left the hull and then the hull cut away to give a view of the rollers and showed them unroll all line and the lock on the roller opening and allowing the mooring line to detach.  
“Go ahead then Angel.”  
Takeshi was glad the manufacturing of the kumo-silk mooring lines hadn't started yet, they would be rather inconvenient to have to replace.  
He had told the marine tech to not begin construction until they had enough kumo-silk to make all of the lines at once and it seemed the shortage of material turned out to be a stroke of good fortune.  
“Angel, would you make designs for modified mooring lines please. Ones that would allow you to open and close the loop remotely to prevent things like this from happening again. And inform our marine tech to stand by with production until we send them the updated designs.”  
“Of course.”  
Takeshi picked up the rifle and the remote firing mechanism from the floor and placed it on his desk.  
“Angel, what can you tell me about this equipment?”  
There was a moment of silence and then the projection of the galaxy move over his desk and unfurled as if reaching out to touch the items, something that was, as of yet at least, impossible.  
It wasn't entirely for show though, focusing the light from the emitters on an item allowed Angel's sensors to get a better reading.  
“Accuracy International Arctic Warfare. Customized, no serial number or other identifiers. I'm unable to trace its origin. The ammunition is also custom, small scale manufacturing, possibly non automated.”  
Takeshi had a feeling the rifle wouldn't give them anything and he just nodded to Angel's confirmation and watched as the light of her projection shifted to the remote firing mechanism instead.  
“The remote firing mechanism is entirely custom, but there are several traceable parts. The transmitter and receiver both run on restricted frequencies. There are traces of nano-thermite, magnesium and a chemical ignition source on the entire mechanism.”  
“There was a remote detonated explosive attached to it, Em managed to neutralize it when she shadow-traveled. No doubt intended to make sure the traceable components were destroyed.”  
“Permission to access the global network?”  
Takeshi had instructed Angel not to access the global network without asking first.  
“Go ahead, find the ones behind Diane's death.”  
Takeshi's voice carried a distinct growl that didn't fade until he felt Amanda's hands on his shoulders.  
“Save your anger for when you have your claws around their necks.”  
Takeshi leaned back against her hands and focused on suppressing the growl and and the instincts that were telling him to hunt, to kill.

Nearly an hour had passed when Angel's projection stopped its lazy spinning and she spoke up.  
“I have traced the origin of the components, they all trace back to various subsidiaries of the Mandrake Group.”  
Takeshi's snarl was quickly suppressed, but not before Amanda picked up on his reaction.  
“What is the Mandrake Group?”  
“It's a group of companies focused on the development and construction of security solutions and next-gen weapons with both private and government contracts.”  
“Lemme guess, taking down the GCTI hit their bottom line pretty hard?”  
“They were on the verge of bankruptcy, the only thing that saved them was massive subsidies from the military budget to secure the continued development and maintenance of several weapons systems.”  
“So a bunch of pretty influential people lost a lot of money so the decide to try to kill you, and killed Diane instead...”  
There was a hiss and a slight infrasound in her voice that showed her anger.  
“They didn't just lose money, they lost face. A company that profiles themselves as being the best private security money can buy backing a corrupt organization. That means that either they were knowingly aiding the GCTI, or they are not as good at vetting potential clients as they claim to be.”  
A few so called secure computers later Angel displayed set of documents showing that the Mandrake Group would be tied up in court for many years to come as several big clients wanted out of their contracts.  
“Angel, look into the data and make an estimate of how much those involved would stand to lose if they lose in court. And look for any outside sources that stand to lose big if Mandrake loses the contracts.”  
Takeshi could feel a slight flickering in the bond with the twins telling him they would wake up soon.  
“Manda, it's time to head back to the others. The twins will wake up soon and I need to be there when they do. And the others won't sleep for much longer either.”  
They quickly gathered the empty plates and put them on the cart.  
“I will be back later for that report.”  
“Of course. Have a good day Take, Manda.”  
“You too Angel.”  
Takeshi found it rather amusing, the AI was a stickler for manners and if he acted rudely she would sulk and refuse to do what he wanted her to and more than once she had been able to slightly overload the circuits in her mainframe to give him quite a nasty a chock, much to the twins amusement.  
The AI could cause him quite a bit of pain when she was in a bad mood, the restriction in her base code only restricted her from actually harming him but she was able to skid around that by being aware that he would be able to heal any damage the current caused.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Farewell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

They returned to the inner garden in the nick of time as Takeshi had barely reached the pile of pillows that held his resting pack when he felt awareness seep into the bond with the twins, telling him they were awake.  
“Daddy!”  
The twin projectiles hit him with a lot more force than before as their enhanced bodies were stronger and faster than they had been when they were human, he would have to work a lot with that.  
“Easy girls. Remember, you are a lot stronger now than you were before. You could easily hurt someone if you're not careful.”  
His words were accompanied by a low rumbling growl and the twins instantly tucked their heads before tilting them to the side with a low whine.  
“Sorry...”  
“It's okay. It's all new, but we need to work on that so you don't hurt someone by mistake.”  
The twins looked rather subdued by the light scolding, but they quickly forgot about it when they noticed that they had grown tails during the night and soon they were chasing each-others tails.  
“They seem more at ease somehow.”  
Amanda leaned into Takeshi's side as they watched the twins run around and practice their new abilities.  
“They are. They have always feared being abandoned, but with the blessing they have a better feel for the bonds between us.”  
“I think they feared abandoning you as much as they feared being abandoned, if not more.”  
Takeshi didn't answer her, instead he reached out and gave Emelie's aura a slight nudge to wake her up, it was time to prepare for the day ahead of them.

It was nearly noon before everyone was awake and had eaten and they had once again gathered in the inner garden.  
“It's time to put Diane's body to rest, she will be brought to the Sanctuary where she will be laid to rest under the Soul-tree.”  
The others just nodded and murmured their agreement with quiet voices.  
He would have preferred to give them more time to come to terms with what had happened, but he was unsure how long Diane's spirit would be able to cling on to her body and he did not want to lose it.  
The residents of the estate were subdued and the auras carried a sharp undercurrent of pain as they gathered outside the house and waited for Takeshi and Eriko to bring Diane's body out.  
Takeshi removed the crystals to take down the stasis field and once it was done Eriko's powers flared and formed a flickering green cloud that lifted Diane from the bed and carried her outside.  
Once outside she was carefully lowered onto the travois that had been attached to the demon steed's tack and the cloud of fox-fire shifted into thin ropes that secured her to the contraption.  
Eriko gave Takeshi a nod when Diane's body was secured and he stepped up to Knight and gave him a slight nudge before taking the lead with the twins, slowly leading them to the Sanctuary.  
When they arrived Eriko dispelled her foxfire to allow Emelie to pick up Diane's body and with a flicker of power Emelie stepped through the shadows to bring her into the small tunnel that connected the Sanctuary with the winding path from the surface.  
When Takeshi joined her she handed Diane over to him and waited for the others to join them.  
When everyone was there Emelie walked at Takeshi's side as he carried the body of the young girl to the small pool and carefully placed her on the soft silk futon that Eriko had placed there during the night.

While Takeshi began to remove the simple pajamas they had dressed Diane in Amanda stepped up to the water and removed her simple kimono, slipping into the water and shifting her body into her mermaid form she began to sing a gentle, soothing melody.  
When Diane's body was undressed Takeshi carefully lowered it into the crystal clear water where Amanda gently washed her, never pausing her song, before giving her back to Takeshi.  
Eriko stepped up to them and used her foxfire to dry Diane's body and hair before Takeshi carefully placed her back on the futon where a pristine white kimono was spread out.  
Eriko helped Takeshi dress her in the soft white silk and he could feel Amanda's questioning aura when he wrapped the kimono right-over-left instead of left-over-right, he would explain that after the funeral was completed.  
With the kimono in place Takeshi picked up the small dagger that Knight had gifted to her and placed it in Diane's hands before entwining the fingers and securing it with a braid made from his hair.  
Attached to the braid was a set of his gold rounds, it wasn't the traditional six coins for passing the Sanzu River, but the meaning was the same.  
Once Diane was properly dressed Eriko renewed the illusion that hid the damage the bullet had done to Diane's face as well as the pallor of death and Takeshi nodded to the others that they could say their farewells.  
When Melissa approached she gave Takeshi the small leather drawstring bag that she used to carry the crystal seeds that her familiar favored, but it now contained the dust that remained after Diane's familiar had shattered with her death.  
She had taken the time to carefully gather what she could and Takeshi nodded for her to place the pouch under the obi of the white kimono.  
Takeshi gave Eriko a short nod to tell her they were ready and she began to weave her fox-fire into the futon and lifted it and it's precious passenger into the air at Takeshi's side as they slowly walked to the entrance of the annex that housed the Soul-tree.

Takeshi paused at the entrance and allowed his aura to unfurl and flow freely before speaking for the first time since he stepped into Diane's room to prepare her for burial.  
“Avatar of Life! We seek your blessing to lay the lastremnant of the life that was Diane Brown to her final rest beneath the Soul-tree. We ask that her spirit may join yours and her mortal shell nourish yours.”  
The words were ritual and Takeshi had already spoken to the Mother and asked permission to bury Diane in the Sanctuary and the Mother had granted it, telling him that he need not ask, anyone he considered worthy would be accepted in their final rest.  
_**“Enter my Chosen. Lay the mortal shell of my fallen child among my roots.”**_  
The bell like voice responded instantly and as it did the grass, moss and roots pulled away to reveal a shallow grave, just large enough to fit Diane's body.  
Eriko carefully guided her fox-fire to place the body within the grave and when the roots and grass began covering it Takeshi heard a low keening cry from the twins that grew in strength before morphing into a true howl as they shifted into their wolf forms and he allowed the shift to overtake him as well before adding his own voice to the primal song.  
Once the grave was fully covered the shimmering image of Diane's spirit appeared above it, just as had happened with his unit.  
_**“Come, enter and say your last farewell to your fallen friend.”**_  
The Mother's voice invited the others to approach the spirit and when Takeshi nodded they slowly entered the annex and gathered around the spirit.  
“She can't speak or hear in that form, you need to let her touch you.”  
Emelie explained to the others while holding out her hand to the spirit who instantly reached out and touched her hand, relaying a deep sense of gratitude.  
Takeshi remained behind until the others had left and once alone he kneeled down by the grave and waited for the spirit to touch him.  
_“I failed you. Those aiming for my life took yours instead and I failed to protect you.”  
“No, you saved me. You gave me a life worth living. My time may have been cut short, but I enjoyed my time here greatly.”_  
In death it seemed her spirit had gained a measure of maturity well beyond her years.  
_“I will find the ones behind this and I will avenge you, you have my word.”  
“Thank you. For everything.”_  
With that the spirit stepped back and faded into the Soul-tree and Takeshi knew she would never show herself again, she had no reason to remain among the living.  
Takeshi spent a moment to gather himself before pulling his aura back into its usual tight curls and joining the other in the main chamber of the Sanctuary.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Farewell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The mood lightened quite a bit during the walk back to the house as the twins were taking full advantage of their new senses to explore the nature around them.  
And the sight of a pair of black wolf pups running and stumbling around among the greenery brought smiles to everyone's faces despite what had happened, especially when they tried to stalk and catch the various insects, reptiles and birds that were hiding along the path.  
Eriko soon joined them and gave them a few pointers to the fine art of stalking your prey, and your sister's tail which quickly turned into a game of 'catch the fox' where they both cooperated to try to get an opportunity to pounce their prey.  
Even Dan's raijū joined the games in it's smaller form, teasing both the twins and Eriko with small jolts of electricity that caused their fur to stand on end, a game that the twins storm-phoenix familiars quickly picked up and joined.

During their walk back to the house the sky slowly darkened with clouds and just as they reached the small garden in front of the house a gentle drizzle began to fall from the sky, as if the world it self shared their grief.  
They gathered in the large sheltered corner of the inner garden, talking and soothing eachothers pain and before long the younger girls were sleeping, the emotional day taking its toll.  
Takeshi carefully extracted himself from the sleeping twins and with a gentle nudge of his aura they shifted into their smaller puppy form before he placed them with the rest of his dozing pack.  
Dan had curled into Knight's chest and Emelie curled along Dan's back with a wing draped over all of them but when he approached with the twins she lifted her wing to allow him to place them on top of Dan who just muttered and shifted around to give them room to curl up before Emelie's wings draped over them again.  
“Watch over them, I need to check in with Angel.”  
Knight just nodded, expanded his aura to allow it to alert him if anything happened and shuffled the bodies curled against him slightly before settling down again.  
When Takeshi reached the door he heard shuffling and a slight grunt followed by the patter of clawed paws on the flooring and looking behind him revealed the twins stalking after him.  
A look at Knight just gave him an amused smirk letting him know his beta had no intention of preventing the twins from leaving.  
“Girls I thought you were sleepy?”  
Their only reply was energetic bouncing and yipping, but he knew they would crash the moment he settled down in his study, his guess was that they didn't want him to be alone, they had acted the same way on other occasions.

“Welcome back Take-san.”  
“Thank you Angel.”  
There was a short pause while the AI investigated the black pups that accompanied him and while they batted their paws at the tendrils of light Takeshi explained to the AI that it was just the twins new forms.  
“Girls, show Angel how you shift.”  
He watched with pride as they shifted to a more human form, not only did they have his hybrid form with dragon eyes and claws, they shifted nearly as fast as he did and he had no doubt they would be just as fast as him, maybe even faster, once they had some training.  
He found himself hoping that their souls would hurry up and manifest the power he had no doubt they possesses so that he could mark them as pack and he found himself somewhat surprised that they were his own feelings, without influence from the Beast.  
One benefit of Angels holographic displays was that he didn't need to stay at his desk to go through the information she had collected, instead he sat down in the small pile of pillows that formed a small sitting area in one of the corners of the room and the twins instantly returned to their puppy form and curled up into his lap.

“Let's see what you managed to uncover, shall we?”  
The air in front of him instantly flickered to life and displayed quite a large number of pictures, each picture with a name and a number attached to them, some also had the kanji 死, death in various colors in the corner of the picture.  
Angel quickly explained the system she had used to sort the files, the number ranked them according to the power the held within the company.  
The kanji represented those where she had been able to confirm knowledge or involvement in the attack, red for those who were involved, various shades of orange and yellow for those who had prior knowledge of the plans and could have warned him or prevented it, green for those she had been able to confirm didn't know about it until after the event.  
“What means of confirmation have you used?”  
“Various electronic messages. People are rather open with their secrets when they believe their servers to be secure.”  
The AI's voice carried an amused pride that made Takeshi smirk, it was so much like Daniels's voice when she cracked a particularly touch system.  
“We need to find some way to confirm the rest of them before I act though.”  
There were nearly 200 files listed in front of him, and only about 30 were marked by the kanji.  
“I have a suggestion that could solve that problem. If I may?”  
The AI's words sparked his curiosity.  
“Go ahead.”  
“None of these are innocent, they might not have been directly involved in the attack, or even had prior knowledge of it. But they have all been involved in various unethical dealing.”  
“I'm sure they have, but I can't justify killing them for that alone.”  
“Not kill them, ruin them. They value wealth and power over all, so take that away from them. Leave them nothing of what they once had. Let them suffer loss rather than the release of death.”  
The sudden laugh startled the twins and they looked up at Takeshi's grin in confusion.  
“Daddy, are you going to do something naughty?”  
“Oh yes! Something very _naughty_!”  
His voice held an almost maniacal glee at the AI's suggestion as he asked her to elaborate.  
“During my examination of the company I found that they have a rather impressive R &D department, one that could prove rather useful to your task.”  
The display shifted to show a list of sub-departments of the R&D department.  
“Mechanics, Genetics, Bio-engineering, Cybernetics, Nanotechnology as well as a number of purely military disciplines such as stealth and weapons technologies.”  
The display shifted again to a more detailed view.  
“They have departments for Xenobiology, Quantum engineering and adaptations of Neuroprosthetics as well. But I also found more obscure departments including Cryptozoology, Demonology and Exobiology.”  
“So it's safe to assume they are aware of the existence of demons and others who are not entirely human.”  
“They are aware and have files on several such beings, yourself, Emelie, Logan and his steed included.”  
Takeshi cursed as the images flickered and displayed what information Angel had been able to gather.

  
Subject 468  
Kiryu, Takeshi  
Confirmed Classification: Shapeshifter  
Confirmed Abilities: Shape-shifting. Enhanced senses, strength, speed, durability and healing.  
Unconfirmed Abilities: Mind-control. Immortality. Invisibility.  
Origin unknown

  
Subject 469  
Eriksson, Emelie  
Confirmed Classification: Greater Demon  
Confirmed Abilities: Secondary form. Flight. Enhanced strength, speed, durability and healing. Sensory manipulation. Induce panic. Teleportation.  
Unconfirmed Abilities: Mind-control. Immortality.  
Origin unknown.

  
Subject 942  
Knight, Logan  
Classification: Unknown  
Confirmed Abilities: Demon summoning.  
Origin unknown.

  
Subject 943  
Name Unknown  
Confirmed Classification: Lesser Demon  
Confirmed Abilities: Realm-walker.  
Origin: Demon Realm  
  
  
“Dammit! This is not good.”  
“I'm unsure how much information they have, most of the data is stored on non-networked computers. I have only been able to gather a small fraction of it by accessing security recordings. However the research into the abilities of demons and meta-humans in combination with their other research indicates they are trying to find a way to give regular humans superhuman abilities or control demons and meta-humans.”  
“Super soldiers...”  
“That would seem to be the case. The more information I uncover the more it seems the attack on you was not related to the GCTI take-down but rather an attempt to acquire _research material_ .”  
“They probably have access to my data from the GCTI so they know that despite my abilities I was just human back then, and now I am clearly _other_ and they want to figure out how.”  
A gentle knock on the door interrupted the conversation and the scent of _matcha_ and _wagashi_ told him that it was Amanda bringing tea and with a slight flare of his aura he invited her to enter.  
The moment she stepped inside the twins bolted from his lap and nearly knocked Amanda over in their eagerness to greet her.  
“Okay, okay girls. How about you change back so you can join us for some tea?”  
Amanda laughed and ruffled their fur and once she was done they practically bounced back to Takeshi before shifting to their human form.  
“Angel, would you mind taking a break while I serve some tea?”  
“Of course not Amanda.”  
The displays flickered and were replaced with the black winged angel that she had picked as her persona, now dressed in a simple but beautiful kimono instead of the usual elaborate gowns the AI walked over to the corner and kneeled down next to Takeshi and the twins, while she was not able to actually participate she would still join them.  
Even going as far as displaying holographic versions of the wagashi and the black _chawan_ with its golden _kintsugi_ pattern and going through the motions when it was her turn to be served.  
Amanda walked up to them slowly and with a deep breath she centered herself and began going through the familiar motions of the _Chadō_ , making sure to give the twins the sweet _wagashi_ while giving Takeshi the savory treats he favored.  
Each plate also held a bamboo-tube _Mizu-Y_ _ō_ _kan_ and a _Kuzumochi_ wrapped in bamboo leaf, the ones on Takeshi's plate less sweetened than the rest.  
“You are getting quite skilled at making these.”  
Takeshi turned the small treats over and inspected the craftsmanship, they carried no flaws and the flavor was well balanced to his personal taste and he had no doubt that the treats the twins had received were much sweeter than his own.  
After Amanda had cleaned up after the tea they sat down and relaxed, playing games and talking.

“You know Angel, with the Mandrake R&D resources we might be able to build you a real body so that you can join us when we head out to do things and not be confined within the house or the _Tiamat_. And even if I manage to build that portable projector and sensor-array I have been working on you are rather limited with not being able to actually touch anything.”  
There was a long silence before the AI responded.  
“I think I would enjoy that.”  
She sounded somewhat hesitant and Takeshi realized that to some extent she was actually experiencing fear of the unknown and it seemed the twins picked up on it as well.  
“Don't worry, we can teach you how to be human!”  
Takeshi had no doubt that Angel would be able to pass for human if they could only make a realistic enough body for her.  
“Mandrake?”  
Amanda sounded somewhat confused and Takeshi quickly explained that the Mandrake Group were behind the attack that had claimed Diane's life.  
“So I guess they will be having quite a few deaths in upper management soon?”  
“Actually, no. Angel presented a different approach and I have decided to go with her idea.”  
“Oh, don't hold out on me. Let's hear it!”  
By the time Angel was done explaining her plan Amanda was laughing with a grin that would challenge even Takeshi's expression.  
“Oh that's positively wicked. I love it!”  
The glee in her voice called to Takeshi and soon they were all laughing

“Angel, I trust that your plan is one that you will be able to handle yourself?”  
Takeshi decided it was time to move on to the details.  
“For the most part. With your permission I can have most of the contracts handled digitally and sign them myself. There will however be a few physical signatures required including a meeting for witnessing the final signing. If additional financial backing is required they will probably want to speak with you personally.”  
Takeshi nodded and considered the request, there were restriction in place in the base code that forbade her from things like forging his signature without his explicit permission.  
It would be a good test though, to see how well she was able to perform more complex tasks, and he had made sure to give her extensive _training_ in financial management, hoping that the AI would be able to take over the much hated task of dealing with the yearly financial reports.  
“I want daily status reports, and if the contracts has any wording that is open to interpretation, especially to our disadvantage, I want you to run them by me before signing them. As for those wishing to speak with me try to convince them that a phone call or video-conference is sufficient, you should be able to pull of playing me for one of those, right?”  
“Of course.”  
The projection shifted into a perfect copy of Takeshi and her voice and body language matched perfectly.  
“Okay, go ahead then. Show us what you can do.”  
“They won't know what hit them.”  
Takeshi had no doubt that the AI would be able to do it, she was D-Rex legacy, the child of Daniels's brilliant mind.  
“Angel, we need to create a proper identity for you first. I would like to register you as Daniels's daughter if that is okay with you. And then we can register you as being my personal attorney as well as secretary, it should make them more willing to deal with you.”  
“It would be most helpful, but Angel Daniels, that sounds a bit odd.”  
Takeshi had to agree the name did not sound very pleasing.  
“How about Angelica Daniels? Then Angel could be your nickname and it's not uncommon for people to prefer their nicknames over their given names.”  
Amanda's suggestion did sound a lot better and Angel quickly agreed to it and after a few moments her usual galaxy projection shifted into her human persona sporting a perfectly tailored gray skirt, low heals and her long black hair kept out of her face with a set of strict boxer braids that ended just below her knees.  
Light makeup, discreet jewelry, a pair of stylish, rimless glasses, gloves and a black leather briefcase completed the look.  
“Good day. My name is Angelica Daniels, I am the personal attorney of Takeshi Kiryu.”  
She introduced herself with a slight bow.  
“Very good. But introduce yourself as the legal representative for the _Onryō Group_ instead of my personal attorney when possible. I would prefer to keep the Kiryu name out of this.”  
“Vengeful spirit group?”  
Amanda's question held a barely suppressed laugh.  
“Indeed, I created it as a holding company a few years back. Seems rather fitting here, don't you think?”  
“You are insane, you know that?”  
“I do recall having been called that before...”  
His answer made Amanda give him a huffing sigh before pouncing him with a laugh and after a short scuffle he had her pinned under him and he leaned in and dragged his fangs along the unmarked left side of her neck before he swapped side and sank slender fangs into the mark of the Blessing.  
“When the Tiamat returns we will leave to explore this.”

 


	59. Expanding the Pack

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  
**

It took a week for the _Tiamat_ to return to the island and once it was back Takeshi and Amanda spent another two days to make sure they had everything they would need for their little trip.  
They didn't want to have to worry about food so the galley and the storerooms had been packed full with meat and seafood.  
“Manda, are you ready to leave?”  
Takeshi could feel the rapid shift of emotions flow through her aura where anticipation and nervousness flickered back and forth together with desire and embarrassment, but beneath it all a strong determination flowed slow and steady.  
“Yeah, I'm good to go.”  
They stopped by the garden to say their goodbyes before heading out and the shifts in Knight's aura told Takeshi that Amanda had said something only for his ears, but he had a suspicion what it might be, especially considering her choice of _distraction_ while he changed her.  
The Beast just purred within, telling him that it was appropriate for her to come to the _alpha_ first, even if the _beta_ was her real goal and Takeshi reminded it that she probably didn't have a goal as such.  
“Logan, _beta_. Watch over what is mine.”  
“With my life, _alpha_.”  
The words were more ritual than anything, Takeshi knew Knight would watch over the others in his absence and a gentle, questioning brush against Eriko's aura rewarded him with a short nod, and a flicker of emotion that could only be described as the fury of a mother, she too would defend them, especially the twins.  
The twins tried to follow them out but a sharp growl from Takeshi stopped them in their tracks and when Knight called for them to come back they obeyed, though grudgingly.  
“Have fun kids!”  
Matthews called after them, voice heavy with teasing insinuation.  
“You better take _really_ good care of her Take!”  
Jenna quickly joined the teasing.  
“Maybe you should save some for her?”  
Matthews gave Jenna a teasing barb that had her bright red and spluttering before punching his arm, though nowhere as hard as she would punch Takeshi, mindful of Matthews somewhat fragile health.  
“Don't worry there's plenty to go around.”  
Takeshi couldn't resist joining the teasing, and to be honest, he wouldn't need any convincing should she invite him and the slight shift in her aura and scent told him it was quite possible it would come to pass.  
“Hmph, get in line. For the next week or so, he is **all** mine!”  
Amanda grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the door with a wide grin.  
“Easy with the claws sweetie, I'm coming.”  
Takeshi chuckled and turned to follow her before she shredded his sleeve.  
“And if that's the _goal_ , use _more_ claws! Or fangs!”  
Emelie called just as the door closed behind them and he could feel Kasumi's barely restrained amusement over the bond.  
“They are going to be even worse when we get back, aren't they?”  
“Oh yes, most definitely!”  
Takeshi laughed back at her before scooping her up and heading toward the lagoon in a dead run.

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Manda, could you grab the box there?”  
Takeshi grabbed the last of their bags from the catamaran tender before activating the autopilot and handing control of it over to Angel.  
“Of course. Where do you want it?”  
“Just put it in the galley for now. I doubt there any room in the pantry for it. But no peeking, promise me!”  
The box contained a selection of the crystal fruits from the Sanctuary as well as a smaller bag with everything he needed to grow them on the Tiamat, he had snuck away during the night to get them as a surprise for Amanda.  
“Okay, I promise.”  
There was an avid curiosity behind her words as she gently tilted the large box, testing how the weight shifted inside but he knew she would honor her promise and not try anything further to find out what was in the box.  
He headed up to the bridge to make sure everything was in order and to set the course for the atoll where he was planning to spend most of the upcoming week.  
It was large enough for the Tiamat to enter and to give them some shelter and while it was populated it was only a handful of _Kanaka Maoli_ , native Hawaiian, families who had chosen to settle there to live a more traditional life.  
They didn't mind him being there though, especially after he had helped them secure a very beneficial long time lease of the entire atoll as well as getting the atoll and the surrounding waters classified as a protected habitat, restricting boat traffic and prohibiting any large scale fishing and other activities that could be potentially harmful to the unique environment and habitats.  
His long term plans though were to purchase the area and set up a foundation that would in essence gift the land to the _Kanaka Maoli_ under the terms that they enforce and abide by a strict habitat conservation protocol.  
“Angel, mind taking over?”  
“Of course not, when would you like to arrive?”  
“Have us there by dinner please.”  
“As you wish. Have a good time”  
Takeshi could swear there was a hint of teasing amusement in the voice and he once again found himself wondering just how sapient, how human the AI really was.  
A quick flare of his aura told him that Amanda was in the owner's suite, probably unpacking her bags.

Takeshi headed down into the galley and picked up the box of Sanctuary fruits and with well practiced moves he quickly peeled and cut them into pieces before picking up the large melon that had been a little surprise from the Mother.  
The melon was unlike any other he had ever seen, it was the size of a large watermelon but the rind and flesh was pure white and along with the crisp sweetness he could smell from it, it reminded him of the Japanese sprite melon.  
He carefully used his claw to cut the melon in half with a series of small V-cuts to make a pair of bowls to serve the mix of fruits in before scooping out the sweet flesh.  
The uneven pieces and trimmed of scraps were put through the juicer and poured into molds and placed into the quick freezer, another useful creation from Sanctuary crystals, it could freeze anything in a matter of moments.  
A few minutes later Takeshi had two large bowls filled with a mix of fruits, berries and frozen juice balls, all topped of with sprigs of mint and thyme and a mix of edible flowers which he brought to the lounging area on top of the owner suite.  
“Manda, would you join me for a moment?”  
The look on Amanda's face when she spotted the bowls of fruit was well worth the effort of picking, and hiding the fruits from her.  
“I thought you said I needed to stop eating so much fruits and vegetables.”  
“These are fruits from the Sanctuary, unlike regular fruit they will be able to sustain your new metabolism. Though the Mother did warn me that they might make you a bit _thirstier_ than normal.”  
“Doubt that will be an issue.”  
Amanda was practically beaming and flashed her fangs at him between the bites as she tried all the different fruits in the bowl.  
“No, it won't.”  
He agreed with a laugh before bringing up the real reason for needed to talk to her.  
“I know you would prefer if I mark you as pack later, but I'm not sure I will be able to maintain sufficient control. When marking Logan I nearly marked him as _mate_ rather than pack, the only reason I didn't is because he is unable to form a full mating bond.”  
He could feel the drop in her mood, but there was little choice in matter.  
“But I am...”  
“You are. So to be safe I need to claim you as pack before going any further.”  
“It's going to hurt a lot more without _distractions_ , isn't it?”  
“Probably, but it really depends on how much you fight me. Dan barely felt anything because he instantly submitted totally to me while Logan went through total agony.”  
“Because he's like you, born to lead, to be the _Alpha_ , right?”  
“Yes, you are not as dominant, but you are strong, independent, and as stubborn as they get...”  
She huffed in annoyance and glared at him for a moment before breaking down in laughter.  
“I guess I am. So chances are I might fight you quite a bit even if I try not to?”  
“I'm sure you will. But I still think that would be better than risking the marking while I'm not in full control.”  
There was a few minutes of silence before Amanda finally answered him.  
“I guess you're right. After all, I'm looking to get laid, not married.”  
She grinned at him while taking another sip of the champagne he had served with the fruit.  
It was decided that once they arrived at the atoll they would eat, then proceed with the marking and take things from there, it all depended on how draining the marking would be for her and Takeshi was hoping she wouldn't put up too much of a fight.

 

 

  **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi and Amanda were in the galley making preparations for dinner when Angel alerted them that a group of people on _wa'a_ canoes were approaching the Tiamat.  
“Let's go greet our hosts before we do anything else, shall we?”  
Takeshi put the piece of meat he was working on back into the cooler and motioned for Amanda to follow him as he headed toward the door.  
“I though we went here so that we wouldn't be disturbed?”  
Amanda was somewhat surprised, and confused to learn that there were people living at the atoll.  
“Don't worry. They won't bother us. They are probably just dropping by to make sure it's me and not someone else with the same kind of yacht.”  
They quickly headed out to the swim platform and were greeted by calls of _'Aloha'_ and hands waving the _'shaka'_ sign at them.  
“Aloha!”  
Takeshi returned the greeting and a few moments later Amanda followed his lead.  
The younger children of the group started examining the _Tiamat_ with avid curiosity, swimming and paddling their small wa'a around it while the pair of elders directed the teens to watch over the younger ones while they moved their large wa'a closer so that they could hold a conversation without raised voices.  
While they spoke Takeshi noticed that the blind old matriarch seemed to be very focused on Amanda and when he focused on seeing the energies around them it became obvious that she was not as blind as her eyes led one to believe.  
The way her aura gathered and swirled in the pupil-less silvery eyes told Takeshi that she was able to at least see auras, if not more.  
“You are a seer.”  
He slowly allowed his aura to unfurl as he spoke and the old woman's aura flickered with surprise at his statement and as his aura was released hers shifted into understanding.  
“As are you.”  
“I see more than most, but I am no seer.”  
“Your control is remarkable, unlike your young friend here I never suspected you were more than human.”  
There was a flicker of concern from Amanda when she realized that the old woman knew she was not really human anymore.  
“Don't worry Manda, normal people won't be able to tell you are different. And in time you will learn to keep your aura under control so it won't reveal you.”  
Takeshi paused for a moment and considered the situation.  
“Angel, make sure the eye-in-the-sky can't see us.”  
The same energy-field that protected their island and the estate from extreme weather also affected the camera equipment on the numerous satellites that circled the earth, preventing them from seeing the people beneath, hiding their abilities.

Takeshi could feel the slight tingle as a similar field powered up, it had taken quite a bit of effort to create a field generator that Angel was able to activate since she had no aura of her own to manipulate the crystals with.  
“We are hidden.”  
Angel confirmed that the field was active.  
“Good. Manda, why don't you show our hosts what you truly are?”  
_“Are you sure?”_  
Her thoughts carried hesitation and concern.  
_“Yes, go ahead.”_

There were several gasps as Amanda shifted into her chosen form and slid into the water and with a flick of her tail she swam down under the larger _wa'a_ and appeared next to the old woman.  
“A daughter of the Sea. I have not seen one of your kin since my great great great grandmother was laid to rest among the waves.”  
“I'm not really their kin though. I was born human.”  
Amanda's words confused the old woman and Takeshi decided to explain a bit of it.  
“Her soul is reincarnated from Atlantis, when she received the Blessing of the Mother and the Moon she was able to alter her form into one that suited her soul.”  
There was a slight sense of distress from Amanda as several of the children had drawn close and were now slipping into the water to come closer.  
“Please... Don't come any closer.”  
She began to draw back and with a flicker of panic she flipped around and swam down toward the bottom of the lagoon, leaving a group of very disappointed children at the surface.  
“Why doesn't she like us?”  
“She is scared that she will hurt you. Noticed how her tail and fins looks a bit like a lionfish?”  
The children quickly nodded.  
“Like the lion-fish she has spines in her fins that release a really strong venom, much stronger than that of lion-fish or scorpion-fish. She is still learning to control it so she worries that you will try to touch her and get hurt, maybe even killed.”  
They instantly promised they wouldn't try to touch her if she just came back so that they could see her.  
“I will ask her, but I can't promise she will come back up while you are so close.”  
They reluctantly moved back a bit to give her some space.  
_“Manda, come back. I have explained and they won't try to touch you. It's okay, you won't harm them.”_  
When she returned to the surface there was awed whispers from the younger children.  
“Wow, she is really pretty!”  
One of the girls blurted out and instantly blushed when Takeshi turned to her.  
“She is, isn't she? The prettiest little fish in the sea.”  
Amanda crossed her arms and harrumphed at him, but the creeping blush and the twinkle of a smile in her eyes completely ruined her attempt to look miffed and when he beckoned her with a finger she glided over to the swim platform.  
The older teens and young adults in the group erupted into cheers and wolf-whistles when Takeshi pulled her closer and gave her a teasing kiss.  
“Angel, lower the platform please.”  
When the swim platform lowered beneath the surface Amanda slid up on it and into his lap.  
While she could easily get up on the platform while it was above the water she didn't like having her tail out of the water, claiming that the air made it itch.  
They spent quite a while talking to the locals and it wasn't until the sun began to paint colors across the sky that the elders began shooing their charges toward land.  
Amanda leaned back against Takeshi to watch the sunset, but the otherwise perfect moment was disrupted rather efficiently when a loud rumbling from her stomach made Takeshi break down into laughter.  
“How about we go get that dinner we were working on?”  
She never answered him, but he could feel the tail that was wrapped around him shift and change into a pair of legs wrapped around his waist and he picked her up and headed toward the galley, he could hear the platform rise behind him as they went inside.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

They made quick work of the food that had been selected for dinner and retreated to the sitting room of the owner's suite to enjoy a dessert of fruits and champagne.  
“Take, can I have some?”  
The way hunger flower through her aura gave him a good idea what she wanted, the lengthening of her fangs confirmed it.  
“I need you to wait a bit, okay? I promise it will be well worth it.”  
He watched her struggle to suppress her hunger fighting instincts, trying to force her fangs to shorten to their normal appearance.  
“Ssh, easy. You can do it. Just like we practiced.”  
He waited for her to settle down, pulling her into his lap and wrapping himself around her, body and spirit, soothing her aura with his own and once he felt her settle he knew it was time.

“Manda, are you ready to become one of mine? To become a part of my pack?”  
She shifted slightly and there was a deep inhale followed by a slow exhale as she steadied herself, allowing the power he had woven into his voice to fully grasp her.  
“As ready as I will ever be.”  
“Remember what we talked about, what to expect?”  
“Yeah, if I fight you, your dominance, it will hurt. The more I fight, the more pain.”  
He had tried to find a way around it, but there didn't seem to be one, he had even asked the Mother but She had only confirmed what the Beast was telling him, that while Amanda was okay with it, her new instincts would probably rebel and fight him.  
“Everything we have been able to find out about your nature indicates that outside of mating bond you a are solitary creature. The risk is that your instincts will fight me with every ounce of power you possess.”  
“That's why you wanted me to wait with taking your blood, right? Less power for me to fight with.”  
It wasn't the entire reason, but he wasn't about to ruin her surprise so he just nodded.  
During Knight's heat the Beast had told him that while a pack bond normally required the agreement of the one being claimed there was a way to force a pack claiming, by completely overpowering the person and forcing them to submit.  
That, however was a very painful procedure and he hated having to put her through it.  
“Less power to fight me with should make it faster, but I'm not going to sugarcoat this, it will hurt. But we need to do this first because it will be even worse if I lose control and try to claim you in the heat of the moment.”  
“Let's do this then.”  
She shifted in his lap to allow him access to her left shoulder while also allowing him to get a good hold on her, she would do what she could not to fight him, but that might not make much of a difference once her instincts kicked in.

Takeshi quickly undid the seals that kept his power bound, he didn't want to give her time to adjust. _  
“I'm sorry...”_  
The apology for the pain he was about to cause her transmitted through his aura as he bit down and began to pour his power into her and for a moment there was no reaction, she seemed to accept him without struggle.  
The backlash was sudden and almost caught Takeshi by surprise but he was able to wrap his aura around the flaring energy while his jaws and arms clamped down tightly to keep her in place, pouring more and more energy into her.  
Her cry of agony as she fought him tore into his very soul and he prayed that she would run out of power fast so that she wouldn't need to suffer anymore.  
Reaching deep inside he pulled out more power, pouring all the power he was able to control into her completely smothering her energies with his own.  
_“Hang in there sweetie. It should be over soon.”  
_ Her energies kept rising with his and then suddenly she seemed to just fold in on herself, all resistance gone and she allowed his aura to flow freely throughout her own, forever sealing the bond and marking her as pack.  
To his relief her pain instantly faded and was replaced by a deep exhaustion, something he was about to do something about as soon as he was done.  
_“Ssh, easy. The worst is over now.”_  
He quickly pulled a scale from his tattoo and used a claw to cut a small incision between the marks from his fangs and slid the scale in under her skin where it intermediately began to change.  
There was no surprise when it began to spread down her torso and down her leg, mimicking his own dragon, he knew she would be delighted to find that her human form now carried the same pattern as her mermaid form.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When he pulled her closer and pushed her head into the crook of his neck he could feel the simmer of confusion mixed with hunger and desire.  
“Go ahead, you need to replace what you spent fighting me.”  
There was a brief moment of total stillness before she grasped what he was offering and sank her fangs into his neck with a sigh of utter delight and he could feel the amusement flooding her aura as she picked up on his physical response to the sensation if her fangs sinking in.  
_“Em was right, all you need is more fangs.”_  
She dragged her claws down across his chest as she shifted position, mindful not to let her fangs slide as she straddled him.  
“Slow down sweetie, we have all night.”  
He carefully stopped her hand from moving any further down and guided it into exploring his tattoo instead while he dragged his claws along the scales that were quickly forming in her new markings, testing her responses, he wanted to know if their sensitivity was any different in her current form.  
The shuddering gasp and spike in pheromones told him that she did at least share some of that sensitivity.  
Her fangs slowly slid out of his neck and as she began to trace nibbling kisses along his shoulder he could feel the intensity of her emotions in her aura and over the bond.  
Her smoldering desire was quickly growing into an inferno of lust and her eagerness was turning almost desperate so he shielded himself from her slightly so that he wouldn't lose the control that he had been struggling to maintain for the better part of a year.  
“No need to rush things _sweetie_. Let's take this slowly and enjoy ourselves.”  
He needed her to slow down, even though her transformation had made her far more durable and able to heal rapidly as well as matured her body it would still probably hurt her quite a bit if they rushed things.  
Reaching for the new, deeper bond he began to pull and push at her energies, slowly encouraging her to synchronize with him.  
“That's it, feel me. Let yourself flow with me. Trust me, surrender to me.”  
He knew he would never be able to put to words the feeling when her aura began to blend and synchronize with his own, even with Emelie he had never been able to gain such a total connection.  
Despite their deep emotional bond Emelie would always hold back because she feared that her powers would hurt him, and now that he was feeling just how amazing it could really be he became even more determined to find a way to get her past her fears.

“ _ **It would be even better with a true mating-bond.”**_  
The Beast's tone held promise and amusement and Takeshi realized that it had been oddly absent since they left their island and he questioned it about why.  
_**“You have repeatedly reminded me that you need all the control you can get when dealing with an inexperienced female to make sure you do not scare her, or hurt her needlessly. So I will withdraw until she is better able to handle our combined attentions.”**_  
The silent words were accompanied by the protective possessiveness that Takeshi had learned to interpret as the emotional equivalent to the word _Pack_ , in this case it carried more meaning than just the word though, it carried their combined distaste for doing anything that could harm their pack.

Sharp fangs tugging at his lip brought his attention away from the Beast and focused it solely on Amanda which earned him a chuckle from the Beast as it retreated deeper within his mind.  
He was rewarded with a startled squeak when he grabbed her tightly and rose from the couch and began moving toward the door that led into the sleeping area and the waiting bed.  
“So eager...”  
He teased when the scent of her arousal grew heavy around them, he enjoyed the sharp spike of annoyance that sifted through her scent when he tossed her onto the bed, the sharp bite of it mixing well with the warm, heady spice of lust.  
“Hey! I liked that bikini!”  
She complained with a startled hiss when he used his claws to get rid of the scrap of cloth rather than trying to untangle the various straps.  
“I can buy you ten new ones when we get back to the estate.”  
His words were followed by a sharp nip that effectively pushed her mind elsewhere.  
It wasn't long before he had her begging and cursing while struggling for breath and he silently agreed with her, but forced himself keep teasing her, to make sure she was as ready as possible.

“ _Please!”_  
Her voice refused to obey her so she called out with her very soul, trying to make Takeshi move on and stop teasing her.  
A part of her understood perfectly well why he was doing it, and she was grateful for it, he was by no means a small man, _male_ , and he was well endowed even for his size, she knew there would be pain but didn't want to wait any longer.  
When she felt the whispered apology rather than hear it she knew it was finally time, she would finally get what she had been longing for, what had been in her dreams long before her change.  
She would never admit it to anyone, but Takeshi had stirred something inside her that night in L.A when she watch him shift from wolf to man, intent on killing the monster that had ordered her father killed so that he could sell her without anyone looking for her.

The wild flare of their combined auras sent the local wildlife scrambling for cover as Takeshi claimed what was offered.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi had spent a week with Amanda on the _Tiamat_ and he had enjoyed himself immensely, she had proved to be a most attentive lover and he would not have minded staying longer, but alas, he had a lot of work to do, not to mention the newly changed twins that he could not neglect.  
And he had to make sure Emelie stayed well fed, Knight would offer himself to her, but he was unsure if she would accept, regardless of method of feeding.  
“Manda, do you remember what I told you about what might happen when we return?”  
“The others, the pack. The will probably test me when we get back. Make sure I'm worthy.”  
Takeshi nodded, though he knew it wouldn't be a real test, Emelie had made clear that she wanted this, she had been urging him to hurry up and get it done so she would probably settle for submission.  
Knight would tease her as well as demand that she submit, but he would accept her as well, the only reaction he was unsure of was Dan's, though he knew that Dan would defer to him and accept his choice in taking her in.

When they arrived at their island they were greeted by Stormborn and the dolphin pod as well as Melissa and her familiar circling them in the air and he could feel the others on the beach, waiting for their return, no doubt to tease and harass them.  
_“Daddy!”_  
He was greeted by a pair of black blurs that turned into furry half-forms before hitting him squarely in the gut, but the pain was quickly forgotten as he found himself nearly overwhelmed with pride when he looked at their partial shift.  
It was an intentional blending of forms, one that spoke of purpose and control.  
“Your kits have been hard at work, practicing their transformation, learning to interpret scents and sound no human could detect.”  
Eriko's praise had the twins beaming with joy and they didn't even correct her on her use of kits rather than pups, and Takeshi found himself doing it in their stead.  
“Of course! After all, you are my little pups, aren't you?”  
They agreed with vigorous nodding and gleeful yips, so loud that Takeshi nearly missed Eriko's next words.  
“They even found their true power while you were away. They are true healers your little ones, I am sure that they will one day rival even the Kyūbi of the House of Snow.”  
The pure white kitsune of the northern house were renowned for their healing powers, legends had it that their Kyūbi, nine tailed foxes, could heal any illness or injury, some even claimed they could raise the dead and grant immortality, though the last part was just that, a legend.  
“Is that so girls?”  
“Yeah!”  
“So, how did that happen?”  
He could feel Emelie and the others of his pack greet Amanda but he didn't pay much attention, he knew she would manage on her own, instead he focused on the twins to hear just how they had found their power.  
“We were down at the tidal-pools and Julia slipped on a rock and fell and she hurt her arm really bad.”  
Takeshi instantly looked at Julia but he could see no trace of any injuries on her arms or hands.  
_“Her arm was sliced open from the wrist to the elbow, I feared I would have to use blood-magic to save her life.”_  
Takeshi could feel a shiver of ghost pain as Eriko showed him her memories of the incident, the injury had been a severe one.  
“She was bleeding so much, it was really scary. And it hurt so much, we could feel it.”  
He knew that they were empaths, they would always know when someone was in pain and tried to fix it.  
“We tried to lick it like you do but it wasn't working fast enough and it hurt really bad when we did.”  
That it had worked at all was a testament to their strong nature and Takeshi could feel the pride of his Beast mix with his own.  
“But then we felt it, like when we play with the foxfire Eriko gave us. It was warm and we just knew if we could pull out that warm feeling like we do the foxfire it would help her.”  
He would have to watch them do it to know for sure, but he had a feeling he knew how they had done it even if they were unable to fully explain it themselves.  
“It was really pretty, like a rainbow. But it smelled, green?”  
He couldn't help laughing at their confusion about the scent, he had gone through the same in the beginning, it was a form synesthesia, scents would associate to colors, not just how the scent of grass and forests would make you think of green, or the scent of blood brought on the image of red.  
Life smelled green, death was a muddy brownish black, anger, and lust, was a flaming red while hatred was a muddy red streaked with black, happiness and contentment shifted in pinks and purples that sparkled with gold and silver while sadness and depression was a drab, blueish gray, like an overcast sky.  
“That's right, life, health, healing, they all smell a bit like green.”  
“Smells are weird.”  
“Don't worry. You will get used to it. Now go on, tell me the rest.”  
They quickly described how they had pulled out the green smelling rainbow energy and it had flowed against Julia's arm, instantly taking away her pain and stemming the flow of blood before knitting together her flesh until there was no trace of an injury, not even a scar.

“You did really well girls, a pride for any pack.”  
They instantly stilled and looked at him with wide eyes.  
“Does that mean we...?”  
“Yes, if you can stand to wait until we get back to the house?”  
It seemed his little pack was in for a quick expansion, though he already considered the twins to be pack it would feel good to make it formal so that all who could feel such bonds would know.  
His words were met with cries of joy and the twins hurried over to the rest of his pack to share the news and he joined them to check on Amanda, she was tired and slightly subdued but he could feel Emelie's energy slowly spreading along the mark and both Knight's and Dan's scent was heavy on her, proof that she had been fully accepted into the pack.  
As the energies and scents that were pack greeted him another piece of the puzzle of understanding what pack truly was slipped into place and he could feel the contentment and pride radiate through his very soul.  
“Come on girls, race you back to the house.”  
They instantly shifted and took of while Takeshi stayed in his human form and chased after them using only what he would have been capable of before his own change, giving them at least some chance to win.  
As they were about to enter the front garden he put on a burst of speed to catch up to the twins and quickly scooped up the pups before leaping onto the the roof and then dropped down into the inner garden.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Expanding the Pack_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“So, do you want to wait for the others, or are you in a hurry?”  
“Hurry!”  
Takeshi just smiled at the expected response and beckoned them to to join him in the large armchair.  
“I'm first, right?”  
“That's right Sarah, you are the firstborn. Sorry, Maria.”  
“It's okay...”  
He could tell she was a bit disappointed that her sister would get to go first again, but it needed to be done or risk upsetting the fine balance of energies.  
He pulled Maria close and gave her a kiss on the forehead before tucking her close to his side and turning to Sarah.  
“This might hurt a bit, but you have to bear with it and not fight me, if you fight me it will just hurt more. Okay?”  
“Yes, Alpha! Eriko explained it.”  
“Good. Let's do this then.”  
He carefully shifted her to get better access to her left shoulder and the way she instantly submitted was a relief as it would probably spare her any pain other than that of his fangs.  
When he sank his fangs in there was a flare of energy and for a moment he was worried she would fight him, but the energy didn't resist him, instead it seemed to follow his own back through the forming mark and he realized she was instinctively trying to leave her own mark on him.  
He pushed the energy back gently and carefully shifted her so that she could reach the inside of his right wrist without him needing to withdraw his fangs.  
_“Here, bite down. Your instincts will know what to do.”_  
A set of razor sharp puppy teeth instantly bit down and the energy refocused there and seeped into the small wounds and he found himself curious to see what their marks would look like, he had no doubt that Maria would do the same as her sister.  
He pulled his fangs out and waited for Sarah to withdraw hers, it took her quite a while for her to focus her aura enough to form the mark but he just leaned back and allowed her to take her time.  
Once she withdrew her fangs he placed one of the scales from his tattoo into the mark on her shoulder before nodding to Maria that it was her turn.  
He repeated the process but Maria having seen what her sister did went straight for the mark left by Sarah and sank her tiny but needle sharp fangs into it only moments after he bit down on her shoulder.

When the others stepped out to the inner garden the twins were fast asleep in Takeshi's lap and he was carefully inspecting his new _tattoo_ , the twins mark took the form of a simple two strand rope curled around his wrist and on the inside of his wrist it formed an eternity knot from which a pair of rainbow phoenix feathers hung.  
“A new tattoo? When did you have that done?”  
Emelie peeked over his shoulder with curiosity.  
“Not a tattoo, feel it.”  
“It's... It's the twins, they marked you?”  
“Well I **am** theirs just as much as they are mine so when their instincts reached out to place their mark I allowed it and guided them.”  
“Well, it's beautiful, though maybe not really your style.”  
She teased a bit, and she was right, the colorful feathers was not a design he would have picked himself, but it was the image that represented the very soul of the twins and he would carry it with pride.  
He made sure he wouldn't disturb the twins before getting up to properly greet Emelie, wrapping her in his aura and teasing her into a scorching kiss, testing her energies to make sure she hadn't neglected her feeding and he was happy to find that she had fed recently, probably last night.  
Turning to Knight he gave a very similar greeting, though with a peck in the corner of his mouth rather than a full on makeout session, Dan however was a bit skittish and backed away slightly when Takeshi turned to greet him and when he reached out for his aura it withdrew slightly.  
“Dan, don't hide from me. Never hide from me...”  
A few quick steps and Takeshi had Dan pinned against one of the pillars that supported the small section of roof that protected part of the deck from rain and he began to poke and pull at Dan's aura to encourage him to let go so that he could figure out what was wrong but Dan just turned away and refused to look at him.  
“Dan, enough! Whats wrong?”  
Takeshi wove a light suggestion into his words, just enough so that Dan could feel it, and know that he was being serious about wanting to know.  
“Take... Please...”  
Dan was turning away, refusing to look at him while his almost begging words carried a hint of aggravation, making Takeshi even more intent on finding out the cause.  
“I won't force you, but something is bothering you and I can't do anything to fix it if I don't know what's wrong.”  
“It's not something that you can fix! Just let it go!”  
Takeshi had to suppress a growl when Dan snapped at him.  
But the behavior was completely out of character for the normally good natured man and it made Takeshi's protective nature flare to life and he pulled him close.  
“Dan, please. If you don't want to talk at least stop blocking me. Please!”  
After a few tense moments he could feel Dan sag against him and as the bond opened up an overwhelmingly strong feeling of shame washed over Takeshi before he could feel the cause beneath it and he was relieved to find it was nothing more that simple jealousy and envy.  
As he sifted through the emotions carried by the bond Takeshi could feel an increasing undercurrent of fear and it became obvious that Dan was afraid that his jealousy of a pack-mate would upset Takeshi.  
“Ssh, it's okay Dan. You feel what you feel and I won't fault you for that. Just try not to take it out on the others, okay?”  
“Don't! I can feel it, Disappointment, even anger...”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, of course Dan picked up on that, and not the concern or any of the other feelings.  
“Yes. Disappointment that you try to hide your feelings from me, that you still think I would hold them against you. You judged me without giving me a chance.”  
Takeshi would not deny the truth or try to hedge around it.  
“And yes, a bit angry, and hurt as well, that you would snap at me like that.”  
“I'm sorry...”  
“Don't worry about it. Just please, try to keep in mind that I care about all of you and I want you all to be happy. But I do understand that there is no way to avoid the occasional issue, I just want you all to be open with them, at least with me.”  
Takeshi could feel that Dan wasn't entirely convinced, but given the situation it was rather understandable, society was not gentle to those who did not fit into the heterosexual norm.  
“Now, how about you give me a proper greeting before your new pack-mates wake up?”  
Dan turned a spectacularly bright red when he realized just what kind of greeting Takeshi was hinting at but then his aura shifted and Takeshi could feel a hint of the fire Dan usually hid from the world.  
A wicked gleam entered those bright blue eyes and a split second later Dan's hands grabbed Takeshi's hair and pulled him in for a searing kiss which caused a few catcalls from behind them.  
“There you go. Makes it all feel better, doesn't it?”  
Takeshi teased and Dan just huffed at him before he headed over to the rest of the pack and soon he joined the others in their teasing of Amanda.

 


	60. A Night Out

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take-san. You need to leave within the hour or you will be late for the meeting with the representative for the Mandrake Group.”  
Takeshi shook his head at the AI with a smile, she was all out fuzzing over the upcoming meeting and it was a bit amusing that she, a computer, was more concerned than he was himself.  
During the time Angel had been working on the Mandrake takeover she had grown immensely and it was now very hard to tell she wasn't actually a living human and much to Takeshi's amusement she had began to treat the takeover like a pet project, nagging both him and Dan to do things _properly_ and not mess up all her hard work.  
“Don't worry Angel, Dan is picking up the car right now and we should be out of here within half an hour.”  
“This is the final signing and I will not have you two lazy bums ruining it!”  
“Stop being such a worrywart, this is important to us as well. We won't let all your excellent work go to waste.”  
Takeshi adjusted his holsters before putting on his jacket and picking up the briefcase that held Angel's portable sensors, he knew she wanted to be there but the closest they could do was bringing extra sensors and have her _attend_ over a video link.  
“Ah, perfect timing.”  
Takeshi was just about to leave the suite when a slight pull over the pack bond told him that Dan had arrived with their ride for the day.

Dan met him outside the hotel entrance and played the part of personal driver, opening the massive door of the Knight XV to let him in before returning to the driver's seat.  
“So, Danny, how do you like the ride?”  
“It's cool! But I gotta say, I thought it'd feel a lot heavier than it does. Considering how much it weights it handles like a dream.”  
“And your opinion Angel?”  
“It's cramped!”  
Angels muttered complaint had both Takeshi and Dan laughing as the vehicle was quite roomy.  
“Don't worry sweetie. I will upgrade the computers once all of this is done. Make them nice and roomy for you, with all the sensors and computing power I can fit.”  
“That better not be you trying to sweet-talk me.”  
“Now would I do that?”  
“Have you forgotten that I hear and see everything that happens within the estate?”  
Angel's response had Dan laughing at the wheel.  
“Oh you are so busted Take!”  
“Hmph, _Urusai._ ”  
Takeshi huffed with a slight growl, but instead of getting the silence he asked for he was rewarded with Dan snickering at him while trying to talk Angel into letting him on all the dirt.  
Luckily Angel had very strict privacy protocols.

When they arrived at the Mandrake Group's headquarters Takeshi reached forward into the drivers compartment to make sure his body armor was fitting snugly on Dan, he had talked the old dragon into adapting it for Dan for this outing.  
“Come on Take, stop fuzzing would you.”  
“Danny, keep still you big baby!”  
Dan squirmed while Takeshi adjusted the straps that secured the scaled collar that would protect him should someone try to slit his throat.  
“I still feel you should be wearing this stuff Take, not me. After all you are the one they tried to have assassinated.”  
“I'm also the one with a lifetime of combat experience and the ability to regrow a heart, not to mention I have already shifted into something similar.”  
Takeshi pulled his shirt aside slightly to reveal the scaled skin beneath.  
“Don't worry so much about me Danny, I'll be safe.”  
Takeshi gave Dan a nip on the ear before sitting back and waiting for him to open the door so that they could play their roles.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

A pair of armed security guards escorted them to the meeting room and Takeshi couldn't help the flicker of annoyance at the way they were stared at when they entered.  
“Who the hell are you? Where is Ms Daniels?”  
Takeshi found himself struggling to suppress a growl at the blatant disrespect with which Dan was addressed but at the same time there was a surge of pride when Dan didn't show any reaction to it.  
“I am Dan Lindgren, head of security at the Onryō Group. Ms Daniels is unable to be here in person but she will attend on video link.”  
_“My my, so you_ _ **can**_ _use proper English when you want to.”_  
Takeshi teased over the bond.  
_“Take... Shut up!”_  
Dan paused for a moment to silently tell him off before turning to face him slightly as he introduced him to the group.  
“Allow me to introduce the owner and founder of the Onryō Group, Mr Takeshi Kiryu.”  
The flaring of the auras in the room told Takeshi that they recognized his name.  
_“I don't think they like you very much... But don't worry, we still like you.”_  
Dan's teasing brought a smile to Takeshi's face as he stared down the small group of men and women in the room before placing his briefcase on the table and taking his seat, intentionally careless in his movements to allow his jacket to slide and reveal the twin guns underneath.  
“Let's get this over with, shall we?”  
Takeshi spoke as he retrieved the contracts from the briefcase and gave Angel the silent command to take over the screen in the room.  
“Takeshi-sama.”  
Angel nodded her greeting from the screen and Takeshi couldn't help giving her a slight glare for using -sama, it was appropriate, but it just didn't feel right.  
There was still a stunned silence in the room and Takeshi was just waiting for them to realize just who he was, but it took quite a bit longer than he had anticipated.  
“So, Subject 4-6-8 survived.”  
One of the younger men blurted out rather suddenly and that brought the others out of their daze.  
“Indeed I did. But unfortunately for you there was this lovely little girl there, just 12 years old, she was beautiful and loved lizards. But she was entirely human and her death has sealed your fate.”  
As expected the reaction was rather loud, but thanks to the crystals in Takeshi's briefcase not a sound was heard outside the room.  
“If you think we will sign power of the Mandrake Group over to you, you're an idiot!”  
“If you believe you have any choice you are rather delusional.”  
Angel spoke up and reminded them of all the previous documents they had signed, she had backed them into a very tight little corner with no real way out, Takeshi could easily use _command_ to force the signature and nothing would seem amiss.  
“And just what will you do? Threaten us? Kill us if we don't sign?”  
“Nah, nothing so crude. If you don't sign willingly I will simply _command_ you to and you will obey.”  
“Guess that confirms 4-6-8 is capable of mind-control.”  
“I have a name, _do use it_.”  
Takeshi added power to his voice and he was grinning when the man tried to speak up and call him '468' again but found himself unable to address him as anything but Mr Kiryu.

When the final set of signatures was done Takeshi almost felt sorry that it was so close to being over and done with.  
“So this is where you let us walk home, and then start killing us one by one?”  
The former CEO sneered at Takeshi as he signed and threw the papers to Dan.  
“That was my original plan, or well, I was just going to kill you all. But my sweet Angel had a much better idea. Instead of allowing you the release of death we will take away everything you have, everything you value, you will have nothing but your survival.”  
Takeshi did nothing to suppress the feral grin he could feel building, instead he relished the feeling.  
“Angel, is it done?”  
“It is done. All Mandrake assets are now completely under Onryō control.”  
“Well then, let's get out of here and celebrate, shall we?”  
Both Dan and Angel quickly agreed.  
Takeshi turned to the former Mandrake personnel and wove a strong _command_ over them, a command that would never fade as long as he lived, and that prevented them from ever revealing what they knew.  
With the command done Takeshi turned to Dan with a wide grin and the startled squeak when he kissed him almost made him laugh.  
“Take..!”  
The mix of embarrassment and frustration in Dan's voice when he finally let him go did pull out the laugh which earned him a rather pointed glare.  
“Oh shush! You're just grumpy I beat you to it.”  
Dan just stared at him for a moment before looking toward the ceiling, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, all while tossing his hands into the air with a frustrated huff.  
“You're **impossible**!”  
“Impossible to resist?”  
The look Dan gave him was utterly priceless and well worth acting a bit silly to achieve.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Once they were turning out of the Mandrake property Dan called back to Takeshi.  
“So, what's next on the agenda?”  
“Next week we will start inspecting all Mandrake assets, interview all employees and such. Next weekend is the big gaming convention and I was planning to drop by and buy some stuff for the girls. But today I plan on us getting drunk, and then I'll spend the weekend watching you nurse the hangover of the decade.”  
“Thought you couldn't get drunk?”  
“Oh I can. Just takes a lot more than a couple of pints of regular beer.”  
“So, are we renting a limo, or are we gonna walk or take a cab?”  
“Nah, Angel will drive us home, won't you sweetie?”  
“Of course. I am fully integrated into the K-XV systems.”  
The heavy armored car had a state of the art computer guidance system that allowed it to be self-driving and Angel easily tapped into that and took control but Dan was a bit apprehensive at the idea of letting her do the driving.  
“But first, get us back to the hotel so we can change into something a bit less stifling.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Damn!”  
The whispered exclamation and low whistle that met him when he entered the main room of the suite made Takeshi smirk, it would seem Dan approved of his choice of wardrobe.  
“Take, you know your idea of casual wear is pretty messed up, right?”  
He was wearing a somewhat glossy gray three piece suit over a black shirt, all with a slightly loose fit.  
“Well, I don't think a shozoku or dojo gi would go across too well at the local bars.”  
“True. But damn, we are gonna get swamped.”  
“Don't worry Danny. A gentleman would never abandon their _date_ for some dolled up trollop at the bar.”  
Takeshi could feel a surge of relief from Dan, but it was quickly cut of as Dan managed to get himself under control.  
“Take, you ever gonna stop calling me _Danny_?”  
Takeshi knew he preferred Dan over Danny, but it was hard to resist teasing him with it.  
“Nah, I don't think so.”  
“I'm **so** gonna get even with Jenna for this. And you! I can't believe you helped her cheat on that bet.”  
“Now now Danny, she beat you fair and square. She never said she would eat it herself or that it had to be done without help.”  
Jenna had made a bet with Dan that she could make a huge steak disappear faster than Dan could, but she had tricked him by bribing Takeshi into shifting to his wolf form and toss it to him and he had made very short work of it.  
And as the winner of the bet she demanded that he allowed her to call him “Danny” and not complain about it.  
“Maybe, but the bet was with her, not you...”  
“You know I love teasing you guys.”  
“I know...”  
Dan let out a deep sigh but Takeshi could feel the hint of amused frustration underneath and knew Dan didn't really mind as much as he made it seem, had he truly disliked it Takeshi wouldn't have kept calling him Danny.  
Teasing, yes, but not to the point of actually being mean or cruel.  
“But damn, now I feel totally under-dressed.”  
Takeshi could easily smell the rise in pheromones and even without the bond the spike of desire was obvious as Dan looked him over again.  
“Don't worry, we have plenty of time to do some shopping before we hit the bars.”  
Takeshi gave Dan's hair a ruffle before adding that a visit to a proper salon might be a good idea.  
“Hey! You calling me scruffy?”  
“Well, if the shoe fits...”

Takeshi sat in the rather comfortable chair and watched as a middle-aged woman cleaned and trimmed Dan's nails while her colleague washed and tried to tame that crows nest that Dan called a hairstyle.  
_“How come I have to suffer this alone?”_  
Dan complained silently over the manicure.  
_“Out of all her tools only that diamond bit would stand a chance of making even a scratch on my claws. Besides, I don't need to have mine done.”_  
Time was passed with quite a bit of bantering and the occasional complaint from Dan when Takeshi jokingly made some rather outrageous suggestions about nail and hairstyles.  
But when a young man walked over with a straight-razor Takeshi could feel his instincts rebel at the thought of allowing him anywhere near Dan's vulnerable throat, the Beast had complained when Dan's hair was washed as well, not liking that he bared his throat to someone who was not pack.  
Takeshi's instincts had refused to settle down so he had resorted to a substantial bribe and a few signatures to convince the barber to hand over the razor and allow him to shave Dan himself.  
_“Take?”  
“My instincts, they don't like you baring your throat to someone who is not pack, and refused to allow someone I don't trust fully to place a blade at your throat.”  
“I hope you know what you are doing...”  
“So do I...”  
_ The look that Dan gave him had Takeshi instantly assuring him that he knew how to use a straight razor on others, and to shave them, not to slit their throat.  
_“My father insisted that I knew how to properly groom myself, and occasionally he expected me to shave him as well.”  
“I'm sorry.”_  
Dan had obviously picked up on the slight shift in mood when Takeshi spoke of his past.  
_“Don't be, I never knew my biological parents and my adopted parents lived a long and full life. I just wish I had been able to say my goodbyes properly.”_  
Takeshi finished up the shave before leaning in and giving the pack mark a gentle nip.  
“There, all done!”  
“Now you're just being mean.”  
Dan's glazed eyes, shallow breath and slightly parted lips made it rather obvious what the problem was.  
“Time for some clothes, let's go.”  
Takeshi grabbed Dan by the arm and nearly dragged him out of the salon, much to the amusement of several of the workers and customers.

“Come on Danny, stop hiding in there and show us how it looks!”  
“Wow!”  
The sales assistant was unable to keep quiet when Dan finally stepped out of the dressing room and Takeshi had to agree with her, Dan looked really good in the set Takeshi had picked for him, even better than he had imagined.  
The three piece suit matched his own in basic style, but was black with a burgundy shirt and the cut was different to better fit Dan's much slimmer form.  
“I told you you would look great in that.”  
Takeshi motioned for Dan to turn around and walk a bit so he could get a proper look.  
“Not very casual though.”  
Dan squirmed slightly and pulled at the tie.  
“Come here, let me fix that.”  
Takeshi removed the jacket and undid the tie, then redid it with a slightly different knot and left it loose before undoing the top button of the shirt and pulling up the sleeves and finished it of by tousling Dan's hair to give it a bit of a wild look.  
“There how's that?”  
“Yeah, it feels a bit better.”  
Takeshi made him walk another lap before nodding his approval and the sales assistant agreed rather loudly.  
“You are going to have to beat the ladies of with a stick, and some of the guys...”  
Dan's somewhat panicked look made Takeshi grin.  
“Don't worry, that's my job tonight.”  
He quipped and grabbed Dan and gave him a harsh kiss that made the assistant squeak and blush a vivid red before dashing of toward the register.  
“Take!”  
Dan complained with a blush when Takeshi released him.  
“The look on her face alone was worth that, or are you saying you didn't enjoy it?”  
The only response was a few grumbled words in Swedish, none of them very flattering, not that he actually meant any of them.  
Takeshi quickly paid for Dan's clothes and the sum on the register earned him a huff and a complaint that it better not come out of his paycheck.  
“Consider them work-clothes, you are still my employee and it would be my responsibility to supply you with a uniform.”  
When Dan tried to complain again Takeshi just shook his head and grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the jewelry store next door to find him some nice accessories.  
“Dan, you have pierced ears, right?”  
Takeshi hadn't really paid attention, but he was pretty sure that Dan had been wearing earrings at the bar back when they first met.  
“Yeah, both lobes and right helix, why?”  
“Need to find you some nice earrings then.”  
“Take..?”  
Dan was a bit hesitant but Takeshi brushed his concerns off.  
“Shush, just let me spoil you rotten today, okay?”  
“Fine, I give up! Not my problem if you wanna waste a boatload of money on knickknacks ”  
“That's a good boy.”  
“Oh stuff it will ya?”  
The two young women who were also in the store snickered and whispered about their antics and complained about what a loss they were for all the women of the world, something that made Dan blush rather vividly when Takeshi told him over the bond.

“Lets check your sizes first.”  
Dan found himself being pushed over to the counter by Takeshi who asked the clerk to help measure all his sizes to give an idea what pieces would fit.  
Takeshi started by picking out a set of earrings for him, a pair of black 'huggie' earrings with a silver dragon and a smaller plain one for the helix piercing.  
A few rings quickly found their way to the tray as well, all of them with some kind of dragon motif and Dan's personal favorite was the black tungsten ring with a Celtic dragon pattern in black over a shimmering red base along the middle.  
There other two were one that matched the earrings and one with a fairly large flat glass bead that looked just like Takeshi's true eyes.  
Takeshi finally added a wide leather cuff with a silver dragon and a set of thinner bracelets in various styles, leather bands, dragon inspired beads and charms in black and silver and a short black and silver byzantine neck-chain with a dragon pendant to the pile.  
“Trying to make a statement?”  
Dan questioned with a crooked glare.  
“Of course! I'm the dragon and you're all mine.”  
Takeshi quipped with a grin as he payed for the items and helped Dan put it all on.  
“I feel like a Christmas tree being decorated...”  
“Nonsense. You look great.”

Takeshi ushered Dan out the door while picking up his phone and calling the phone in the car which Angel instantly answered.  
Since the Knight XV was a pretty darn big car it was often hard, and expensive, to park so he had told Angel to go for a drive while he took Dan shopping, just that she stay within a 15 minute drive.  
“Could you come pick us up please?”  
“On my way. I will be there in 5 to 10 minutes.”  
Heading for one of the benches along the wide sidewalk Takeshi told Dan that Angel was on her way.  
The shopping street had wide sidewalks on both sides and on one side the street was lined with benches, during business-hours the street was one-way and the lane by the benches acted as a pickup zone to make it easy to drop of shoppers before heading to the parking complex, and pick them up when done, a small fleet of taxi-cabs also circulated the block looking to pick up a fare.  
Along with several pedestrian overpasses it ensured an easy flow of traffic through the area without blockages from vehicles stopping to drop off or pick up shoppers.  
Waving one of the street vendors over Takeshi bought a pair of water bottles and handed one to Dan before settling down to wait for Angel.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Oh no you don't.”  
Takeshi quickly grabbed Dan as he was heading for the front and the driver side door, instead pulling him toward the open passenger door.  
“Take... You sure about this?”  
He was being rather concerned about taking a seat with Takeshi instead of driving the car.  
“Don't be silly Dan. You are fine with me flying the Blackout, but you complain when I drive the car?”  
Angel teased him for his hesitance to allow her to drive.  
“Less stuff to hit up there...”  
Takeshi was slightly surprised when Angel laughed at Dan's grumbled answer and a moment later he found himself laughing as well as he leaned in and gave the mark on Dan's shoulder a gentle nip before dragging his fangs along the exposed throat, thoroughly distracting him from the lack of an actual living driver.  
“Let's get something to eat first.”  
“Will it make you stop tryin' to eat me?”  
“Never!”  
Takeshi found the mix between relief and disappointment that flickered through Dan's aura to be very amusing.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant Dan couldn't have cared less who was driving, and Takeshi found that he liked the way his own scent mingled with Dan's, covering and muting the telltale scent of Dan's arousal.  
_**“Our instincts are telling us it is time to seek out a mate and any receptive adult member of the pack is seen as a potential mate. We should properly court, and mate, our Lilim before our instincts become troublesome.”**_  
The Beast offered one if it's explanations that didn't really explain anything.  
_“Not until after she has been formally introduced as a Lilim. I intend to offer my courtship before Lilith herself.”  
__**“A wise choice.”**_  
The beast quickly agreed.

“This way Mr Kiryu, Mr Lindgren.”  
The hostess showed them to their table and introduced them to their waitress and a few minutes of deciding appetizers and soup later they were waiting for their food and drinks while deciding the rest of their courses.  
“You planned this all along, didn't you?”  
Dan glared at Takeshi from behind his menu.  
“Of course I did.”  
There was a long silence before a single word came over the bond.  
_“Thanks.”_  
“I know it has been tough on you since I came back with Logan, and everything with Manda. For what it's worth I am sorry. And I'm hoping to make up for it a bit the next couple of weeks.”  
“You don't have to...”  
“Yes, I do.”  
Takeshi quickly silenced the objections before continuing.  
“ I consider you a very good friend, and you are pack. Your well-being is very much my concern, body, mind and soul.”  
Dan gave him a deep sigh and a crooked smile while he shook his head in surrender.  
After enjoying their meal Angel drove them to a club she had selected, while mainly a nightclub the reviews spoke of it as not being as loud nor as crowded as most other places, something that Takeshi was relieved about, while he could mute his senses it would be a strain even at his 'human' level.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

As they were about to enter the club Takeshi noticed that Dan seemed to a bit on edge.  
“Danny, what's wrong?”  
“Nothing really, just not my kind of place...”  
Takeshi recalled that the place Dan had invited them to in Gothenburg had been a small cozy pub so he quickly offered to find something in that style instead.  
“Wouldn't do much good. My old place, I went there because the owner and the bouncer were friends of mine, and well, married...”  
With those final words it became rather obvious what the problem was, it wasn't the establishment but rather the prejudice that anyone not conforming to the heterosexual norm was frequently faced with.  
“Dan, I won't allow anyone to mistreat you, understood?”  
When his words were met by hesitant silence Takeshi turned inward and tugged on the bond.  
_“Do you trust me?”  
_ He was cheating a bit as he tapped into the pack bond and the absolute trust and submission that Dan had displayed during the marking and he leaned in to give a quick nip at the mark.  
_“Yes, I trust you. Alpha.”_  
The last word was added when Takeshi's Beast urged him to give a light reprimand by nipping at Dan's ear.  
Once inside Takeshi scanned the place to find a good table, one that would soothe his own need to have defensible position while still being able to be a part of the crowd.  
Unfortunately the only good table was also the best table and was already taken by a pair of rather loud older women who were scanning the crowd for a _'Boy-toy'_ to spend the evening, and possibly the night, with.  
_“Take, your smile is getting kinda scary, what are you up to?”  
“Oh, nothing much. Just going to get us the best table in the place.”_  
Takeshi nodded toward the horseshoe booth between the bar and the dance floor.  
_“And how do you plan to do that, those two don't look like they have any plans of going anywhere”  
“You'll see. Just follow my lead.”_  
Takeshi sauntered over to the table and with his usual teasing grin and quickly introduced them to the women and moments later they were offered to join them at the table.  
_“Take! This is NOT how I wanted to spend the evening, this one is_ _ **grabby**_ _!”_  
Dan complained over the bond as the woman next to him once again snuck her hand under the table to grab at his thigh, trying to make a casual move for his groin.  
_“Just a few more minutes and they will be gone, promise!”_  
Takeshi was struggling not to laugh at Dan's dilemma and that clearly carried through the bond.  
_“Well, glad_ _ **someone**_ _is having fun...”_  
Dan's tone on the other hand carried a rather annoyed, almost growling note.  
But as promised the women soon excused themselves to go to the ladies room, but under the influence of Takeshi's _suggestion_ and a mild _command_ they would find their fun elsewhere and not return.  
“Isn't that abusing your powers?”  
“Nah, what good are they if I can't use them to take care of my pack?”  
Dan just shook his head and watched Takeshi walk over to the bar to have a word with the head bartender, opening a tab, and putting aside a nice tip up front to make sure that their table was kept clean, the snacks well stocked and see to that no one stole it if they decided to visit the dance floor.  
When he returned he was holding a simple tablet with a case that made it look like a piece of slate, it was connected to the bar computer and any order they wanted to make could be done right on the screen, including custom drinks, a nice little VIP benefit.

The evening started out slow, but soon the place started to fill up and as more people moved around their table an increasing number of young ladies tried to join them and quite a few of them wouldn't take the hint when they told them they were not looking for company.  
“Come on guys, you're not local and your girlfriends aren't here so who's gonna know?”  
The older of the two leaned in closer to Takeshi, giving him a good look down her cleavage.  
The two were obviously sisters, and both wore more makeup and perfume than they did clothes, not the kind of woman Takeshi would have picked even if he was just looking to get laid.  
“Well, we would know. Besides, who said anything about a girlfriend?”  
Takeshi quipped as he leaned across the table, grabbed Dan by the tie and pulled him in for a kiss.  
For a long moment Dan seemed to freeze, then Takeshi felt Dan's hand slide up to his neck and pull him in tighter, returning the kiss with fervor and he couldn't resist smiling against Dan's lips as the sisters stormed off in an outrage.  
The snickers and whispers that erupted made it rather clear that the two were locals, and not well liked at the place as most of the other patrons seemed to enjoy that they had made fools of themselves.

By the time the club had filled up the bartenders were looking rather funny at Takeshi as he had repeatedly ordered 10-shot boards to their table and Dan would down one or two while Takeshi swept the rest.  
Dan, who was no lightweight when it came to holding his liquor was starting to look rather tipsy while Takeshi still could barely feel that he had been drinking, despite intentionally trying to suppress his ability to resist toxins.  
But now Takeshi found himself fighting his instincts instead as a rather obnoxious man and a few of his friends seemed to take great personal affront to seeing him with his arm around Dan's shoulders while Dan leaned into his side.  
The group had zeroed in on Takeshi and Dan the moment they arrived and had stalked over to them with aggressive postures while loudly spewing crude insults.  
Takeshi had tried to talk them down, even used _suggestion_ , but they were only out for a fight so he couldn't dissuade them using only _suggestion_ , and he didn't want to risk using a direct _command_.  
_“Can't you just order them to get lost?”  
“I could, but they are out to find a fight, if I send them away they will just go for someone else, someone who might not be able to defend themselves.”_  
Takeshi wasn't paying much attention to what the man at the front of the group was saying, instead he focused on his body language and aura, as well as those of his friends to be prepared if he decided to attack.  
“Sorry, I prefer my lovers to _**do**_ asses, no _**be**_ asses...”  
Takeshi had no idea what had been said to trigger that comment, but the reaction in the bar area was instant.  
Dan's uncharacteristically crude comment caused the entire bar to freeze for a moment before it exploded into laughter and a few moments later the leader of the group launched at them with a snarl, clearly aiming for Dan.  
Before the other man had even reached the table Takeshi had jumped over it and positioned himself between Dan and his attacker and with practiced ease he slipped into a defensive stance.  
_“Careful, you hit him they toss us, he hits you they'll insist we go to the hospital just in case, either way, they boot us outa here and I'm startin' to like this place.”_  
Dan's silent warning did hold a certain concern, but it was overshadowed by a strong exhilaration and anticipation which made Takeshi realize that Dan had actually never seen him fight other than a few friendly scuffles.  
_“Ghee, thanks... More concerned about the table than me, are we?”_  
Dan just scoffed at the mock complaint, it would seem that he in his somewhat intoxicated state actually accepted just how strong Takeshi actually was, something he had a hard time accepting when sober.

Takeshi was keeping one eye on his attacker, avoiding and deflecting the blows while trying to spot the guards that should be on their way, he could feel one of the other men of the group trying to move behind him and moments later Dan warned him about it over the bond.  
_“I know, I can feel him. You think you're sober enough to keep him from getting involved?”  
“Leave it to me.”  
_ Takeshi wished he could have watched Dan sneak up on the guy behind him, but he had to focus on his own opponent.  
“Now now Mr. Trying to take Take from behind could cost you your life...”  
Takeshi couldn't resist a chuckle at Dan's, no doubt intentional, choice of words and it seemed to further agitate his own opponent who pulled a small ceramic pocket knife but fortunately the guards were just coming into sight so Takeshi could act.  
He didn't want to make his move until the guards could see him, it would make it harder for the group of men to lie about what had happened and would reduce the risk of him and Dan being tossed out of the place.  
He waited for the next swing and grabbed the hand while stepping up to the other man, and with a twist he had his opponent pushed against the bar with his arm twisted behind his back and when he tried to grab at him with the free arm Takeshi quickly snatched it and forced it up with the other arm behind his back.  
_“Dan! Get those thoughts out of my head, they are rather distracting. And considering my current position, very disturbing!”  
_ The moment Takeshi had pushed his opponents against the bar Dan had flooded the bond with some rather explicit images of certain intimacies that could be had in such a position.  
Sparing a moment to look over his shoulder Takeshi saw that Dan held the one that had tried to attack from behind in a similar hold and was sporting a rather telling grin and Takeshi found himself giving a wide, feral grin back, though less carnal it was just as wicked.

The guards quickly took care of the troublemakers and had them brought into a back room to wait for the police to come pick them up while Takeshi ushered Dan back to their table, Dan's mind was completely in the gutter and he was broadcasting some rather intense images and feelings over the bond, strong enough to unsettle Takeshi's instincts.  
“Easy Danny, you need to calm down. You are flooding the bond and I don't want to have to mute it. Deep breaths and relax.”  
Takeshi whispered, not wanting to use the bond since that would just make matters worse.  
“You two are pretty good. You wouldn't happen to be looking for jobs? I could use people with your skills at the door.”  
The head guard had joined them at their table for a while to get their statements as well as making sure they were okay.  
“Sorry, as fun as that sounds we got our hands full. Dan is my head of security and I just acquired a new company that needs checking.”  
“Shame. But I gotta say, you fight pretty damn good considering how much you had to drink.”  
“Too bad I'm stone cold sober again, going to be an expensive night since my intention is to get drunk...”  
“Adrenalin will do that to you.”  
Takeshi didn't bother to correct the guard, normally he would have been correct, but in this case it was Takeshi's enhanced physique that caused it, when the situation began to turn hostile his body stopped suppressing the purging of the toxins and instead went into overdrive, clearing the ethanol from his system in a matter of seconds.  
The guard waved the head bartender over to their table.  
“Mickey, do you still have that insane Polish stuff hidden away back there?”  
“Yeah, no one dares try it, and it'd be a waste to mix it.”  
“So, Takeshi was it? Feel like trying the world's strongest booze?”  
The guards entire demeanor held a clear challenge.  
“Call me Take, and bring it on!”  
Takeshi accepted the challenge with a grin.  
“You heard the man Mickey, bring it out.”  
The bottle was brought to the table along with a skull shaped shot-glass and a waiver form where Takeshi had to sign that he understood the risks of drinking something so potent, and the guard signed that Takeshi's judgment was not impaired .  
They had quite a crowd watching them by the time the head bartender poured Takeshi the first shot which he grabbed and knocked back and slapped the glass down on the table without a flinch.  
The cheering was rather loud, but Takeshi was distracted by Dan who grabbed his head and took a taste of the drink straight from Takeshi's lips, earning them an even louder cheer and some catcalls.  
“Ish, you can keep that stuff yourself. And if you ever dare call my _Hembränt_ paint-stripper again I'll never forgive you.”  
Takeshi had to agree that Dan's moonshine was smooth compared to the stuff he had just been served, and he could feel that it was indeed a potent drink.  
“But it **is** paint-stripper...”  
He teased while nodding to the bartender to pour him another and he instantly knocked it back, once again without showing any outward reaction to the burn and a 3 rd was quickly added.  
“Think I'll let those settle for a bit, but how about you leave the bottle?”  
“Sorry, no can do, it's the rules. But I'll add it to your tablet, so just tap it and someone will come pour one for you.”

After that the evening turned rather interesting, a lot of the locals dropped by and challenged Takeshi to drink shots with them, thinking that they would have a good chance of winning after what he had just downed, but unfortunately for them he just adjusted his metabolism to maintain a suitable level of intoxication.  
_“You know this is cheating, right?”  
“Why do you think I don't accept any bets and just 'Do it for the honors'?”  
“Cause you're filthy rich and don't need more pocket change?”  
“Cheeky little...”_  
Much to Takeshi's relief there were no further attacks, or negative comments in regards of their apparent choice of partners and Dan finally began to truly relax again, it would seem he was more sensitive about those things than Takeshi had originally thought.  
Takeshi noticed that the head bartender approached their table again and he turned to the young man to hear what he wanted.  
“We will be closing up soon, do you want me to call a service to make sure there is a limo, or cab, waiting for you when we close?”  
“No need, we have our own ride waiting for us. She is probably holed up at some all night burger-joint waiting for us to be ready to head back to the hotel.”  
Technically he was telling the truth, Angel had sent him a message to inform him that she had parked the car on the lot of a burger-joint a few blocks over.  
She had also called him and asked for permission to use the car's defense system as a group of young men were trying to steal it.  
The defensive system she was referring to would electrify the entire outer chassis of the car, making it a very _shocking_ experience to touch it and he did give her permission, on the condition that she only use it if there was a risk that they could damage the car, he was not worried that they would be able to actually steal it, it was after all a high security armored vehicle.  
He also forbade her from using energy-levels that could do real harm or kill, and before hanging up he told her to make sure to get video recordings of it all which she assured him she already had, from multiple angles courtesy of the numerous security cameras in the area.  
She would leave there in time to pick them up when the club closed, unless he called for her to come earlier.  
As last call was announced Takeshi placed their final order and checked the tab before adding a fairly generous tip, something that brought a wistful smile.  
“Take, what's on your mind to bring out that kind of smile?”  
“Nothing much, I just recalled all the debates I used to have with Eriksson and Daniels about tipping.”  
“Yeah, that was back before the new labor laws wasn't it? Back when tipping was pretty much considered to be mandatory. Bet Em's mom had a few things to say about that.”  
“A few indeed. And Daniels was no better.”  
“And I'd bet you were just as bad as them, weren't you?”  
“Possibly...”  
There had been a rather large clash between their tipping cultures, from Daniels with the at the time prevailing US view that tipping anything less that 15% was plain cheap, rude and stiffing the workers, and if you were happy with the service you should tip 25% or more.  
Then came Eriksson with the Swedish view that tips was a bonus, something extra if the person had gone above what would be considered normal service and the tips would range from 'keep the change' which indicated a rather neutral assessment of the service, and if the service or food was excellent 5-10% was a fairly normal tip.  
And of course there was his own way of looking at it, Japan had no culture of tipping and it could even be considered an insult, either by hinting that you believe the worker to be poor and in need of handouts or that you had not expected the service to be good, and Japanese workers take great pride in the service they offer.  
Thankfully there had been a few changes in the labor laws recently that made paying a living wage mandatory and it was no longer allowed to pay workers less and expect them to make it up with tips.  
“You know, I keep forgetting how old you really are, forgetting you are actually **older** than me, not younger.”  
“Oi! I'm not **that** much older!”  
“13 years, a few more and you'd be old enough to be my dad.”  
Takeshi muttered teasingly that perhaps it was time for the _old man_ to call it a night and head back to the hotel for some sleep.  
“Hey! I only said you were older than **me** , not that you were like **old** , old.”  
Dan instantly objected at the hint of the night ending so soon.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When they walked out the doors to the waiting car the head guard approached them and told Takeshi that the police would probably contact him and ask for a statement about the man who had tried to attack Dan, since the man had carried a knife they had to file a report.  
“They can reach me on this number during business-hours.”  
He handed one of his business-cards to the head guard who quickly thanked him with a nod.  
“I will wait until Monday to give it to them. You know how they love to rattle you by calling at the worst possible time, and I get a feeling you have plans for the weekend.”  
The guard threw a pointed look toward Dan as he spoke and there was a rather telling grin on his features.  
“Indeed I do.”  
There was a moment of hesitation and the guards look turned serious.  
“I know it's none of my business, but does he know you're not actually in love with him?”  
The rather intrusive question threw Takeshi off for a moment but he quickly took it for what it was, genuine concern for Dan who the head guard had quickly recognized as a colleague, a fellow guard.  
“Yeah, he knows. I'm curious though, how you knew..."  
“Been able to tell for a while, guess I have seen enough to be able to pick up the cue's.”  
The guard shrugged but Takeshi wasn't entirely convinced that was the reason, but the guard believed it was so instead of asking anymore he carefully brushed his aura against the guards, digging in a little deeper than he normally would.  
The way the aura responded to his was very similar to Dan's, telling him that the man was probably a latent empath, it was a common trait among successful security people, the empaths ability to accurately read emotions gave them an edge.

Takeshi checked his pockets but found that he was out of cash but instead his hand found the smooth plastic cover of one of his gold rounds and he quickly palmed the finely crafted bullion before offering his hand to the guard, thanking him for caring.  
There was a brief look of surprise when he felt the smooth plastic case pushed into his hand but a brief look had him beaming and thanking Takeshi for his generosity.  
“Wow, this is a **private** mint troy ounce , isn't it?”  
Takeshi just nodded as he turned around and joined Dan in the back of the car.

“Angel, find us an all night liquor store would you? No need for fancy stuff, as long as they have some cheap, strong booze.”  
Usually Takeshi was not a big drinker, he would enjoy his saké or shōshū and the occasional glass of some flavorful liquor or another that Matthews insisted on buying him but he had quickly noticed that **him** being slightly drunk actually had made **Dan** relax a bit.  
“Why not just grab something at the hotel?”  
“Have you **seen** how much they charge for the minibar?”  
“Umm, once, when I was on vacation with my parents. Or well, didn't actually see it, grabbed a few bags of peanuts and a couple of coke and had Dad yellin' at me for half an hour and Mom damn near strangled me...”  
“While I'm by no means cheap, I refuse to buy booze at that ridiculous markup when we can just drop by a store on the way back.”  
“Yeah, works fine with me, I'm drinking on your dime after all.”

When the car stopped and Angel informed them that they had arrived at the requested store a rather disappointed groan could be heard from Dan and Takeshi shushed him with a promise that they had all weekend once they got back to the hotel.  
In the store Takeshi was glad to see that they had a corner with simple bar equipment, the minibar at the hotel only had a few glasses, an ice bucket and ice tongs but no real equipment such as shakers or muddlers.  
He quickly picked up a selection of tools, some drink mixers and other high flavor drinks, though, he didn't bother with the sad looking, and very expensive containers with herbs, or the less than fresh smelling fruits or vegetables, he always carried a few of the sanctuary planters when traveling and they could produce any crop he wanted, perfectly ripe in only a few minutes.  
He finished by adding a few of the the beers that Dan favored and topping it all off with a few bottles of Everclear to add the extra alcohol content that would be needed for him to stay slightly drunk.  
The store clerk helped them pack the items into a few cardboard boxes he had out back before yelling for his assistant to carry them to the car, it was amusing sometimes the kind of extra service the sight of a black titanium credit-card would prompt.  
Takeshi quickly called for Angel to give the assistant access to the small cargo compartment so that he could load the boxes, it was entirely separate from the rest of the vehicle for safety reasons and the door was operated from the driver's seat just like the others.  
Takeshi just shook his head at Dan who was still browsing the wide selection of salty snacks, piling up bag after bag on the counter next to him before paying and ending up with more bags than he could carry, at least without looking rather silly, or risk crushing the contents and Dan had picked the first option, and didn't even think to ask for help as usual.  
Takeshi's amusement however was quickly cut short when they stepped outside and found themselves face to face with five young men, barely out of their teens they were all wearing almost identical clothes and they all had the same crude tattoo on the inside of the wrist and left temple.  
Combined with the cocky and aggressive way the moved it made it perfectly clear they were a part of a local gang, and that they were out prowling for victims, and the words spoken just confirmed Takeshi's assessment.  
“Well well, look here boys. I told ya I smelled a fat wallet walking around.”  
“Yeah right, more like that little rodent sending you a picture of that fancy ride there.”  
They bickered back and forth for a bit while blocking the way to the car before turning to talk to Takeshi and Dan.  
“Come on, you should know the drill, hand over your wallets, phones, those fancy trinkets and the keys to that sweet ride and you might just make it out of here alive.”  
_“Take?”  
“Don't worry Danny, they are punks, no real threat. Just play along, okay?”  
“Sure...”  
_ The silent exchange was near instant and the aspiring muggers never noticed that anything was amiss.  
“Dan, how about you show these kids why I pay you ten grand a month?”  
“Do I have to? It's my night off, not to mention I'm nicely drunk. Wouldn't wanna sober up too much.”  
Dan had instantly picked up on the playful feel of Takeshi's aura and played along nicely.  
“How about I toss in a nice bonus for you?”  
“How nice is nice?”  
“A _dragon_ each, two if you take em without me helping you, double if you take em clean.”  
“Meh, too much math, but sounds fair.”  
By now the punks were looking rather annoyed that their orders had not been followed and were beginning to advance on them.  
“Make it 50 if you do a perfect set without me.”  
Takeshi knew it would be a bit of a challenge for Dan to take all five _clean_ , without getting hit, but 50 dragons was a good reason to try hard, with current gold prices they were worth about $5000 each, not counting any collector's value for the fine craftsmanship.  
“50? Here, hold my bags will ya?”  
Dan instantly lit up with a grin and pushed all his bags into Takeshi's arms without waiting for an answer and then stepped up toward their attackers, rolling his neck and shoulders with rather audible pops and cracks.

Takeshi felt a strong surge of pride as he watched Dan make good use of their lessons, not just the pure fighting lessons, but he was also making good use of the training he had received in reading auras as well as controlling his own.  
Takeshi could see how Dan's aura pulled in and coiled tightly around him, something that made him harder to read, Takeshi was sure these punks didn't actually know how to see or properly read an aura, but most humans were able to at least sense a little bit and that was often well honed in those that fought a lot.  
Next Dan began to extend thin tendrils of energy around him, especially behind him, that would let him feel if someone came close to his back, and since his opponents right now had no idea how to manage their aura they telegraphed their intentions clearly, allowing Dan to evade attacks without needing to see them coming.  
When the last opponent fell to a vicious kick Takeshi pulled his aura in tight and slipped up behind Dan who now had his back against the car and gave his shoulder a quick tap and as Takeshi knew he would, Dan instantly spun around with cross between a body hook and an low uppercut but the hit never connected as Takeshi grabbed Dan's hand and twisted it back behind his back before spinning them around.  
He slipped his other hand behind Dan's head before slamming him rather hard against the side of car and pinning Dan's arm between his own body and the car before leaning in and giving him a harsh kiss.  
Takeshi didn't let up on the pressure until he could feel Dan respond to the kiss and once he did the smell off adrenaline quickly dissipated.  
“Take, a bit reckless don't you think? I almost nailed you in the gut...”  
Dan finally caught his breath enough to be able to speak.  
“Oh, don't worry. It's not like you could have done any damage even if you did manage to land that little sneak punch of yours. Besides, I know what I'm doing. Feeling any post fight shakes?”  
Takeshi pulled back a bit to let Dan get his right hand free and once he did Dan held it up in front of his face and noticed that just as Takeshi had hinted there was no sign of the usual shaking caused by the excess adrenaline in the system.  
“Guess that means I won't be crashing in a few minutes?”  
“You won't. Making the body refocus on something else helps cut the production of adrenaline, and it also helps clear it from the system without the usual symptoms.”  
“Awesome. Maybe refocus a bit more to be on the safe side?”  
Dan slipped his hand behind Takeshi's head and pulled slightly, intent on continuing the kiss from before but before he had a chance to they were interrupted by Angel's voice over the speaker system.  
“I am detecting a large group of people moving this way. Surveillance images show the same colors and tattoos, it would be my guess that someone has called their friends and told them they were getting their asses handed to them. Nice work by the way Dan.”  
“Thanks Angel! Nice to know someone here appreciates my work, and knows how say my name...”  
Unlike the others at the estate Angel used the Swedish pronunciation of Dan's name, at least when speaking directly to him, Emelie did use it occasionally but when she did it usually spelled trouble for Dan.  
“I guess that is our cue to head back toward the hotel.”  
Takeshi quickly grabbed Dan's bags of snacks and tossed them into the back of the car before grabbing Dan and pulling him into the waiting vehicle.  
“The shortest route to the hotel will take us directly through the path of the approaching gang.”  
Angel quickly displayed a holographic map showing the route to the hotel and the path the gang were moving along, the were coming down the same street that lead toward the hotel.  
“It's not like they can do anything to us beyond maybe scratching the paint job and I was planning on modifying this baby a bit so will have to redo that anyway.”  
Once they were done assessing the Mandrake Group Takeshi intended to bring the Knight XV to the island and work on upgrading it.  
The only work that had been done on it since it's construction some 30 years ago was the addition of the defensive shock system, computer and electronic upgrades and replacing the combustion engine and fuel-tank with an electric engine and a power-cell.  
Takeshi would pretty much rebuild the entire thing, new hybrid armor using the latest alloys combined with sanctuary crystals, the power-cell would be replaced with one of the adapted crystals as well.  
A new, more powerful engine, one of the crystal computers and a few other bits and pieces was on the list along with a few more weapon systems, both defensive and offensive.  
“Shortest route it is then.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Night Out_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The gang did try to stop them, but when Angel coldly informed them over the speakers that while she had slowed down to allow them time to get out of her way she had no intention of stopping, and they realized that touching the car was a bad idea, they settled for throwing bottles and rocks at them while they drove out off there.  
When they arrived at the hotel Angel quickly circled around to the underground garage and their assigned parking slot next to the VIP elevator where one of the porters was waiting with a luggage cart, no doubt Angel had called ahead to the hotel once she noticed how much they had bought at the liquor-store.  
Back at their suite the porter unpacked the boxes before wishing them good night.

“Take, could you bring a bowl of the bacon snacks and a beer on your way back?”  
Takeshi instantly regretted looking over his shoulder at the sound of Dan's voice, he was sprawled on his back in the couch with his head completely tilted back over the armrest, fully exposing the column of his throat and Takeshi could feel his fangs change as the vampiric aspects stirred at the sight.  
Dan's eyes went wide and he froze completely when Takeshi turned and began to stalk toward him and when he kneeled down in the couch and leaned over to drag his fangs along the exposed throat Dan nearly forgot how to breathe.  
_“May I?”  
“Always!”  
_ Takeshi's question was redundant and the answer instant, and a moment later Takeshi felt Dan's hands snake around him and one quickly found its way into the hair at the nape of his neck, gently pulling him closer only to freeze slightly when he sank his fangs in and stole a few drops of blood.  
“Take, don't take this the wrong way please, but do you actually intend to take this all the way? To finish what you have started? If not, then please, no more.”  
Takeshi withdrew his fangs at Dan's question and took a moment to seal the wounds, and during that time he could feel Dan's anticipation shift into worry and in mere seconds Dan's aura was shivering with a near panic.  
_“Do you want me to?”_  
Takeshi wove power into his voice and Dan's panic instantly settled into an intoxicating joy and there was no hint of hesitation, only pure conviction and want carried by the single word answer, **'Yes!'**.  
“Then I will.”

Those were the last coherent words spoken that night as Takeshi gave Dan one of the things he had been wishing for ever since they first met, though Takeshi did feel a pang of regret that he was unable to give Dan the other, maybe one day he would learn, maybe one day he would be able to share his heart with all of them.

 


	61. The Mandrake Group

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Mandrake Group_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Take, is this a dream?”  
Dan mumbled while tracing kisses across Takeshi's chest.  
“Do you want it to be?”  
Takeshi smiled into Dan's hair as he recalled another conversation with Dan that had started a very similar way, only this time the strong fear was absent and the pain from the hangover not as sharp.  
“No.”  
The calm answer carried an almost sad note, but also a deep contentment, and a touch of hope.  
“Wouldn't mind waking up and finding this hangover gone though...”  
The complaint made Takeshi chuckle and catch Dan's chin to tilt his head up so he could see his eyes.  
“Do you trust me?”  
Dan just nodded and Takeshi could feel his trust flow through the bond, he carefully shifted his position a bit so that he could reach to kiss him and with a quick bite he allowed his fangs to cut his own tongue to draw some blood before kissing Dan.  
Dan instantly froze at the tang of blood and confusion surged through his aura and into the bond.  
_“Trust me.”_  
Takeshi repeated silently and a few moments later Dan swallowed rather heavily and Takeshi could feel the shiver at the taste, and knowledge of what it was, but he knew it would sort Dan's hangover in no time at all.  
“Wow, that works fast. Kinda gross, but thanks.”  
“Well, as much as I would enjoy watching you sleep off that hangover I was hoping for a somewhat more satisfying day.”  
Dan spluttered at the double meaning of Takeshi's words and hurried off to the shower, only to find himself cornered as Takeshi grabbed the door before he had a chance to close it, much less lock it.  
“Don't spend too long in here, I have reserved one of the private spa's in the basement for the day.”  
The hotel had a few spa like rooms available for guests, each had a small pool for swimming or cooling off, a Jacuzzi hot-tub, sauna, tanning beds, massage table and a comfortable sitting area, and of course a changing room with showers.  
Takeshi had requested that some of the chairs and tables be removed and replaced with a large pile of pillows just like at the estate, he had gotten so used to the den like area he found himself having a hard time relaxing in a regular couch, or even beds.  
“Soo, planning on being lazy all day?”  
Dan's voice carried a mischievous tone and Takeshi countered with one of his own.  
“Oh, far from lazy actually...”  
Dan was already blushing rather vividly, but he manage to turn a few shades darker when Takeshi shrugged of the simple bathrobe and stalked toward him with his arms slightly open to prevent him from ducking back out of the bathroom, slowly herding him into the shower-cabin with a predatory smirk.

Breakfast had been enjoyed in the private spa and after a nice soak in the Jacuzzi Takeshi lured Dan onto the massage table.  
“You know, you're pretty damn good at this.”  
Dan's voice was somewhat muffled from having his face buried into the massage table and his words were mixed with various moans and groans as Takeshi kneaded the knots out of his back and shoulders.  
“When I was a kid I grew a lot faster than normal, combined with the harsh training I often suffered from stiff, cramping and very sore muscles so Hisao-hanshi would help me by massaging them for me, and as my training intensified he hired a true miko who was a skilled reiki healer, acupuncturist, herbalist, masseuse and chiropractor.”  
“Damn, that's a nice list.”  
“It is, she also had conventional medical training and was very skilled. During the time she was charged with tending to my health I learned many valuable skills from her.”  
“Sounds like you might have had a bit of a crush on her.”  
“She was old enough to be my great grandmother.”  
Takeshi huffed, but Dan's word made him think.  
“But in a way you might be right. I never did see her age, only her gentle but strong aura and pure soul.”  
“Do you ever see anything but the soul?”  
Dan's question had a bit of an edge to it, and Takeshi knew what he was really asking, during his lessons Takeshi had explained that souls didn't really have a gender, they might have a preference for a male or female form, but they were genderless, none and both at the same time.  
It was the spirit and the body that held the gender, and those didn't always match.  
“No, not really, not in the way you are asking at least.”  
The conversation made Takeshi think about the old miko and as he thought back he realized that chances were high that she hadn't been human, which meant she might still be alive.  
_“Arigatou gozaimasu.”_  
Takeshi leaned in and whispered his thanks in Dan's ear.  
“Thanks for what?”  
Confusion flickered through Dan's aura.  
“For making me think. I just realized that Mizuki-sama might have been something other than human.”  
“You should try to find out then.”  
“It does warrant looking into, but I'm thinking I should put you and Angel on it. I need to focus on working with Em and Logan to get us ready to go looking for Em's father.”  
The mention of the upcoming trip caused a wide range of emotions to flicker through Dan's aura, most of them negative, but he kept his silence.  
“Dan, I know you don't like it. I know you want to come along, but I need you to keep the others safe, the twins will allow Jenna to care for them, but they need pack, so does Manda, and she needs more than just the twins. With me, Em and Logan all gone you will be the head of the pack.”  
“Me? Shouldn't it be Manda? I'm just human and she's a blessed...”  
“It has nothing to do with what you are, simply that in terms of experience she is still a child, not ready for that responsibility.”  
“And you think I am?”  
“I know you are.”

“You know Take, I could get used to being spoiled like this.”  
“Oh, are you saying you enjoyed our little weekend?”  
“You know I did. You made damn sure I _enjoyed_ every bit of it.”  
“Well, I _did_ kind of owe you as much. With everything that has been happening you have ended up with the short straw for all of it and you were never supposed to be just an employee.”  
“You know what, take me for another weekend like this for my birthday and it's all forgotten.”  
“I think we can manage that, it's even on a Friday.”  
“It is?”  
Dan quickly grabbed his phone and checked.  
“Okay, when did you check that?”  
“I didn't, my old teacher thought it would be a good mental exercise to learn a formula for calculating what day any date would be. Pretty useless most of the time, but does make for a nice party trick.”  
Dan promptly started asking what day random dates were, checking them on his phone, and by the 10 th he just huffed and admitted that perhaps Takeshi did know how to calculate the days.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Mandrake Group_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi struggled not to sigh at the fidgeting woman in front of him, she was the head researcher for Mandrake's genetics department and while she was an absolutely brilliant scientist she was socially awkward and she babbled and stuttered uncontrollably when uncomfortable so he was having problems completing the interview.  
He could feel her discomfort growing into distress and when the first sparks of panic began to shift through her aura he picked up one of the simple computer tabs from the box on the floor next to him and handed it to her after transferring a basic internal messaging application and a questionnaire to it.  
“Why don't you go sit in the garden or head back to your lab and go through the questions I have added here, just use the chat if you have any questions.”  
The relief was instant and she thanked him with a small smile before hurrying off toward her lab.  
“So what do you think of her Danny?”  
Dan was staying in the large file room next to the conference room that Takeshi had claimed as his office, hidden from view but able to listen to the conversations.  
“She seems okay, bit skittish and awkward but that can be worked around.”  
“Angel?”  
The AI had collected and compiled all the data she could find on all of the employees and Takeshi had also asked her to record and study all the interviews to help her learn about and analyze human behavior.  
“I agree. She is definitely worth keeping, and she deserves a raise, her pay is horrible for the work she does.”  
The numbers on the holographic screen were indeed horrible, she was the lowest paid of all researchers, including the assistants.  
“She probably has a hard time negotiating her salary so she just accepted whatever they offered.”  
“It would seem to be the case. I am however more concerned about her medical files. She has been hospitalized several times due to collapsing from overworking herself.”  
“Didn't she have an assistant?”  
Takeshi was a bit concerned that a department head had been allowed to work herself into the hospital.  
“He is next on the list for interviews.”  
“Good.”

Takeshi found himself instantly disliking the young man, he was a bright researcher, but his attitude was horrible.  
He clearly considered anyone without a higher degree to be inferior and his attitude toward women was just as bad, if not worse, reading between the line Takeshi found that the assistant believed that the only reason he was an assistant and not the head of the department was because of his age.  
When Takeshi brought up the the incident with the head researcher the assistant had replied with a sneer that he was a research assistant, not a babysitter.  
“And how much research was done with prof Miller in the hospital?”  
The response was a long complaint about how the professor needed to learn to take and file proper notes.  
Once he had left Takeshi once again turned to Dan for his opinion.  
“Can I punch his lights out after you fire him?”  
Dan obviously shared his dislike for the guy.  
“Angel?”  
Takeshi was pretty sure she would balance their opinion in the matter.  
“He is a good researcher, ideally I would like to keep him on. Maybe demoting him to department gofer and having him work his way up could rid him of his conceit?”  
“Normally I would agree, but I think this one would cause everyone a lot of grief if we try that. I don't see any option but getting rid of him.”  
“It's your call, I'll add him to the list of people to fire. Do you want him out immediately or during the relocation?”  
“He's not an immediate security risk so keep him on until the move.”

So far 38 employees had been flagged for immediate dismissal, mostly upper management that had been aware of the less than ethical, not to mention illegal activities that had been going on.  
Most of them he hadn't even bothered talking to, Angel had showed him their files and he had agreed that they needed to be gone.  
They were currently working on interviewing the researchers and the various lab workers to decide who to keep, and who to fire, or move to other companies that he had control of, both his own and those that were a part of the Kiryu assets.  
Takeshi had decided to move the entire Mandrake Group to a brand new complex in Hawaii in order to make it easier to manage and for the move to be smooth he needed to cut the workforce in half to fit the smaller complex. .  
He had Angel buy out any scrap of land that became available but it was a slow process, especially since a lot of land was government property and they were not keen on selling.  
His ultimate goal though was to own all of it and turn the chain of islands into a haven for those who are worthy, for those who are _other_.

Interviewing over 600 people at a rate of about 30 a day was slow work, and they were now halfway done, another 10 days and they could head back to the estate.  
But Takeshi found himself to be rather bored so when the lab tech he had been talking to left and Angel informed him that it was time for lunch Takeshi immediately pounced on Dan to take the edge of his boredom.  
But he had barely gotten started when a sharp wolf-whistle from the door interrupted them.  
“Now that's hot!”  
The confident voice held amused approval and Takeshi could smell a hint of arousal and he found himself curious about who it was that had interrupted them.  
“The next interview is after lunch.”  
Takeshi decided to keep teasing Dan as he spoke just to see how the man would respond.  
“Yeah, sorry about that. But I just put a bunch of data into the computer and it will take an hour or so for it to run everything. So I was hoping I could get this done now while I can't do much anyway so I can grab the data the moment it's done”  
There was a surge of frustrated disappointment from Dan as he knew Takeshi would agree to move the interview but it was quickly replaced by embarrassed surprise when Takeshi grabbed him and tossed him onto the couch before joining him and moving him into his lap.  
“I hope you don't mind if I continue with my break activities?”  
Takeshi motioned for the man to sit across the small table.  
“Of course not. Nothing worse than having to cut good fun short.”  
“Angel, the files please.”  
“Bran Quirke, head of software development.”  
Angel announced the man while the holographic displays swirled to life and continued to list a few of the key point and highlighting the data on the displays as she spoke.  
“Wow! That is one awesome AI. It sounds almost sapient“  
“ **She** is. And she does not like to be treated as a non-person.”  
Takeshi had a spur of the moment idea since Bran seemed very interested in Angel and as software developer he would be working under her whether he knew it or not they might as well get to know each other.  
And if anyone asked if it had anything to do with it freeing him to focus on teasing Dan he would deny it.  
“Angel, why don't you handle this interview?”  
“Of course Takeshi-sama.”  
Takeshi huffed slightly at the address, but it was not inappropriate as she was addressing the head of the company.  
When their food arrived Bran was so engulfed in his conversation with Angel that he started eating from the table without thinking and neither Takeshi nor Dan had the heart to point out that he was eating their food, there was plenty enough for all of them.  
“Oh damn! I'm sorry!”  
When Bran finally noticed what he was doing he began apologizing vigorously but Dan just shushed him.  
“Don't worry, Take always orders way more food than we really need. I'm Dan by the way.”  
He held out his hand to Bran in greeting.  
“Bran.”  
“That's Irish, isn't it?”  
“It is.”  
Takeshi tuned out the conversation as Dan dragged Bran toward the filing room that he had made his own, instead Takeshi focused on preparing for the afternoon's set of interviews and he had to admit that he was somewhat relieved that Dan seemed to have taken some interest in Bran even if it didn't become anything but a friendship it would do him good.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Mandrake Group_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi looked at the list of names when they returned from lunch and he was happy to see there were only five names left, it had taken much too long for his taste to complete the work and he longed to return home.  
A few muttered curses made him look up at the woman, Rebecca, who was having some problems moving the chairs away from the table so that she could move her electric wheelchair in properly.  
“Would you like some help with that?”  
“If you have the time to spare I would rather manage on my own, I told them that these chairs had a really stupid design, but did they listen?”  
“Obviously not. Just file a report on them and suggest a few better options and I will see to that they are replaced with better ones, at least in a few areas to start with.”  
Takeshi turned his attention back to the files and allowed her wrestle the chairs in her own time.  
According to her file she had been paralyzed from the waist down since she was 13 after being hit by a drunk driver, the impact of the vehicle had shattered her spine and conventional medicine gave her no hope of ever walking again.  
But the incident had spurred her to study medicine, focusing on neurology and then branching into neural implants and cybernetics, trying to find her way out of the chair.  
“So Rebecca Reed, correct?”  
“Just call me Becca please, Rebecca is my great aunt. And thanks by the way.”  
“For?”  
Takeshi was confused for a moment as he had done nothing to help her.  
“For asking if I **wanted** help. For waiting without trying to rush me.”  
“I have been at this for three weeks, a few more minutes won't make any difference to me, but it might for you.”  
Takeshi pushed one of the tabs across the table and quickly went through the standard questions before going into some specifics about her work and research.  
“Multiple degrees in neurology and cybernetics, very impressive.”  
“It's not like I had much else to do.”  
There was a hint of bitterness in her tone and Takeshi could understand that, it could not have been easy for her to have ended up in that chair, missing out on so much of life as a youth and he felt a somewhat kindred feeling toward her.  
Takeshi watched her maneuver away from the table and return the chairs to their places, but as she turned toward the door she paused and turned back to him.  
“Would it be alright for me to ask a somewhat personal question?”  
“Ask away, I might not answer though.”  
“Is it true, the rumors that the guys down at crypto whisper about, that you are a.. Were... Ehm.. Lycan?”  
Takeshi figured that 'crypto' referred to the small cryptozoology department that was a part of Mandrake's effort to track down those with powers to try to find a way to turn them into weapons.  
“I thought the work they did down there was supposed to be some big secret?”  
The disappointment was obvious when he dodged her question with one of his own but she answered him at least.  
“People get uncomfortable, reminded of their own mortality when they see me stuck in this chair, so they choose not to see me. And not seeing me they forget that I am there and start talking.”  
Takeshi nodded and after a moment's consideration he chose to answer her.  
“Angel, secure the room.”  
He needed to make sure it was safe to reveal himself first.  
“We are secure.”  
The answer was instant, she must have taken measures the instant she noticed where the conversation was going.  
“I'm not a lycanthrope, or werewolf. They are shapeshifters able to change between man and wolf. I on the other hand can pick almost any form, a true shapeshifter.”  
He followed up on his words by taking the first form he had ever learned, the large black wolf.  
“Wow, that's amazing!”  
There was no trace of fear in her, even as he walked up to her and showed his nose into the crook of her neck to give a good sniff she only huffed and pushed his nose back.  
_“Beautiful eyes...”_  
It took a moment before Takeshi realized that she had not spoken out loud, it would seem she carried the gene for telepathy.  
_“Trying to flatter me into giving you a raise?”_  
“What?”  
Her surprise at his words was obvious.  
_“We shifters can't speak when in the form of an animal so it comes with its own form of communication, most humans can't hear us, but those who possess telepathy, active or latent, can hear us.”_  
He paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in before continuing.  
_“But I heard you first, without reaching out to form the bond needed. That means you actually transmitted your thoughts. You possess an active form.”_  
They were interrupted by Angel informing Takeshi that his next appointment was waiting outside and he quickly resumed his human form.  
“How about we talk more about this tonight? Dinner at a place of your choosing, or our hotel-room if you prefer.”  
“Our?”  
“Yeah, I share accommodations with my head of security, good friend and pack-mate, Danny over there.”  
Her startled squeak when she realized they were not alone in the room made both Takeshi and Dan smile wide.  
“Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, but I never get tired of watching him shift. And it's Dan by the way, not _Danny_.”  
“Are you also a shapeshifter?”  
“Nah, just a regular old human here.”  
Dan just gave Takeshi a short not before returning to his makeshift office.  
“How about you let us know before the end of they day if you want to join us or not? I'm afraid I can't offer you a ride though, my car might be large but it lacks in cargo-space so we wouldn't be able to fit your wheelchair.”  
For a moment she didn't answer, instead she looked to be in rather deep thought.  
“Well, if you don't mind an early dinner and giving me a hand getting in and out of the car I do have a smaller folding chair in my lab, it's about the size of four of those briefcases of yours.”  
“I guess we have a dinner date then Ms Reed.”  
Takeshi opened the door for her with a smile, but it faltered slightly when he saw the way the woman who was next in line sneered at Rebecca and he instantly found himself disliking her.

The initial dislike quickly grew when he shook her hand in greeting and she instantly shifted to put herself on display and he found that the scent of her arousal sickened him, the scent was no different than in any other human female and yet he found it revolting.  
Even after he displayed the ring which he wore on his left ring finger for this kind of event in a very obvious manner she still kept shamelessly hitting on him and he could feel an agitated anger from Dan.  
_“Are you okay in there Danny?”  
“No! She thinks you are married and still keeps hitting on you! You're ours!”_  
The strong possessive surge made Takeshi smile, especially since Dan had referred to him as being _theirs_ not _his_ , claiming him for the entire pack.  
_“I want her out of here! Forever...”  
“Don't worry, I agree fully. I don't want someone with such a lack of morals and honor working for me.”_  
Takeshi made sure to round up the questions as fast as possible, for appearances, and then dismissed the woman rather coldly and calling up a flicker of shadow-flame to destroy the note with the woman's phone number before calling in the next person on the list.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Mandrake Group_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

With the last appointment finally done Takeshi quickly packed up his things and dumped them in the car before heading down to Rebecca's lab to see if she wanted to leave early.  
“Becca are you ready to head out?”  
“I don't get off for another hour.”  
“Don't worry, I have it on good authority that the boss won't mind if you leave early today.”  
Takeshi's retort instantly had her laughing.  
“Sure. Could you give me a hand and carry that for me?”  
She pointed toward a folded up wheelchair that rested against the wall by the door.  
“You can fit that in your car, right?”  
“Yeah, no problem.”  
“Just need to go by my car so I can put this chair away and change to the smaller one.”  
Takeshi nodded and grabbed the folded up chair before motioning for her to lead the way but as he began to follow her Dan quickly grabbed the chair from his hands and carried it instead.  
_“For appearances...”_  
Takeshi answered the silent words with a brush of his aura to relay his approval.  
They watched with curiosity as Rebecca drove her wheelchair into the specially built car and secured it behind the wheels.  
“Could you unfold that one for me please and put it next to me here.”  
Dan quickly did as she asked and made sure to stay close should she ask for help, and ended up holding her bag while she shifted into the smaller chair and locked up her car.  
“So, where are you parked?”  
“This way.”  
Takeshi lead the way while idly chatting and they soon found themselves by the Knight XV where they found a slight problem since there was no way for her to move straight from the chair into her seat.  
She was about to sit on the floor and shuffle her way over to the seat when Takeshi interrupted her.  
“If it is okay with you I can carry you to the seat.”  
She nodded with a sigh and allowed Takeshi to pick her up out of her wheelchair and carry her into the car and make sure she was sitting comfortably.  
“I'm sorry. I didn't think about how hard it would be for you to get into the seats.”  
Takeshi's aura reflected embarrassment and shame for his oversight.  
“It's okay.”  
“No, it's not. I should have realized that the seats are much further in than in a normal car.”  
“Don't worry. This worked as well, didn't it?”  
“It did, but I can feel that you don't like being carried.”  
“No I don't, but sometimes there's not much of a choice. Besides, something about you is different. Didn't feel as uncomfortable as it usually does.”  
Takeshi was about to answer her when Dan interrupted them from the front.  
“So, where do you want to go?”  
“Well, depends. Do I need to worry about if I can afford the food?”  
“No, it's on me.”  
Takeshi instantly assured her he would pay for everything and she nodded with a smile and he could see her mentally checking of potential places.  
“Uhm, Mr Kiryu. There is this nice place I have been wanting to test but they don't have wheelchair access. Do you think you would be able to carry me up the stairs, five floors?”  
“If you want me to, no problem.”  
“I thought that was illegal?”  
Dan questioned from the front.  
“It's an historical building so they can dodge it since it would modify the structure.”  
“That sucks... So which way?”  
She quickly gave Dan directions to the place and soon they found themselves in front of an old building at the edge of the city.  
“Ready?”  
Takeshi held out his hand to her and when she nodded he leaned in closer and picked her up and backed out of the car before shifting her slightly so that he was holding her comfortable in bridal style.  
“Do you want us to bring your chair or leave it in the car.”  
Dan motioned toward the back of the car.  
“Well, kinda depends.”  
She looked up at Takeshi with a bit of a blush.  
“If I need to use the ladies room, would you be okay with carrying me there?”  
“Whatever you need, all you need to do is ask. But are you sure you want to do that?”  
She just nodded and slipped her arm around his neck to get the leverage she needed to slightly shift her position.

They received quite a few looks as they walked into the building but Takeshi just unfurled his aura a bit and allowed a slightly aggressive energy to flow through the outer layer, making people look away and not want to approach them.  
Once upstairs they were met by a host who gave them a rather pointed look and seemed to be about to say something but a sharp glare from Takeshi had him shutting his mouth with an audible click before showing them to a suitable table.  
Takeshi helped Rebecca get seated in one of the armchairs and after a few moments of her slipping and trying to find her balance he carefully brought one of his kumo-silk lines out of the shift and used it as a seat-belt of sorts to keep her from slipping in the chair.  
“Thanks...”  
There was a slight hint of embarrassment in her voice but no distress.  
Once they had placed their orders Takeshi began to bring up his plans for Mandrake.  
“Becca, how would you feel about moving to Hawaii and working from there?”  
“I would love to, but I'm not paid enough for that, not to mention there are no jobs of interest there.”  
“Well, I'm planning to change that. I'm opening an Hawaiian branch of the Mandrake Group, it will house an independent R&D department. Over the next few years I will try to transfer choice staff from the current departments and recruit some new ones as well before closing down or selling off what remains.”  
“In that case, sign me up!”  
She paused for a moment and her aura shifted into curiosity.  
“If you don't mind me asking, why are you doing this”?  
Takeshi considered her question for a moment before deciding to tell her and once he spoke up he could feel Dan pulling on the bond, offering silent support.  
When he was done telling her about what had happened, about Diane he could scent her tears and feel a deep sadness in her aura but before he had a chance to try to comfort her there was a rustle from Dan's clothes and his raijū popped it's head out of the pocket where it had been sleeping in its weasel form and quickly scampered over to Rebecca.  
“Well hello cutie. What are you doing here?”  
Her eyes went wide and she turned to stare at Dan when the familiar tapped into the trace of telepathic ability and answered her.  
While they explained a bit about the familiars her sorrow quickly faded and by the time they were done she was laughing from some of the crazy antics they had told her about.

After their meal they drove back to the Mandrake complex to allow Rebecca to pick up her car and when she drove off Dan turned to Takeshi.  
“So, going to offer to heal her?”  
“No.”  
Dan looked rather puzzled so Takeshi explained his reasoning.  
“She has lived most of her life with the goal of getting herself out of that chair, she has given all that she is to that goal. If someone were to just walk up to her and offer her a magic pill she would lose herself, if she even accepted.”  
Dan nodded his understanding.  
“Doesn't mean I won't help her though. I will just use more mundane methods, like financial support or finding her the best and the brightest to work with.”  
“A shoulder to cry on, words of encouragement...”  
Dan added and Takeshi nodded.

Two more days were spent at the Mandrake complex to make sure everything was in order and running smoothly before returning to the island to begin preparations for their quest to find Emelie's father.

 


	62. Preparations

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

 **December 9 th  ** **2042**

Takeshi had barely returned to his study after his and Dan's trip to take over the Mandrake group when there was a sharp knock at the door and Matthews peeked inside.  
“Got a moment kid?”  
Takeshi just nodded for him to enter.  
“You know I've been working on buying a second Blackout from one of the brokers I know from the GCTI.”  
Another nod and Matthews continued.  
“Well, he kinda figured out I was working for you.”  
“That could be pretty bad.”  
“Actually, turns out it was a stroke of good fortune. Seems you saved his sister and he is very grateful.”  
“Did he happened to mention how I saved her?”  
“When you killed that asshole Roberts. He was planning on kidnapping her to force her brother to work for the GCTI, but you killed him before the plan was carried out so it never was.”  
“That's good to hear. I assume his gratitude was enough to persuade him to accept our offer?”  
“Nah, it made him turn it down flat.”  
Takeshi's frustrated look made Matthews chuckle before he continued.  
“Don't worry, I told ya it was a good thing. He made us a very good counteroffer.”  
“How good?”  
“Free pickings from his entire stock, free of charge if you give him your word to use it to protect those who can't protect themselves. And if you ever need anything, call him and he will do what he can to get it for you.”  
“Okay, that's a good offer. So, what did we get, and when does he want to meet to claim his promise?”  
“Angel, could you bring up the acquisitions list?”  
“Of course Mr Matthews.”  
Takeshi stared at the list with wide eyes, not only had Matthews secured the second Blackout but there was a rather long list of weapons and ammunition as well as a list of vessels.  
  
Blackout  
Harpy (UCAV)  
Knight XV  
Marlin (AUV)  
Peregrine (UARV)  
Thunderhead (SD)  
  
When Takeshi reached the Thunderhead listing his head snapped to Matthews.  
“A **Thunderhead** ? Is it for real?”  
The Thunderhead was a high powered stealth destroyer and one of the fastest military ships to have ever graced the seas and she carried an impressive arsenal of conventional weapons, rail-guns and a laser point defense that could be used to generate a high power beam that could cut a small boat in half.  
“Yeah, I checked it personally, it's real, and according to Angel, in good condition.”  
“I could kiss you right now!”  
Takeshi leaned over the desk with a grin and Matthews instantly reared back.  
“Aw hell no! Stay away!”  
Takeshi just grinned, grabbed his head and kissed his forehead which earned him some muttered curses as he sat back into his chair.  
“Twelve Harpies?”  
A Harpy UCAV, was a fairly large unmanned combat aerial vehicle with medium armaments, what it lacked in armor and weapons it made up for with extreme maneuverability and speed.  
The speed and maneuverability was what had ultimately led to it's cancellation, even through the remote control system very few pilots could handle it.  
“Only four of them in working condition though, figured we might be able to scrape together a few more from the busted ones.”  
“Almost thirty Peregrines, and twenty Marlins.”  
The Peregrine was a light unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, completely unarmed it made up for its lack of power with superior stealth, speed and ability to stay in flight for months at a time.  
The Marlin was basically a submarine version, though it did carry light armaments.  
“Only half of each operational though.”  
Looking back at the list Takeshi noticed that there were also two Valkyries listed, the twin seat fighters were best known for their stable all round performance.  
“This is very impressive. I trust you have a plan for keeping all of this hidden?”  
“Just who do you think you're talking to kid?”  
“I'll take that a a yes.”  
Takeshi laughed at Matthews insulted tone.  
“Angel, work with Matthews and check the exact condition of each one and see if there is anything we can upgrade please. Then ensure you are able to control all the unmanned ones.”  
“Will do.”  
Takeshi went through the rest of the items with Matthews and made plans for a short trip to go meet with the arms dealer and information broker and give him his word.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**March 6 th 2043**

Takeshi shifted the wooden box into his left hand and reached out and knocked softly on the door to Dan's room.  
“Come on in Take.”  
“Happy birthday Danny.”  
Takeshi followed up his words with a kiss that left Dan momentarily silenced as he handed him the box.  
Dan opened the box and picked up one of the black crystal disks that looked just like the dragon rounds that he had collected quite a few of.  
“What are these?”  
“I promised you a 'night out' for your birthday, and I intend to do so each and every one. But you know as well as I do that I won't always be able to take you out right away, maybe not even the same year, or for several years. So I will give you one of those each year, each good for one outing.”  
Dan quickly looked into the box again.  
“Thirty of them, right? You even put some of your power into them...”  
“Yes, one for each year and I figured you might appreciate something with a touch of my aura while I'm gone.”  
Takeshi had barely finished speaking before Dan threw himself around his throat and his gratitude was nearly overwhelming and his kiss was demanding.  
_“How about you get ready to leave instead of trying to strangle me if you want your weekend?”_  
Takeshi tone was rather amused and Dan quickly let him go and grabbed a bag next to the bed before stating that he was good to go.  
“So, wanna go to the same place as last time, or find a new one?”  
“I kinda liked that place actually, and it's a bit short notice to find another place.”  
“It's settled then, and next weekend we will meet Jenna in El Paso to meet her parents for **her** birthday so we have a full week to ourselves.”  
Jenna was only a week younger than Dan but he teased her mercilessly for it.

Takeshi was more than happy to run off for a few days, he had spent the past few months training hard with Knight and Emelie to prepare for their search for the Obsidian Halls and between that and all the other preparations needed he was rather tired.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**March 13 th 2043**

“Guys, this is Takeshi Kiryu and Danny Lindgren.”  
Jenna indicated toward them in turn before turning to face them.  
“Take, Danny, my dad, Mark, mom, Tamara and my annoying baby sister Meghan.”  
Takeshi quickly greeted Jenna's family and allowed his aura to flow over them, so far he had a good feeling from them and he had to resist a knowing smirk at the sister's reaction to both him and Dan and only a few moments later Jenna called her out on it in her usual blunt manner.  
“Meg forget it. Danny only has eyes for Take, and Take might agree to screw your brains out, but his heart belongs to Emmy.  
“Jenna Louise Addams! Mind your language young lady!”  
The sister had blushed vividly and while her mother snapped at Jenna her father was struggling to hide his chuckle.  
“Don't let Em hear you call her that, only the twins gets away with that.”  
Dan warned her with a laugh but he instantly shut up when Jenna's father turned to him with a glare.  
“So you are the guy that knocked my little girl out?”  
Dan gulped slightly but before he had a chance to answer Jenna came to his defense.  
“No Dad! That was Logan, or well actually Logan's pet, this is Danny.”  
“It's Dan...”  
Dan corrected her with a sigh as Jenna began to explain to her family about what had happened, not the entire story, but enough.

“You have a really good hand with animals. Never seen that that demon of a stallion allow anyone but Jenna close enough to touch him. If he wasn't one of the genetically most valuable stud mustangs in existence we would have had him gelded, or maybe even put down. He is just too wild.”  
Jenna's father walked up behind Takeshi as he was feeding a piece of apple to a black stallion with a perfect diamond star and Takeshi chuckled silently.  
It was quite understandable that this stallion was a valuable stud, it was Blessed, much like the wolves of Amarok's pack and it recognized that Takeshi was the Chosen which was why it allowed him to feed it.  
“I can imagine that. He is a remarkable creature.”  
“I just wish he would accept me, or at least someone other than Jenna. He has been with us for 15 years, but we don't actually know how old he is. He is wild-born and Jenna found him during one of our roundups of the wild herds. But he is probably over 20 years old and I would like to have a vet look him over.”  
“I wouldn't worry about that Mr Addams. He is in excellent health.”  
Takeshi wove a hint of power into his words to soothe Jenna's father and make sure he listened, and he smiled to himself as based on the feel of the stallion he would guess it to be somewhere around 200 years old and would remain in its prime for several centuries to come.  
“Just call me Mark. And I can't help worrying, the mustang bloodlines have been thinned out by people catching them for domestication, especially the good stallions are popular to catch and use for rodeos, or to _break_.”  
He spat the last words with distaste.  
Takeshi considered the man before him, trying to decide if he should tell him the truth about the stallion.  
_“What do you say friend?”_  
Takeshi focused his question, his intent toward the stallion, and received a nod both physical and mental.  
“Trust me, you have no reason to worry for this stallion. Have you ever noticed how every culture has legends of phantom animals that supposedly live forever?”  
Mark nodded and took a seat on the fence and Takeshi began to explain, adding just a touch of power to his voice to keep him from instantly dismissing what was being said.

While Takeshi spoke he picked burs, leaves and sticks from the long tail and mane before taking a brush out and brushing it carefully.  
Takeshi noted that Mark didn't seem to have realized that the brush had appeared out of nowhere and he wondered if he would realize that something was fishy.  
For a moment he thought back on why he had the stuff in his shift in the first place, how the girls had begged to help groom Knight's steed so he had bought a few high quality grooming kits and together with Knight and the steed they had all learned how to help it groom, and being the practical man he was he added a set to the things he carried within his soul.  
“This stallion is one of those phantom animals, probably around 200 years old, and should be able to easily live past 1000.”  
The brush vanished back to what Emelie teasingly called his “inner warehouse” and he bent down and picked up the stallions hoofs one by one and used his claws to check for stones, damage or soreness, though he didn't think he would find anything as Blessed animals were really resilient.  
“Any offspring he sires will be stronger, healthier and smarter than your average horse though they won't inherit his extreme longevity unless the mother is also a blessed, a phantom.”  
Pulling out a currycomb he began working on getting rid of the caked mud and dirt before finishing up with a stiff brush just as he finished his story.  
“I don't know why, but I actually believe you...”  
There had been quite long silence before Mark spoke and Takeshi found that he was relieved when he finally did speak.  
“It's one hell of a story, but it makes too much sense and it's just too insane not to be true.”  
“Dad! Take! Had a feeling I would find you out here.”  
They were interrupted by Jenna calling out to them as she walked up with a basket of apples and carrots in her arms.  
“I see you have met my old friend.”  
She walked up to the stallion and reached out to offer it a piece of apple when she suddenly froze and turned to Takeshi.  
“Wait, this feeling. He's like the dolphins at the island, isn't he?”  
“He is.”  
“He better not be as perverted as they are!”  
She grumbled and gave the stallion a suspicious glare which earned her an amused snort followed by a soft nicker, as if assuring her it would never do something untoward.  
“Guess I don't need to worry about how many apples or carrots I feed you, do I?”  
The old horse just snorted and pulled one of the carrots from her basket and started munching on it.  
“So I guess you know about these, Blessed, was it?”  
Jenna's father watched her check on Takeshi's work on the grooming.  
“Yeah, hard not to if you spend any amount of time around that maniac.”  
“Love you too sweetie...”  
Takeshi huffed in response to being called a maniac which triggered a bout of bickering and a few sharp punches which had Jenna's father blanch in concern until they both assured him it was fine.  
When Takeshi grabbed Jenna's punch and pinned her against his chest her father was staring wide eyed and when Takeshi kissed her to silence her her father broke down in laughter at her reaction.  
“Well I'll be damned! It is possible to shut her up when she's like that...”  
“Dad!”  
With another kiss Takeshi put a stop to her outraged rant before it had a chance to start.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**July 28 th 2043**

“Happy 28th _sweetie_.”  
Takeshi woke Emelie up with a kiss and tucked a small present into her hands before she had a chance to object.  
“It's beautiful!”  
She turned the carved dragon pendant over and inspected it closely.  
“This material, it's not Sanctuary crystal, but it feels alive...”  
“It's dragonstone, Kiryu crystallized it for me, it's made from both her blood and mine and it should offer some protection from demon-magic. And supposedly give good fortune.”  
The rest of the day was spent with Emelie showing just how much she appreciated the gift.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**August 8 th 2043**

“Faster Manda!”  
Takeshi was sparring with Amanda and he was pushing her without mercy, using every trick he knew, combining his lightning fast transformations with his extensive knowledge of martial arts to push her to the edge of exhaustion.  
When she finally collapsed her eyes were glazed over and her fangs elongated, he had made sure to drain her spiritual energy to cause her thirst to peak.  
“Control it!”  
_“So thirsty...”_  
Her voice carried the haunting tones of her siren's song as she instinctively tried to snare him but a sharp tug on the bond and a flare of his more dominant energy shattered the effect.  
_“Eriko, it's your turn.”_  
He watched as Eriko approached Amanda and offered her arm to her, they needed to get Amanda to accept blood other than his or that of the pack since she still needed to feed every few days, the fruits that the Mother had made for her did keep her from starving, but she needed to feed on real blood to stay strong and grow properly.  
_“Come on you stubborn little fry.”_  
Eriko's muttered complaints in Japanese as she tried to coax Amanda into biting almost made Takeshi laugh despite the situation.  
He hated denying Amanda the blood she needed, and wanted so desperately, but they had to soldier through it or she would never learn and that could cause her a lot of suffering since all those she accepted would be leaving and the twins were to young to help her.  
“Takeshi, could you come here for a moment? I have an idea that might work.”  
When he walked up to Eriko she took his hand and used a claw to prick his finger before smearing a few drops of his blood on her wrist, hoping that the scent of his blood would be enough to make Amanda bite.  
Much to their relief it did work, though she seemed a bit startled when the blood was not what she had expected and for a moment they feared she would spit it out but in the end her instinct to feed was stronger and she took Eriko's blood.

“I'm sorry we had to put you through that.”  
Takeshi soothed Amanda as she rested curled into his lap.  
“It's okay. I know it has to be done. It just feels so wrong to take blood from someone outside the pack.”  
“We knew from the start that there would be some issues mixing your instincts with the bond of pack.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**September 3 rd 2043**

“Good morning Manda! Ready for your sweet 16?”  
Takeshi had barely finished speaking before Amanda had bounced out of bed and gotten dressed in record time.  
“Of course!”  
“Come here, I have a special gift for you.”  
When she stood in front of him he brought out the black and red _Bagua_ pendant that he and Kiryu had worked on crafting from dragonstone and imbue with dragon-magic.  
“It's dragonstone, like Em's pendant.”  
“Indeed, but this one is different. Hers was made to give a measure of protection from demon-magic when we leave for the Obsidian Halls, this one contains dragon-magic to help you get a feel for it, to help you learn it. If you are to come with us to Atlantis when we return you need to practice hard and this will let Kiryu help you even when we are not there.”  
He was well prepared for the crushing hug but that didn't stop him from making some mock complaints.  
“Also, I will teach you how to enter the dreamscape, with that Bagua she will be able to find you and pull you into her own dreamscape so that she can teach you the basics in there.”  
“Where it won't matter if I accidentally blow something up?”  
“That too. But most of all, a single night in there can be stretched into months of training.”  
Amanda turned it over in her hand and carefully let her aura wash over it, prodding and probing.  
“The black is Kiryu-sama and the red is you, right?”  
“That's right. Though, since she will be teaching you the proper honorific would be sensei, sama works of course but a teacher should be addressed as sensei.”  
“Okay, could you thank Kiryu- _sensei_ for me please?”  
“Why don't you do that yourself? Use the Bagua and reach out with your mind, she should be able to hear you, and answer.”  
When they joined the others for breakfast an hour later Amanda had figured out how to speak to the dragon and she was looking forward to the promised evening, practicing to try to reach the dreamscape without the aid of dream-essence.  
Takeshi wasn't concerned about the effects of using dream-essence in her case, but it would be better if it wasn't needed.  
“Manda, I have a little something for you.”  
She looked rather surprised when Eriko approached her after breakfast and gave her a small box that contained a simple bracelet.  
“It's pretty, but the power in it, what does it do?”  
“Its' an illusion charm. What fun is a sweet 16 party if you look like 25? Though, it won't change your height, a true transformation takes a bit more power and would be very draining for you to maintain.”  
“Not like it matters, everyone knows I look older than I am.”  
“On the island yes, but not in LA...”  
Takeshi piped up behind her, finally revealing her surprise party.  
With the modifications of the second Blackout completed they were now able to travel fast with the entire group.  
Takeshi's words were met by a shriek worthy of any banshee as she threw herself around his neck for the second time that day.  
“And Manda will still look like Manda to us!”  
The twins piped up, just like with Takeshi's illusion bracelet those of the island would be able to see through the changes.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**December 24 2043**

They had given in to Emelie's and Dan's insistence on doing Christmas on Christmas Eve rather than on Christmas Day, it was how it was done in their native Sweden and the girls gladly agreed on moving it a day earlier, though, Takeshi had a special gift planned for them that would be waiting for them on Christmas morning.  
Each of the girls would receive a bracelet made from the same dragonstone mixed with blood-stone made from his blood that Emelie's and Amanda's pendants were made from, it carried a small piece of his power and they would be able to feel that.  
Each bracelet had the same design, a red crystal bangle and within it a black dragon coiled around the arm.  
Eriko would be given a _K_ _ō_ _gai_ kanzashi and for Matthews he had crafted a small hip flask that contained some of his blood that had been enchanted, if Matthews chose to drink it, it would change him, make him one of the Blessed.  
Though it was bound to him so it would only work on him, if anyone else drank it, it would heal any injuries or sickness but it wouldn't change them.  
He had worked with Knight to make his in order to make it integrate with the bracers that held his armor and in the end they had been able to make it so that he could choose their normal look, or a a pair of heavy dragon bangles and it was with a touch of pride that Takeshi noticed that he usually wore them in their bangle form, proudly displaying the dragons.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**December 31 2043**

“You were right, this place is amazing!”  
Jenna sat at Takeshi's side just outside the entrance of one of the tunnels that led to the den of Amarok's pack and looked up at the spectacular display above them, the _Aurora Borealis_ , northern lights, were unusually bright and Takeshi had a feeling the Mother had something to do with it, giving them her own version of a New Years fireworks show.  
“Nothing quite like Mother Nature's own fireworks, is there? Those over there should turn blue and purple soon, close to the horizon.”  
Dan leaned in over their shoulders and pointed their attention to a section of at the side.  
“How did you know?”  
Amanda questioned with wonder from Knight's lap but before Dan could answer Emelie piped up from her spot in Takeshi's lap.  
“He grew up in northern Sweden, and I happen to know he was in an astronomy club so he probably watched them a lot.”  
“Hey, how did you know that?”  
Takeshi tuned out the friendly bickering that followed and instead turned his attention to the other girls to make sure they were not getting chilled since there was no fire lit to keep the light from ruining the show of nature.  
Between warm clothes and being crowded by the pack of wolves they were doing fine though and the twins were having a blast roughhousing with last spring's pups so Takeshi just leaned back and watched the colorful display, shifting slightly when Dan took a seat on the opposite side of Jenna and curled into his side.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**March 6 2044**

Takeshi leaned in over Dan's sleeping form and gently dragged his fangs along the pack mark to wake him up.  
“Good morning sleepyhead, or maybe I should say good day, it's past noon.”  
Dan instantly bolted out of bed at those words.  
“Damn, why did you let me sleep so late?”  
“You were rather exhausted...”  
The vivid blush made Takeshi chuckle as he handed Dan the small box with his birthday present.  
“Another crystal coin... Didn't I just use this year's _getaway_?”  
“Wouldn't be much of a point with them if you were only allowed one every year, now would it?”  
Removing the inner lid of the box revealed a set of men's jewelry that looked like the ones he was wearing, but he could tell that the materials were different, all pieces were crafted from the same mix of crystallized blood as the items the others had received.  
“These items, you explained that they offer protection and that they should offer comfort by allowing us to feel a piece of your aura like we are used to, but they have darker purpose as well, don't they?”  
“They do.”  
Takeshi confirmed calmly.  
“If you don't return they will allow us to keep a fragment of you to remember you by...”  
Takeshi didn't answer him, instead he just leaned in and kissed away the tears that were flowing freely.  
Dan had accepted that the trip to find Emelie's father was something that had to be done, but that didn't mean it didn't scare him, the thought of losing Takeshi had him terrified.  
“Promise me Dan, that if we don't make it back you will protect the girls, body mind and soul.”  
“Of course, I promise.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**June 2044**

Takeshi flexed the large claws of his borrowed bear form and tossed another salmon toward the bank where the girls were eagerly waiting to help Amarok take care of the catch, the skeins of roe were quickly put aside while the innards were tossed to the waiting wolves and was soon followed by skin and bones after the fish had been skinned and filleted.  
Bringing everyone for the great salmon run had proved to be an excellent idea and everyone was having a great time helping to catch and prepare the fish to be smoked and dried.  
Takeshi made sure to secure a few of the roe skeins to cure into _ikura_ so he could make _gunkanmaki_ , _Nigirizushi_ wrapped with nori into a boat shape and filled with various chopped or otherwise loose or soft fillings that would not stay on a regular _nigirizushi_.  
A sudden shriek made Takeshi look toward the calm bend where Jenna had been helping Knight's steed to catch fish and the sight made him laugh so hard he almost dropped the skein of roe he was working on.  
Jenna was sitting in the water trying to keep her grip on a large salmon while loudly accusing the demon horse of intentionally knocking her over, and the way it's aura rippled with amusement confirmed her accusations to be true.  
No doubt it was trying to help it's chosen rider to get Jenna out of her clothes and with some luck, into his bed.  
Takeshi had noticed that Knight had a very _healthy appetite_ when it came to sex, on top of the nights they both spent with Emelie he would regularly spend nights with Dan and Kasumi would occasionally let herself be enticed into joining him.  
He knew based on scents though that Knight's nights with Dan, while they did involve mutual release, did not involve sex in the traditional meaning.  
Knight would try with Jenna and Amanda as well, but so far he wasn't having much luck, Jenna would turn him down cold pretty fast, and though Amanda did allow, and even encourage some of his advanced she never actually _slept_ with him and Takeshi almost felt sorry for the big guy, _almost_.  
“ **Logan!** If you don't get your blasted horse to knock it off I will personally make sure you won't have any reason to try to get me, or anyone else, in bed ever again!”  
The threat was instantly answered by a sharp whistle and the large demon backed up a few steps and hung its head while Jenna scolded it, but true to her nature she didn't stay angry very long and soon she reached up to scratch the hard to reach spot just behind the large center horn and between the pair of small horns that grew back over its neck.  
It was a sure way to get the giant to mellow and rather than using it's tail to try to scratch the spot it would even allow Takeshi and Dan to scratch it when the itch got bad.  
Takeshi watched as it took a smaller fish that Jenna offered, careful not to hurt her with its fangs and the interactions between them made Takeshi even more determined to change Jenna, and hopefully claim her as pack, he knew Knight would agree wholeheartedly, as would Emelie and he didn't think any of the others would object either.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**September 2nd 2044**

Takeshi gently nipped at Amanda's neck to wake her up, it was time to get dressed and prepare to enter Brazilian waters and by afternoon they would dock in Rio de Janeiro for her birthday.  
He might not be able to make it back from Iceland before her next birthday and there was a very real risk that it might not make it back at all, so he had taken the Tiamat and brought her on a cruise to Rio and would spend the weekend there before heading back to their island.  
It was a bit of a risky choice though, Brazil suffered rampant crime rates and most countries advised caution when traveling there and to stay within the secured hotel areas and private beaches.  
Traveling into the city of Rio was advised against outside of the big carnival in February when massive police and military operations took place to safeguard the tourist areas around the main parade.  
Takeshi didn't worry about that though, Amanda's fighting skills had grown rapidly and the speed with which she had learned to use dragon magic was nothing short of astounding.  
He actually found himself hoping that they would get into a fight with some local thugs or small gang, it would give an opportunity to test her abilities under relatively safe conditions as he would be able to make short work of them if she couldn't handle it.  
It would also offer an opportunity to see how she would react to seeing him truly fight, maybe even kill.  
So far everyone had had rather interesting reactions, both Dan and Knight had reacted with intense desire, though where Knight's reaction had been physical Dan's had been emotional, even Emelie's lack of reaction had been interesting in it's own way.  
He had gotten his wish sooner than expected as a pair of men entered their cab to try to take them for the 'millionaire tour', a tour to the local ATM's to max out their credit cards, unfortunately for the kidnappers they chose to start their tour in one of the favelas, giving Amanda and Takeshi a golden opportunity to fight them without needing to worry about legal repercussions.  
In the end it wasn't without collateral damage as Takeshi found himself picking an infant girl from the arms of her dead mother, the woman, barely more than a girl had been killed by a stray bullet and no one would step forward to take care of the little girl so Takeshi decided to keep her.  
“She is so young. How are we supposed to take care of her? She needs to be breastfed.”  
Amanda was concerned about her age, but Takeshi was more concerned about how weak the infant was, she was clearly malnourished.  
“Eriko should be able to solve that, kitsune are known to adopt human infants, their females able to lactate at will. And even if she can't I'm sure the Mother would aid in creating a formula that would give her everything she needs.”  
Takeshi picked up his phone and quickly found Knight's number, the current distance between them was too great to allow for actual conversations over the bond.  
“Don't worry beta, we are fine. But we have someone here that could use some help. Can your steed locate us?”  
Knight had been somewhat concerned to receive the call but quickly settled down.  
“Of course, he knows you so he can find you anywhere within this realm.”  
“Good, I need you to bring Eriko to me, it's urgent.”  
It only took a few minutes before the telltale fog appeared and the moment Eriko spotted them she jumped down and grabbed the infant.  
Looking her over she tutted with a frown, obviously displeased with what she found.  
“What's wrong with her?”  
Amanda's concern was obvious as she tried to get a closer look at what Eriko was doing with the baby girl.  
“She is weak from starvation, but worry not, her spirit and soul is strong. I'm sure she will recover nicely.”  
Knight watched with an appreciative smirk as Eriko released the top of her kimono slightly to allow the girl to nurse, it had only taken her a few minutes to alter her body and produce the milk she needed.  
“Logan, you better keep those eyes in _respectful_ places or she might just use you as a chew-toy, foxes get a bit _grumpy_ while nursing.”  
“Most demons do, either that, or they will jump your bones for an entirely different reason...”  
Takeshi waited for Eriko to finish feeding the baby before approaching her.  
“Eriko, do I have your word that you will take care of this girl?”  
“Yes.”  
Her answer was short but Takeshi could feel the power of a geas take form, with that single word she had sworn on her tails, the strongest oath a kitsune could give.  
After giving her word to care for the child Eriko simply mounted the steed and waited for Knight to join her and take her back to their island estate.

“ _Will she be okay?”  
“Eriko will give everything she has to save that child, she couldn't be in better hands.”_  
They had borrowed the forms of a pair of macaw in order to return to the finer parts of the city and Takeshi noted that Amanda was doing really well with her flying.  
Once back they continued with Amanda's party before retiring to the Tiamat for the night, though Takeshi doubted they would do much sleeping...

“Take, I love you.”  
Curled into his side her voice was barely a whisper, but she knew he would hear her, he always did.  
_“Wakarimasu.”  
_ His response surprised her a bit, its meaning was the same _'I know'_ as always but the way he said it was different, when he answered in Japanese he had always used ' _Wakaru yo_ ' and his tone would be teasing, almost smug.  
His tone now was soft and along with his choice of words it made it sad, apologetic and it almost made her cry.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**Sudan February 2045**

Takeshi was uncharacteristically nervous as he set the Blackout down outside the small tribal village.  
It would be the first time he met Sarisha and their children since the death of their youngest daughter and he was unsure how he would be received.  
Sarisha had asked him not to seek her out, that she would seek him out when she was ready, but due to the risk of the upcoming task he felt that he needed to visit her and tell her as well as give each of his children a piece of the same dragonstone that he had given the others.  
Twelve years was a long time to not see your children, but he had respected her wish and he hoped that she would meet with him and allow him to see the children.  
He waited for three days before spotting the black sabre-toothed leopard approach the Blackout, she had finally accepted his request to speak to her.  
_“Why are you here? You promised me time!”  
“I'm sorry. But I needed to speak with you before seeking out the Obsidian Halls. If we find what we are looking for we will be meeting immensely powerful beings, and they might not be friendly.”  
_ She calmed down some, but she refused to take her human form, she had taken their daughter's death very hard, complications around pregnancies were exceptionally rare among the blessed.  
It was easier for her to handle her grief in her animal form, relying more on instinct than she normally would.  
_“I was hoping you would allow me to see the children, and bring them, and you a gift.”_  
He brought out the red and black egg-shaped stones, each would change their form to suit its new owner.  
_“They each hold a fragment of me so that my children may know me if I fail to return. It will also let those of my pack that stay behind know who you are.”_  
She didn't answer him, and honestly he didn't expect her to, he was a bit surprised that she had spoken at all.  
After a few minutes she let out a gruff call, the loud huffs sounding almost like a mix between a growl and a roar and soon all eight cubs came running, she had explained with their first litter that they would stay almost exclusively in their beast form for their first century and that they would slowly grow from cubs to juveniles in that time.  
_“Thank you Sarisha.”_  
He spent the day playing with the cubs under her watchful eye and as evening came he gave them their gifts before heading back to the Blackout, and home to his own pack.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Preparations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

**May 2045**

It was finally time to head to Iceland and Dimmuborgir and the entire estate was somewhat subdued as Takeshi, Emelie and Knight brought the final items to the Blackout before turning to the others to say their goodbyes.  
Most of those living at the estate handled it pretty well, but those of the pack that would be staying behind were having a hard time.  
The twins had taken their puppy form and were whining, whimpering and howling their worry and sadness, Dan was tense and silent but he was handling it surprisingly well, setting aside his own worries in order to be the pillar the pack would need.  
There were plenty of hugs, kisses and tears mixed with wishes of safe travel and good fortune with their task.

When the others finally stepped back Amanda stepped forward and said her goodbyes to Emelie and Knight before burrowing her face against Takeshi's chest, letting her tears flow freely.  
“I love you Take.”  
She whispered against his chest and he leaned in and kissed her forehead as he whispered his answer before letting go and boarding the Blackout without looking back.

They watched the Blackout take of and when the others returned inside Amanda was still standing by the landing-pad, tears flowing freely from wide eyes, frozen in chock.  
His parting words, whispered words she had never even dared dream of hearing, were loudly echoing within her soul.

“ _Aishiteru.”_

 


	63. Dimmuborgir

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ _Alpha_ , that wasn't a very nice way to tell her...”  
Knight scolded Takeshi lightly from his seat while Takeshi and Emelie went through the startup sequence.  
“Well, might be better than making her wait almost ten years...”  
Emelie quipped from the co-pilot's seat which earned them both a flash of fangs, but there was no real anger behind the snarl.  
“Look, I know it wasn't the best way, or even a remotely good one, but I had to.”  
They all knew they might not return this time and standing there with a crying Amanda in his arms Takeshi just knew he couldn't leave without letting her know how he felt.  
“She is going to kick your ass when we get back.”  
Knight teased with a grin.  
“And you are going to let her!”  
Emelie made it perfectly clear that she would be siding with Amanda and Knight nodded his agreement.  
“I know. I will...”  
He would bear whatever Amanda did when they returned, if they returned, and he would do so without complaints.  
And Emelie had a point, it had taken him much too long to actually **tell** her that he loved her, not just show it, but it was the Japanese way.  
In Japanese culture it wasn't commonplace to tell someone you loved them, _'Aishiteru'_ , especially men rarely did, it was a very big deal and words that would not be spoken lightly.  
Many never went beyond telling someone they liked them _'Suki desu'_ , or maybe that they liked them a lot ' _Daisuki desu_ '  
It was something that was deeply rooted in his personality, and though he knew he loved Emelie shortly after her awakening he hadn't actually spoken those words until he realized that he was falling for Amanda as well, and decided to speak to Emelie about it.

 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
It was still before lunch when they landed outside Reykjahlíð, the small village just north of Dimmuborgir.  
At first they had planned on renting a room, but decided it might cause some issues if rich tourists rented and then no one saw them for an extended time, also they had no idea how long they would be there.  
So they had bought some land and had a cottage built along with a small barn structure that would act as a hangar for the Blackout.  
The piece of land was large enough to sustain a normal family of five, a few plots of cropland and a couple of pastures for the native breeds of cattle, sheep, goat, chicken and horse, though smaller than most breeds they were all hardy animals that could handle the winters well.  
Takeshi and Knight took the box of sanctuary crystals and began walking the boundary of their land, carefully setting out crystals at even intervals to reinforce the barrier that the central crystal would form.  
Meanwhile Emelie brought their luggage out of the Blackout and unpacked, they would stay a few weeks preparing before heading out on their search.  
With the boundary crystals set Takeshi and Knight searched out the absolute center of their land and marked it with a crystal before collecting stones to build a _Hörgr_ , a form of altar cairn that would mark a sacred location, or a sanctuary, within the old Norse traditions.  
They carefully selected the volcanic basalt rocks, favoring pieces with a high calcite content, from the large piles of field-stone that had been deposited in a corner of the land-plot that would act as the garden and using raw strength and natural claws they shaped and stacked the stones into an egg-shaped structure on top of the spot where the central crystal had been placed.

The following day a group of people from the village came by to welcome them and with Knight's language abilities helping them to avoid any misunderstandings they soon found themselves invited to the village hall for an impromptu feast.  
Knight warned them though that the villagers were planning on offering them an introduction to the Icelandic specialties such as _Hákarl_ , fermented shark, or _Súrir hrútspungar_ , soured rams testicles and _Hvalspik_ , whale blubber cured in lactic acid.  
He made sure to give Takeshi an extra warning that _Hákarl_ apparently could be rather smelly before reassuring them that it sounded like there would be some normal food as well, like puffin, whale and horse meat and various sheep, goat and fish dishes.  
There was quite a bit of laughing, and cheering as they tried the local cuisine and their hosts seemed rater surprised that they ate all of it with good appetite.  
Emelie loved the Swedish _surströmming_ so she was no stranger to pungent fermented foods, Knight had spent most of his life as a wanderer, living of what he could catch, and lived through famine so he had long since learned to stomach anything without complaints.  
Takeshi had learned that lesson during his time in Alaska, Amarok always kept a good stock of food in case the hunting failed and for the first year Amarok had made sure to keep Takeshi well fed while teaching him a few of the finer points of hunting and allowing him to get used to his new body, but after that he had been expected to feed himself for a full year, without help.  
Combined with the strict manners that he had been raised with he had no problems pushing down his senses and at least _look_ like he was enjoying everything, though, he didn't actually find anything to be particularly bad, some of the smells were a bit harsh for his senses, like the strong ammonia smell of the _Hákarl_ but the taste was just fine.  
By the time they left to return to their cottage they had been promised help with building a dry stone wall along the boundary of their land, the elders of the village had been curious to have a look at the cottage ever since construction had started.  
Like the most of the houses it was heated, and powered mainly with geothermic energy, what had caught their interest was the extensive use of the abundant black volcanic stone, all the walls of the cottage and the small barn was built with the stone and sported a turf roof, making them a mix between a stone house and a peat house.  
The older villagers had expressed their approval of using local materials and old techniques instead of having modern materials delivered as was becoming more and more common.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

It was their 5th night in the cottage when Takeshi woke up from Knight carefully shaking his shoulder.  
_“Alpha, something with power is circling the boundary.”_  
Since they were in unfamiliar lands and close to a potential gateway between realms they slept in shifts until the sanctuary crystals that generated the protective bubble of energy were fully grown which would take about two weeks.  
_“Let's go check it out then.”_  
Takeshi gave Emelie's neck a light nip to wake her up, they wouldn't risk leaving her sleeping while they went out to find whatever it was Knight had felt outside.  
_“We have visitors, so stay alert.”_  
Emelie just nodded her understanding.  
_“Be careful.”_  
She reached out for them as they walked out the door.  
_“It feels curious, young. A bit like Aellai's daughters.”_  
Takeshi had a hard time keeping up with the movements of whatever it was that was out there.  
_“Indeed, a young spirit, or maybe a fae.”  
_ Knight had more experience with such creatures so Takeshi allowed him to direct their search and soon they spotted a tall figure with black hair clad completely in gray, the clothes and a glimpse of the face revealed it to be a rather young girl, her height had made them believe she was older at first.  
_“She is definitely curious, how about we start working on the wall and see if that will lure her closer?”_  
Takeshi suggested after they had tried, and failed, to get a closer look at their visitor.  
_“That might work. I will call my steed as well, its presence might help.”_  
Knight let out the summoning whistle and soon they were working on the wall with the demon steed pulling loads of stone from the large piles and over to the edge of the wall where they were working and it didn't take long before they could feel their visitor sneak closer.  
_“Well, she's definitely fae...”_  
Knight complained silently when she stole the hammer he had been using and hid it in a tuft of taller grass, but he played along and pretended to be confused about what could have happened to his hammer.  
After a while they could feel Emelie reach out to check if everything was alright and they informed her what they were up to and she soon joined them with plenty of snacks that kept vanishing from their plates.  
But it wasn't long before they could feel an older, stronger presence approach them, and this one didn't hide or play games, instead the ancient creature walked up to them and greeted them with a deep, haunting voice.

What followed could only be described as a business negotiation, the _Huldufólk_ , 'Hidden People' were the fae of Iceland and they wanted a Sanctuary on the island to help stabilize the volcanoes and make sure that their people could continue their ways.  
Takeshi promised that he would speak to the Mother of it and Emelie promised that if the Mother agreed she would personally offer to carry the seed, in return the _Huldu_ promised to take care of their home on Iceland, they would make sure the land was as fertile as it could and the livestock would be kept safe and healthy, they would maintain the stone walls and they would weave runes of protection.  
Takeshi also gave his word as Alpha that should the upcoming task render them unable to fulfill the promise Dan and Amanda would do all in their power to see to that it was done.

Knight was able to use his knowledge of fae in general and his skill and experience at dealing with them to make, and win a bet of sorts which obliged the _Huldu_ to supply them with all the seed and breeding stock they needed to start and maintain a stable, self sufficient farm.  
Some additional negotiations ensured that they would receive the best stock available, in return the _Huldu_ would be allowed to use their stock for breeding as long as it did not damage the viability of their herd.  
“You are fair traders, if your word proves to be good the _Huldu_ will call you friends.”  
With those words the elder turned around and began to walk away before fading into nothingness and Knight quickly explained that as far as dealing with the fae went their meeting had gone exceptionally well, even going as far as attributing their success to Takeshi's natural ability to inspire trust, even in those who were not human.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

One month after arriving they were ready to head out, the _Huldu_ had delivered the promised livestock and seeds and an old woman from the village and her grandchildren had been hired as caretakers as it would be strange if they left and the place took care of itself.  
The old woman would see to that the animals had water, were milked and sheared, eggs collected and such, she would also keep the cottage clean and see to that the heating was working as it should.  
In return she could keep the milk, wool and eggs as well as be allowed to take one of the calves, kids and lambs when it was time for slaughter and any eggs that had been allowed to hatch they could do with as they pleased.

“Em, put this on please.”  
Takeshi handed her a body armor in the same design as his own, dragon leather and scales, only difference was that hers had openings for her wings and tail, it had taken time and many trials but they had managed to make a design with a larger scale mounted above the holes that acted as a flap to cover the holes when her wings were folded.  
She still disliked the feeling of clothing over that part of her back but she had learned to tolerate it and another, similar one had been made for Knight as well though his was made to fit under his own armor if needed.  
They had no idea what to expect, they had asked the _Huldu_ , but they apparently stayed away from Dimmuborgir.

 

“ _Be alert, something is watching us.”_

Takeshi was the first to notice as they came closer to the strange volcanic formations.  
_“The Huldu?”  
_ Emelie's silent question was short and to the point. _  
“I don't think so, they said they never enter the lava field and this feeling is coming from within the field.”  
_ Takeshi could feel Knight's agreement over the bond and Emelie deferred to their experience.  
When they crossed over into the volcanic field they could all feel a shift in the air and Knight was the first to speak up as he knew the feeling.  
_“This is a good sign, that feeling means we crossed into the borderlands.”  
“I thought the borderlands collapsed when they hid your home?”_  
Em's confusion carried clearly in her thoughts.  
_“That was just a small part of it, the borderlands is as vast as the realms themselves. There are many realms and between each of them there is the borderlands.”_  
Emelie didn't answer, but her understanding echoed over the bond.

They slowly made their way deeper into the field of volcanic structures , carefully checking each of the old lava-tubes to see if there might be a passage hidden there.  
_“Oh, look! Ravens.”_  
Emelie directed their attention to a pair of the large black birds perched on one of the basalt structures of to the side from the pattern they were currently following.  
_“Nice spotting Em! That's a good sign that we are in the right place.”_  
Knight grabbed her and pulled her into a hug before putting a very confused succubus back on the ground.  
_“Those are not ravens, they are obsidian angels. Some of the angels of the Obsidian Halls are shifters and the raven is their preferred form.”_  
Knight explained before thanking Emelie again and sheepishly adding that he had totally forgotten about that part until she brought his attention to the ravens.  
After a short discussion they broke away from their intended path and headed toward the ravens.  
_“I can't feel anything from them. If you have me introducing myself to regular ravens I will find a way to get even...”_  
Takeshi's tone carried a very clear threat as he stepped up in front of Emelie and Knight and turned to the two ravens with a short bow.  
“I am Takeshi Kiryu...”  
_**“We know who you are, Chosen of the Avatar of Life, Son of the lost mountain, Shirai Lilim.”  
**_ Takeshi had barely started speaking before a nearly overwhelming presence spoke within their minds and both the ravens flared their wings slightly and bowed their heads.  
_**“What brings you to the Obsidian Halls?”  
**_ “I have brought the Shirai Lilim here in search of her father so that she may be brought before Lilith as is the way of the Lilim. She, as well as my Beta have their own quests though, but those are theirs to tell of.”  
Takeshi could feel Emelie bristle at being referred to as 'Shirai Lilim' and he silently soothed her as the raven that had spoken turned and looked at Knight with piercing black eyes.  
“I seek one of the princes of the Obsidian Halls, I know not his name, nor if he still lives but I am oath-bound to try.”  
_**“Not an easy task, our Lord has sired many sons.”  
**_ The raven's tone carried a mix of amusement, pride and sympathy.  
__**“And you Shirai Lilim, other than the search for your father what brings you here?”  
** “My quest is related to Logan's, when we found him we also found the remains of a woman and her newborn infant, their spirits and souls sealed within a tomb. The one Logan seeks is the father of the child, and my uncle.”  
Emelie carefully pulled out the necklace with the pendant from under her clothes and with a quick flare of her aura it detached from the chain and she held it out on her palm, but her wings curled protectively around them and her tail was ready to strike if anyone tried to steal it or damage it.  
**“I understand you are protective but may I look closer?”**  
Emelie gave Takeshi a quick look before nodding and when he held out his arm one of the ravens flew down and landed close to his wrist and waited for him to bring it closer, showing great respect to Emelie's desire to protect the crystal and its precious content.  
When it leaned closer and tilted its head to have a closer look Emelie's tail came in closer and the raven startled with a squawk when it wrapped around its body and wings and the bladed tip came to rest close to its throat, poised to strike in an instant.  
**“Remarkable how you have managed to keep them safe. I am sure we will be able to find the father if he lives, our Lord should be able to tell who fathered her.”  
** When Emelie released her grip the raven flew back to its companion.  
“ **Come, we will bring you to the halls and inform our Lord of your quests. Be warned though, you may have to wait quite some time.”** **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
The ravens led them to one of the volcanic structures and as they entered it an illusion flickered and revealed a tunnel leading down into the lava field and shortly after they began their descent Takeshi heard the beep that told him that they had lost contact with Angel.  
He removed his earpiece with a shrug, they knew that they would lose contact sooner or later and Angel had clear instructions of what to do when that happened, executive control of most of Takeshi's holdings were temporarily transferred to Kasumi, the exception was the Mandrake assets and the military hardware that transferred to Dan along with all of Emelie's assets so that the island and estate would remain in the pack's control.  
Dan and Amanda became the twins appointed guardians and if Takeshi and the others did not return before the twins turned 25 the assets would be turned into a trust that Kasumi and Dan would manage for the twins until they reached such maturity that they could take over themselves.  
“Take?”  
Emelie had noticed the shrug and was seeking confirmation what it was about.  
“Don't worry, we just went out of range of Angel's signal, probably too much interference. We knew that would happen sooner or later.”  
Emelie nodded and returned to her teasing and chattering with Knight to distract him from his discomfort with the somewhat small tunnel, no doubt a lingering trauma from his incarceration.  
“Don't worry Logan, I'll save you if you get stuck.”  
Emelie's tone was teasing but both Takeshi and Knight knew she was dead serious.

The small path steadily brought them deeper below the surface and Takeshi estimated that they had walked about two kilometers when the tunnel grew brighter and opened up into a small antechamber that housed a few armed guards in black armor.  
When the ravens flew through the doorway they shifted into tall humanoids with large black wings and after a few moments the wings folded and vanished.  
When Takeshi walked across the threshold he could feel a shift in the energies around him, much the same as when they entered the lava field, but everything felt strange, wrong somehow and he guessed they had passed into a different realm.  
He was just about to ask Knight about it when Emelie let out a distressed shriek and collapsed in the doorway.  
**“Em!”**  
Two voices called out as one and Knight quickly pulled her back across the border that passed through the doorway.  
_“What's wrong?”_  
Takeshi's inner voice was concerned, struggling against a near panic from not knowing why Emelie had cried out, why she had collapsed.  
_“Dammit! I should have thought of this!”_  
Knight cursed silently.  
_“Thought about what Logan?”_  
The tone was sharp, demanding.  
_“It's the energies of the demon realm, they are different, stronger than those of the human realm. She will need some time to adapt. Wrap her in your aura, pull from mine if you need to, build a buffer against the unfamiliar energy.”_  
Together they began to build a buffer of their own power to protect her from being overwhelmed and once done they slowly crossed the threshold again, ready to pull back at any sign of problems.  
“Is the Shirai Lilim hurt?”  
One of the sentries looked at them with concern.  
“No, just unfamiliar with the energies of this realm. She needs time to rest and adapt.”  
The other guards in the room instantly moved away from the raised platform that they had been using as a sofa and before Takeshi had a chance to ask what they were doing they had tossed a pile of furs on the large platform and offered it for Emelie to rest on.  
Takeshi carefully placed her on the soft furs before joining her, curling around her while Knight placed himself in front of it in an obviously defensive stance.  
Part of him wanted to shift, but they had all agreed that he should not reveal that ability if he could avoid it.  
When Knight called forth his armor and sword Takeshi thought that the guards would react badly, but they just stepped back a bit more and if anything they seemed to approve of their protectiveness and Takeshi recalled how Knight had treated Emelie at first, like some kind of noble, or royalty.  
It seemed they should be prepared for her to receive similar treatment here.

“Logan of the lost mountain, does your alphas eat as demons, or humans?”  
One of the guards approached after a while to offer them food.  
“Either is fine with all of us, but please, just call me Logan. I may have been born in the great mountain city, but now I am Logan, _Beta_ of Pack Kiryu, the oath is sworn and I carry their marks with pride.”  
Knight shifted slightly to allow the pack mark to be seen without seeming submissive.  
“Logan it is then. We will have food and drinks brought. Maybe we should bring both human and demon foods to ensure Shirai Lilim can stomach it?”  
“That might be the safest.”

When the food was placed on the table Takeshi carefully nudged Emelie awake.  
“Take... What happened?”  
“The energies of this place was a bit much for you, you will need some time to get used to them.”  
“Is that why you two have me completely smothered in your auras?”  
“It is. We will drop it gradually to allow you time to adapt.”  
Emelie nodded her understanding and quickly turned to the food and started sniffing and testing the various unfamiliar foods.  
“What is this one?”  
She stuffed another big piece of blood-dripping meat into her mouth without waiting for the sentry to reply.  
“It's _Gong.”  
_ “And that is?”  
Emelie looked up with avid curiosity.  
“An extremely aggressive rat that can grow to the size of a school bus, not counting the tail.”  
Knight was the one to answer her and he did so with a laugh.  
“Oh...”  
Emelie looked at the piece of meat for a moment before putting it her mouth and licking the blood from her fingers.  
“Oh well, it's not like it's the first seriously weird thing I eat, and I'm sure it won't be the last.”  
Her reaction brought on some chuckles and approving comments from the other guards and Takeshi felt a surge of pride tinged with possessiveness and a hint of jealousy.  
“They are popular, but dangerous prey. They grow and reproduce rapidly and can cause great damage to both crops and livestock. They are clever and aggressive so most will try to kill them while they are babies, about the size of a small horse.”  
“Sounds like a pretty regular rat, other than the size of a bus part...”  
The sentry explained that while they kept the population down they always allowed a few to mature into adults to hunt for sport, and as a delicacy, the older and stronger the beast the better the quality of the meat and that the meat she was currently eating was from a young adult that had just become old enough to reproduce.  
Young warriors would pit themselves against the _Gong_ as training, and proof of their skills, starting with the young ones and as their final test of skill they would pit themselves alone against a fully grown _Gong_ , and only those that succeeded were allowed to join the guards.  
“Logan, have you ever taken down one of those things?”  
“Indeed I have, it was one of the tasks of the city guards and they would often hire me to take care of it. And many traders would hire me to capture or kill large adults for their shops.”  
“I think I would like to watch one of those hunts someday. You should join one Take, show your worth.”  
The challenging growl that answered her caused quite a bit of laughter in the room, laughter that was soon replaced with snickers and hoots as she silenced him with a kiss.

Things would have turned into one of their usual romps if the second sentry had not arrived a few moments later and quickly greeted them.  
“I have informed our Lord of your arrival and he will arrange to meet with you once Shirai Lilim has had time to fully adapt to the energies of this realm.”  
They quickly thanked him and he moved on to talking about accommodations for their stay.  
“Is it safe to assume that you would prefer to sleep in the same room?”  
“Yes, a single bed as well. If you don't have one large enough to fit the three of us a pile of furs and pillows will do just fine.”  
“Don't worry, our kin can grow quite large. Those of us who are here are suppressing our size in order to be able to fit into these chambers and tunnels.”  
“So, how big do you guys get?”  
Emelie voiced her curiosity.  
“About twice the height of your Logan here, though we are not as heavily built, fliers rarely are as it would make our bodies to heavy. The ancient ones, the pure-bloods and nobles can grow past our height half again. And even they only reach half the height of the Lord of these halls.”  
“But I easily carry Logan, even Take when I fly so weight can't be that much of an issue?”  
“Such is the power of a Lilim.”  
The sentry paused for a moment and looked between Takeshi and Knight as he realized her exact words.  
“Wait, you say Logan weighs less despite being so much larger?”  
“Let's just say Take is built like a brick, a lead brick...”  
“I'd prefer calling it a body of steel.”  
Takeshi quipped from behind her as he gave her ear a nip in teasing reprimand, an action that quickly brought them back to the interrupted kiss and soon turned into one of their usual romps, much to the guards amusement.  
The sentry just shook his head and turned to Knight.  
“Well, there is no doubt she is a true succubus.”  
“Indeed... I doubt they will be much company until it's time for the next meal.”  
“Would they prefer privacy?”  
The sentry glanced toward his colleagues who were all watching, some openly, others more subtly.  
“They don't mind as long as those watching does so with respect. Just pay attention, they will give warning if something displeases them, but if that warning isn't heeded in a timely fashion the reaction will be harsh. Especially Takeshi's reaction.”  
“Oh, I would have thought Shirai Lilim would be the one to react the strongest as she is demon.”  
His words triggered a hiss from Emelie and Knight quickly explained that she didn't like being called 'Lilim' and preferred her name, or just 'Em' and after a few moments he added a warning against calling her 'Emmy'.  
After a quick apology Emelie's energies settled down and focused back on Takeshi.  
“Take has the instincts of a shadow beast and due to his rather unique circumstances those instincts are exceptionally strong, especially those relating to the protection of pack-mates, body, mind and soul.”  
“So, a true _Alpha_ through and through, is he?”  
“Definitely.” **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Dimmuborgir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“Logan, may I have a word with you? Your alphas seem to be rather occupied...”  
The unspoken 'still' hung heavy in the air as the sentry waited for Knight to answer him, it was quite understandable though as they were currently on their third day of the stay and Takeshi and Emelie had shown no sign of wanting to move from their makeshift bed.  
“Of course. Those two will keep themselves occupied for a long time unless something happens. It seems Takeshi is taking to the energies of the demon-realm really well.”  
Knight glanced at Takeshi and Emelie before moving to sit at the table that had been brought in to see what the sentry had to say.  
“I have spoken with our healer and he feels it would be better for her to stay here until she is more comfortable with the energies of the realm. In this chamber it is easy to move her into the borderland should something go wrong.”  
“We appreciate the concern, but it's not needed. My steed can bring her out of here if needed.”  
“Steed?”  
“A stallion from the red plains that I found when he was a mere colt, his dame slain by a predator. She was a flame-mare and the sire must have been of a reptilian, venomous nature. Possibly one of the draconian breeds from the black mountains. ”  
“A potent mix, to bad about the dame though, the flame-mares are becoming rare, as are several of the other breeds. You should bring it to my uncle, he has studied them for a very long time. He's even managed to breed them occasionally.”  
”Maybe I will, depends on how long we remain here.”

After waiting for about an hour to see if Takeshi and Emelie would take a break the sentry shook his head and got up to leave.  
“Well, I have prepared your rooms so you can relocate there whenever they feel like coming up for air, or food.”  
The voice of the sentry held an amused tone as he glanced toward the pair among the furs.  
“Rooms? I thought we agreed to us sharing room?”  
“Since your stay might become rather long I figured I might as well put you up in a proper apartment within the palace area.”  
“There's no need for that Em won't demand any special treatment, quite the opposite, it might piss her off.”  
“Not offering it would be an insult, and our Lord would not stand for that. And it's also for your safety, not everyone here is so accepting of outsiders, of mixed bloods and they may try to attack you and Takeshi for being so close to a Shirai Lilim.”  
The twin growls from the furs told them that Takeshi and Emelie were paying at least some attention to what was happening around them.  
“Yeah, as you can hear I don't think that would be a very good idea to try. And trust me, he might not look or feel like much, but he is a monster. I have met _Arai_ Lilim who don't even come close to his power.”  
They had agreed to hide Takeshi's true power, but Knight felt that he could trust the sentry with the information.  
The memory of feeling Takeshi's true power during his heat set Knight's body on fire and the sentry picked up on the shift in mood and snickered at him.  
“I have felt his unsealed power once, during my last heat a few years ago, and it was unbelievable. And I know he has grown much stronger since then. I'm hoping to get a chance to feel it again while we are here.”  
Knight wasn't sure why, but he didn't feel the usual discomfort when speaking of his heat.  
“If you are meeting with our Lord you will, he will insist that any seals are dropped, as will Lady Lilith if you are to be present for Lady Emelie's initiation.”  
There was the familiar low hiss from Emelie at being referred to as 'Lady' but there wasn't any aggression in it, just a sense of frustrated surrender.  
“Also, during your stay my brother and I have been assigned to be your guides, and guards. When you are ready we will place our vows.”  
Knight's nod was somewhat distracted as he slowly approached the fur covered platform, his senses and the bond wide open to check for any sign of them rejecting his approach and when they didn't and he climbed onto the furs there was an amused sigh from the sentry as the black winged angel shifted into it's raven form and headed up the tunnel to the lava fields of Dimmuborgir.

 


	64. The Obsidian Halls

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi had been slowly removing the layer of power that was shielding Emelie from the energies of the demon-realm but it was slow work and he estimated they had been there for five days when he was finally able to remove the buffer without causing her pain.  
It was still very uncomfortable for her, but she was adapting and was able to manage without the help.

Emelie was gorging herself on a large pile of raw Gong meat sprinkled with herbs and juniper berries while they waited for the sentries to return as promised, it was time to move deeper into the demon-realm.  
“Enjoying your breakfast Lady Emelie?”  
The sentry smoothly dodged the knife that came flying his way and his colleague, who also happened to be his twin brother snickered at him.  
“We are ready to place our oath if you are ready to receive it.”  
The twin sentries would swear loyalty to Emelie and those who were hers, it did rub Takeshi the wrong way a bit but he was able to suppress those instincts and force himself to accept that it was their way to honor her blood over the internal rankings of the pack.  
“Just one thing first, if you are to be our guides, it might be a good thing if we know your names.”  
Emelie quipped with a smile.  
They introduced themselves but Emelie just stared at them, their names sounded like the song of a bird, nothing that could be recognized as even remotely similar to any human language.  
“Okay, I don't think I'll ever be able to remember that, much less pronounce it...”  
Her complaints were met with knowing snickers, they were perfectly aware that their true names would be near impossible for them to manage, few other than the obsidian angels ever learned to speak their language.  
“Oh well, I need to call you something so I'll just call you Hugin and Munin.”  
She pointed to them in turn as she spoke.  
“The ravens of _Óðinn_ , you do us great honor Lady Lilim.”  
“You better watch that mouth of yours or you will find that I know a few less flattering words in old Norse...”  
She snapped at the one she had just dubbed Munin and he quickly apologized but the smile told a different story and Emelie just huffed at him.

The brothers kneeled in front of them with their heads bowed and wings spread low behind them, they wore no armor and their black swords rested at their sides.  
As one they spoke their oath in their own melodious language and then repeated it in the demonic language that Knight had taught Takeshi and Emelie during their preparations.  
They also made an addition where they swore that it was an accurate translation and everyone could feel the strong power of a geas forming, telling that a soul oath had been sworn.  
Following her instincts Emelie stepped forward and placed a clawed hand over the base of the large black wings, somehow knowing that the one she had named Munin was the elder she started with him, applying just enough pressure on the sensitive bone and muscle to cause discomfort, but no pain or damage.  
When done she stepped back and Takeshi stepped up and allowed his claws to lengthen slightly before placing his hand at the base of Munin's wings, but Takeshi's grip was not as gentle as Emelie's had been.  
He allowed his claws to dig in and the force he applied was enough to draw blood, but not enough to do real damage and he kept it up until he could pick up a subtle shift through the wings and aura of the black winged angel kneeling at his side, a shift signaling submission.  
Once he felt the submission he gently ruffled the small down feathers around the base of the wings, the action was a reward and an apology all in one, but it was also a test of trust and the acceptance of the touch showed that Munin accepted his apology and trusted that he would not harm him.  
He brought his hand to his face and inspected the tiny drops of black blood on his claws, after taking a careful sniff he began licking them away before moving on to Hugin.  
Hugin proved to be far more resilient, and defiant, than his brother and he didn't submit, even when Emelie warned him that Takeshi **would** crush the vital bones if he didn't, instead he kept fighting the pressure of Takeshi's hand and aura even when Takeshi could hear the vital bones creak in a very alarming way.  
Knowing what was at stake Takeshi found the sound sickening, but he couldn't afford backing down, if the younger brother didn't submit he would have to break those bones, possibly robbing him of the ability to fly, forever.  
He was just about to apply the final push that would break the bones when the wings sagged and the aura submitted and it was with great relief he let up the pressure and removed his claws, but as he was about to soothe the abused area there was a strong flicker of fear so with a flash of regret he removed his hand and stepped back and while he cleaned the blood from his claws he watched Knight repeat the ritual of accepting their vows.

Knight's touch was lighter and he didn't demand full submission, but when he was about to touch Hugin a low growl was heard, warning him to be careful.  
Takeshi's pack instincts were strong, and as far as those instincts were concerned their vows and submission placed them under his protection.  
When Knight stepped back Takeshi returned to Hugin's side and he noted that he was tense, his breaths were heavy and unsteady and the wings were quivering with pain from the strain of keeping them in the slightly extended, submissive position.  
Slowly reaching for the base of the wings Takeshi gauged the reaction and he sighed when there was a flicker of fear that kept growing stronger as his hand moved closer and the feathers shifted slightly as the first hints of the instinctive fight or flight response set in.  
Still kneeling Munin glanced at his brother with concern, but he couldn't do anything to help him, the ritual of the vows was not over until they were told that they may rise and Emelie would leave that to Takeshi in order to reinforce his position as the dominant alpha.  
“Easy, I won't hurt you. I may not be able to help you heal, but I can soothe the pain if you let me.”  
Takeshi needed him to accept the touch, just like with Jenna he had done what he had to but he didn't like it and he didn't want Hugin to fear him because of it, a healthy dose of respect for his power and position, yes, but not fear.  
He kept his hand still, just shy of touching the fine, slightly downy feathers that covered the base of the wings and waited for any sign of acceptance and after a while there was a slight nod and Takeshi gently placed his hand on the still tense wings.  
He carefully sifted through the feathers to get a look at the skin beneath and as suspected he found that the punctures from his claws were still slowly seeping black blood.  
After a while he removed his hand and took a gentle but firm hold on one of the slightly extended wings and moved it into a more comfortable position that allowed it to rest against the ground in a way that took the weight of the sore base and once he could see that it relaxed he did the same with the other wing before returning his hand to the base.  
This time Hugin didn't flinch at the touch and he was beginning to relax when Takeshi played with the soft feathers while using his aura to soothe the lingering pain.  
“I can stop the bleeding if you think you can handle allowing my fangs that close.”  
“I don't know... Try?”  
Hugin's words were hesitant and barely more than a whisper.  
“I will go slow, if it becomes too much just say so.”  
It was an exercise in trust and as Takeshi leaned in Hugin froze slightly but didn't ask him to stop and was able to remain still while Takeshi carefully cleaned the blood away, mindful not to mess up the small, soft feathers while sealing the wounds.  
He couldn't fully heal them, he needed to learn more about the unique aspects of the obsidian angels before he could do that, but he was able to make sure they were clean, and stop the bleeding.  
He sifted his fingers through the feathers one last time to make sure he hadn't messed any of the feathers up or left them wet and sticky, a lesson he had learned well after training with the twins using the form of a raptor while they were in their puppy form, and had been slobbering all over his wings.  
The slight flicker of disappointment that passed through Hugin's aura when Takeshi let go and stepped back made him smile as he turned to them and ended the ritual.  
“Your vows have been accepted, rise.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When the tunnel from the small guardroom widened they were met with a rather spectacular sight.  
The tunnel opened up into a large basalt cavern, homes, even small shops were cut into the black walls, stalls lined the street and there were trees and gardens littering the area but the plants were strange, their colors different.  
The leaves were variegated in various shades of purple, some were lighter, others almost black and the veins were pure black, the bright white and vivid blue flowers stood out in contrast against the dark foliage and the fruits all seemed to be silver with blue and purple streaks.  
Takeshi suspected it was because there was no sunlight down here, just like in the Sanctuary they got their energy from crystal formations that channeled and scattered the pure life-force of the realm, the power that was the Mother.  
“Cool, but not very obsidian, is it?”  
Emelie piped up while inspecting the ivy that crawled around the mouth of the tunnel.  
“Not the the city, but the palace is.”  
Hugin quickly explained while motioning for them to head along the left path toward the back of the large cavern.

Stepping out of the tunnel Takeshi paused as he felt a familiar shift in the energies around him, focusing his senses on the feeling he tried to place it.  
“Odd, since we exited the tunnel something changed, it feels almost like when I'm in the dreamscape.”  
Before anyone had a chance to answer there was a flash of black through Takeshi's aura and a few moments later Kiryu sat in front of them, using the abundant energy of the demon-realm in order to manifest.  
“It's a chronoshift. Time here flows differently.”  
For a moment all that Takeshi could think of was how different her voice sounded, gone was the overwhelming presence he was used to but then he realized what she had said, and just how bad it could be.  
“Different how?”  
Takeshi's voice was sharp and he gave their guides a sharp look for not informing him before they stepped inside.  
“Faster, by a factor of ten. I didn't think it was important as it won't have any negative effect on you, you don't age, and it will make your stay seem shorter to those you left behind.”  
Hugin was once again the one to explain and he did so with his head down and Takeshi could see the strain in the wings as Hugin tried to lower them into a more submissive position while fighting the pain.  
Takeshi quickly reached out to stop him but the flicker of fear as he placed his hand one the wing brought out a familiar ache.  
“Easy, no need for displays, just let them rest. But from now on I would prefer if you tell us things like this and allow us to decide if it's important or not.”  
They both nodded and promised they would do their best to keep that in mind.

“So, Kiryu-sama, do you intend to remain manifested during our stay here?”  
Takeshi turned to the, at the moment small, dragon that had been his constant companion most of his life.  
“As much as possible, you need the chance to get used to it.”  
Takeshi had to admit, at least to himself and her, that it felt very strange to not feel her power completely intertwined with his own and she had a point, to grow stronger he needed to train without having her power to fall back on.  
The reaction from Hugin and Munin was a rather amusing one as they stared at the small dragon while carefully reaching out and poking her with their aura, at first nothing happened then she released a small flicker of her true power and they scrambled back with wide eyes.  
“She's an ancient!”  
She tilted her head as she looked at them before jumping to Takeshi's shoulder with an amused snort.  
“So, they assigned a pair of fledglings to such an important task as this? Are you even past your second millennia?”  
“Be nice...”  
Takeshi scolded her lightly, she had accepted them and their vow just as he had and was only teasing them.  
“Fine... Cheeky little whelp...”  
She grumbled but her voice was soft, teasing and the way she curled into his neck was affectionate if anything.

Takeshi's nerves were itching as they walked toward what would be their home for their stay, it seemed like everyone was out in the street to watch them.  
Hugin and Munin quickly picked up on the way Takeshi and Knight began to move in closer to Emelie, circling her with a clear tension in the auras and taking their duty as guards seriously they dropped the seals that forced them into a smaller form and took up positions with Munin in front and Hugin behind them with his wings slightly flared despite the pain.  
Picking up the pace a bit they soon found themselves facing a pair of rather large guards, Hugin and Munin were about twice as tall as Knight, as were most of the obsidian angels they had seen along the street, but these two were half again their size.  
Munin quickly introduced them, all fancy and formal which made Emelie give an annoyed hiss before the guards stepped aside and opened the heavy, ornate gates to let them into the tunnel that connected to the palace area.  
At the other end of the tunnel they were met by another pair of guards by another ornate gate, but these guards were different somehow, their demeanor was haughty and the way they sneered at everyone but Emelie made Takeshi's fangs and claws itch.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Looking around, it was obvious why they called it the Obsidian Halls.  
The cavern they had stepped into was impossibly large, Takeshi estimated that the castle was about five kilometers away and the ceiling had to be nearly 500 meters high and despite the rather impressive height there were pillars reaching from the floor to the ceiling.  
Most of the cavern was ragged cliffs of black obsidian but the near absolute blackness was broken up by streaks of color that was naturally occurring in obsidian, reds, gold and silver sheen, rainbows, even blues and purples along with the clear glass of the midnight lace obsidian.  
The pillars and cut out homes followed the same coloring, mostly black with the occasional streak of color and Takeshi believed the palace would be the same, possibly less random.  
“This way please.”  
Munin interrupted Takeshi's visual examination of the cavern and he just nodded for the brothers to show the way to their new home for an unknown time ahead.

“Wow, you were not kidding when you said you had big beds... This thing could easily fit the five of us!”  
Emelie had jumped into the middle of the insanely large bed and now lay on her belly with arms, legs and wings spread as far as she could.  
“I like it...”  
Her posture took on a sultry quality and the power of her seduction rose a bit as she pushed herself up on her hands and knees before reaching out a hand to beckon Takeshi and Knight to join her, all while her tail was swishing in a lazy pattern behind her.  
“As tempting as **that** suggestion is I think we better get settled a bit first.”  
Takeshi rejected her invitation with a smile and an unspoken promise that they would get to it later but she responded by pushing more power into her aura and voice, even her scent shifted as the potency of her pheromones increased.  
“Aw, don't be like that...”  
“Em...”  
Takeshi voice held a slight hint of warning but Emelie ignored him and pushed her power even more.  
“Come on, let's have some _fun_...”  
_**“Enough!”**_ **  
** Takeshi didn't actually raise his voice, he didn't need to, but the growled out word carried an immense power and pure dominance but even that wasn't enough to deter Emelie who was in an unusual mood.  
Instead of backing down her wings flared slightly into a more aggressive position and her horns appeared, a sure sign that she was gearing for a fight.  
Neither Takeshi nor Knight were surprised though, with the increase in power around them and the oath of their new guards the balance of power between Takeshi and Emelie had been shifting slightly and despite the steps they had taken to try to keep it stable it seemed there would be a bit of a fight for dominance.  
“Hugin, Munin, we better step back a bit and let them settle this on their own.”  
Knight cautioned the two angels as he stepped back himself.  
“The balance of power within the pack has been a bit unstable since we got here, both of them responding to the change in energy around us. And your oaths being directed to her first made that worse.”  
“And our submitting to him wasn't enough to restore that balance...”  
Munin's words were not a question as much as a confirmation that he understood.  
“Just a warning though, do NOT get involved no matter what happens, they might actually kill you if you do. And once one of them comes out on top you better be submissive!”  
Knight gave Hugin an extra sharp look, warning him against resistance, he was pretty sure Takeshi would be the one to come out on top, but there was always a chance that it could be Emelie and he was unsure how much control she would have if she did.  
Takeshi would be high strung and more aggressive in his dominance, but he wouldn't harm them, his instincts to protect much too strong.

They watched as Takeshi circled the bed in the middle of the room and as he did Emelie shifted to keep facing him, growls and hisses was all that could be heard.  
When Emelie didn't back down Takeshi's posture slowly shifted, dropping his center lower as he prepared to pounce if she refused to back down.  
Suddenly his pacing stopped and he let out a loud snarl, more like a roar than anything else and for a moment everything became silent and Emelie was visibly struggling and her aura was radiating confusion.  
Part of her wanted to submit, knowing that Takeshi was the dominant alpha, that he was better suited to it and that it was his very nature, but another part told her to dominate, that she was strong and should try to take that place for herself.  
Then as sudden as the silence had been it was shattered by a furious shriek and the room exploded into chaos as both of them pounced.

Knight was struggling to stay back, to stay still and quiet as he watched his two alphas tear into each-other with the weapons of their nature, claws, fangs and a sharp tipped tail drawing blood from the one they loved above all others.  
The loud snap and crunching sound of one of the bones in Emelie's right wing snapping under the force of Takeshi's powerful jaws made Knight sick but then as sudden as it had started it was over.  
Emelie was trapped under the bulk of Takeshi's body, left wing trapped awkwardly under her body and the right spread useless across the bed.  
Takeshi's right hand had a secure grip over her throat, claws digging in deeply while his left hand kept her tail and her wing trapped, but what had finally caused her to submit was his fangs clamping down over the base of her wings.  
Once she had submitted Takeshi dropped her and instantly turned toward Knight and in a move that was nearly to fast to see Knight found himself pinned between Takeshi and the wall.  
Taking a deep breath Knight leaned against the wall and used it as leverage to lower himself down so that Takeshi could easily bite down on his exposed throat without needing to reach.  
He groaned when the powerful jaws clamped down over his throat making the sharp fangs dig in deeply, but it wasn't from pain, at least not the kind of pain one would assume, instead it was the pain of unfulfilled arousal.  
The teasing nip as Takeshi pulled back made it obvious that he had picked up on the reaction, and it carried a silent promise.  
Knight didn't waste any time when Takeshi stepped aside, he instantly moved to Emelie's side and helped her stabilize her wing and took hold of the broken bone, setting the pieces together so that she could allow it to heal and a few moments later the injury was gone.  
He knew that to be proper he should have tended to Takeshi first, the loser would have to wait until the winner said it was okay, but he also knew that Takeshi would not object to the breach of protocol.  
When Emelie tugged at his aura he just opened it up to her to allow her to feed and replenish the lost energy and while she fed he turned to look at Takeshi and the two kneeling guards.  
He watched Takeshi step forward and place a clawed hand on the base of Munin's wings and the angel instantly submitted and was rewarded with a humming purr and a gentle brush of the swirling red aura.  
When it was Hugin's turn things turned bad pretty fast, Knight could see the struggle in the posture of the black wings and he realized that Hugin wasn't actually fighting against Takeshi, but rather against himself, we wanted to submit but something in his instincts wouldn't let him.  
_“Alpha?”_  
Knight reached out carefully, not wanting to set him off, but at the same time wanting to help Hugin avoid the pain that would no doubt come if he didn't submit.  
_“I'm aware, but it needs to be done, he needs to learn.”_  
The pained chirp when Takeshi's grip tightened caused Munin's wings to flare in agitation, wanting to help his brother, but before he had a chance to act Takeshi aura crashed down over him with a snarl and he quickly forced himself down.  
There was a moment of silence and Knight could feel the wash of emotions, sadness, regret and pain from Takeshi.  
_“I'm afraid he will never stop fearing me for what I have to do...”  
_ There was a sharp snap followed by a loud shriek of pain from Hugin and it became too much for Munin who jumped up to defend his brother, but before he could do anything he found himself pinned to the wall by a body clad in armor and a sharp brightmetal sword pressed hard against his throat.  
“Don't move! Keep quiet!”  
Knight's words were sharp, demanding obedience but he could understand the reaction, from his position Munin was unable to see what had happened, and based on Takeshi's position he believed that the sound of breaking bone had come from the base of Hugin's wings, but it hadn't.  
Knight had seen that Takeshi had placed his left hand just above the critical area of the left wing and snapped the bone where it would be able to easily heal, but still close enough to the base of the wings to cause immense pain, and confuse Hugin's senses for a while, making him unable to tell just what part of his wing that was injured.  
A few moments later Hugin collapsed under the pain and the immense force of Takeshi's aura but he still wouldn't submit and the pained calls were mixed with softer, confused chirps.  
_“Please don't force me to hurt you anymore...”_  
Knight wouldn't have heard Takeshi's whispered words if it wasn't for the fact that Takeshi's raw emotions, his pain over what he had to do caused them to echo over the pack bond.  
After an agonizingly long moment Hugin's aura finally folded into submission with a strangled cry of pain.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“Em, quick, he's not suppressing his healing, we need to set this wing before it heals.”  
Knight was still holding Munin back as Emelie rushed to help Takeshi set Hugin's wing and the older brother was still struggling.  
“Stop struggling, your brother will be fine. He's just too out of it to suppress his healing so they need to hurry and set that bone or we will have to re-break it.”  
“Don't you know the base of the wings almost never heals?”  
Munin was frantic and Knight pushed him back a bit harder.  
“We know, that's why he broke the bone just above the critical area. Close enough for it to hurt like hell and confuse the senses, but far enough for it to be able to heal nice and fast.”  
With the realization that Hugin was in no danger of losing his flight Munin sagged against Knight who carefully helped him sit on one of the padded stools.  
“Beta, if you are done helping Munin could you give me a hand getting this guy onto the bed?”  
“Right away Alpha.”  
Using the words, the titles, helped reinforce the bonds, the balance.  
There was a groan of pain as they moved Hugin onto the large bed, the base of his wings were still very sore from the repeated damage they had suffered and even the slightest shift or effort to move the wings hurt.  
“Em, move his wings so that he can relax them, take the strain off the base.”  
She just nodded, she knew that Takeshi trusted her instincts to know what would be the most comfortable position for Hugin to rest.  
“Take, move here please.”  
She motioned for him to sit down and pushed a pillow into his lap before telling Knight to move Hugin into Takeshi's lap and arranging his wing so that it rested comfortably behind Takeshi's back.  
It allowed Takeshi easy access to the base of the large black wings so that he could help soothe the pain.  
The moment Takeshi reached out to touch the base of Hugin's wings a shiver ran through them and low, rapid chirps was heard, much to Takeshi's sorrow it was not a sound of pain, but of a fear bordering on panic.  
“Please, don't fear me, don't fear my touch. I only want to remove your pain.”  
Takeshi whispered as he once again reached toward the base of the wings but once again the fear intensified to a near panic, deciding to try a different tactic Takeshi placed his hand on Hugin's head and began to run his fingers through the thick, wavy hair, though short by Takeshi's standards it still reached Hugin's shoulders and as Takeshi allowed his claws to gently drag along the skin he could finally fell Hugin begin to relax and the involuntary chirps shifted from fear to confusion.

“Leave them be, Take will take care of him.”  
Munin was still hovering around the bed, trying to get his brothers attention and finally Emelie told him to back off and let Takeshi do what he needed to.  
They watched as Takeshi ran his fingers through Hugin's hair, along his wings and slowly moved closer and closer to the base of his wings, carefully avoiding pushing his fear to far.  
By the time Takeshi was finally able to place his hand on the base of Hugin's wings the others had long since turned their attention to a simple dice game that Munin was teaching them.  
“There, that's is. Relax.”  
He whispered as he sifted through the fine feathers and let his claws drag gently against the sensitive skin while focusing his aura on soothing the pain, but also trying to figure out the energies that flowed through the area, maybe he would be able to assist the healing.  
The injuries were minor, nothing that would affect his flight, but they were painful and Takeshi was hoping he could help that beyond just the temporary relief that his touch gave.  
Munin stared at the sight of Takeshi stroking the base of Hugin's wings.  
“Amazing, I didn't think my brother would ever allow him to touch him again.”  
“Our alpha has a remarkable ability to gain the trust of those he meets. And don't worry, he won't willingly betray that trust. He will do everything he can to not have to cause your brother pain again.”  
Knight kept his voice low while he spoke with Munin in order to not disturb Hugin who was nearly asleep with his head still in Takeshi's lap.  
“But he might have to, if he keeps refusing to submit...”  
“Yes.”  
There was no point in trying to hide the truth.

“Still, he's not just tolerating his touch, he is relaxed, almost asleep. As if he is enjoying it...”  
The words carried some heavy implications, among winged demons allowing someone to touch the base of the wings was a pretty big deal, to allow the touch showed trust or submission, but to actually enjoy the touch was rarely seen outside of the touch of a true mate.  
“The touch is soothing his pain, that's probably why.”  
“Or your alpha is the reason my brother has never shown any interest in courting.”  
Munin's voice carried a hint of steel and Knight found himself asking about it before he considered the possible consequences.  
“And if it is, how would you react to that? How would your people react?”  
Most demonic species didn't care much about gender outside of breeding, though mated pairs were usually also breeding pairs of opposite gender it was not unheard of true mates being of the same gender.  
Those pairs would seek out a suitable surrogate or donor to be able to breed, sometimes even going into a cross mating with another pair of the opposite gender who was in the same situation.  
But there were some species, some demonic cultures that did not look favorably on such pairs, some would ostracize them for a mere rumor, even hunt them down and kill them and Knight didn't know what the views of the Obsidian Halls were.  
“I would prefer if it was someone of the halls, someone who wasn't just a temporary visitor.”  
Munin looked at his his brother with a sigh.  
“Our people won't look too favorably on him since I doubt your Alpha would be the submissive one. Our people have a rather unfair way of looking upon male couples, the dominant one is pretty much ignored while the submissive one is looked down upon as being less than a man.”  
“ _Argr..._ ”  
Emelie whispered.  
“Yes.”  
Munin's rage was thinly veiled.  
“Em, what does that mean?”  
The word was unfamiliar to Knight, but based on Munin's reaction he had a suspicion what it meant.  
“Unmanly, cowardly. Sexual deviant. It can mean many things, but none of them good.”  
She explained that in the old Norse culture accusing someone of being ' _Argr'_ was a severe thing, the worst possible insult and the accused was expected to either kill the accuser on the spot, or demand ' _H_ _ó_ _lmganga'_ , a duel, that when the accusation of _argr_ was involved would usually be to the death.  
Killing the accuser did not constitute murder so no _weregeld,_ blood-money, was required and the killer did not become outlawed.  
If the accuser refused _h_ _ó_ _lmganga_ and was unable to provide proof of their accusation they would become ' _Nīðing',_ weaklings, cowards and would be outlawed.  
“That's pretty bad.”  
Knight agreed when Emelie was done explaining.  
“It wouldn't make much of a difference for us anyway, we are already considered to be _less_ because we are twins. Our mother even killed our father to protect us.”  
“Why? Few fighters are as strong as twins that have trained together... Just like our girls.”  
Emelie was confused by what Munin told them, and Knight began to explain.  
“Some demon cultures believes twins to be bad luck, they believe that the mother only has a set amount of power to give to her offspring, and that if she births twins that power is halved, each of them only inheriting half the power.”  
He explained that many of these cultures would either kill them at birth, or raise them only to force them to fight each-other to the death, believing that the survivor would then gain the power of both twins.  
Munin added that when it came to the Obsidian Angels only those who hatched from the same egg were considered to be true twins, it was not uncommon for obsidian females to lay two eggs, especially not experienced mothers, he explained that it was quite rare for true twins to hatch, in most cases either one was absorbed by the other, or one, or both, died before hatching.  
And when they did hatch, as was the case with him and his brother, the newly hatched angels were a lot smaller than normal, and few survived long enough to catch up with with a regular hatchling.    
“I'm more concerned about my brothers heart if that's the case.”  
The anger had faded from Munin's voice, all that remained was concern, and exhaustion.  
“There's no need to worry. It wouldn't be the first time for Take, he knows how to handle it.”  
“And how is that?”  
“With acceptance and honesty. But it won't be easy, Take is a very physical person, affectionate and a teaser, if it comes to that it will be up to your brother to set the limits.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“If you guys are done gossiping I wouldn't mind some food to replenish what I spent.”  
Takeshi's low voice made them all startle slightly, and Knight realized that while he had allowed Emelie to feed of his aura and tended to her wounds he had completely forgotten to do the same for Takeshi.  
“Damn, sorry Alpha.”  
“No groveling needed, just get me some food.”  
Emelie grabbed Munin and pulled him toward the kitchen area.  
Once they left the room Knight walked up to the bed and crawled onto it, offering his neck to Takeshi, both in apology, mindful of the still reforming balance, but also offering Takeshi to replenish himself from his blood.  
_“Perhaps later, if I tapped into those powers it would effect my aura, and I don't know how Hugin here would react to that.”_  
Takeshi's right hand was still playing with the soft feathers that covered the base of Hugin's wings as he let his words flow across the bond.  
_“How is he doing?”_  
Knight turned his attention to Hugin, trying to get a sense of his aura without disturbing it.  
_“He's in a lot of pain and he's exhausted. I can keep his pain at bay, but I'm afraid it won't be the last time something like this happens.”_  
Takeshi's voice was low and held a taint of sadness and regret.  
_“He was really struggling, trying to submit.”_  
Knight brought up what he had seen during the last struggle, allowing Takeshi to sift through the memories over the bond to allow him a better picture of the events.  
_“Yeah, he was, but for some reason his instincts won't let him without one hell of a fight.”_  
_“Might want to consider Munin's concerns. If Hugin sees you as a potential mate, maybe even recognizes you as a true mate that could be the cause.”_  
_“If was supposed to be his true mate, wouldn't I recognize him as such?”_  
Takeshi was slightly confused, his knowledge about demonic mating was still rather limited.  
_“And not Em?”_  
Knight's tone was equal parts teasing and curious.  
_“Indeed...”  
“Not necessarily, there are different kinds of true mates. The more common form of a true mate is simply someone that is an ideal match. Over the lifetime of a demon it's not uncommon to meet several beings that fit into that category.”  
_ Knight continued to explain about soulmates, how they were different.  
They were the one being in existence that was the perfect match, but as the word implied, it was the perfect match for the soul, and it was common that soulmates didn't live at the same time. _  
“So a soul might have to reincarnate several times before even having a chance at meeting it's mate?”  
“Yes, for many species of demons finding one's soulmate is the only thing that can break a mating-bond.”  
_ Takeshi considered Knight's explanation for a moment before speaking up. _  
_ “Logan, why don't you go help the others with the food? I've got things covered here.”  
It might have sounded like a suggestion, but Knight knew better, it was an order, Takeshi wanted to be alone with Hugin for some reason.  
“Of course.”  
Knight nodded and exited the room.

“So, Hugin, how long are you going to pretend to be sleeping?”  
The black wings instantly tensed and Hugin tried to get up but the motion pulled a faint chirp of pain from him and he froze when Takeshi pushed down.  
“Easy there, you are not going anywhere until your wings have had a chance to heal enough for the pain to stop.”  
“That might take days, even weeks. The base of the wings won't heal easily.”  
There was a frustrated tone to Hugin's voice, but Takeshi also picked up on a tinge of fear.  
“I know. And I'm sorry I had to damage it as much as I did. But I guess you'll just have to get comfortable here.”  
Hugin gave him a resigned sigh.  
“And don't worry, I will stay here, keep the pain away so that you can rest and heal faster. No need to pretend to be sleeping for that.”  
Takeshi grinned as the teasing quip caused Hugin to splutter and chirp indignantly, confirming the suspicion that he had been pretending to sleep to be able to stay where he was and to keep Takeshi's hand where it was.  
“I'm going to let go for a while to check on the rest of that wing. Let me know if the pain becomes too much.”  
Hugin just nodded silently and Takeshi carefully moved his hand along the wing to the point where he had broken it, carefully applying pressure and feeling for any abnormal heat or swelling.  
“Any soreness or discomfort?”  
“No.”  
“Good. It feels okay, but you should get one of your healers to have a closer look. I'm not sure we were able to get the bone set properly before it healed so there might be splintering or misalignments that I can't feel through the soft tissue covering it.”  
“It's okay, I would be able to feel it if something was wrong. Those with wings tend to develop a very keen sense for their condition. Though, I was pretty worried for a while...”  
Hugin's voice trailed of as he recalled the struggle, and the pain.  
“Sorry about that. I had to make you submit but I didn't want to truly harm you, by breaking the bone so close to the base I was able to confuse your senses, make you believe I had broken it at the base.”  
“I, I tried, you know. I just, I don't know why I couldn't.”  
“Don't worry, I know you tried. We will figure it out. With any luck we won't end up in quite such a dire need for submission again.”  
Takeshi let his hand slide back to the base of the wings and resumed the slow play with the soft feathers.  
“How about I call Em in here and have her help getting you seated so that you can eat comfortably?”  
“Can't you do it yourself, please?”  
“I could, but she knows more about wings, about how to move them without pain.”  
“I can handle pain, just, please...”  
Takeshi understood what he was trying to say, he understood pride, and needing to hide one's weakness.  
“The hard way it is then.”  
He helped Hugin to the edge of the bed before carefully arranging his wings into a relaxed position that did not cause him any pain.  
“Could you add a few more pillows, it still pulls a bit at the muscles.”  
Takeshi added a bit more height to the pile of pillows under Hugin's right wing and shifted them around until they took the entire weight of the wing.  
“I don't think this is going to work. There's not enough pillows left to support my left wing.”  
Hugin looked at the handful of pillows that remained in the pile in the middle of the bed.  
“Don't worry, I wasn't planning on using pillows for that.”  
Takeshi smiled and shuffled closer to to Hugin's side while carefully draping the wing across his shoulders before reaching behind him and placing his hand back at the base of the wings.  
“Comfortable?”  
“No, far from, but there's no pain.”  
Takeshi nodded and pulled back his aura, telling the others they could come back into the bedroom with the food.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Obsidian Halls_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi kept Hugin confined to the huge bed for a full week before he allowed him to go outside to test his wings to make sure that there was no lingering pain or adverse effects to his flight.  
Munin had assured Takeshi that there would be no problems since he hadn't caused any damage to the bones or tendons, only pierced the skin and done minor damage to the muscle, but Takeshi refused to take any chances much to Hugin's frustration.  
“See? I'm fine.”  
Hugin spread his wings wide after landing and gave them a quick rustle to settle the feathers before folding them tightly behind him.  
“I would still prefer if you let a healer look at them.”  
Takeshi placed his hand at the base of the folded wings and carefully felt for any signs of stress or pain.  
“Please, don't make me to do that...”  
Hugin's tone was subdued, he would obey if Takeshi ordered it, but he didn't like it.  
“Don't worry, I won't as long as you promise you will take it easy and let me know if anything feels off. I do have a pretty good idea what a busted wing can do to a flier.”  
Hugin quickly promised, even going as far as shifting his wings into a submissive pose.  
Takeshi accepted his promise and rewarded it with one of his own.

“Now, how about you boys show us what you do for fun around here?”  
Takeshi called out as he gave the base of Hugin's wings one last brush and a gentle pat.  
“It's a bit early for the fun stuff, but we could check the market, maybe drop by the library.”  
“Hey! The library is fun...”  
Munin instantly jumped at Hugin's hint that the library was not on the 'fun' list.  
Takeshi had a pretty good grasp of the brothers personalities after spending a week doing very little other than talking, and observing.  
Munin was the bookworm, he studied and trusted his raw knowledge to get him through whatever he faced, your typical 'by the book' kind of guy.  
Hugin on the other hand was the savvy, 'by the seat of his pants' kind of guy, he trusted his wit and was able to quickly get a grasp on an unfamiliar situation and find a way out of it.  
Both were master tacticians, each in their own style and Takeshi was sure their personalities would reflect in their fighting styles as well.  
“Sounds like a plan, let's go.”

 


	65. Killing Time

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Take, Logan. Check this place out!”  
Emelie called from the front of a small store at the corner of the large market square where she was carefully hovering to get a good look at the wares on display, being very short, by human standards made it a bit tricky to shop in a market made for freakishly tall angels, a lot of the structures were adapted for their average height of 4,5 to 5 meters.  
“Oh, you found something interesting?”  
Takeshi sauntered up behind her to see what it was she had found.  
“I'm not sure if it's a florist, a pet shop or a pharmacy.”  
“I'd say it's all of those and then some.”  
Hugin quipped from the sidelines.  
Takeshi had to agree with that assessment, in front of the store was several stalls filled with various goods, dried plants hung from the beams that held up the cloth that shaded the collection of jars and boxes that covered the wooden tables.  
At the sides bunches of fresh plants sat in small water containers and there were several cages with live animals, or rather, lesser demons, even a few small fish-tanks holding aquatic creatures.  
He could also see various rune-stones and crystals pulsing with power.  
“Let's look inside.”  
Emelie chirped as she landed on Takeshi's shoulders.  
Once inside they found a lot more caged creatures and a wide selection of potted plants and herbs.  
“Oh, something smells amazing!”  
Emelie was sniffing around, trying to find where the scent came from and Takeshi took a careful sniff which had him instantly sneezing.  
“Plenty of something smells alright.”  
He complained between snorts, trying to get the strong scents out of his sensitive nose which made the others chuckle at him.  
“Oh, I found it!”  
Emelie leaned toward what looked like a mix between a hoya and a grape wine, it had the same coloring as all the other plants they had seen since arriving in the Obsidian Halls, purple and black leaves, white flowers and silver berries.  
It had the waxy flowers and leaves of the hoya, but it grew like a grape wine and a few of the clusters of flowers had developed into silver grapes.  
“Em, I wouldn't smell those flowers to much, that looks like a _'Shiiza'_ plant.”  
Knight cautioned her.  
“It is a shiiza.”  
Munin confirmed Knight's suspicion.  
“What is that, and why shouldn't I smell it?”  
“Shiiza is a very rare plant, and every part of it, including the scent of the flowers acts like a very potent lust inducer.”  
Munin continued the explanation and Takeshi found it to be rather interesting, and it had the potential to be a lot of fun.  
“Sounds interesting, could you ask the shopkeeper how much it would cost to buy it please?”  
There was a quick conversation in the chittering language of their kind, but before Munin had a chance to name the price Emelie interrupted them.  
“And this bird, we are buying this bird as well.”  
Emelie held up a small cage, no larger than a pint jug with a tiny black bird inside.  
The shopkeeper obviously did not like that as she walked out from behind the counter and made a grab for the cage.  
“Reserved. No sale!”  
She spoke in the common demonic language that Knight had been teaching them.  
Much to Takeshi's surprise Emelie refused to hand over the cage, instead she bared her fangs with a hiss.  
“We are buying this. If whoever reserved it has anything to say they can come talk to me about it.”  
_“Em? What's going on?”  
“I don't know, I just know I can't leave here without this bird. Please Take, help me!”  
_ A moment later Emelie withdrew from the bond when the shopkeeper made another grab for the cage only to back off when Emelie pulled on her full power and flared her wings.  
“Hugin, Munin, she's not going to back off on this, can you try work something out please?  
In the end the shopkeeper agreed to sell them the bird, but not until after Hugin had hinted to her that it might not be such a good idea to upset a Shirai Lilim, who also happened to be an honored guests of their Lord.  
Takeshi could tell that Hugin and Munin were still upset about something though.  
“So, how much does she want for the plant and the bird?”  
“10 measures of gold for the plant, 50 for the food which she demands you take of her hands, 100 for the cage and 500 measures for the creature.”  
“How much is a measure of gold?”  
“It's 1.9 of your grams.”  
Munin quickly listed the prices and values.  
_“But the price is outrageous. Even for such rare items.”_  
Munin added silently.  
_“No kidding, that's 1254 grams of gold...”  
“I can have it sent from the royal treasury. We are after all under orders to see to the Shirai Lilim's __**every**_ _comfort.”  
“No need, I have plenty of gold.”_  
Reaching within the shift he brought 40 of his gold bullions out from his soul and placed them on the counter.  
“That is just over 654 measures of gold, I strongly suggest you take it without complaints.”  
The shopkeeper quickly grabbed the gold before glaring at Takeshi and the others.  
“No refund! No blame me when client come take beast.”  
The shopkeeper pushed the planter into Takeshi's hands and Knight took the big bag of food as they were more or less chased out of the store.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

They spent a few more hours at the market before returning to their apartment with their purchases, everything was quickly unpacked and Takeshi used one of the Sanctuary crystals to create a large aviary for the bird.  
“We need to get some nice plants for it, a small tree, maybe some plants it can eat...”  
Emelie was going all out mother hen over the chirping little feather puff.  
“We will find something Em, don't worry. At least it's out of that pathetic cage now.”  
Though the bird was tiny, so was the cage, it was barely large enough for it to spread it's wings and when sitting on the single perch it's tail-feathers almost touched the floor of the cage and the dome of the cage started at eye-level.  
With the small bird comfortable Takeshi took a closer look at it and found that calling it a 'bird' wasn't very accurate, it was more lizard than bird, it looked very much like a smaller version of what a microraptor would have looked like when it was alive.  
The creature was covered with shimmering black feathers with a bit of an oil-slick effect to them and the beak was filled with tiny, sharp teeth, it's head crowned by a feather crest, much like a cockatoo and the feathered legs were acting as a second pair of wings.  
“Em, I don't think this one eats much plants, it looks a bit predatory.”  
Takeshi teased when it snapped after his finger.  
“Maybe buy some small mice or bugs for it to hunt?”

She was obviously set on decorating the aviary with every comfort possible.  
“I'm sure we will find something.”

They still had quite a few hours left before the nightlife of the Obsidian Halls would wake up so they headed toward the library.  
The entire place ran on a 50 hour cycle, a 40 hour day followed by a 10 hour night, it was fortunate that they all were able to manage with very little sleep.  
“You wouldn't happen to have some ABC books?”  
Takeshi asked Munin while slowly flipping through the pages of a beautiful, hand copied manuscript.  
“What's an 'ABC' book?”  
“Sorry, can't seem to remember if I learned a word for it, my mastery of this language is still a bit lacking.”  
Knight had taught them one of the main demonic languages and they had been speaking it since they arrived, but as with all new languages it did take time to learn the less used words.  
“Your mastery of the language is excellent, you even manage the sub-harmonics, something that many demons fail, even among those who has _Urui_ as their first language.”  
Hearing the name of the language brought a wistful smile to Takeshi's face, 'Urui' was his mother's favorite vegetable and when in season it would be served in everything from the crispy bites in fresh salads, to tempura and and as slightly slimy bits in stir-fry, shaking the memory away he quickly explained.  
“It's a simple text for teaching children how to read. I would love a chance to learn to read and write this rune-script. I will never be able to learn the spoken language properly due to some rather natural limitations, but if I can learn to read and write I could at least communicate.”  
Placing the leather-bound tome back on the shelf he continued.  
“And being able to read I might be able to study things like your methods of healing, anatomy of winged demons, how to take care of, and prevent wing injuries.”  
“If you want to learn about healing we could talk to the healers at the training grounds tomorrow, I'm sure they wouldn't mind teaching you a bit. Though, you seem more like a warrior than a healer to me.”  
Munin seemed a bit surprised by Takeshi's desire to learn about healing, but Hugin had a knowing smile and began to point out the value of such knowledge.

He mentioned that knowing the art of healing would allow small wounds to be treated without the need to retreat to find a healer, a larger wound could be bound, or a broken bone set so that it would not heal wrong while the warrior was able to keep moving until they found a suitable time to seek out a healer.  
An otherwise fatal injury could be stabilized long enough for the victim to survive until a proper healer could treat them or their natural healing had a chance to kick in.  
But it also had a darker use, it would let those fighting know if a fellow warrior was too gravely injured to be saved so that they could end their suffering.  
It would allow a warrior to cause injuries that would slow down and drain resources while not being severe enough for the enemy to give up on the injured, when questioning prisoners it helped to know how to inflict the most pain, without actually doing serious harm.  
“But I suspect your true reason is to gain further knowledge that could help you protect your precious Emelie, and perhaps some day in the future, little winged spawns of hers.”  
Takeshi could feel the immediate drop in Emelie's mood, the topic of children was a sore spot for her.  
_“Hugin, that topic is off limits!”  
_ Takeshi's thoughts carried a sharp edge. _  
“Apologies. Mind letting me know why?”  
“Emelie wants children, a lot. But she knows how hard it is for Lilim to conceive, and that their females have a very high miscarriage rate, especially with a human male. We don't know if I am changed enough to reduce that risk and she does not want to have to live through trying and failing over and over so she has chosen to completely suppress her fertility, and I do the same when I'm with her.”_  
_“I'm sorry...”  
“You didn't know, but try to remember it from now on.”  
“Of course.”_

“I don't think we have any books like the ones you seek, but I could try teaching you myself.”  
Munin had been silently considering Takeshi's request during Hugin's explanation, and the following silent conversation.  
“But it might be harder than you think. Unlike the languages of the human realm, and most demon languages our runes do not represent just sounds, but rather entire words, concepts and ideas.”  
“Sounds similar to my native Japanese, we have three different scripts and from your description and the look of these books I believe your runes may be similar to our Kanji where a character may represent a single word, or an entire idea. And several symbols can be read in the same way, but each have a different meaning, like for names.”  
“That does sound similar, I will try my best to teach you then.”  
Munin didn't seem too sure about the whole idea though.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
They were still sleeping off a long evening and night of partaking in the local entertainment when loud banging at their door disturbed their rest.  
Munin left the bedding and there was a loud conversation in the language of the Obsidian Halls, the discordant sounds gave away the nature of the conversation despite their lack of understanding, it was doubtless an argument.  
“It's the customer who had reserved the creature you purchased and he is demanding you return it to him.”  
“I don't think so!”  
Emelie hissed and climbed out of the bed to join Munin, to defend her claim on the tiny feathered lizard.  
“She is mine, I will not hand her over!”  
“Lilim?!”  
The stranger croaked when he spotted her.  
“Shirai Lilim!”  
Munin's voice was harsh and demanding, and for once Emelie didn't object to the title.  
The young male was quickly bowing and apologizing but the way he looked at her when she wasn't watching had both Takeshi and Knight growling, and when he offered to see to that the gold they had paid for it was returned there was no doubt he was trying to garner her favor.  
_“The boy is a fool, he is making promises in hope of securing courting rights without making sure there are rights to be had.”_  
Hugin's tone was a mix between amusement and pity.  
_“Care to explain!?”_  
Takeshi was struggling to maintain control, so his request came out as a harsh demand, rather than the question he intended it to be, he did not like the implications of Hugin's words.  
_“Until she has been introduced she is considered a minor and unable to grant courting-rights herself. While she may be physically old enough to be courted, there are no formal courting-rights to give before a Lilim has been introduced. As her alpha the right to accept, or refuse a courting is currently yours alone until she is introduced, once she is those rights become hers alone. And even if you were to accept it, a courting could not start until after her introduction.”_  
The look Takeshi gave Hugin was a rather obvious 'Hell No!' and the angel just smiled, knowing well what the answer would be.  
_“No need for Take to turn him down until he has given back the coins, right?”_  
Emelie's teasing words made it clear that Munin had explain the same thing to her.  
_“That's right. He made his promises to you, but your alpha has no obligation to grant him courting-rights in return, but the fool is obliged to keep his word to you either way.”_  
Munin's thoughts carried an almost gleeful amusement.

Two days later the male returned with the 40 gold bullions that Takeshi had used to buy the creature, and the plants.  
He was rather upset when Takeshi refused him the courting-rights he wanted, but he did calm down somewhat when he realized that Emelie had not been brought before Lilith yet and he left with a promise that he would return to court her once she had been introduced.  
Munin scolded Emelie a bit for not letting the male know she had no intentions of allowing him to court her, but the words lost their edge as he was struggling, and failing, to suppress his amused chirps.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
They had been warned that it might take quite some time before they were allowed to meet with the Lord and at times Takeshi found himself having to forcefully remind himself that time moved differently here, that as far as those left behind knew it had only been a month since they lost contact with Angel, not nearly a year.  
They spent most of their time studying and training, learning to harness the wast energies of the demon-realm and Takeshi was happy to see that training with other fliers had boosted Emelie's confidence in her flight.  
She was no longer worried about dropping things and she was giving the trainers a run for their money as her agility increased drastically.  
He did feel a slight pang of loss though, as her confidence grew her habit of wrapping her tail around his wrist diminished and he found himself missing the contact.

“Come on Take! Hurry, or the hunting party will leave us behind.”  
Emelie's cheerful calls brought him from his musings and he quickly took the reins of the ridiculously large demon bird that was to be his mount for the duration of the hunt.  
With a smooth motion he jumped up on its back and quickly settled into a kneeling position on the small, flat saddle designed to not hamper the birds movements.  
Looking over his shoulder he easily located Knight who was riding a slightly smaller bird, the hunting party had insisted that everyone needed to be airborne for the hunt and Takeshi hadn't revealed his ability to shift other than to Hugin and Munin so both he and Knight had been given demon birds as mounts.  
Knight's steed would be spending the next few months living the life of a pampered stud at the royal stables where Hugin and Munin's uncle was stable master, and in charge of the breeding of the demonic steeds, the uncle would also see to the care of Emelie's little lizard.  
Shifting slightly Takeshi made sure he had a good seat before securing the straps that would keep him in the saddle even if the bird had to bank hard, dive or even turn upside down if they were attacked, something the hunters had told him was a rather frequent occurrence.  
“Up!”  
The single word was all that was needed to spur the large bird to take flight, a quick rustle of feathers and off they went.  
Once they were in the air Kiryu jumped from his shoulder and allowed her form to grow, she would protect Emelie who like the other winged hunters had no mount.  
“Logan, feeling alright there?”  
Takeshi grinned as he watched Knight's mount roll and bank as if trying to toss him.  
“I'm fine, she's a bit high spirited, it's her first hunt. But I can handle her.”  
Knight's borrowed mount was young but she was the only one that had accepted him, much like how Takeshi's old bird was the only one that didn't fear him, Takeshi had spent a few weeks convincing the demon peregrine that he was not a suitable snack.  
“I can understand how she feels, getting a bit of a rush myself.”  
Takeshi had trained with the other young hunters, catching and killing the smaller baby and juvenile gong, learning all he could about them, he was confident that he would be able to borrow their form if needed.  
He knew that killing an adult without revealing his shape-shifting or his blades would not be easy, his only weapons other than his claws would be a simple short-sword that reminded him of a Xipos that had been forged for him as a reward for earning his right to join the hunters, and his tanto.

Every part of the large creature was valuable, organs, hide, even the blood so the goal was to kill it with as little damage as possible, the preferred method was to get on its back and use a sword to sever the spinal-cord in the neck.  
But it was not such an easy task as it might sound, each vertebra of the beast's spine had three protruding, flat growths, one short facing up toward the head that fitted between two facing down toward the tail, the outer one was longer than the inner one and together they formed a structure similar to a bridle joint and acted like a scale armor to protect the spinal-cord.  
Add intelligence, speed, flexibility, vicious claws and teeth, and a powerful tail with razor-sharp scales oozing with a paralytic venom to the mix and you were in for one hell of a fight, and a world of hurt if you didn't stay on your toes.

They flew the entire day, only stopping at a river to allow the peregrine demons to drink some water and catch what looked like the nightmare child of an octopus and a lamprey, but the two giant birds made quick work of the writhing mass of tentacles and teeth.  
The hunters would eat the simple pemmican style bars they carried in small bags attached to their belts next to the water-skin, the dried meat, berries and fruits mixed with nuts, herbs and rendered fat was an excellent source of energy.  
The short night was spent resting among the crevices of a steep cliff, huddling together, wrapped among feathered wings for protection from the cold winds they all appreciated the shelter and warmth provided by Kiryu's large form when she curled against the cliff.  
Takeshi had grown to enjoy the company of the hunters, they took pride in their skills, but they lacked the arrogance that many of the guards and warriors suffered from.  
To join the guards the recruits had to fell an adult gong, but only the best were allowed to remain as hunters and learn to hunt not only the gong, but other, far more dangerous, and profitable prey.  
Takeshi smiled when Emelie complained about the cold and curled tightly into his side before grabbing Hugin's wing and pulling it over herself as a comforter.  
Hugin just sighed and shifted his position slightly so that the new position of his wing was more comfortable.  
“You know you don't have to accommodate her if you don't want to...”  
Takeshi's teasing words to Hugin caused Emelie to hiss slightly and dig her claws into his sides.  
“I don't think she agrees.”  
Hugin mused while casting a glance toward his brother who was trying to tease one of the healer's young assistants into joining him for the night.

“Look, the plains!”  
Emelie was flying next to Takeshi and pointed toward the horizon where the dense mountain forest gave way for tall grass and open flatland.  
Takeshi could see the large stone pillar that would be their home for the next few weeks, the adult gong were far too aggressive and territorial for them to be able to camp on the ground and the forest held its own dangers.  
The first few days would be spent setting up camp, resting from the flight, hunting some of the smaller, easier prey, and collecting some of the abundance of fruits, nuts, berries and mushrooms that grew in the forest.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“Younglings, gather around!”  
The leader of the hunting party called for those that were to be tested this hunt, Takeshi and Emelie among them, Knight joined them as well despite being a full fledged hunter by their standards.  
Knight wanted to offer proof of his skill since all they had was his word, he looked around as he stepped up to the small platform where the elder hunter was standing, apart from him and his alphas there were four obsidian angels and a shadeling.  
Emelie was sitting on his shoulders, using his head as an armrest and a quick glance to the side revealed the profile of a rather lazy looking Takeshi, the way he leaned against a large rock, arms crossed and one knee bent looked almost careless, bored, the way the hood of the cloak he was wearing was pulled down over his eyes and even his aura reflected the same illusion but Knight could feel the sharp attention over the bond.  
Half listening to the elder hunter he thought back to how his Alpha had won the cloak he was currently wearing, one of the hunters had challenged him to a competition with throwing knives after seeing Takeshi asking the blacksmith to craft a set of darts to help Emelie practice her throwing skills, Takeshi's own throwing needles were too large for her so the balance was off.  
And in the spur of the moment he had decided to have a dart set crafted so that they could all play during their long wait.  
Takeshi had won the challenge and demanded a fur cloak similar to the one the hunter was wearing as his price, the hunter was a skilled tanner and leather-worker and had turned the hide of one of the young gong that Takeshi killed into an exquisite piece of clothing.  
Takeshi had been very satisfied with the quality of the work and had requested two more to be made, taking full advantage of the hunters knowledge about how to craft the items with wings taken into account.  
The price he had offered was downright outrageous, Takeshi had offered the hunter to keep every part of the two gongs that wasn't used for the cloaks and soon after they all had similar cloaks and Knight found that he was glad they did, nights were cold on the plains.  
Knight was brought out of his thoughts when the others began moving, the elder had finished his speech about staying safe and not trying too hard.

“Logan, is everything alright?”  
Takeshi's voice held a hint of concern and Knight realized he hadn't responded the first time Takeshi called his name.  
“Yeah, sorry, just lost in my own musings here.”  
Knight bared his throat slightly in apology and couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped when Takeshi reached up and pulled him down so that he could drag his fangs along the exposed skin.  
He could hear some of the hunters snicker at them, the sound was teasing and lacked the negative feel that many of the others would carry.  
It was another reason they felt comfortable with the hunters, they didn't look down on them for their occasional intimacy, the guards had been okay with it as long as both Takeshi and Knight had been focused on Emelie, and they hadn't minded that Knight submitted to **her** , **she** was _Shirai Lilim_ after all.  
But when they noticed that he submitted to Takeshi, whom they perceived to be little more than a human, as well, the snickers had turned derisive and it was only Emelie's presence and their status as honored guests of the Lord of the Obsidian Halls that kept them from openly showing their contempt for what they considered to be unmanly, _argr_ as Emelie had called it.  
The hunters on the other hand were often away from the great city for long periods and there were very few female hunters so the males found their relief with each other, even those who had mates back in the city.  
Those with mates had explained though, that their mates knew about it and that they would not seek relief with someone their mates had not accepted.  
The hunters contribution to the survival of the city was far too great for anyone to dare confront them about their ways or accuse them of acts unbecoming.  
Their twin guides didn't seem to mind either, being twins they were looked down upon by many demons, considered weaker as there was a strong belief that twins would share power, each carrying half the power they would have had if they had been born a single birth.  
Their own experiences had taught them well, taught them to judge others by their merits, not the ideas of their society.

A shift in Takeshi's energies refocused Knight's attention to his alpha, it had been happening several times lately, Takeshi's energies became needy, almost desperate and something in the demanding force that pushed against him made Knight startle with realization, he knew that desperation, that need.  
_“Alpha, answer one question, please. Are you going into heat?”  
“I am, but not just yet, my Beast suppresses it.”_  
Knight sighed deeply, that was potentially troubling news, though not entirely surprising.  
_“How long can it keep the heat suppressed?”  
“With it being my first and the energies of this place, a few years. With some luck I'll be mated by then.”_  
They had spent many nights talking about Takeshi's plans to court Emelie once she had been presented to Lilith and gained her true power and Knight found it rather amusing how nervous his otherwise highly confident  alpha was about the entire thing.  
_“You know, if your beast is able to, you should release your heat when it is time to mark her. Mating-bonds formed when those mating are at the peak of their heat are said to be the strongest.”_  
Knight had no doubt that his two alphas would end up mated, probably inappropriately soon after Emelie's introduction as a true Lilim.  
_“Assuming she even has a heat-cycle, or that her first heat will come while the Beast is still able to suppress ours.”_  
Knight didn't like the hesitation, the near surrender in Takeshi's tone.  
_“She will have a cycle, all Lilim do. And she is succubus, so her heat will be triggered by yours, it might even be triggered by my own, or another sufficiently strong, or dominant, pack-member's heat.”_  
Knight almost laughed at the glint of hope that instantly sparked from his words.  
_“You worry to much Alpha.”_  
He teased gently.  
_“Someone has to while you kids play around.”_  
Takeshi quipped in return while nibbling at Knight's throat.  
As they gathered themselves and went to join Emelie in their tent they both noticed the unveiled curiosity of the shadeling as it watched them leave.  
_“We need to keep an eye on that one, as a shadeling it can probably sense your inner shadow, as well as Emelie's heritage.”_  
Knight silently cautioned his alpha, but he neglected to mention the signs of arousal he could see in the way the shadeling's form kept shifting, as all of its kind it was formless, genderless and had adopted a form that mimicked the male angels around it out of convenience.  
A form it was now reshaping trying to find a form that Takeshi might find pleasing.

“Logan, your turn. Show us the worth of a son of the mountain city.”  
The leader of the hunt had made them draw straw to determine what order they would be tested and Knight was 3rd in line.  
The hunters would find an adult gong and make sure it was separated from the others before backing away to allow the one being tested a chance to take it down on their own, but they stayed close, ready to intervene if things got too dangerous or if the gong was about to get away.  
If the recruit failed to fell it they would simply have to wait until the others had a chance, then they would be allowed to try again, most needed quite a few tries before they managed, and many would join several hunts before they felled their first adult gong.  
When he stepped forward Takeshi stopped him briefly and gave him a soft kiss.  
“Go! Show these relics just why my _Beta_ is source of pride for my pack!”  
The mix of pride and teasing challenge in Takeshi's voice made Knight grin and promise himself he would **NOT** fail, for a brief moment he wondered silently just what it was about Takeshi that made him so eager to earn his praise.  
“Remember, an Alpha sometimes rewards their Beta by allowing them certain _liberties_...”  
Takeshi's teasing reminder instantly brought a familiar heat to Knight's belly and it quickly dropped lower, further strengthening his resolve to take down his prey without fail.  
The subtle promise of being allowed to take a dominant role, even if it was just an illusion, was a powerful motivator.

“Ready?”  
The master of the hunt called to Knight while the other hunters kept the adult male gong occupied.  
Knight was impressed with the efficiency with which they lured the beast to a safer location where they could make sure no other gong would get involved.  
“Ready!”  
The other hunters instantly backed away and Knight shifted his weight slightly, pressing closely against the back of his mount, directing the young peregrine demon into the signature stoop that it shared with it's mortal kin.  
The gong wasn't concerned with the approaching predator, well aware that it was much too large for the bird to be any threat to it, unaware of the deadly passenger it returned to its forage for food.  
The peregrine broke of its dive in the last moment and Knight launched himself from its back with his borrowed sword drawn, the hunters trial did not allow the use of enchanted weapons.  
With a well practiced burst of power he drove the blade deep into the neck of the beast and with a push and a twist he forced it through the protective bone, in between the vertebrae and twisted them apart, severing the spinal-cord and killing the large creature.  
Pulling out a sharp metal pipe he quickly pierced the jugular to allow the blood to gather in the enchanted bag that all hunters carried for the purpose, when most of the blood had been tapped he brought out the sharp obsidian blade and removed the venom glands, carefully putting them into a similar container, if they broke they would taint the meat.  
With swift and precise cuts he skinned it and opened the body cavity, with a display of power he broke away the ribs and extracted the priced organs, heart, liver and kidney and placed them on the hide before cutting the skull away from the neck and cracking it apart to remove the large brain and place it next to the other organs.  
Tradition dictated that the hunters first true kill was gifted to the elder hunters, as a token of respect, and gratitude for teaching the art of the hunt but Knight decided to break that tradition slightly, he had after all not been taught by them.  
He quickly cut a thick slice of each organ, and from the tenderloin then cut each slice into two strips, one roughly twice the size of the other and placed them on two of the spinal plates along with a pair of the wickedly sharp claws before presenting it to his alphas.  
There was a bit of a stir among the younger hunters when the first bite of the choice cuts was not offered to the elder, but rather to a pair of the untried hunters, but the elder just nodded his approval of Knight's gesture and that silenced the others.  
“A pride to my pack indeed, Beta.”  
Takeshi praised him after tasting each of the offered pieces, and the claw quickly found it's way into Takeshi pack, once they returned from the hunt it would be crafted into a knife that was perfectly suited for skinning the beasts.  
Emelie quickly seconded Takeshi's assessment of Knight's skills as a hunter.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
Takeshi watched as Emelie and Knight helped the hunters set up the large circle of runes that would transport the spoils of the hunt back to the city, he could have helped, but they had decided that he would keep his true power hidden, an ace up the sleeve in case something went wrong so he settled for watching, and learning.  
With Munin's help he had learned the basics of their written language and how they used the runes not only for writing, but also for magic, like the magic circle in front of him, a similar circle was permanently built into the flooring of a storage building in the city and when this circle activated anything within would be moved to the other circle.  
Though it was not able to teleport a living creature as the body would be torn from the soul, and the soul remain while the body moved.  
He fingered the set of claws in his pack, three of them, one for each of the first kills of himself and his pack, they had taken down a quite a few of the beasts and their share of the spoils was worth a small fortune that they would be able to use in trade once they returned to the city.  
A familiar energy brushing against his own brought him from his musings as the shadeling glided up behind him.  
“A most prosperous hunt, your pack does you great honor, as their Alpha does them.”  
Takeshi just nodded slightly and allowed his aura to return the brush of energies, his Beast had taught him quite a bit about how to interact with shadow demons such as the shadelings.  
_“You have taught the granddaughter of The Shadow well, for one so young she is strong. The shadow within serves you well.”  
_ Takeshi tensed slightly when the shadeling confirmed their suspicion that it knew who they were.  
_“Worry not, your secret is not mine reveal. You have my word I will not do or say anything to jeopardize the safety of my kin.”_  
Takeshi could feel the geas of a true oath form and at the mention of kin he allowed his curiosity to flicker through his aura.  
_“She is my niece. The first Shadow is my father. But please, do not tell her. I wish to reveal that myself at her introduction.”_  
Takeshi didn't want to admit it, even to himself, but knowing that Emelie had family here brought a shard of cold fear to his heart, a fear that she would choose blood family over pack, over him.  
_“She will hit you for not letting her know earlier.”_  
He pushed the chill down deep within and focused on maintaining his usual calm.  
_“I'm sure she will, but I do not wish her to know until then.”  
“Very well. But you better take her fury without complaints.”  
“Oh, don't worry, I will.” _  
In the silence that followed Takeshi could feel the shadelings energies shift and become more intimate, inviting.  
_“I wouldn't mind getting to know her pack a bit better while we wait for her to be presented to Lady Lilith though...”_  
The way the shadelings energies shifted were rather suggestive.  
_“I bet you wouldn't.”_  
Takeshi quipped with a teasing brush of aura, not really inviting, but not rejecting either.

So far the shadeling had not given Takeshi any reason to dislike it and it had good skills, along with Knight and Takeshi it had been the only one to take down a gong on it's first attempt, Emelie had managed on her second which was still considered proof of exceptional skill and power.  
Out of the remaining four taking the trial only one had managed to fell one, and it had been on her 12th try, the others would simply wait for the next hunt and try again.  
Takeshi watched the shadeling join the others, adding its power to the circle of runes and a few minutes later the large piles of goods that had been gathered during the hunt vanished in a wash of power.  
It would re-appear inside one of the storehouses in the city, where fields of magic similar to the stasis fields generated by the Sanctuary crystals would keep it fresh until the hunters returned and could begin the distribution of their spoils.  
But today they would bring down another gong or two and gather more treats from the forest and river nearby and tonight they would feast, tomorrow they would rest and the day after they would begin the return trip.

“ _Be nice to the poor girl.”_  
Takeshi mock scolded Knight who was shamelessly flirting with the young huntress who had passed her trial during the hunt, inviting her to spend the night with him and the pack.  
The suggestion that she join them, all of them, for the night had her blushing vividly but her aura gave away her curiosity, and her innocence.  
Emelie had named her _'Brenna'_ as her name was just as impossible for them pronounce as the others and they had spent quite some time with the young female.  
_“What does your traditions dictate about taking the innocence of a youth?”_  
Takeshi didn't want to break any taboos or do something that would be seen as inappropriate in their culture, at least not when someone outside of the pack was involved, potentially at risk, so he decided to ask Munin about it.  
_“It is a great honor to be chosen as their first. An honor that is repaid by teaching them the pleasures to be had. To cause undue pain or fear would be most dishonorable and require restitution to be paid. To take an innocent unwilling would render the offender argr, outcast, lowest of the low, an outlaw permissible for anyone to kill without consequence.”  
_ At the mention of taking someone against their will Takeshi found himself unable to fully suppress the distaste that manifested as a low growl and he could feel a flicker of approval from Munin.  
_“I have no doubt you and your pack would prove to be excellent guides should she chose to grant you that honor.”_  
Their silent conversation was interrupted when Knight pushed Takeshi slightly to make him scoot over to make room for Brenna to sit beside him and when she sat down Takeshi couldn't resist placing his hand at the small of her back and slowly trail his claws up her spine, carefully taking note of her every reaction.  
The soft gasp when he reached the soft feathers at the base of her wings was telling, but not as telling as the way she leaned into his touch while using her wings to pull both him and Knight closer.  
For a moment Takeshi was grateful for the obsidian angels ability to change their size and for the fact that they all adapted their sizes to him and his pack while not working or hunting, it would be hard to do her justice if she chose to lay with them if she maintained her true size.  
When Emelie approached them with a tray piled high with food he could feel Brenna tense under his hand and a flicker of uncertainty tainted her aura, no doubt unsure how Emelie would react to her closeness to what according to their culture was Emelie's males.  
“Oh don't worry Brenna. I don't mind sharing as long as I get to join in a bit.”  
Emelie's voice was teasing as she leaned in and gave Brenna a rather heated kiss which caused quite a bit of cheering and whooping and made her blush even deeper, the black blood of her kind making her face look like it was cut from the stone of her home.  
As the feast carried into the night they teased and taunted, touches, kisses and whispered words were exchanged and by the time they retreated to their tent she joined them eagerly.  
Though there was still one source of uncertainty, she had a hard time choosing who would be her primary guide, who would be her true first.  
Takeshi's instincts told him that she favored Knight, and he suspected that she was concerned that choosing the Beta over the Alpha would be seen as an insult, or a challenge.  
“Easy there sweetie. All that matters is your choice, your wish. Alpha, Beta, it's irrelevant in comparison.”  
“It is okay then, if I chose your beta as my guide?”  
“Of course it is.”  
With Takeshi's assurance the tension faded from her body and aura, but he couldn't resist teasing her a bit.  
“Though I would naturally prefer if you chose me instead.”  
He mock complained with a teasing tone that succeeded in making her laugh.  
As Brenna joined Knight in the furs Takeshi and Emelie stayed close, soothing, teasing, helping her relax, Takeshi gently slid his hands along her wings and played with the small, soft feathers at the base.  
Takeshi even managed to make Knight blush when he carefully brought a small bottle out of his shift, a bottle containing the slippery substance created by the small tree that the Mother had created for them during Knight's heat.  
“Alpha!”  
Knight hissed with a clear tone of embarrassment when he realized what the bottle contained but Takeshi just grinned at him.  
When they finally emerged from their tent in time for the evening meal the following day they were met with snickers and cheers, as well as teasing questions about their skill as _guides_.  
“Oh trust me, they taught me **very** well.”  
Takeshi and Knight were both grinning widely as Brenna gave as good as she got, even making a few of the other hunters splutter.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Killing Time_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

****There was a rather large group waiting to greet the hunters when they returned, mates, children, friend and prospective buyers had all gathered in the open area in front of the storage buildings.  
But Takeshi and his pack soon found their attention shifting to Brenna as they could all feel a creeping fear start to tinge her aura when a rather large male approached her while speaking loudly and energetically in their language.  
When they noticed that several of the hunters seemed agitated they quickly asked Hugin and Munin what was going on.  
_“He is being very disrespectful.”_  
Hugin quickly began translating the words of the rude male, while they had learned to understand some of the language the nuances were still beyond their grasp.  
  
“About time! Let's go get that innocence of yours out of the way so we can finally get our mating done.”

Takeshi reached out for Brenna's mind with a barely restrained growl.  
_“You fear him, why?”  
“I don't know. He's always been trying to talk me into choosing him as my guide but I have managed to keep him at bay by telling him I wanted to prove myself as a hunter first.”_  
She explained that the male was the son of one of her father's oldest friends and that she had never been comfortable around him and now, she feared his reaction when he realized she had picked someone else to be her guide.  
_“So it would be safe to assume you have no desire to be courted by, or mated to him?”  
“Never!”_

There was another outburst from the male, this time with an aggressive tone that made Takeshi's instincts go on high alert and he could tell that several others had reacted the same way, but that they were hesitant to get involved, even Kiryu hissed in agitation from his shoulder.  
_“He has realized that she is no longer an innocent, upset that she chose someone else and demanding courting-rights.”  
_ Hugin continued to give them a rundown of what was being said. _  
“But she has no desire to be courted by him.”  
_ Takeshi relayed what Brenna had told him, confirmed what they were all suspecting. _  
“Unfortunately her father has promised him courting-rights once she has shed her innocence.”  
“Is there anything we can do to help her?”  
“Her guide has the right to challenge anyone who wishes to court her, if the guide wins the other male loses any right to court her.”  
“Logan, you think you can beat that guy?”  
_ Takeshi quickly turned his attention to Knight.  
Knight didn't answer, he just stepped up in front of the offending male and in a wash of power he called his armor and sword.  
**“By right of the Guide I reject your claim of courting-rights!”  
** Hugin quickly translated the burst of sound that answered Knight's loud proclamation.  
_“He is questioning the validity of Logan's claim to being her guide.”  
_ “He offered to be my guide when he found that I was still an innocent, and I accepted his offer.”  
Brenna's voice was soft but steady as she responded in the common tongue so that Takeshi and the others would be able to fully understand her.  
**“You allowed that baseborn mongrel to touch you!?”  
** The outraged words were shouted in the common tongue, no doubt to make sure Knight understood the insult and they were followed by a surprisingly swift charge toward Brenna and the raised arm a clear threat.  
There was a brief moment of chaos as several of the hunters cried out in alarm and tried to intercept the livid male only to realize they were to far away to make it in time, but Takeshi and Knight were not concerned, they could both feel the familiar flicker of Emelie's shadow powers as she vanished into Takeshi's shadow and re-appeared in Brenna's.  
The large angel almost lost his balance when he suddenly found himself face to face with a furious succubus, pulling on all the power of her heritage and a moment later Hugin and Munin stepped in and crossed the black blades that proved their status as royal guards in front of him.  
**“You will fight the challenge or forfeit any right to claim courting-rights, with anyone, ever!”**  
The twin angels spoke as one and their tone demanded obedience.  
Everyone was quickly ushered toward the training grounds where the arena and it's protective energy field would allow them to fight without needing to worry about the spectators.

The main arena of the training-grounds was a rather impressive building, somewhat similar to the Colosseum, only much larger and with a strong energy barrier surrounding the pit and when they arrived a pair of large bells began ringing, no doubt to alert potential spectators that there would be a fight in the arena.  
A group of officials greeted them and Knight and the angel were quickly brought to opposite sides of the arena while Hugin and Munin led Takeshi, Emelie and Brenna to a central podium that gave an excellent view of the entire arena, much like the imperial box of the Colosseum.  
As the one the challenge was all about Brenna was seated in the middle seat, Emelie, being a Lilim on her right and Takeshi on her left with Kiryu perched on his shoulder while Hugin and Munin stood behind them.  
After a few minutes a group of servers arrived with large platters piled high with various snack foods, including fruits, cooked and raw meats, bread and cheese.  
“You should eat and relax, it will take a while for the officials to prepare the arena and the fighters.”  
Takeshi and Emelie just nodded and began picking their favorites from the trays of food while Brenna watched them silently.  
“Aren't you worried about Logan? His opponent is skilled and of noble blood...”  
“Not really, we have faith in our little beta.”  
Hearing Emelie call Knight 'little' instantly had Brenna laughing, even Hugin and Munin were chuckling slightly behind them.  
“Don't worry, _sweetie_. Trust in your guide, you chose very well.”  
Takeshi placed his hand at the small of her back and slowly trailed his claws along her spine until he could bury his fingers in the soft feathers at the base of her wings.  
“You know, that's a bit inappropriate...”  
Brenna scolded lightly, but rather than reject the touch she leaned into it slightly, allowing it to calm her.  
While Takeshi was focused on keeping Brenna calm he was half listening to Emelie giving her a detailed briefing on all the benefits of claws in a lover.

Takeshi estimated that an hour had passed when one of the arena officials entered the pit and began his presentation of the upcoming fight.  
First the angel stepped out and was introduced, with a long listing of his lineage which was probably supposed to be impressive, but Takeshi couldn't care less.  
When Knight stepped into the pit Takeshi could feel a surge of pride, he was wearing the modern style dragon body-armor that Takeshi and Kiryu had crafted for him, he also wore a tabard and cloak similar to the Templar ones he had torn from his armor when they retrieved it, but these were a deep black with the Kiryu family kanji boldly displayed in a fiery red.  
When Knight moved Takeshi could see that the sides had a black dragon stitched with what looked like it might have been sequins, but Takeshi suspected they were in fact small scales making the likeness of the Ryujin shine and glitter against the matte black cloth.  
“Oh, so he has finally found an occasion he considers worthy.”  
The old dragon whispered from her spot on Takeshi's shoulder, confirming his suspicion that the items were indeed crafted from her hide and scales.  
“Keeping secrets are we?”  
His tone was teasing and she only huffed in response while listening to the introduction of Knight.

“ **Logan Knight, Beta of Pack Kiryu, son of the lost mountain, honored guide to Brenna of the Obsidian Halls.”**

Knight had obviously spoken to the official about how he wished to be introduced and Takeshi wondered how much convincing it had taken to get them to address Brenna with the name Emelie had given her and not her true name.  
With introductions done there was a quick listing of the rules, which pretty much boiled down to there being no rules other than that no one may interfere, not even Brenna.  
A few beats of powerful wings and the official landed in front of Brenna on their podium and with a burst of energy the protective barrier closed up.

“ **Fight!”**

Brenna gasped in concern when the angel quickly grew in size, proving his noble heritage but Knight just kept circling him slowly, showing no signs of being worried about the size of his opponent.  
“Isn't he going to attack?”  
She whispered despite the loud cheering and taunts from the other spectators.  
“He is allowing his opponent to decide how the challenge will be fought. Until one submits, is unable to fight, or maybe even to the death.”  
Takeshi wasn't worried, but he kept a close eye on fight, not wanting to miss anything.

“Realizing your mistake are you? Pathetic little mongrel!”  
The angel was taunting Knight, trying to push him into making the first move.  
“You know, the human realm has a saying; The bigger they are, the harder they fall...”  
Knight returned the taunts with a taunt of his own and the effect was instant.  
With an enraged cry the angel charged and aimed a swing with the long, black sword at Knight's neck, clearly intending to take his head, and thus deciding the goal of the fight, death.  
After that the fight quickly turned vicious and Takeshi could feel a slight concern from Emelie as the angel used his size and range to push Knight to the limit, but Takeshi wasn't concerned, Knight's aura still carried a distinct sharpness that revealed that he was not as cornered as he seemed, if one knew what to look for.

Nearly two hours later the fight turned and Brenna cried out when Knight's sword was forced from his hands, but before anyone had really had time to realize that he had been disarmed Knight had grabbed his opponent's blade and used it to swing around behind and slightly above him and bringing out all his strength he smashed both his fists into the base of the wings, completely crushing the vital bones and tendons.  
Looking down at the unconscious angel Knight called for his blade, but instead of finishing his opponent he simply sheathed his sword and turned toward the official.  
“Challenge over, he is unable to continue.”  
With the pain and shock from the damage to the sensitive base of the wings the angel wouldn't wake for quite some time, and he would never fly again.  
**“Challenge over!”  
** The official agreed and named Knight winner of the fight.

When Knight rejoined them he was met with praise, and kisses but their celebration was quickly cut short as a pair of guards wearing the royal armor, and sporting haughty sneers landed on the podium.  
  
**“Our Great Lord of the Obsidian Halls demand you be brought before him!”  
  
**

 


	66. The Light Who Fell

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Giving the guards a quick glance Takeshi ignored their tone and for the most part, them as well, instead he turned to his pack.  
“Well, how about we head back and get cleaned up and go meet with the Lord?”  
“You will not make our Lord wait!”  
One of the guards instantly snapped and Takeshi found himself fighting to suppress a deep sigh, there had not been much opportunity for proper bathing during the hunt, nor were they able to carry much spare clothing so they were all rather ripe.  
Knight had bathed before the fight, but he now had quite a bit of blood and dirt smeared over his body.  
Hugin and Munin both tried to convince the guards that it would be better to allow them some time to quickly get cleaned up, but the guards refused and pulled rank against the twins.  
_“It seems they are intent on trying to shame us by having us appear before our Lord looking like a bunch of street urchins.”_  
Munin complained silently as they followed the guards toward the palace area.  
_“The grime and sweat of honest work, and blood of our prey and foes. Hardly something to be ashamed of.”_  
Knight's response carried a clear huff.  
Takeshi quickly reached out for the shadeling and asked it to look after Brenna and see to that she found her way home safely before snapping at the guards.  
“By all means, show us the way then.”  
Both guards visibly bristled at Takeshi's dismissive tone and refusal to look at them when he spoke.  


By the time they reached the inner palace Emelie was suggesting they pluck the guards and run them out of town in tar and their own feathers.  
The guards had been constantly sneering, sighing and complaining about them being slow, especially Takeshi and Knight's inability to fly had been complained about.  
“You know, our Lord might just let you do that if you ask nicely. This not how you treat honored guests and perhaps risking such a treatment would make the guards mind their manners a bit.”  
Hugin was only half joking, clearly upset about the way the guards were behaving.  
They were lead into a fairly large antechamber and Munin quickly explained that the throne room was just beyond the doors, and that they would be asked to leave their weapons in the antechamber.  
The futility of asking Knight to leave his sword in the chamber caused quite a bit of amusement, he could simply call for the weapon and it would come to his hand and the guards were completely unaware of Takeshi and Emelie's weapons.  
Their demand that Hugin and Munin leave their swords caused another argument, but this time the twins didn't back down, as honor-guards they were sworn to protect, and they had been ordered to do so by the Lord himself.  
“You! Remove the seal that masks your aura!”  
One of the guards rudely pushed at Takeshi with his wing.  
“I will remove it when the Lord himself asks me to, not before. And most certainly not for a simple lackey like you.”  
Takeshi might have complied if they had just bothered to ask in a remotely polite way, but he had simply had it with their lack of manners so he decided to reply in kind, though he found it amusing that they assumed that he carried only one seal, and that it was a masking one, not a suppressing one.  
His refusal sparked another round of bickering, but when the bell rung, signaling that they were to enter the guards backed off.  
“Oh well, it's your neck on the line.”  
One of them sneered as they pushed the large doors open and almost shoved Takeshi and the others inside.  
Once inside they were introduced by a herald while they walked toward the large throne at the far end of the room.  
“Wow, he's huge...”  
Takeshi found himself inclined to agree with Emelie's whispered assessment of the Lord, Hugin had not exaggerated when he mentioned their Lord towering all others.  
The male standing before the throne was roughly 15 meters tall, not counting the top of the wings that reached above his head, the large black crown made it rather obvious that it was indeed the Lord of the Obsidian Halls.  


They were quickly ushered toward the dais at the end of the grand hall and when they reached the first step of the dais Hugin and Munin quickly took a knee and placed their blades at their side.  
Takeshi on the other hand simply gave a slight nod and Emelie and Knight took their queue from him, much to the guards displeasure.  
When one of them stepped closer, intent on forcing Takeshi to his knees the Lord finally spoke up.  
**“Guards, return to your posts!”**  
“Good riddance...”  
Emelie hissed in a stage whisper as the guards left and took up post by the door they had arrived through and the slight shift of curiosity in the Lord's aura revealed that he had indeed heard her.  
Turning to Hugin and Munin he addressed them by their true names and in the language of their kind he bid them rise.  
“My Lord, our charges have taken to calling us Hugin and Munin, it would do us great honor to be called as such to aid them.”  
Munin gave his brother a shocked glare that he dared make such a request, but their Lord just nodded with a smile.  
“The ravens of Father Óðinn. Good names, they suit you well.”  
Dismissing the twins with a slight nod he turned to Takeshi and allowed his aura to was over him, pushing it's black energy against Takeshi's fiery red, testing his strength and resolve to remain standing.  
“Takeshi, Alpha of Pack Kiryu. Chosen by The Avatar of Life. I suspect asking you to kneel would be futile.”  
Takeshi answered with a nod and a wide smile.  
“I do however request that you release the seals that binds your power, I **will** know the true you.”  
“As you wish.”  
Takeshi inclined his head slightly.  
“Hugin, Munin, you might want to be ready to step back just in case. I haven't done this in a long time.”  
The pack bonds would protect Emelie and Knight from his aura, and he was pretty sure the Lord in front of them could handle the power without problems, and the guards, well if his power reached that far he hoped they would get nice and singed.  
He began to slowly undo the weave of seals, intentionally taking his time to allow Hugin and Munin a chance to get away if it became uncomfortable for them.  
As he got to the seals that Amanda had helped create he couldn't help feeling a twinge of regret, he would be unable to replace those until they returned home.  
With each seal he removed the scent of peppermint in the air got stronger and it was almost completely overpowering the slightly musky scent from Knight that revealed his growing arousal.  
Taking a few deep breaths Takeshi focused on centering himself before undoing the final weave of seals and allowing his aura to unfurl and expand until it felt relaxed rather than compressed.  
The startled cries from the rude guards gave a certain satisfaction, though the power had unfortunately not been enough to do any damage.  
While the Lord approached and examined his aura Takeshi focused on his companions, they were all breathing rather heavily, though for slightly different reasons, Hugin and Munin were both struggling with the unfamiliar energy, especially Hugin.  
Munin quickly submitted to the power and just braced himself while it poured through him and after a while it calmed down and settled for gently washing over him.  
Hugin on the other hand was fighting the energy, unwilling to submit but in the end his resistance was futile and he was forced to the ground and submitted to the raging inferno.  
As the Lord stepped down from the dais he quickly shrunk down until he was just slightly taller than Knight, just like how Hugin and Munin had long since adapted their height to match Knight's, but the Lord maintained a slight height advantage as a sign of dominance.  
When he got close he wrinkled his nose slightly at their appearance.  
“How about we relocate to the royal bath and continue our conversation there? I it would seem my messengers were a bit overzealous in bringing you here.”  
“More like intentionally trying to make us look bad.”  
Emelie quipped and there was a slight ripple of annoyance through the massive aura of the Lord before he reined it in and answered her.  
“Well, perhaps we should do something about that after getting you cleaned up?”  
As they left Takeshi carefully pulled his aura in, coiling it tightly around his body, but he didn't re-apply any of the seals and wouldn't do so until they left the inner palace.  
  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


The royal bath was massive, no doubt intended for the Lord to be able to bathe comfortably in his true size and Takeshi was pleased to find that it reminded very much of a traditional Japanese onsen with a small area for washing yourself and a large hot-spring to soak in.  
He noted that the water had the milky quality of the Iou-sen, sulfur springs, but none of the rotten egg smell and he found himself curious about the qualities of the water.  
They were quickly met by a group of female attendants but the Lord ushered them away, opting for privacy over comfort, and no doubt certain pleasures.  
“There is no need to keep your desires suppressed here. I am not one of those who judge others based on their choice of bed-mates.”  
The words were meant for Knight who was having a rather strong reaction to finally being able to feel Takeshi's aura fully released again.  
“I did promise you a reward if you beat that idiot in the challenge...”  
Takeshi added with a teasing brush against Knight's aura which brought out a familiar keening sound.  
“Alpha, now you're just being evil...”  
Knight complained with a groan.  
“Am I now?”  
Takeshi decided to take the complaints as a challenge of sorts and slid over to Knight's side to bring his tightly coiled aura in full contact with Knight's.  
A sharp gasp was quickly followed by muttered curses mixed with groans and apologies as Takeshi undressed him before turning to Emelie and undressing her, once done he in turn allowed Emelie and Knight to undress him.  
The Lord did nothing to hide his amusement and curiosity as he watched them scrub each other clean in preparation for entering the steaming spring.  
“Hugin! Munin! I hope you're not planning to just stand there cause I know you are quite literally itching for an opportunity to get those wings of yours cleaned good and proper.”  
Emelie nailed the silent twins with a glare when they made no motion to remove their clothes and join them.  
“Em, this is the royal bath! It would be highly improper.”  
Munin spluttered in horror at the idea of joining them.  
“And refusing an invitation from an honored guest, a Shirai Lilim, whom you also happen to be oath-bound to, would be proper?”  
The Lord turned Munin's words around and after a few moments of chocked silence the brothers quickly undressed and after a few objections that fell to deaf ears they found themselves being thoroughly scrubbed.  
When it was time for the wings there was a new round of objections and complaints accompanied by a telltale darkening of their skin  
To have someone aid with the preening of the wings was a very intimate thing, other than a parent caring for their offspring it was rarely seen outside of mated pairs, sometimes a close friend or relative would help if an injury made it hard to keep the wings cared for.  
As usual Munin surrendered pretty fast, but Hugin put up a fight which soon led to a small scuffle that ended with him being pinned flat on his stomach to the floor by Takeshi while Emelie and Knight carefully spread and cleaned his wings, making sure not to mess up the feathers, Takeshi took care of the base of the wings himself which earned him a few muffled complaints and a mouthful of feathers when Hugin tried to buck free.  
When he was finally allowed to get back up he made for a rather sorry sight with all the feathers of his wings thoroughly drenched and hanging limply.  
When Emelie jumped back to avoid the spray of water from his wings when he shook away the excess water she found herself backing into the Lord who took the opportunity to lean in and make a not so subtle proposition.  
“You are more than welcome to help me with mine...”  
The crooked look and dismissive snort didn't seem to deter him in the least as he snatched her tail and gave the tip a gentle nip, no doubt aware of the effect it had on some demons.  
“My my, such a lovely, enticing scent.”  
For a moment Emelie froze and Takeshi considered warning the Lord about the meaning of the addition of camphor to the chilling peppermint but he quickly dismissed the idea and left the poor male to his fate.  
A moment later there was an annoyed hiss followed by a startled yelp and a crash as the Lord jumped back, nursing a bleeding hand courtesy of Emelie's claws.  
“Yikes, aggressive!”  
But even that didn't seem to deter him for long as he moved closer again and leaned in with a whisper.  
“Just how I like it...”  
The looks shared by the others quite clearly said 'He asked for it' as they waited for Emelie's reaction.  
True to character she spluttered a few times, then exploded and gave an excellent demonstration of the power hidden in her tiny body as she spun around, jumped up and sent him flying into the hot-spring with a vicious dropkick to the chest.  
For a moment there was concern flashing through Hugin's and Munin's auras, she had after all just attacked their Lord in his own home, but that concern vanished when he surfaced, spluttering and laughing.  
“Heart, spirit, courage and temper. Lady Lilith is going to love you, and she is going to be proud as a peacock, as will your father.”  
The last bit made Emelie stop her pacing and focus fully on their host.  
“You know who my father is?”  
“I do. He has worked for me for a long time and he is looking forward to seeing you once he returns from his current assignment.”  
“It is true then? You are 'The Light Who Fell'? The one also known as 'Lucifer'?”  
“Yes, that's me. But I haven't been called by that name for a long time.”  
He slowly swam to the edge of the spring where it formed a smaller cove of sorts and beckoned for them to join him.  
“What should we call you then? Because I refuse to go around calling you 'My Lord' or anything like that...”  
Once again Hugin and Munin looked rather horrified at what seemed like blatant disrespect toward their Lord, but once again he took it with a smile.  
“Lucifer is fine, it's one of my many names and my true name is a soul-name, not to be shared lightly.”  
Knowing someone's soul-name could give great power over them so those that had one and knew it rarely shared it with others.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


They had spent quite some time with random small talk and teasing antics before Lucifer decided it was time to get down to business.  
“So, other than finding Emmy's father what has brought you here?”  
He intentionally called her 'Emmy' to provoke her temper and was quickly rewarded with her picking up one of the smooth basalt rocks lining the springs with her tail and hurling it at him with surprising accuracy.  
“Now if you could only throw darts that accurately with your hands...”  
Takeshi's snickering quip earned him a few stones of his own which he caught just as smoothly as Lucifer had.  
While Takeshi and Emelie had one of their little scuffles Knight began to explain what he had come for, he told Lucifer the story of how he had been hired by the Templar Order, how he had ultimately gone against them and chosen to protect what he considered an innocent.  
“The demon I seek is an Arai Lilim, and to the best of my knowledge, your son.”  
“Well, him being an Arai does narrow things down slightly, but over the years I have had the opportunity to father quite a few sons with out dear Lady Lilith, and even more daughters as she so favors birthing females.”  
“Well, hopefully Em will be able to narrow it down, but the details are hers to speak of.”  
Taking her queue Emelie began to talk about their vacation and the fae of the Black Forest, Takeshi filled in some details about Glenys and even brought out the blade after asking permission, both from the blade and their host.  
“She is a fine blade. Strong and honorable, she would be the pride of any warrior.”  
Takeshi continued the story, telling the part where Glenys had told them about the 'Fallen Templar' and that he might make a good ally in their task and he continued the story until the opening of the sealed tomb.  
Emelie's tears were flowing freely and her aura was bristling with rage when she told Lucifer and the twins about what they had found when they opened the antechamber of the tomb.  
“They shackled her to the stone, bound her breasts and left her baby girl at her bosom to starve to death. And finally they sealed the tome so that their souls and spirits would not be able to leave to find rest.”  
When she brought out the crystal pendant Lucifer carefully reached out and brushed the back of his fingers against the filigree cage that held the teardrop crystal, then as if burned he pulled his hand away.  
For a moment everything was still, then he gave voice to a haunting tone that no doubt carried across the entire palace, probably the city and beyond as well, the sound was pure rage, pain and grief and Takeshi found himself unable to fight his instincts as he joined in, releasing an eerie howl that matched the piercing tone.  
The primal cry was followed by a long silence before Lucifer spoke up again.  
“She was indeed my granddaughter, and I know which of my sons fathered her. Thank you for bringing them here.”  
With a whisper of magic a piece of gold and a piece of obsidian appeared and under the power of the Lord they were quickly crafted into a pair of earrings, reaching back he sifted through the large black wings and plucked one of the long flight feathers and a few small down feathers from each wing and once in his hands they shrunk down to a size suitable to be fitted to the earrings and once done he presented them to Emelie as a sign of gratitude.  
The magnitude of the gift was obvious from the twins reactions, they were downright stupefied from the time he reached to pluck the feathers from his wings.  
Emelie however just accepted the token with a slight nod.  
“What of their remains?”  
The voice carried a hint of hope.  
“We were unable to move them at the time. But we removed the shackles and encased them in a stasis crystal before resealing the chamber when we left. As long as the power of the Mother remains they are safe, and should you wish for it we can try to retrieve them once we return to the human realm.”  
Takeshi's words brought out a sigh of relief.  
“I ask that you do so once you have the opportunity. The mate and child of my son shall be buried in the royal crypt as is their right.”  
Once again he called on his magic to bring gold and obsidian into his hands but this time he crafted a simple chain and fitting before once again plucking a primary from each wing, placing them together the feathers merged into one and shrunk to the length of his hand before he fitted them against the chain and held out the simple necklace to Takeshi.  
“In return for your word that you will bring their bodies here.”  
“You have my word that my pack and I will do all in our power to see that the bodies are brought here for burial.”  
Refusing to make a promise he might not be able to keep Takeshi chose his words carefully, and was rewarded with a nod and the necklace being placed into his hand and with a small burst of power he placed it within his soul where it would not be damaged or lost.  
“An interesting talent you have there. Feel like giving a demonstration after we had something to eat?”  
“Perhaps...”  
“Don't worry, I will see to that we have some privacy.”  
Lucifer quickly assured before turning to Emelie.  
“If you feel up to it I will summon my son here and he can join us this evening.”  
Emelie took a deep breath to steady herself, and the way hear tail reached out an coiled around Takeshi's wrist revealed how nervous she was.  
“I guess I might as well get it over with, though, I will miss feeling them...”  
“She _is_ your kin...”  
The touch and brush of aura held none of the teasing quality it had before, only a soothing comfort and understanding.  


After a quick toweling and getting dressed in the clothing provided, which mostly reminded of a roman toga, they were brought to a hidden garden where a warm breeze shimmering with magic quickly dried feathered wings and long hair.  
“Take, you have got to learn how to make wind like this!”  
Emelie had her wings slightly extended and was enjoying the feel of the magic infused wind against the leathery membrane of her wings.  
“Your grandmother will no doubt be more than happy to teach you how to create this wind once you have been properly introduced.”  
Lucifer answered her before Takeshi had a chance to.  
“When will that be?”  
Emelie was a bit apprehensive, but she wanted to know anyway.  
“You father will return within a fortnight and he will no doubt wish to get to know you a bit before bringing you before Lady Lilith, but I would say no more than half a year.”  
“Local time or human realm time?”  
Half a year in the human realm would mean five years passing in the Obsidian Halls.  
“Half a human year as time flows here. Or about three weeks in the human realm. Our years are much longer than those of the human realm.”  
“Okay, that's not such a long time...”  
She wasn't sure if it was good news or bad news though.  
“With her love for theatrics I am sure your grandmother will want you to be intorduced during the start of the great eclipse, that is 168 days from now, and it reaches it's peak 50 days later. Just enough time for you to learn a bit about your powers and participate in the grand feast.”  
“Oh great, just what I need...”  
She muttered silently.  
_“The peak of the great eclipse would be an excellent time to mark a mate. Not to mention it would be a scandalously short courting. I'm sure Lady Lilith would approve wholeheartedly...”  
_ Hugin's tone was teasing as he told Takeshi a few of the legends about the great eclipse, an event that took place every 500 years.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


After a generous meal eaten in the enchanted garden their host erected a barrier around the garden that kept prying eyes, ears and auras out to give Takeshi some privacy to show his abilities.  
Once assured that there was no risk of anyone spying Takeshi took the opportunity to flex his muscles so to speak and put on quite a show both with his shifting and his skill in various fighting styles, including what he had learned in the year they had spent in the Obsidian Halls.  
“Come, let's spar!”  
The taunting invitation was delivered with a wide grin and a gleeful energy flickering through the dark aura of the Lord.  
Takeshi gladly accepted the invitation, he rarely had a chance to spar with a truly powerful opponent.  
Knight, while strong, had the disadvantage of the bond, even if they suppressed it as much as they could some of their energy always seeped through, the same would happen with Emelie, and while strong, fast and clever she lacked the experience to be a truly challenging opponent.  
Sheathing his blades he dropped into his familiar stance, deceptively relaxed he waited for his opponent to make a move, but after circling each other a few minutes it became clear that neither combatant had any intentions of making the first move.  
“Okay, this is getting boring. A kiss for first blood!”  
Emelie decided to try to liven things up with a bit of an offer, and it proved to be rather effective as Takeshi instantly opened up with a handful of his throwing-needles, though for once his opponent was able to avoid all of the small projectiles.  
“You will have to do better than that kid. My favored prey to hunt is _Kanna_.”  
Lucifer taunted with a laugh.  
“What's a Kanna?”  
Emelie whispered to Knight.  
“A smaller relative of the gong that is covered with venomous quills. They are able to fire hundreds of them at once and they regrow in a matter of minutes.”  
The sharp sound of metal against metal drew their attention back to the fight where both fighters were pushing hard to try to draw first blood.  


“Take!”  
They had been fighting for nearly two hours when Emelie cried out as the sharp edge of Lucifer's blade drew a thin red line along Takeshi's forearm and a few drops of blood trickled toward his hand.  
It wasn't a cry of concern though, but rather annoyed disappointment.  
“First blood!”  
Knight called out evenly.  
“Take, **you** were supposed win that!”  
Emelie complained with a grumble.  
“Double or nothing little Lilim? Winner gets the kiss, and the honor of sharing your bed tonight?”  
Lucifer's suggestion was accompanied by a rather lewd grin.  
_“Don't worry, even if she agrees and I win I have no intention to actually lay with her, merely to tease her. She has such a lovely temper...”_  
He added silently to Takeshi alone.  
“Oh hell no! No way! Not happening! Forget it!”  
Lucifer gave a deep sigh of disappointment that was only partially an act, he would have enjoyed spending the night testing her temper.  
Turning his attention back to Takeshi their sparring continued with renewed vigor, Takeshi determined to draw some blood of his own.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


The sound of a large metal gong brought a sudden halt to the match.  
“Ah, my son has arrived. How about we wash this sweat off and join him?”  
Takeshi just nodded while trying to rein in his instincts, the early stages of heat was wreaking havoc on his control.  
“Now my little Lilim, I do believe you owe me a kiss.”  
Lucifer beckoned with a wide smile and Emelie gave him a sharp huff, but walked over to give the promised reward, when she was standing in front of him he kneeled down so that she could reach and she leaned in and gave him a quick peck at the corner of the mouth.  
“You call that a kiss?”  
She froze when he quickly wrapped his wings around her and pulled her in for a kiss that bordered on being an all out make-out session, it only lasted for a few seconds though before she snapped out of it and vanished in a burst of power.  
Using the shadow cast by his wings she shadow-traveled and reappeared behind Knight where she peeked out and voiced her displeasure with a bristling glare and a hiss.  
“Now that was a decent kiss.”  
Lucifer licked his lips with a teasing smile which only made Emelie hiss louder.  


Once they had returned to the bath Knight was rather concerned with the way Takeshi's aura shifted and flared.  
_“Alpha, are you alright?”  
“Yeah, just need a bit more time to get my instincts back under control.”  
“The heat?”  
“The heat...”_  
When Emelie tried to help him get cleaned up he asked her to aid Lucifer instead, as a token for winning the sparring match on points, there was a flicker of suspicion in her eyes, but she did as he asked much to their hosts amusement.  
As much as Takeshi would have enjoyed her help he was unsure if he would be able to keep the heat suppressed if she touched him before he had a chance to calm down, and she would no doubt be rather intimate in her assistance making it even harder.  
When they returned to the garden about 20 minutes later there was another male waiting for them, and as they entered he quickly rose from his seat and gave a short bow.  
“Father.”  
“Roghan.”  
Lucifer returned the bow with a short nod and a moment later the newcomer, Roghan froze as he spotted Knight behind his father.  
“Templar...”  
“These are my guests, Takeshi Kiryu, dominant alpha of Pack Kiryu, Emelie Eriksson, co-alpha of Pack Kiryu and Logan Knight, beta of Pack Kiryu. Their guards are to be referred to as Munin and Hugin.”  
Roghan quickly turned to them to offer his greetings to his father's honored guests, the twins were quickly dismissed with a short not before he turned to Takeshi.  
“Alpha.”  
He acknowledged Takeshi with a barely noticeable bow before turning to Emelie and studying her for a moment.  
“Niece...?”  
Roghan seemed surprised to find that she was kin but he shook it off and greeted her with a nod.  


When he turned to Knight the atmosphere turned tense and after a few seconds of silence Knight stepped forward and kneeled down with his head bowed, something that caused a low growl, and hiss of displeasure from his alphas.  
“I was captured, sealed, and I failed to protect your mate and daughter.”  
When Roghan quickly stepped up to Knight Takeshi had to grab Emelie to keep her from jumping in between.  
_“Em, sweetie, don't. Logan needs to do this on his own. As long as his life, or place with the pack, is not at risk we will not interfere.”  
“But it wasn't his fault!”  
“I know, but he still feels like it was. Please, let him do what he must.”  
“Fine, but I don't like it.”  
“Neither do I sweetie, neither do I.”_  
For a moment it looked like Roghan would attack Knight, but then he grabbed him and pulled him to his feet.  
“Did they suffer?”  
Roghan's voice was ice cold, but there was a shiver of emotion under the hard surface.  
“Yes. And I was unable to aid them...”  
Knight still didn't look at Roghan and Emelie was growing increasingly distraught by the heavy guilt and sadness in Knight's aura.  
Takeshi didn't like it either, but his experience with losing his unit gave him a keen understanding for how Knight was feeling, and despite the loss of Diane, Emelie was still mostly unfamiliar with the soul-rending guilt of being unable to protect those under your care.  
“Sit, tell me what happened.”  
Knight began to tell the story of his rebellion and his capture, some of the details were new to Takeshi and Emelie as well but they didn't comment on it.  
When he finished the telling he turned slightly toward Takeshi and Emelie.  
“The rest of the story is up to my alphas to tell.”  


With a deep breath Takeshi began to once again tell their side of the story, but he didn't mention the part about Emelie carrying the soul and spirit of the woman and her daughter until the very end.  
“So now their remains are safely sealed away from all and any that might disturb their rest, and Pack Kiryu have given its word to do all in our power to bring them here so that they may have a proper burial. But Emelie did manage to bring a part of them here...”  
Roghan's attention instantly focused on Emelie and she brought out the pendant and removed it from the chain before holding it out to him, he radiated confusion as he held out his hand and she carefully placed it in his hand, struggling with the pang of loss when handing over her precious cargo.  
There was a shocked gasp when he realized what he was holding and when the spirits rose from within he surrendered to his grief and allowed the tears to flow freely.  
The souls lingered for a few moments, allowing him to feel them, then they separated from the spirits and brushed against Emelie's aura before fading away, peacefully returning to the cycle of rebirth.  
The spirits however remained behind, still clinging to the crystal teardrop, but without the power of the souls they would not be able to linger long.  
“If you allow it, I can bind their spirits to your soul. As has been done with these. But it needs to be done now, before they begin to fade.”  
Takeshi spoke up and as he pulled aside the cloth that covered the tattoo over his heart he called for the spirits of his unit to show themselves. He wasn't sure why, but somehow he knew he would be able to bind those two spirits to the soul of the powerful demon before him.  
“Please, go ahead.”  
It only took a few moments for Roghan to decide.  
“I can't control the form they take, but I can control the placement, though I would recommend close to your heart.”  
Takeshi explained in a low voice and Roghan just nodded and removed the top of his clothing.  
“Suppress you healing for a while please.”  
Takeshi used his claw to cut a deep incision, all the way to the bone before carefully taking the pendant and pushing it inside, with a trickle of power he changed the crystal filigree cage to attach itself to the rib before nodding for Roghan to allow the wound to heal.  
“That was the easy part, the next part might hurt, a lot.”  
Roghan took a deep breath to steady himself before nodding for Takeshi to continue.  
The gentle trickle of power grew until they were both barely visible under its onslaught and then as quick as it had started it ended and Takeshi stepped back and looked at the form the spirits had chosen.  
Over Roghan's heart was a pure white lotus flower surrounded by ivy that curled around his chest and shoulder.  
“It would seem they borrowed a bit from my spirit when they chose their forms. White lotus; purity, innocence, your daughter. Ivy, eternity, fidelity, strong affection, your mate.”  
Roghan looked down and slowly traced the marks as Takeshi explained their symbolism.  
“Thank you.”  


For a few minutes no one spoke, they just watched silently as Roghan reunited with the spirits of his family and once he was satisfied for the moment he looked up and turned to Takeshi.  
“If you ever need anything, ask and I will do all in my power to help.”  
Such an open oath was a risky thing, there was no limit to what Takeshi could ask and Roghan would be obliged to try to fulfill the demand.  
Takeshi accepted the oath with a nod and Roghan turned to Knight.  
“Trying to protect my mate and child you suffered the living death. With this your debt is paid in full.”  
Knight had never mentioned a debt and Takeshi found himself curious about what it might have been, but he wouldn't ask, instead he would wait and hope that Knight would share it.  
Takeshi watched Knight accept with a nod, and a sigh of relief, before Roghan turned to Emelie and kneeled down.  
“To you my kin, a life debt owed thrice over. For you, or those you claim as family.”  
His words pulled a gasp from Hugin and Munin, even Lucifer looked slightly surprised.  
A life debt was not a small thing, normally it was only granted if a life was saved, and to grant three of them was nearly unheard of.  
After a moment of stunned silence Emelie reached out with her wing and tapped his shoulder, accepting his oath.  
“From a life-debt held to three owed, a strange day indeed my son.”  
Lucifer's words revealed the nature of the debt that Knight had owed, and in a way it did explain a lot of the hesitation he had showed when it came to joining the pack, and their visit to the halls.  


 

 **(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Light Who Fell_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**  


After his sons reunion with the spirits of his lost family their host had called for servants to bring a copious amount of strong alcoholic beverages and suitable snack foods to the garden and he was now challenging Takeshi to a drinking contest.  
“Now that is a waste of perfectly good _Orcha_.”  
Knight complained as he watched them down goblet after goblet of the silver liquid.  
“Oh, how come? My father for one can be rather amusing when drunk.”  
Roghan sat down and handed Knight and Emelie a goblet each of his father's prized Orcha.  
“Simple, Take can't get drunk unless he wants to. His body is far to efficient at clearing out any toxins from the system. He needs to actively suppress that to get drunk.”  
Knight kept his voice low so that he wouldn't interfere with the competition in front of them and while he spoke Emelie carefully inspected the liquid she had been given.  
“Is this stuff really safe to drink? It looks kinda like mercury mixed with glitter and a touch of purple glow stick liquid...”  
“Don't worry, it's even safe for regular humans, though they would get very drunk, very fast.”  
Roghan reassured her before starting to explain how Orcha was made.  
“Orcha is actually just a wine. The silver color comes from the fruit, as I'm sure you have noticed the fruits here all have various white or silver colors.”  
“It's because the light is different here, right? All the plants are purple with silver fruits.”  
Emelie's attention quickly shifted from the contest and focused onto Roghan's explanation.  
“That's right. The fruit we use grows in pairs like your cherries, but their flesh is more like pomegranates, small pebbles hidden by a tough rind, but with a single pit rather than an abundance of seeds and their taste is similar to the wild strawberries of your old world.”  
At the mention of wild strawberries Emelie instantly tasted the liquid and after a moment she broke out in a smile.  
“Wow, it really does taste like _smultron_! I need to find this fruit.”  
“I'm sure father won't mind if I invite my niece and her friends for a stroll in the orchards tomorrow.”  
The mention of their familial relation caused Emelie to blush slightly, she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that the black-eyed male was really her blood family.  
“I think I would enjoy that.”  
“Perhaps a visit to the winery as well? The old craft-masters there can surely explain more about how the yeast adds the that glittering rainbow effect, and the bacteria during the maturation gives the purple glow.”  
“Sounds like a plan. From the sound of it I will be stuck here for quite a while longer. Another week or two before I get to meet my dad, then another half a year for my introduction. And I have no idea how long I will have to stay after that to learn control.”  
“I'm sure you will learn fast, you are Shirai Lilim after all.”  
“I am Emelie, nothing more, nothing less!”  
She snapped back and for a moment Roghan looked like he would argue but then he thought better of it and used the opportunity to steer the conversation to her, and learning more about her.  
“So, who is _'Emelie'_ then? How did you end up here?”  


Emelie's recount of her life story was abruptly cut short by a rather loud crash followed by a triumphant laugh as Lucifer had fallen off his chair much to Takeshi's amusement, it also meant that Takeshi had won their little challenge.  
They watched Takeshi reach out and offer his hand and quickly pull Lucifer to his feet only to find himself spun around and the swaying male leaning against his back.  
“Too bad I can't seem to make you submit, I'm sure you would make a most interesting bed-mate.”  
While Lucifer spoke he carefully nipped at Takeshi's neck and shoulders, making sure not to be dominant enough to trigger a fight response.  
Roghan's sigh as they watched the display held a certain air of frustrated familiarity that made it quite obvious it was not the first time he had witnessed such behavior from his father.  
“My father is a horny drunk...”  
He explained to Emelie in a low whisper.  
“This could get interesting then, but he better keep his hands away from me...”  
“Don't worry, he would never act dishonorably, no matter how drunk he is.”  
As they spoke the scene in front of them changed when Takeshi grew tired of Lucifer clinging to his back making lewd suggestions and he quickly spun around so that he was facing the larger male and with a quick motion he snuck his hand around and took a solid grip over the base of his wings.  
“You know, if you are that curious **you** could always submit to **me**...”  
Takeshi accentuated his words with a sharp nip to the underside of Lucifer's jaw and the reaction was instant, quickly making things deteriorate to a teasing scuffle.  
“Well, whoever ends up in their beds tonight will be in for it...”  
Emelie sighed as her succubus nature picked up on the telltale signs of a strong need in both of them, the kind of need that would not abate unless sated.  
“Guess that will be you and one of the, more than willing, females from the palace harem.”  
“Hmph, no way! It's Take's fault I ended up owing your father a kiss, so he is **soo** in the doghouse tonight unless Logan, or perhaps Hugin or Munin, decides to take pity on him.”  
There was a strangled cough from Hugin as he choked on his drink at her insinuation that he would spend the night with Takeshi, but Munin just laughed.  
“Oh, how in the world did you end up owing my father a _kiss_ of all things?”  
Emelie just huffed at the teasing tone and began to tell him what had happened just before his arrival and by the time she got to the part where she was telling him how horrible his father was he was fighting to restrain his laughter.  
Telling him about how Lucifer had grabbed her and claimed his own reward broke the dam.  
Even Emelie's glare wasn't enough to stop the laughter, if anything it made Roghan laugh harder.  
“Careful Rog, she has your mother's temper.”  
A teasing warning was hear from Lucifer who was currently trying to pin Takeshi against one of the trees without much success.  
“More like she has **her** mother's temper.”  
Takeshi quipped in response and a moment later he yelped as Maria's spirit reacted and gave him a rather nasty shock by pulling from his unrestrained aura.  
“You get him mom!”  
Emelie cheered for her mother's spirit and Takeshi just muttered about his point being proven and dodged another attempt from Lucifer to restrain him and try to make him submit.  
“You know, if you are honest with yourself about it you pretty much brought it on yourself by making such an offer without knowing the abilities of the opponent.”  
Roghan managed to squeeze out between laughs.  
“Perhaps... But he's still in the doghouse!”  


The had been watching the somewhat odd mock fight for a while when Knight left the twins and joined them, asking for a private word with Roghan.  
_“Do you think you could convince your father to stop pushing Take so much?”  
“I could, but he does not seem to mind, and he gives as good as he gets so I don't see why I should...”_  
Knight took a deep breath, in a sense he would be betraying Takeshi's trust, but in this case he felt that it was necessary.  
_“Take is on the verge of entering his first heat. It's being suppressed right now, trying to keep it at bay long enough to be able to spend it with Em, to be able to mark her while in heat...”_  
A flicker of shock on Roghan's face quickly gave way to understanding.  
_“If his heat starts before her presentation she will not be permitted to spend it with him. And they would need some time for a formal courting after her presentation, then a marking during their, no doubt mutual, heat. And I suspect, at the peak of the eclipse...”_  
Roghan's tone held a pointed amusement.  
_“Hopefully... And your father's antics is further straining their already overtaxed ability to keep the heat at bay. Emelie is not making it any easier for them, but they refuse to tell her.”  
“Wait, them? Who if not my niece and your alpha?”  
“My alpha has a shadow within him, a result of how he became what he is. For the most part it acts as a reinforcement of his instincts, but it is a fully separate entity.”_  
Knight knew Takeshi would be upset that he told someone outside the pack about it, but with the life-debts willingly given he knew that Roghan would not betray they trust he placed in him.  
_“I see, I will do what I can. My niece deserves a chance for such a mating. Though, you really should tell her.”_  
_“So I keep telling him, but I honestly think he is too damn scared that she will turn him away...”  
“I wouldn't be concerned about that...”_  
Roghan looked between Takeshi and Emelie, and as he did his eyes shifted from a solid black to an equally solid silver.  
_“You are a seer...”  
“I am. And those two, they are soulmates.”  
“I kinda suspected they were, but it's good to have confirmation. Just don't let them know.”  
“Of course not. Now, how about you distract your alpha while I chase my father of to bed?”_  
Knight just nodded and together they advanced on the two males who were currently engaged in a bout of wrestling.  
Waiting for an opportunity they both stepped in when an opening appeared, pushing the two apart and turning their attention away.  
“Now, now Father. How about you go harass the ladies in the harem instead of your honored guest?”  
Roghan firmly pushed his objecting father toward the inner palace, had he not been so inebriated there would have been no way Roghan would have been able to make him move.  
“Come on Take, you need to relax, your control is slipping.”  
For a brief moment Knight's words were met by bared fangs as Takeshi struggled with his instincts.  
_“Easy, you need to calm down or you will trigger your heat. And if it starts now Em will not be allowed to spend it with you.”_  
The silent words finally reached through the haze of instincts and Takeshi closed his eyes and began to focus on his breathing, slowly slipping into an almost meditative state.  
“Take, Logan, is something wrong?”  
When Takeshi didn't answer her and instead just pushed her away slightly Knight finally had enough.  
_“Take, I'm telling her, she deserves to know.”  
“No!”_  
The silent demand was punctuated by a low growl and a flare of power.  
_“Only about the heat, I won't tell her of your plans to formally court her. I am not going to back down on this, you may be my alpha, but so is she and I will not allow you to hurt each other because you are to damn stubborn, or scared, to talk things out!”  
“Fine...”_  
Takeshi relented with an annoyed huff.  


“Em, you need to step back for a moment and let him get his instinct back under control. I will explain what is going on if you just go sit down for a while.”  
For a moment she looked hurt, but she did as he asked and while he worked on helping Takeshi calm down he began to explain.  
“Take is going into heat and he is trying to suppress and delay it for a while.”  
“Why not just let it start? I won't mind being locked up with him for a few days, or weeks. Unless... He doesn't....”  
Knight cursed silently to himself, she was jumping to all the wrong conclusions.  
“He does want you to spend the heat with him, that's why he is fighting so hard to suppress it.”  
“But..”  
She interrupted but Knight kept talking without allowing her to fully voice her question.  
“Remember that you are still considered a minor according to demon law. Until you have been presented you will not be allowed to be with him during his heat. They would either find another female to be with him, or I would return his favor from my own heat.”  
The suggestion that another female would spend the heat with him had her bristling and she only calmed slightly when Knight mentioned that he would offer to be the one to help Takeshi through the heat.  
“Is there anything I can do to help?”  
Knight knew that the next part could be troublesome, but he decided to take a page out of her book and just cut to the chase.  
“Try not to tease him, restrict you feeding as much as you can without losing control of your seduction. If you can, allow me to cover your feeding.”  
For a moment she considered his words, then he could feel the touch of her familiar as she kept her words for him alone.  
_“I appreciate the offer, but I can't. I'm sure you can understand that. I... I want him as my mate, even if I have to initiate a courting myself, and it would feel wrong to fully be with another male... I know it's just a stupid remnant of being human, but I can't.”_  
_“Easy, no one would call it stupid. If anything it's proof of your character, and loyalty. I would never want you to compromise that.”  
_ “I will try my best. But you boys all better be prepared to let me feed a lot more of your auras than I normally do.”  
Takeshi and Knight immediately promised her she could take as much as they were able to provide, even Hugin and Munin promised to allow her to feed from them.  
“I will also offer any assistance you may need. I have plenty of energy I can spare and I know a thing or two about suppressing a poorly timed heat. I am on a two year cycle after all...”  
Emelie startled slightly when Roghan spoke up from the edge of the garden, she had been so focused on Takeshi that she hadn't noticed him returning.  
“Biennial? And here I though my centennial cycle was bad...”  
Knight stared at the old demon that he had at one point in his life called ally, and friend.  
For a full-blooded demon to have such a short cycle was nearly unheard of, most would have cycles of about 500 years.  
“Father's cycle is annual, and my mother usually has four cycles in a year, more if she does not conceive...”  
“Damn...”  
Knight muttered with a hint of pity but Emelie, true to her succubus nature laughed and quipped about what an interesting life _that_ must be.  
“Since my father won't return tonight, how about I show you to the guest wing? You will have the entire place to yourself.”  
Roghan invited them with a smile, but Emelie instantly became hesitant.  
“I kinda need to get back to our place, I don't want to leave my little lizard alone much longer.”  
“Well, we could always have it brought here as it would be much easier for me to show you the orchards and winery if you and your pack are staying here.”  
Emelie's mood instantly brightened and she spun around with a smile.  
“Okay. But I'll go get her myself. Be right back!”  
With a quick jump she stepped into Knight's shadow and vanished, no doubt reappearing inside their temporary home at the edge of the palace area.  
“Definitely no question who her father is...”  
Roghan mused as she vanished.  


They all took a seat, engaging in idle chatter while waiting for Emelie to return so that Roghan could show them to the guestrooms.

 


	67. Tar & Feathers

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Tar & Feathers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

The deep sound of a large crystal bell, or maybe even a singing bowl along with the flare of a small but calm aura brought Takeshi from his sleep and soon he could hear quick but light footsteps approaching.  
The calm aura gently spread, searching them out, they had been given free reins of the many rooms of the guest wing so the visitor had no other way of knowing which room they were in, unless they looked in all of them.  
Soon there was a soft knock on the door of the small room that they had picked, and filled with pillows and bedding from several of the other rooms to turn it into the familiar den style sleeping area.  
“Enter.”  
Takeshi called out softly and gave a slight pulse of his aura, not wanting to wake Emelie who was still sleeping.  
A few moments later a small, winged female entered, she was clearly not one of the obsidian angels, her wings were different, and her energy felt different as well, more like the youkai he was used to.  
“Good morning. Our Lord and his son had asked that you join then for a morning meal at the 8th mark of dawn.”  
Takeshi looked at wrist out of habit, only to remember had was wearing a bracelet, not his watch as it was of little use to him in the halls.  
The daily cycle was 50 hours, and it was divided into four parts, morning, day, evening and night, these parts in turn were divided into 10 'marks', but to make things extra complicated the length of a mark varied.  
Morning, or 'Dawn', spanned from the 5th hour of the cycle to the 10th hour, so each mark was half an hour, then came 'Day' which lasted from the 10th hour to the 40th hour, again being 10 marks each mark was 4 hours long.  
Then came the evening, 'Dusk' which like morning was just 5 hours, from the 40th hour to the 45th hour, and finally the 'Night' lasted between the 45th hour and the 5th hour of the following day, midnight was the 5th mark of night.  
It had taken a while, but after a year he had adapted somewhat and he estimated that it was currently the 5th or maybe 6th mark of dawn so another hour, maybe an hour and a half.  
“I will return in two marks to show the way, please be ready by then.”  
She confirmed his estimate, and when she turned around he got an opportunity to study her wings closer, they were a simple gray and brown that reminded a bit of a sparrow and even their shape was different, more like an actual bird than the angels, or Emelie for that matter.  
“ _Suzume_?”  
His words were barely a whisper but she instantly froze and when he thought about she did look a lot like the _Suzume_ , tree sparrows, that used to hunt in the garden of the Kiryu estate in Okinawa.  
“How did you know that I'm a suzume?”  
“I grew up in Japan and your wings look just like a sparrow's.”  
He didn't elaborate, he wanted to try to find out a bit more about her first.  
“I was born in Hokkaido, where did you grow up?”  
She instantly switched to Japanese and he could clearly hear the Hokkaido dialect in her speech.  
“Okinawa.”  
It felt a bit strange to speak and hear Japanese after such a long time and Takeshi found that he enjoyed the opportunity to use the language of his childhood.

“So, how does a sparrow from Hokkaido end up working as a maid at the Obsidian Palace?”  
“My mate...”  
There was a hint of an old pain as she answered and for a moment Takeshi was worried that perhaps she had lost a mate and found herself unable to stay with the memories.  
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring you discomfort.”  
“It's okay. It's all water under the bridge now.”  
She told him about how she had grown up in a large _flock_ back in Hokkaido, and how they had not been very approving of her allowing herself to be courted by a _flightless_ , who, to add insult to injury, was not even a youkai, but a foreign demon.  
“I didn't listen, I didn't care what they thought. I was so in love. And when I finally opened my soul to his it became obvious, he was my soulmate and we mated that very night.”  
In the end her flock had refused to accept that her soulmate was not a sparrow, or at least a bird youkai of some sort and they shunned her, so she and her mate left and began to search for a new home.  
Her mate brought her to the demon realm, and after wandering for many years they ended up in the Obsidian Halls.  
“My condolences. It can't be easy for a passerine to lose her flock.”  
“Better my flock than my soulmate. They were actually considering killing him rather than accepting the mating.”  
For a brief moment Takeshi felt the urge to kill something, few survived the loss of a soulmate once the bond had been formed and for her own flock, the pack of her kind to even consider killing her mate lit a dark rage in him.  
The anger that played through his aura was enough to disturb Emelie's sleep and soon she was having a rather energetic conversation with Mika as the sparrow called herself, Takeshi could tell though, it was not her real name.  
When Takeshi heard the conversation shift to courting, and mating he paused for a moment, maybe meeting Mika was more fortunate than he had though, not only was she mated, she had had a troublesome courting.  
Takeshi knew that many would object to him courting Emelie, she was Lilim, royalty and in their eyes he was nothing, not even a demon.  
Then clarity came as sudden as a bolt of lightning, Mika had not come to them by chance, he was suddenly convinced that their host, or his son, had intentionally picked Mika to be their maid so that she could teach and guide Emelie in matters concerning courting, and mating.  
He wasn't sure if he should thank the one responsible, or give them a sound beating for meddling.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Tar & Feathers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The breakfast was ridiculously large, even by Takeshi's standards, no doubt needed to sate the hunger of their host as the obsidian angels did need to eat based on their true size, Hugin and Munin had been quite surprised that they were not the biggest eaters in their little home.  
“A sweet treat?”  
Lucifer offered Emelie a small plate with velvety dark red, almost black, spheres but just as she was about to take one Roghan intervened and snatched the plate away while scolding his father.  
“What?”  
Emelie was slightly distraught at the sudden turn of events.  
“That's _Manashii_ , shiiza berries soaked in orcha and then dipped in _Manaroka_ , something similar to chocolate.”  
“Wait, did he just try to feed me an aphrodisiac?”  
The glare she leveled on their host would make most men run for the hills.  
“Indeed he did. The berries are the most potent part of the plant, and mixing them with alcohol increases their effect, as does sweet things. Manashii is the the most potent non-magical lust inducer there is.”  
Takeshi shared one look with Knight and they were both counting down silently, and true to character Emelie exploded on the count of four and pounced with a shriek and they ended up laughing at the startled squawk and puff of feathers as her target tried to flee, only to realize that his attacker was a more agile flier.  
“She is really good.”  
Roghan commented between bites.  
“She has improved a lot since we got here, being able to practice with other fliers has really helped her confidence.”  
Takeshi watched with pride as Emelie outmaneuvered her larger opponent and managed to get behind him and latch on to his back, no doubt with a solid grip on the _Mashen_ , base of the wings.  
The success of her attack resulted in a yelp, and a burst of somewhat distraught chirping.  
“You didn't need any help getting into trouble so why should I help you out of it?”  
Roghan teased his father and rejected his plea to be rescued.

When Emelie re-joined them she looked every bit like the cat that caught the canary, and Lucifer did an excellent impression of the canary that got caught, wings all rumpled and rather scruffy looking, courtesy of the armful of feathers Emelie was carrying.  
“She is scary when she's mad...”  
Lucifer muttered while trying to get his feathers back into some semblance of order, which was hard with a whole bunch of them missing, right now he would have hard time flying, but they would regrow by morning.  
“She is, so I suggest you try not to piss her off again.”  
There was no sympathy to be had, only wide grins and teasing quips.  
Emelie just took a seat at one of the many unused seats and spread her bounty in front of her and began to arrange the long feathers into a large fan.  
Pausing to look at it for a moment she turned to Lucifer.  
“You can change the size of these, right?”  
“I can.”  
“Then do it, I want them to be twice the length of my hand.”  
For a moment he seemed like he would decline her request, but a glare at his remaining feathers quickly changed his mind.  
Though, Takeshi knew Emelie wasn't really any match for the powerful creature, Lucifer was merely indulging her since he had after all gotten himself into the situation by trying to trick her to eat Manashii.  
He was sure she was well aware as well, but that didn't stop her from taking advantage of the situation.  
“Now join them so I can fold and unfold them.”  
She had once again arranged the feathers into a fan, and Lucifer had seemed somewhat concerned when she had reached over and snatched a few more feathers to complete her little craft, but he didn't stop her.  
With the feather arranged to taste she demanded he finish it so that she could use her new folding feather fan.  
“Testing what to do if you get an opportunity to pluck those guards?”  
Knight teased her while inspecting her new accessory.  
“Nah, I doubt their feathers would be fine enough. Maybe make a feather trim for my hunting cloak?”  
Before Knight had a chance to answer her Lucifer spoke up.  
“That's right, you did mention that the guards who brought you here behaved inappropriately?”  
“More like extremely rude. Denying us the time to get cleaned up and change clothes in order to try and shame us. Constantly complaining of slowness of the _flightless_. Trying to deny Hugin and Munin their blades. Even trying to make Takeshi submit by demanding he remove his seals for them.”

“And your suggested punishment for their transgressions?”  
“Pluck them clean, then parade them through town wearing nothing but tar and their own feathers.”  
Emelie had a rather evil smirk as she explained in detail what she wanted to do to the guards.  
“Now that is downright devious. I like it!”  
He seemed to have completely forgotten about his own partial plucking at her hands.  
“Totally and utterly humiliating while allowing them to be back on their posts in a day or two. It's perfect! I'll have the guards summoned to the throne room after we are done eating, then you can have your way with them.”  
He quickly called for his majordomo to enter and after a short conversation the old demon bowed and left to carry out his master's wishes.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Tar & Feathers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Even before they entered the throne room they could feel that it was packed to the rafters with spectators, all there to witness what was in essence a trial.  
At the base of the large stairs of the dais with the throne the two guards were shackled to the floor with deceptively thin bonds, the slender silvery chains and manacles were radiating old, powerful magic.  
The black robes and light armor of the royal guard had been removed and replaced by a simple gray chiton that was tied at the waist with a coarse rope.  
Taking a seat Lucifer nodded for the proceedings to start and the guards names was announced.  
“Can't we just call them Humpty and Dumpty?”  
Emelie's whispered question caused a few snickers among those that were close enough to hear.  
“Humpty and Dumpty it is then.”  
He pointed to them in turn before nodding to the herald.  
The herald had barely finished speaking when both guards broke out into rapid chittering, and though they were speaking much too fast for Takeshi and his pack to grasp more than a few words here and there, the disdain in their tone was obvious.  
After a few moments they could feel the black fire of Lucifer's aura gather and then lash out at the chained guards.  
“You will speak Urui!”  
They instantly objected, but after another push of raw power they obeyed.  
“A nameless weakling of a succubus, her mortal freak of a lover and the mongrel son of a mountain whore. Baseborn trash like them have no right to speak against their betters. And those mottled crows are just as bad.”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep his temper concealed when he felt Emelie's tail wrap around his wrist and as she did he could feel a trickle of fear from her that was quickly growing stronger, though concerned about what had her so agitated he couldn't help a measure of pride that none of her fear showed in her aura or scent.  
_“What's the matter sweetie?”  
“I'm scared....”  
“I can feel that. What has you so afraid?”_  
He could tell it wasn't the guard's ranting that scared her.  
_“Me...”  
“I'm going to need a bit more than that sweetie.”  
“Part of me wants to reach out, touch their aura and drain them until nothing but shriveled husks remain. It's so strong I can barely keep it at bay.”  
“Their insults are grave enough for any of us to demand their lives, my beast is doing the same, and I have no doubt that our beta feels the same way, and our raven brothers as well.”_  
While Takeshi tried to soothe her fears the two guards had kept on about how they were the lowest of the low and thus had no right to claim insult and they could feel anger building behind them, both Roghan and his father were about to move, but Roghan moved first.

“Nameless weakling you say? Your senses must be really pathetic if you cannot tell what she is, who she is.”  
He stepped forward and held out his hand for Emelie to join him and after a slight push from Takeshi she did.  
“She is Emelie Eriksson, Co-Alpha of Pack Kiryu, Shirai Lilim, daughter of Maroue of the Shadow and Maria Eriksson. She is stronger than most in this hall, and she has yet to be brought before Lady Lilith. She is a most honored guest of my father, your Lord!”  
With a small nod Roghan signaled for Takeshi to join them.  
“He is Takeshi Kiryu, Alpha of Pack Kiryu and he is a most honored guest of my father, your Lord!”  
Another small nod and Knight joined them as well.  
“He is Logan Knight, Beta of Pack Kiryu, Son of the Lost Mountain and he is a most honored guest of my father, your Lord!”  
It was formal, fancy, and Takeshi was grateful that Roghan hadn't mentioned anything about him being chosen by the Mother, respecting their wish to keep his powers a secret for as long as possible.  
The instant flare of fear, and apologetic blabbering from the guards made it quite clear that they were realizing just how badly they had messed up and unaware of what their punishment would be they were trying to save themselves.  
_“What's the matter?”_  
Takeshi almost flinched at the touch of Lucifer's mind, it was vastly different from any other he had touched so far and it would take some getting used to.  
Takeshi focused on his mental shields for a moment before asking him to clarify.  
_“I have daughters, and granddaughters who are succubi, they all do the tail-wrap when unsettled about something.”_  
Takeshi couldn't help a smile at the thought of a gaggle of young succubi getting the Lord of the palace wrapped up in their tails and he could hear Emelie snicker as she picked up on the image as well.  
_“It's nothing serious, a bit of a culture clash. Her demon instincts are telling her she should kill them for their transgressions, while her lingering human cultural sensibilities are telling her that such a reaction would be far to extreme, and she still has a strong aversion against killing in general.”  
“Ah, nothing to worry about then. Most Lilim born from a human mother go through it after their awakening. Some never get over it, but they learn to live with it. Let me guess, the intensity of her demon instincts scare her at times?”  
“Indeed. Mine do the same from time to time.”_  
During the silent conversation Roghan had taken charge of the trial and was giving the guards a guilty verdict, before sentencing them to be at Emelie's mercy for one day, as long as they did not insult her or her pack further they would be allowed to live.

“You better keep still or I will ask my alpha to assist me, and he might not leave your _mashen_ in one piece.”  
Emelie warned the guard as she released the bindings on his wings so that she would have access to pluck the feathers.  
The guard kept his head down but nodded slightly before shifting his wings out to the sides, the gesture not only submissive, but also allowing Emelie better access to pluck the feathers.  
Knight found himself somewhat impressed that the young guard manage to stay still, and mostly quiet when Emelie began to pluck the feathers one by one and place them in large baskets that had been brought for that purpose, the finest feathers she put aside into a smaller basket to keep..  
“I suggest you focus on suppressing the regrowth of your feathers, because she won't stop until she has plucked you clean.”  
Knight decided to take some pity on the guard and give him a piece of advice to get him through his punishment faster.  
While they all watched Emelie meticulously pluck his wings clean there was no sign of resistance, only the occasional, small, involuntary chirp of pain when she pulled a particularly bad feather.  
The acceptance of the punishment showed that there might be some hope for the guard, and it seemed it was working to soothe Emelie's instincts as when she was done she brushed her wing over the trembling guards head in a gesture that read like 'Good boy' or maybe 'Well done.

The older guard however was an entirely different matter, he was cursing and struggling even before Emelie began, and on top of it all he refused to speak Urui which only served to piss Emelie off even more.  
“Alpha, would give me a hand please?”  
“Of course.”  
The grim smirk on Takeshi's face revealed that his instincts were also in an uproar, demanding that the guards pay for their insults, and it promised pain if the guard didn't submit and keep still, which Knight doubted he would.  
As suspected the guard kept struggling, even when Takeshi dug his claws into the base of the wings and with a look at the Lord for permission he increased the pressure, and many of the spectators squirmed and flinched when they heard the guard cry out as the bones snapped.  
_“Easy Take, don't let the darkness take hold.”_  
Knight cautioned as he could feel the chill of the darkness flow through the bond and for a moment there was a push of cold power trying to make him back down before it abated and Takeshi's usual fire was all that remained.  
Though it quickly became clear that the darkness had affected Emelie, her succubus traits were showing more clearly with the horns becoming visible and she was growing increasingly rough with the second guard.  
When she was satisfied with the plucking she turned to the slightly steaming cauldron that held a sticky green slime that looked like something produced by a nightmare cold and began to slather it all over the body of the guard before pouring his feathers back over him.  
She quickly did the same to the younger guard, though her handling of him was far gentler than how she had handled his older colleague, giving the substance a moment to cool off before painting it on his skin so that it would not scald him.

With the 'Tar & Feathers' part done the guards were released from the floor and directed to walk toward the city, the younger guard walked on his own, head held high he managed to give of a air of pride despite his state, and the submissive pose of his naked wings.  
The older guard had to be frogmarched and made a rather pitiful sight, cursing and fighting, one wing dragging useless behind him and the other hanging limply.  
As they walked toward the marketplace more on more of the citizens joined them and when they arrived most of the city was there.  
The herald announced the crimes of the guards, and what their punishment was, and all while the older guard screamed and raged about how it was all lies the younger guard just bowed his head in acceptance.  
Even when the spectators began throwing things at them the younger guard didn't move, or even flinch, he showed no reaction at all until Emelie's wing suddenly extended in front of him and blocked what looked like a durian, but with longer, sharper spikes, from hitting his face.  
“They are not to be harmed unless by my hands, or my word.”  
Her wings were flaring with her temper and the agitated crowd quickly settled down when faced with the display.

As the crowd quieted down Takeshi noticed that Knight's attention seemed to be drifting and following his line of sight Takeshi spotted the reason, Brenna was standing at the back of the crowd, and behind her the shadeling loomed, partially merged with the shadow of a tree.  
_“Go. Talk to her, make sure she's okay.”_  
Knight just nodded and slid away from the platform that was usually used for auctions but at the moment served as dais.  
While Knight trusted that the shadeling would look after Brenna, or rather Takeshi did for some reason and Knight trusted Takeshi, he still took his duties as her guide serious and would not be able to fully relax until he had a chance to check on her.  
“Logan!”  
Brenna called out and waved as he got closer while the shadeling only gave him a slight nod as acknowledgment.  
“Brenna.”  
Knight greeted the energetic angel with a hug and carefully slid his hand to the base of her wings which earned him an embarrassed yelp that soon shifted into a chittering coo as she leaned into him.  
“I'm sorry I couldn't stay the other day. How are you handling things?”  
“It's okay. You couldn't very well ignore a royal summon and our shadeling friend here took good care of me.”  
Knight took a long look at the shadeling before answering her with a shrug.  
“It's no doubt trying to gain Take's favor in hope to grace his bed.”  
The shadeling just gave him a wide grin in response, not trying to hide its intent.  
“Well, for some reason he trusts you so I will give you a chance to prove your worth.”  
“Most generous.”  
There was a slight teasing quip in the shadeling's tone but Knight just smirked at it, during the hunt he had found that it had a wicked sense of humor and he didn't believe there would be any problems for it to tease Takeshi into bed once the heat was over with.  
“I would strongly suggest against trying anything right now though, I will not allow you to do anything that might trigger his heat.”  
“Have no worries. I would never risk interfering with a potential heat-mating. Especially between true mates.”  
A pulse of Emelie's aura interrupted their conversation and signaled that she was about to finish the guards punishment.

They watched Emelie turn to the older guard first.  
“From this day on you will only be known as 'Humpty', your name no longer yours. Your life is mine to take, but I will settle for taking you name, and your flight. What remains I gift to the Lord of these lands to do with as he sees fit.”  
The cheering was near deafening and she silenced them with a flare of power before continuing.  
“What a free man would have earned for your duties will be divided between your mate and any offspring that has yet to reach majority, if there are no such offspring half will be given to the mate, the rest to aid orphans and widows, if there is no mate all will be granted to such aid.”  
Once again the older guard began protesting, but before he could say much Lucifer stepped in and bound him with runes that forced him to silence while Emelie just ignored him and turned to the younger guard who was looking rather nervous.  
“Dumpty, once you realized what you had done you never tried to deny your wrongdoings. You accepted your punishment with dignity and you bore the pain well. Rise, speak your name and be forgiven. But be warned, I have not forgotten, cross me or mine again and you will beg for the mercy of death.”  
The guard rose and spoke his name before bowing low to Emelie.  
“You may call me as you wish Lady Lilim. I am in your debt.”  
“Then you will be Merle, my little blackbird. Take five days, regrow your feathers, regain your strength, then return to your position as guard, and a free man. And you better learn to address me by my name.”  
”As you wish Lady Emelie.”  
Her choice of name made both Takeshi and Knight shake their heads with a smile, but the guard seemed to be happy enough with it.

Knight turned to Brenna and the shadeling while keeping half an eye on the podium where Lucifer's personal guards bound the one Emelie had named Humpty and a few other guards released _Merle_ and began to escort him home to serve five days of house arrest, his punishment would not be officially over until he returned to his post.  
“How about you two join us for a meal so we can talk some more?”  
Knight offered his arm to Brenna while nodding to the shadeling to join them.  
“At the palace?!”  
Brenna was unable to fully hide the nervous chirp.  
“At the palace.”  
Knight confirmed with a wide grin as he guided her to the others.  
Takeshi greeted her much the same way as Knight had, though, when he slipped his hand to the mashen she gave him a hard slap on the chest in objection before leaning into the touch with a huffing sigh.  
It didn't take long for Takeshi to bring out the chittering coo that gave away her appreciation of the touch though.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Tar & Feathers_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Brenna was looking around the garden with wide eyes and every now and then they could hear a small nervous chirp as she struggled with the fact that she was at the palace, in one of the private gardens, and about to share a meal with the Lord as an honored guest.  
Knight just smiled at her and brought her to the table where the others were already seated and Emelie patted on the seat next to her, inviting Brenna to join her before looking across the table at Takeshi and the shadeling discussing which cut of Gong was the most succulent.  
“By the way, you never told us your name.”  
Emelie poked the shadeling with her tail.  
“My name is long, and near impossible for a non-shadeling to pronounce. But you may call me Ylian.”  
“Ylian, that's not what id call an easy name either...”  
Emelie complained a bit as it took her a few tries to get the odd name right, Ylian countered by telling her their true name, which made everyone groan and shake their heads in defeat, there was no way they would be able to say it correctly.  
“So, Brenna. Any more courting requests?”  
Emelie quickly shifted the subject away from their inability to pronounce Ylian's name and onto more interesting matters.  
“Yeah, a whole bunch of them.”  
Brenna's deep sigh made it perfectly clear that she wasn't all too happy about it.  
“Ouch, that bad huh? Not even one of them of interest?”  
“They seem nice enough, but, no...”  
“Oh, have someone in mind do you?”  
Emelie leaned in with a conspiratorial smile.  
“Um, well, kinda... Yeah, I do...”  
Brenna's blush turned her face a deep, shimmering black.  
“I say screw traditions! You go grab that guy by the mashen, if he has one, if not, the balls should do, and offer **him** a courting.”  
Emelie huffed.  
“I wish it was that easy.”  
Brenna's sigh held a touch of sadness that instantly made the others quiet down and focus on her.  
“What's wrong?”  
Knight pulled Brenna closer and with a sigh she shrunk her size slightly so that she would fit better into his lap.  
“The one I want, his younger brother is one of the males that have requested courting-rights.”  
“And the older brother wouldn't want to interfere with his younger brothers courting...”  
Knight quickly surmised  
“Exactly.”  
Brenna confirmed.  
“The brother is a nice enough guy, but he's, well, not very interesting. He's just, I don't know, too nice?”  
“A bit of a _'toffel',_ huh?”  
Emelie added with a teasing quip.  
“A what?”  
Brenna looked rather confused, but the others seemed to know what Emelie was referring to.  
“Oh, it's Swedish, my native language, it means slipper, usually a soft, indoor slipper. But in this case it's what we call guys that are kinda softies, always sucking up or doing everything for their women, meek, not showing any real will of their own.”  
“That sounds about right. Nice and sweet, but, lacking that something. You're lucky you know. Both your _boys_ are nice and sweet, but they have **plenty** of that _something_...”  
“Nice and sweet, sure, as long as you don't challenge them, or threaten the pack...”  
Lucifer muttered from his seat at the head of the table.  
“Oh, they can be _soo_ sweet when they want to get laid.”  
Emelie quipped while giving Takeshi and Knight a mock glare, and after a few moments she included Lucifer and Ylian for good measure.

“I might have a solution for that, if you are willing to go through with a double courting.”  
Knight offered with a slight hesitation, unsure of how the obsidian society looked upon such courtings.  
“Perhaps. What did you have in mind?”  
Knight explained that he would put the suitors through a trial of sorts, putting them through a series of tests.  
They would together reject them one by one, and for the brother, tell him that he had been found lacking, but that the courting would be allowed if he brings another male into it to make up for his shortcomings.  
The natural choice would be a close relative, and if he brought someone else they would simply reject the choice as lacking.  
“I think I can do that. I would prefer a single courting, and mating. But if that is what it takes to have a chance to see if he is a good match then so be it. I know the younger brother is not a true mate for me, but I think the older brother is.”  
“Then perhaps the younger will withdraw his courting if he finds that you and his brother are a true match.”  
“Maybe, I'm actually more concerned about how my father will react. The one I want is an accomplished hunter, but he has no desire to join the guards, or make any form of career other than as a hunter. I know father will prefer the younger brother, a scholar with a good chance of being accepted into the council.”  
They spent several hours talking and repeatedly reassuring Brenna that they would do all they could to make sure she got a chance to enter courting with her hunter.

Brenna's distress over the courting was pulling on Takeshi's instincts and he found himself having an increasingly hard time maintaining the calm needed to suppress the heat and he was just about to excuse himself when he felt a pair of strong, cool hands on his shoulders.  
“Ylian...”  
There was a hint of warning in Takeshi's tone.  
“Worry not. Focus on quelling your fire. I can aid.”  
At first Takeshi doubted it, especially considering the sensitive nature of his tattoos but he soon found himself relaxing under the obviously well trained touch.  
“You have a soothing touch.”  
Takeshi's voice was low, and carried a content sigh.  
“What better than a cool shadow to calm a raging inferno? Your little Lilim may be ice to match your fire, but her succubus nature would make it hard for her to calm you right now.”  
There was a slight teasing purr in Ylian's tone that was accompanied by a slightly harder press into a particularly tight knot.  
“ _Yi_  is just trying to suck up to increase yi _'s_ chances of getting into your bed once your heat is over.”  
Emelie quipped from her hiding-spot in Roghan's lap, Knight had his hands full with Brenna, and Hugin and Munin were far to used to obeying their Lord to be of much use to keep him from harassing her to much.  
She couldn't resist the smile that crept to her face as she used to rather unfamiliar _'Yi'_ , it had taken a while to get used to using a gender neutral third-person pronoun when referring to someone you knew, who was present.  
But shadelings didn't have genders, all shadelings were able to carry offspring, and they were all able to impregnate others capable of carrying offspring.  
Ylian did feel mostly male though, but there were times when they, yi, she reminded herself, felt more female, or neither, or both so she tried to remember to use the Urui pronoun _'Yi'_ when referring to Ylian and other shadelings.  
“Oh, I have no doubt about that.”  
Takeshi's laughing reply caused a shift in Ylian's aura that was suspiciously similar to embarrassment.  
“So, Ylian. Feel like telling us why you are so set on bedding my Take?”  
There was a slight challenge in Emelie's voice that told them that she was exercising her right as co-alpha, under demon law she had the right to reject a potential suitor, or lover.  
For a long moment Ylian was silent, then with a deep sigh they spoke up, answering her question.  
“I wish to become _pana,_ to spawn a brood of my own _._ And your precious alpha has energies that I can feel would give strong offspring. Little whelps that would stand a chance to survive and grow into strong shadelings.”  
The mention of children, especially children fathered by Takeshi brought a familiar pang of pain and longing to Emelie, but she pushed it aside to focus on the matter at hand.  
“Just how would that work, since shadelings are genderless?”  
“When we are ready to become pana, what you would call mothers, we change slightly and start storing energy in a special chamber that acts like a womb. We are able to spawn whelps on our own, but they would be weak and most would not survive.”  
Ylian paused for a moment to allow Emelie to calm down as the mention of losing offspring had her rather upset.  
“To avoid this we seek the aid of another strong being, ideally one whose energies complement our own. We draw from their auras and mix the energy with our own within the chamber and then finally we add a catalyst similar to your hormones to initiate the spawning.”  
“Sounds like sex isn't really needed?”  
Emelie's curiosity was quickly making her forget about her own fears and desires about having children.  
“It isn't, but it it is the best catalyst for a strong spawning. The more satisfied the pana is, the stronger the catalyst, and the greater the chance for a successful spawning.”  
“You better put some real effort in then, show yi what you are really capable off.”  
The teasing comment was enough to tell everyone that she had accepted Ylian's wish, and that it now was up to Takeshi if he agreed.  
“I guess I do.”  
The words were soft, and accompanied by a brush of aura that carried a hint of promise that made Ylian shiver, they would be granted a chance to become pana, to spawn with the powerful male in front of them.  
Despite their age they found themselves nervous, and almost giddy, like a youngster before their first guide.

It was decided that they would rest a few days, visit the orchards and vineyard, tour the palace and then start the process of weeding out Brenna's suitors while they waited for Maroue, Emelie's father, to arrive.

 

 

 


	68. A Father's Plight

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Manda and the twins would love this place!”  
Emelie was flying low above a large pond, teasing the fish by dragging the tip of her tail across the surface of the water.  
It turned out that the _Irri_ fruit that was used to make orcha was a actually a parasitic plant that lived on a kind of swamp or water tree that resembled a bald cypress, these trees were grown in large ponds connected by slow flowing streams.  
Along the edges of the water large willow like trees grew, but unlike the willow trees of the human realm these carried large clusters of fruits similar to date palms.  
The fish in the artificial ponds was a mix of demonic carp and trout forming an aquaponic system, the carp would feed on algae and various weed plants while the trout fed on the carp, together they fertilized the water for the large trees and the trees supplied the fast growing irri with all the nutrients it needed.  
A loud yelp followed by cursing shifted Takeshi's attention from the willow trees and back to Emelie, who had unintentionally managed to catch one of the large trouts, with her tail.  
The carp only chased and nibbled at it when she dipped it into the water, but the gathering of carp had attracted one of the predatory trouts and it had leapt out of the water and clamped down on the tip of her tail and refused to let go.  
“Well, I guess Em's lunch is sorted.”  
Takeshi barely managed to get the words out between the the laughs.  
“Nice catch Lady Emelie, but I suggest you borrow a net if you wish to catch more. It should prove less painful.”  
The old orchard master teased her, while also praising her catch, it was indeed a nice specimen of the demonic trout and she was having a bit of a hard time holding onto it while flying to the beach where she promptly dropped the large fish on top of Takeshi.  
“This. Blasted. Fish. Has. **Fangs**..!”  
Takeshi complained while trying to keep the threshing creature from taking a bite out of him.  
“No kidding... Look at what it did to my poor tail!”  
Emelie was carefully cradling her tail while Munin thoroughly cleaned the deep bite-marks to make sure there wouldn't be any infections.  
Her demonic nature made her very resilient to infection and poisons, but this was a bite from a demonic creature and could have contaminants that would affect even her.  
“At least it didn't bite it off. You are not a lizard, you might not be able to regrow a lost limb.”  
The horrified look on Emelie's face when Munin reminded her that she could have lost a good part of her tail had the others laughing and before long she was chasing them around the orchard much to the amusement of the orchard workers.  
When they left the orchard in the evening Emelie carried several small bags of seeds and a few crystal flasks filled with water from different locations in the ponds.  
The orchard master told her it couldn't be done, but she was determined to try to grow irri using the sanctuary crystals, even if she only managed to get a small harvest, she had also managed to talk the old demon into giving her a selection of other seeds, including the fruit bearing willow.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ _Take, I'm not ready for this!”_  
The familiar managed to transfer the hint of panic in her tone, though, Takeshi could tell that from the way her tail was staunching the blood-flow to his hand.  
_“Easy sweetie. You need to relax a bit before you take my hand off.”  
“Ops, sorry.”_  
The tail slowly uncurled a bit and released the vice-like grip.  
_“Don't worry so much. We won't allow anything bad to happen.”  
“But what if he really did abandon us, not because he had to, but because he wanted to?”  
“Then we kick his ass and make him regret it.”  
“I guess..”_  
It was still early evening and they were seated in one of the gardens, waiting for Emelie's father to arrive.  
Lucifer had informed them about an hour ago that Maroue had arrived at the city gates and had invited them to one of the private gardens to meet the Arai Lilim that had fathered Emelie.  
He was taking his sweet time arriving though, and it set Emelie's nerves on edge which in turn set Takeshi and Knight on edge, both of them always well attuned to her emotions.

When he finally arrived Emelie's tail tightened to a painful grip and Takeshi slowly flexed his hand to try to keep at least some blood flowing to it.  
When Maroue quickly walked over to them to greet Emelie; Takeshi could feel Maria's spirit stir, asking him for power, and the use of his physical body which he instantly allowed her.  
A sharp sound, like a whip, echoed across the garden as Maroue was send flying by a vicious slap, courtesy of Maria's spirit and Takeshi's body.  
For a brief moment Emelie stared at Takeshi before noticing the presence of her mother's spirit.  
“Way to go Mom!”  
“Damn it Maria, that hurt my hand. You still haven't learned how to slap properly.”  
Takeshi complained while trying to shake the sting from his hand.  
The angry look on Maroue's face instantly drained when he heard the conversation, and noticed the ghostly image that hovered just above Takeshi's shoulders.  
“Maria?”  
“Indeed, Maria.”  
Lucifer was the one to confirm the identity of the spirit.  
“Oh, crap...”  
“You don't say?”  
Maria spoke through Takeshi, folding his arms over his chest she leveled a wilting glare on the floored demon.  
“You said you were going to pick up some groceries so you could make a nice dinner, but instead of you returning, I get room-service and a note telling me you have left the country early...”  
Takeshi was struggling to not become overwhelmed by Maria's emotions, with betrayal at the top.  
“For what it's worth, I am sorry. I did intend to return and cook that meal, spend the night and say my farewells in the morning. But while I was away the gateway I used to travel to the human realm began closing.”  
“You could have stayed.”  
Even if the voice that spoke was Takeshi's they could all feel Maria's raw emotions through the words and Maroue flinched slightly at the pain they carried.  
“If I had stayed you would not have been picked up by the GCTI, and without your presence, Takeshi would have died with the others in Alaska. GCTI would never have been taken down. Our daughter would not have survived her awakening. The girls they saved would all be dead. And in the end, the human realm would fall without hope, shattering the balance and bringing the other realms with it. Like this, there is a chance, a hope, that the human realm can be saved, and the balance restored.”  
He took a deep breath and rose to his feet before speaking again.  
“I had to choose, stay, save you and spend a few years with my daughter, but lose her, and all hope for the future. Or leave and lose you, miss my daughter growing up, but gain hope for a future for all realms.”  
There was a slightly wary glint in his eyes as he stepped closer to the upset spirit, and the body it possessed.  
“Despite your youth, I did very much enjoy our talks. And I hope that your Alpha here will allow us the opportunity to speak more.”  
Before Takeshi could answer he found his body kissing the demon and it took a few moments to wrestle control back from Maria.  
“Oi, my body! Remember? I'm allowing you to borrow it so that you can speak for yourself, that does **not** mean you can just go around kissing guys with it.”  
Takeshi voiced his complaints once he had control back, and he could already hear the others snickering.  
“Oh shush, it's not like it's the first time you ever kissed a good looking guy.”  
Maria instantly shot him down, much to the others growing amusement.  
“Yeah, but I knew those guys, chose those guys! And none were my potential father-in-law...”  
“Oh, but your potential mother-in-law was fine?”  
She returned in a teasing quip.  
“Come on, I didn't even know you had a kid back then.”  
By then everyone was laughing, everyone but Emelie who was somewhat stunned by his words, she knew he loved her, he had told her as much, but he had never before mentioned any desire to marry her, or mate her.  
_“I don't think he is aware he said it. So how about we pretend he didn't reveal himself?”_  
Knight's silent words snapped her mind back to the events before them and she joined the laughing at their antics.

“Would it be safe for me to greet my daughter now?”  
Maroue waited for the laughing to abate slightly before speaking up.  
“Oh I don't know, she has her mother's temper after all.”  
This time Takeshi was able to lock down his power before Maria could use it to shock him in retaliation for the quip about her temper, much to the spirit's annoyance.  
Their little display came with a nice bonus though, Emelie had completely forgotten about being nervous about meeting her father.  
Maroue gave Emelie a long, tight hug, but when he let go and took a small step back to look at her, and properly feel her aura she sent him flying in much the same manner that her mother had.  
She wasn't about to just forgive and forget, and accept him as her father, that easily, he would have to earn it.  
“Blood does not make a father, action does, for now you are my father in name only.”  
There was no surprise at her statement, but Takeshi instantly became on edge when Maroue's aura shifted and became aggressively dominant, but before he could step between them he was stopped by Lucifer's hand on his shoulder.  
“Don't interfere. She is rejecting his right of dominance, and since she is still considered a child here, his instincts demand that she submit.”  
“So, teen rebellion, and dad telling her 'You're still a kid and will do what I tell you', demon version?”  
“Pretty much. Don't worry, he will be careful.”  
“I'm actually more worried that she will hurt him while under the influence of her instincts, she would be rather distraught afterward if she did.”  
As expected Emelie refused to submit to the aura of her father and the battle of wills turned physical, and everyone watched as they both tried to make the other submit.  
But the outcome was somewhat unexpected as Emelie managed to twist around and throw her father to the ground and pin him with the blade of her scythe against the throat, causing him to submit.  
“I had a feeling I would end up submitting sooner or later, but I never imagined it would happen before the presentation.”  
Maroue grumbled as he got up and with a short nod he stepped back to allow the others to tend to her, neither had suffered any real damage though, other than Maroue's pride suffering a blow.  
According to demon law he no longer had any authority over her, even if she still was considered a minor until her presentation.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“ _So, what do you think of him?”  
_ Lucifer stepped up behind Maroue as he watched Takeshi carefully align a small tear in the membrane of Emelie's left wing before gently dragging his tongue along it to speed up her healing.  
It would have been easy for her to heal it herself, but Takeshi and Knight both insisted that she allow them to help her, to make sure she didn't drain any more of her energy.  
_“He tastes like power. Power and passion.”_  
Maroue touched his lips with a crooked smile, remembering the taste from the kiss Maria's spirit had given him using Takeshi's body.  
_“A perfect match for a succubus like my daughter. Her strength proves as much.”  
_ There was no mistaking the pride in Maroue's tone, as humiliating as it had been to submit to his youngest daughter, it was proof of her strength. _  
“We knew he would be if they managed to survive. So far the visions given by the Fates have been accurate.”  
_ Both Lucifer and Roghan had begun receiving visions about a hundred human years ago, warning them about the imbalance of the human realm, but also offering glimpses of hope, glimpses of what could one day restore the balance. _  
“I will teach her what she needs to know and bring her before mother for her presentation at the opening of the eclipse festival.”  
“And see her mated by the end of it.”  
_ Lucifer added, half teasing, half sympathetic and as expected Maroue had quite a few objections to the idea of his daughter being mated so soon after her presentation, normally a courting would last for several years, even decades. _  
“I am sure he would court her good and proper if they didn't have the pressure of his heat looming over them.”  
“What? He is capable of going into heat?”  
_ Maroue's surprise was evident in his tone. _  
“Yes, and he is actively suppressing it now so that he can spend it with her.”  
_ Lucifer knew that Takeshi wished to keep his condition private, but Maroue needed to know. _  
“There is no way those two would be able to spend their heat together and not end up mated.”  
_ Maroue knew that it was their destiny to end up mated, the Fates had made that unusually clear in the visions, but that didn't mean he liked the idea of such a short courting.

As they watched, the scene in front of them shifted from Takeshi and Knight tending to Emelie's wounds, into teasing and a small scuffle.  
“Logan...”  
The drawn out note and singsong quality of Takeshi's voice gave ample warning that something was going on.  
“Yes Alpha?”  
Knight replied in kin with a teasing undertone.  
“Run..!”  
Takeshi didn't raise his voice, but Knight instantly took of with a grin and a few seconds later Takeshi sauntered after him, confident he could easily catch his beta if he really wanted to.  
Emelie just shook her head and turned her attention back to her father and Lucifer.  
“You are not going to join them?”  
Maroue questioned when she showed no sign of joining the chase.  
“As much as I would like to, it would defeat the purpose of their little chase.”  
“Still struggling to suppress that heat, is he?”  
Emelie gave Lucifer a sharp glare for voicing such a private matter openly, but she did understand why he did it.  
“Yes, Ylian has been successfully helping him suppress it, but yi had some things yi had to do and left the city two days ago, and according to yi's estimate yi won't be back for another three days.”  
“Ylian?”  
Maroue was curious who this Ylian was, especially if they allowed them to help with something so intimate.  
“Yi is a shadeling that we got to know while training with the hunters.”  
“Oh, you are training to become a huntress?”  
“I **am** a huntress! We _all_ passed our trial.”  
_“Damn, you need to tell me these things...”_  
Maroue glanced at Lucifer with a hint of annoyance.  
“Don't you look at him! Your lack of knowledge is all on your head.”  
She hadn't been able to pick up on the silent conversation, but she could guess what it was about, and the somewhat guilty look on Maroue's face confirmed it.  
She refused to even think of him as her father until he had proven himself.  
“A bit of a mock chase will help him settle his instincts, but if I joined them there is a risk it would turn into a real mating chase.”  
Maroue just nodded his understanding before asking her to join him at one of the small tables so that they could talk.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“No! I am going hunting with the others and that is final. If you want to keep up the lessons you will have to join us and go hunting.”  
Emelie and Maroue had been arguing most of the morning, he wanted her to stay and study demon law and traditions, especially those pertaining to the Lilim and her introduction, while she was set on joining the boys for a short hunting trip.  
“Or are you too much of a scholar to be a hunter?”  
Her words stung but they showed that she had learned quite a bit about demon law, she was accusing him of being a coward, of being less than a man, but she did so in carefully chosen words, words that were not enough to warrant a challenge.  
“It is quite a challenge for a flightless to become a hunter.”  
“Last time I looked neither Take, not Logan are fliers and they became hunters just fine. So enough excuses.”  
The flare of her wings and aura was a clear dismissal.  
“Maybe a break from the studies would do you both some good, you have done nothing but bicker and argue since your return.”  
Lucifer was growing rather frustrated with the constant bad mood of his right hand, and oldest friend.  
Maroue had been with him since shortly after his banishment and over the centuries he grown to consider the scholar a very good friend, but sometimes he was too stubborn for his own good, a trait his daughter had obviously inherited.  
“She needs to learn this before her presentation!”  
The aggravated tone finally made Lucifer snap and he grabbed Maroue by the neck and pulled him aside for a stern talking to, once they had left the garden he pushed Maroue against the wall and pinned him with a flare of aura that demanded obedience.  
“What she needs is a chance to get to know her father. What good will it do her to know all the bloodlines, if she can't connect to her own blood?”  
“They will question her right to ascend.”  
“And she will force them to submit if they try. I know you are no fighter, but you felt her power, as have I. She is strong, even without her full power she is stronger than any Shirai I have ever met. They have trained, and fed her, exceptionally well.”  
“She still needs to learn, this is important. And she does not seem to care.”  
“Are you truly so blind old friend?”  
There was a weary disappointment in Lucifer's voice that made Maroue pause his rant.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Every night when they retire to the guest-wing she spends a mark, maybe two with her pack before taking Munin and heading to the library where she has him help her study. And she has been doing that since they first came to the palace. She probably already knows most of what you are trying to teach her.”  
“Then why has she not said that she already knows it?”  
“Have you bothered asking how much she knows? Or have you just assumed that she knows nothing of demon ways?”  
Maroue's silence was answer enough.  
“As I thought.”  
Lucifer turned his back on Maroue with a deep sigh.  
“When it is time for her presentation, I will ask her who she wants by her side. Roghan would be more than willing, and there will be several others at the feast. And it is within my right to stand at her side as well, which I would be honored to do should she want me to.”  
He began to walk away and at the doorway to the garden he paused for a moment.  
“I will not let her stand before Lady Lilith and the council of elders with someone she does not trust at her side.”

“Take, are you and Logan going to borrow those peregrine mounts again?”  
Emelie was checking her bag to make sure everything she would need was properly packed.  
“Nah, Kiryu-sama has agreed to carry me and we managed to talk Ylian into carrying Logan.”  
“Oh, any idea what form yi will be using?”  
Emelie was curious about the shadeling ability to transform, it was very different from Takeshi's shifting and there was a slim chance that she might be able to learn a bit of it after her presentation.  
“None, why don't you go ask yi?”  
She quickly secured the bag, a kind of reverse backpack that was designed not to interfere with winged demon and headed toward the courtyard.  
When she entered the courtyard she noticed that Maroue was there along with a mount she had not seen before so she guessed that the giant winged lion was his personal mount, she gave the mount another quick glance before expanding her aura to pinpoint the cold, calm darkness that she recognized as Ylian.”  
“Ah, there you are. I heard you would be acting the part of mount for Logan this time?”  
“Indeed, it's a fairly short trip, but we do need to fly so that stallion from the plains won't do him much good, despite its abilities.”  
“So, come on on, what form are you going to use?”  
She was practically bouncing and Ylian just shook their head with a smile.  
“That's a surprise.”  
“Meanie!”  
She punched Ylian's arm with a mock glare.

When Takeshi and Knight exited the guest wing Emelie noticed that Lucifer had joined them, wearing the simple hunter's garb it was obvious that he intended to hunt as well.  
Looking back toward Maroue she noted that he was wearing his usual robes that looked like a cross between a fancy clergy habit and a wizard's robe, like something you might find yourself wearing in one of the many fantasy role-playing games that the girls were so fond of.  
Every part of her that was demon resented him, not only for abandoning her and her mother, but for the way he was constantly underestimating her, and she found herself agreeing with it, that he either was not a hunter, or refused to wear the hunter's garb did not improve her impression of him.  
“Kiryu-sama, it's nice to see you again”  
She greeted the small dragon when she appeared from within Takeshi's soul.  
“It is good to be seen Emelie-chan.”  
Emelie glared at the dragon for calling her 'chan' but after a few moments she broke down into laughing just as Takeshi lost his composure at the uncharacteristically childish honorific.  
While they were laughing the dragon grew in size until she could comfortably carry both Takeshi and their bags.  
“Come on Ylian, show us what you got!”  
Emelie took a few steps back when Ylian's form diffused into a cloud that rapidly grew and then solidified into a large winged beast that was very familiar.  
“Oh, a proper western dragon. I like it!”  
The form Ylian had chosen was compact and fairly heavy built with strong legs and a powerful neck and tail, the wings were massive and the entire spine was spiked, and the head sported several sets of horns.  
A surprised yelp from Takeshi made her look behind her in time to see Kiryu shift and change, her body becoming more compact and the short legs grew longer and wings began to sprout, before long she had assumed the form of a western dragon as well, though she was far more slender built, more feminine.  
Her head hadn't changed much though and she had black wisps of smoke and fire along her spine instead of spikes.  
“Wow, I didn't know you could do that.”  
Emelie looked at her with a somewhat slack-jawed expression.  
“Of course I can, I am half shadow after all.”  
“Which one is your true form?”  
“My mother was what you call a western dragon, my father a shadow. So this is closer to my true form, though I have used the other form for so long I have gotten used to it.”  
“Well, you're just as pretty in either form. Right Take?”  
“As long as it doesn't mean that I have to get a new tattoo I couldn't care less. Her spirit remains the same.”  
The old dragon just chuckled at his complaint about not wanting to go through the process of the marking again before turning to Emelie.  
“You prefer this form, right?”  
“I kinda do, it's the kind of dragon I grew up with.”  
“Then for you, our little Lilim, I will use this form.”

After a few more minutes making sure they had everything Lucifer approached them.  
“Are we ready to head out?”  
“We are.”  
“Let's head out then.”  
Several of the guards had to brace themselves from the strong burst of wind as the group took off.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Are we hunting anything in particular?”  
It became rather obvious that Lucifer had joined them on a whim and was now trying to sate his curiosity and figure out what he had gotten himself into.  
“Well, I need some new clothes for my presentation. So the target is some nice materials. Some baby gong for the leather, and I want a few young kanna for their spikes, they should make great decorations.”  
“I know where you can find silver kanna, I can take you there if you promise not to let anyone know where you found them.”  
“Oh that would be perfect! And if we are careful we can get the spikes without hurting them, if they are rare I mean."  
"They are, and it would be much appreciated if we can take what you need without killing. Anything else?"  
"Well, I was thinking of catching a few of those fluffy rabbit things, their fur is supposed to make the strongest thread. A few silver and a few purple. And a few of those black snakes with the kinda oil slick effect on their scales.”  
“So _Damra_ and _Vocri_ as well as baby gong and kanna. That should make for a very interesting hunt.”  
None of the desired prey were considered to be easy targets, especially the young gong and kanna were well guarded by groups of the dangerous adults.  
“Do you know of a nicely sized bird with deep black, shiny, feathers that we could catch? Ideally ones that we can pluck a handful of the right size feathers and then release.”  
Lucifer was somewhat surprised by her willingness to gather what she needed without harming her prey, such sentiment was rare among demons and it spoke volumes about her heart.  
“You are welcome to steal some more of my feathers if that is acceptable.”  
“And what price would you ask for that?”  
“All I ask is that you do not dismiss my invitations without actually considering them.”  
She nailed him with a glare, but she took the time to consider his price.  
_“You have my word I will do nothing until after you have had a chance to court and mate that crazy alpha of yours.”_  
He added for her alone.  
“Hmph, I guess that would be acceptable.”  
Her response caused a bout of good-natured teasing, though, it might have been caused by the slight blush rather than the answer itself.

They kept flying all day, not even stopping for food and by sunset they the had reached the mountain-range that separated the lowlands surrounding the Obsidian Halls from the highland forest, and the great plains of the plateau where the gong and kanna lived, both the rabbit like damra and the vocri snakes lived in the forest.  
Finding a cave large enough to comfortably house them took a while, but they managed to find one, and between Maroue's lion blocking the entrance and Kiryu returning to the serpentine form of the eastern dragon and curling herself along the wall they were warm and cozy without the need of fire, a cluster of crystals charged with glowing energy giving them what little light they needed.

“Did the hunters teach you how to play _Mallakuu_?”  
Emelie breathed a sigh of relief when Lucifer interrupted Maroue's somewhat ranting lecture about what clothing would be appropriate for someone of her station and bloodline, insisting that she should be wearing scholar robes similar to the ones he wore.  
Continuing about how this hunt was a waste of time as he had already already taken the liberty of obtaining suitable robes for her and that they should focus on her lessons instead.  
By the time Lucifer spoke up her instincts were telling her to attack Maroue and force him to submit again and she had a feeling that Lucifer was aware of that and was intervening.  
“That's the dice and stick game you taught us back on the island, isn't it Logan?”  
“It is.”  
Knight confirmed with a slight nod over the rim of the small cup of orcha.  
“Take, do you still have the game set I made?”  
“Of course.”  
He reached inside the bag, and with a slight shift he brought the simple crystal box out from the shift, the bag was just a ruse though, a habit he had forced himself into.  
“Here.”  
He handed her the box and she quickly opened it and placed the lid on the floor in front of her and with a push of power she changed the crystal into a simple low table with raised edges before removing the folded piece of thin leather and placing it on the table to protect the surface and keep the dice from bouncing to much.  
A stack of small coasters were removed from the box and she placed one in front of each player, they would act as a solid surface for spinning the multi-sided crystal rods that were used as dice for the game.  
They were each given a small box with different dice, two each of 10, 8 and 6 sided rods as well as a stack of simple sticks that looked like the ones used for pick-up sticks.  
The clear sticks with black stripes were for making bets, and keeping score and a larger box of sticks with reverse coloring was placed in the middle to act as a bank of sorts.  
They spent most of the night relaxing and playing, making various bets, some fairly normal, and others rather outrageous.

When the sun began to rise they put away the game and Emelie turned to Takeshi and crawled into his lap to sate her hunger a bit.  
The others withdrew their auras and focused on their conversation to give them a semblance of privacy, but pretty soon Knight felt a slight tug on the bond signaling that Takeshi was reaching the limit of his control.  
“Ssh, come here Em. Easy. Focus on me. Take needs to calm down.”  
Knight unfurled his aura and pushed it at her gently, mixed with teasing kisses he managed to get her to shift her focus to him, and feed of his aura instead.  
As soon as her focus had shifted Ylian went to Takeshi and began helping him soothe the raging instincts, all while Hugin and Munin watched, ready to help in any way they could, including adding their energy to Knight's for Emelie to feed from.  
“You guys are getting pretty good at this.”  
Lucifer commented while reaching out with his own aura, offering Emelie to draw from him as well if she wanted to.  
“But I think we all agree that it will be a relief to get the introduction, and the heat, over with.”  
He had to fight the urge to sigh when he looked over at Maroue only to see him burrowed into his books, obviously sulking, at the rate things were going he was sure that Emelie would not chose her father to bring her before Lilith.  
As much as he wanted to feel sorry for his old friend he just couldn't bring himself to it, he had warned him several times, told him to stop treating her like a student and start treating her like a daughter, but the stubborn old fool refused to listen, refused to change his ways and it was costing him his daughter.  
And what a daughter she was, beautiful, strong, clever and a with heart as pure and true as they came, so utterly demon, and yet so completely human, he found a part of himself wishing she was his daughter, and another part wanting to court her, knowing that given time he would grow to love her.  
With an internal sigh he looked away from Maroue and focused on the group curled up against the side of the dragon, and after a moment's consideration he reached out and brushed his aura against them, asking permission to join them and after a another couple of moments the auras shifted slightly and became inviting.  
He quickly found himself a comfortable spot at the outside of the group and turning to his side he faced them before reaching out his free wing to cover them all.  
There was a slight muttered objection from Emelie as her position caused a stray feather to tickle her face but she just shifted slightly before falling asleep.  
They didn't sleep for very long though, just two marks later they began getting ready to head out.

Under the midday sun they reached the edge of the plains and quickly set up a small camp on one of the stone pillars before heading out to scout for the underground dens that would contain the young nestlings they were looking for.

“Take, Logan, take Lady Kiryu and the steed and try to drag the adults as far from the den as you can, you are better suited for fighting on the ground. I will keep guard together with Munin and Hugin while Ylian will join Em and enter the den, they can both shadow-travel so they should be safe.”  
Lucifer had assumed the role of hunt leader, and the others deferred to his experience.  
_“Keep her safe.”  
“Of course.”  
_ Takeshi's silent request was met with a calming promise from Ylian.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Much to Maroue's dismay they spent a full three weeks hunting and gathering materials for the clothes that Emelie wanted to make, and as the hunting helped Takeshi's control they made no effort to hurry it along.  
And during the trip Emelie had grown increasingly cold toward her father and where she had previously ignored his lectures and complaints she would now hiss and flare her wings at him, even going as far as attacking him on several occasions when he kept lecturing instead of backing down.  
The increasing pressure of the rapidly approaching eclipse didn't help, the eclipse only occurred once every 500 years, human realm time, so every 5000 years local time, and it was a huge event.  
They would be traveling to the Silver Lakes in the lowlands not far from the red plains where Knight's steed had been born, a trip that would take almost two weeks as they would be traveling in a big caravan.  
Lucifer had gifted both Takeshi and Emelie with mounts from the royal stable, a pair of Qilin, a mix between a dragon and a horse, with the spiral horns of a kudu and tufts of hair along the backside of their legs, and a long tail similar to a lion, but scaled and much larger, and longer, tuft of hair at the end.  
They had spend a few hours every day getting used to riding the high spirited creatures, according to the stable-master there was no creature faster than the Qilin, neither on land, or in the air.  
The Qilin were excellent fliers despite not having wings, they would simply run through the air the same way the did on land.  
Lucifer had also gifted them with a pair of pack beasts, part horse, part large cat.  
For the most part they looked like a large horse, but with a mouth full of fangs and soft paws with sharp claws, they would be carrying their personal bags, while larger items such as the marquee tent and large piles of furs and pillows where they would sleep would be carried by the massive caravan beasts.

So far they had seen two distinct breeds of behemoths;

“The walking mountain”, a giant tortoise like creature with a roughly 200 meter long, domed shell carried on six powerful legs.  
The shell, overgrown with trees and plants made it looks every bit like a small mountain while resting, the shell was hollow and divided into cells, like a beehive, and while breeding the offspring would grow within the cells of both male and female beasts.

The second kind had one of those impossible to pronounce, or accurately translate, names so Emelie had taken to calling it a “Desert-tank”.  
It was an armadillo lizard with four pairs of legs and two well defined ridges with spikes along its back that made it easy to secure large amounts of items on it's back, despite 'only' measuring about 100 meters without the tail they could carry larger items than the tortoise beast and the eight legs gave it a soft, even gait, even when running at high speed.

They would be leaving for the lakes in less than a week and the entire city was buzzing with activity, only a handful of its citizens would stay behind to take care of, and protect the city, crops and livestock.

“Emelie! Do pay attention.”  
Maroue's voice brought her from her musings and made her bare her teeth at him with a hiss, he insisted on lecturing her and asking the same questions over and over, as if she would suddenly forget everything she knew.  
“Don't you bare your fangs at me young lady.”  
That was it, with a snarl she launched herself from her seat and knocked Maroue on his back, demanding that he back down and submit, which he soon did, he might be old, _Arai_ , but he was no fighter.  
Few things pissed her of as much as when he tried to pull the 'parental discipline' vibe with her, it didn't just set of her demonic instincts, it pissed her human side of as well.  
He would try to put himself in a position of authority over her, but as of yet he had done nothing to try to get to know her and that hurt, and the hurt turned to anger when he just dismissed it, or didn't even notice.  
The others just sighed and averted their eyes, the fights had become increasingly frequent and it was grating on Takeshi's nerves, even Knight was starting to show signs of stress from trying to help his alphas stay focused, and stable.  
She used her tail to toss Maroue to the side rather roughly before walking toward Lucifer, reaching out with her aura she brushed it against the dark fire of their host.  
“Maroue giving you a hard time again?”  
Lucifer shifted slightly to make room for Emelie beside him on the bench in the shade of a tree, though as usual he offered her his lap, which she refused with a mock sigh.  
She was grateful that he didn't call Maroue her father, Roghan had explained that as long as she refused to acknowledge Maroue as her father they would respect that and not refer to him as such.  
Picking up on the frustration, pain and sorrow in her aura Lucifer carefully shifted his wing so that he could wrap it around her and pull her closer to his side.  
“He's an old fool, too set in his ways, and too stubborn to even consider that he might need to change a bit.”  
“I know, and I do understand. It's just that I can't trust him. I have tried, but my instincts refuse to, and if there is one thing I have learned from Take it is to trust my instincts.”  
With a quick glance she confirmed that Maroue had stepped outside the privacy-barrier surrounding the garden.  
“I have been meaning to ask, is it possible to have someone other than Maroue bring me before Lilith?”  
Lucifer couldn't help the sigh, he had been worried that it would end up like this, with less than three weeks until the presentation he didn't think Maroue would be able to earn her trust.  
“It is. Any blood relative belonging to an earlier generation, or a Lord, or Lady, of the Land can be the one to bring you before her.”  
“So you, Roghan, or Ylian...”  
He wasn't the least bit surprised that she had figured out who Ylian was, what did surprise him a bit was that Maroue was completely unaware that Ylian was his younger sibling, skilled they may be, but the shadeling wasn't **that** good at hiding their identity.  
“Yes. And there will be quite a few others once we reach the Silver Lakes.”  
“Others that I don't know, don't trust.”  
“When it is time, I will ask you who you chose to stand at your side. Trust your instincts and chose freely. Now, how about we worry about getting something to eat before your alpha takes a bite out of your beta instead?”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Father's Plight_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

“Move out!”  
Lucifer gave the order to the caravan master from his seat in the luxurious palanquin that was secured between a pair of large ox-like beasts.  
Takeshi and Emelie had received quite a few glares when the caravan master placed them right behind the palanquin, with Knight, Ylian and the twins right behind them, placing Takeshi and Emelie in the same line as Roghan and Maroue.

The trip to the Silver Lakes was mostly uneventful, they only paused for daily hunts to secure additional food for the large group of demons, and while the hunters brought down whatever game they could find the others rested, the hunters would find themselves a nice spot on one of the behemoths and rest while they traveled.  
They arrived a day ahead of schedule, the weather had been unusually cooperative so they had been able to move with good speed and the rivers had been low and slow, making for easy crossing.

“It's beautiful!”  
Before them the Silver Lakes lay spread, large lakes connected by slow flowing rivers and wide deltas, the lakes still, like mirrors.  
They were surrounded by tall grass, and low bushes, the hardy plains grass was a familiar green with an almost blueish ting and large red plumes atop tall stalks.  
They moved slower now, passing a city of tents and simple marquees as they made way to the central lake where the larger, more luxurious dwellings were constructed.  
“I can feel her...”  
Emelie paused a moment when her senses picked up on an aura unlike any she had ever felt before, it was immensely strong, and wild, and she knew it was kin, she knew that what she was feeling was Lilith.  
“She awaits at the central lake, though you won't be allowed to meet her until the night after tomorrow, when you are brought before her.”  
_“I'm scared...”_  
The admission was reserved for her pack, and Lucifer.  
_“Don't be, she will most certainly like you, and she will be proud.”  
“That's what you said about Maroue as well...”  
“Him being a stubborn fool does not make that untrue.”_

They made camp on a soft beach, the sand a mix of fine beads of blue and green crystals and the remainder of the day, as well as the day after was spent being lazy, tanning and swimming in the shimmering silver water.

“Em, it is time for you to prepare for tonight.”  
Lucifer gently brushed his aura against hers to wake her.  
It was still early, but there was a long, and complex purification ritual that she had to go through before she was brought before Lilith.  
They quickly gathered in Lucifer's marquee for a simple meal, the others restricting themselves to the same simple herbal broth that was all Emelie was allowed.  
“So, Em. Have you decided who will be at your side, who will bring you before Lilith?”  
Maroue seemed like he was about to object, but a sharp look from Lucifer silenced him.  
“I have.”  
She looked up at the four beings that she could chose from.  
“Would you do me the honor of standing _Shuumai_ , Ylian, spawn of the great Shadow, my _susai_?”  
She had almost called Ylian 'uncle' because of how they seemed male most of the time, but she caught herself in the last moment and used the shadeling term for the siblings of one's parents, _'Susai',_ though, she was sure Ylian would not have taken offense.  
Ylian's flinch at the tone in her voice made the others snicker at them.  
“I would be honored to.”  
There was a moment of hesitation before they spoke again.  
“Is this where you kick my ass for not telling you?”  
“Nah, if she accepts me I will need a durable training dummy to learn to control my new power...”  
Takeshi could swear that the shadeling blanched at her words.  
“As you wish.”  
Ylian had given their word to accept whatever punishment she wanted to give them and so they would, stepping closer they offered her their hand.  
“Shall we?”

 


	69. Fated

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  
**

Takeshi watched Ylian lead Emelie out of the marquee with mixed feelings.  
He hated knowing that she would have to face the rest of the day, and Lilith, without him being able to be at her side, but at the same time he was feeling an exhilarating anticipation, soon he would be able to stand before her, and Lilith, and offer her his courting gift.  
Without thinking he reached within his soul and brought out the handcrafted tessen, he had been meaning to give her the promised weapon so many times, but it never felt right, he had even bought one when he went shopping with Amanda and Eriko, but he had never given it to her, instead he had crafted one himself during their stay in the Obsidian Halls.  
“Your courting gift?”  
He almost jumped at Lucifer's voice, much too close to his ear.  
“Yes.”  
“May I look at it?”  
Takeshi didn't hesitate to hand him the folded fan.  
“Excellent craftsmanship. It's made from your body, your power. Right?”  
“It is.”  
“A most fitting gift. Offering yourself, when asking for her.”  
Lucifer handed the tessen back and Takeshi returned it to the safe place within his soul.  
“A bit nervous are we?”  
The usual teasing tone was gone and if anything Takeshi thought that Lucifer sounded almost fatherly.  
“The next time I speak to her it will be to ask for courting-rights, what do you think?”  
“As you should be, it shows your heart is true. But how about we see if we can't find something to take your mind of it for now, shall we?”  
Lucifer laughed and motioned for Takeshi to follow him.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Em, do you wish to take a boat, or cheat a bit?”  
Ylian pointed toward the group of small boats resting at the beach, left there to take the young Lilim and their Shuumai to the island where they would prepare to be brought before Lilith.  
“I thought it was not allowed for me to use my powers until I stand before Lilith?”  
“Only your power as a Lilim, but you are not just a Lilim are you?”  
“Shadow travel?”  
“Indeed.”  
“But I don't know where I'm going...”  
“Reach out, allow yourself to feel me, and follow my power.”  
Stepping into the shadow of one of the tents Emelie could feel Ylian's power pulling at her slightly, offering support and guidance.  
For a moment there was nothing but a cool, calm, darkness around her and then the world came back, bright and vibrant as they stepped out from the shadow of a tree on another beach, this time the beach of an island.  
“Come, let's go get you bathed and prepared for the day.”  
“My clothes!”  
She suddenly realized that she had forgotten to get the bag that held the clothes she was planning to wear.  
“Don't worry, I will have someone bring them here. You won't be wearing anything until tonight anyway, remember?”  
“Right, I almost forgot.”  
As a part of the preparations for her presentation she would be required to go through a purification ritual, a series of baths, special food and drinks as well as a bunch of other things, and to assure the purity of the place no clothes were allowed beyond the first bathing house.

Stepping into the simple wooden building they were met by a water elemental who quickly ushered them into one of the small side rooms.  
“This way Shirai Lilim, Shuumai.”  
Emelie quickly undressed and placed her clothes in one of the baskets, when no clothes were placed in the other basked she looked over her shoulder and found Ylian standing there still wearing their clothes.  
“Aren't you supposed to undress as well?”  
“I'm not actually wearing any clothes, shadeling, remember?”  
The teasing tone was obvious as they shifted their form slightly and the clothes vanished and was replaced by naked form that was neither male not female, wisps of dark smoke hiding the distinguishing areas.  
“Oh, I didn't know your clothes were a part of your chosen form.”  
“I usually wear regular clothing, but since I would be required to be unclothed anyway I just left them at the camp.”

“ _I wish they would at least have allowed us towels.”_  
Emelie complained as she walked into the bathing area, feeling rather uncomfortable with the way some of the other demons looked at her.  
_“Most demons are not bothered by nudity.”  
“I know, and I'm usually not bothered myself, but the was some of them look at me is downright creepy. Especially since I'm not allowed to use my powers to show them my disapproval.”  
“Well, just point them out to me and I will show them. The young Lilim are accompanied by a Shuumai for a reason. Now raise that head and show them the pride that is Emelie, Co-Alpha of Pack Kiryu, daughter of Maria who gave her life for Hope.”_  
She closed her eyes and with a deep breath she straightened her back and squared her shoulders, Ylian was right, she wasn't some nervous little child, she may not have been challenged for her position, or won it by challenge, but she was still an alpha by her own right.  
_“Why don't you show them just what you are, show off those magnificent wings, beautiful horns and deadly tail, fang and claws?”  
“But aren't they part of my Lilim powers?”  
“Your body is not considered to be a power, even for a succubus.”_  
Ylian's tone was teasing, and gently scolding, reminding her that she was demon, not human.  
With a flicker of power her succubus form manifested fully and she had to admit it made her relax a bit.  
“There's my beautiful niece, strong, proud, confident, and deadly when she needs be.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take, would you care to join me to the training rings? It might do you good to blow off some steam.”  
“I would prefer not to reveal myself just yet.”  
“Don't worry, it's just practice, reveal only what you feel comfortable with.”  
Takeshi considered Lucifer's offer for a while before nodding, he did need to blow off some steam now that Ylian wasn't there to help him soothe his instincts.  
As they walked toward the training area they caused quite a stir, the demons could feel Lucifer's powerful presence, but they expected to see his usual giant form and many were looking around in confusion, completely missing him when he was only slightly taller than Takeshi.  
Since Roghan had dragged Knight away on some errands, Lucifer had adapted his height after Takeshi to make it easier to keep a normal conversation, and to not needlessly set off any dominance issues.  
“Maybe show them your skill with the throwing needles? Or do you need something more, physical?”  
“I think starting with the _Harigata Bo-Shuriken_ might be a good idea.”  
When they arrived they headed toward the edge of the area where a group of archers were practicing their skills and after a few words with the master archer they were directed to one of the target-lanes and the demon who animated the targets was instructed to make them smaller and bring them in closer.  
With his strength Takeshi could have hit them at their normal range, but that would have revealed more about his abilities than he felt comfortable with.  
His performance was met by mixed reactions, the younger archers scoffed and sneered while the old masters praised his accuracy and power with the small projectiles.  
“Do not listen to those _Ambira_ , your skill is quite remarkable.”  
“Ambira?”  
The word the master archer had used was unfamiliar, perhaps not Urui, or an uncommon word.  
“Foolish whelps.”  
Lucifer supplied a quick translation into Urui.  
“How about a proper demonstration of your skill?”

Soon the entire range was cleared, and the five demons that were creating the targets were all gathered to provide Takeshi a proper challenge.  
He quickly secured all of his holders, glad that he had remembered to bring his bag so that he could bring additional needles from the shift.  
Focusing on so many targets was hard work, but it felt good to actually have to push the limits a bit, using both hands to take down targets before they could escape, or hit him.  
“Bah, there is no way he would be able to use that in a real fight. He would be hitting friend and foe alike.”  
For some reason the crude remark pissed Takeshi off and he quickly asked one of the telekinetic target demons to round up his needles while turning to talk to the others.  
“You are able to tell your targets apart, right?”  
“Of course, they are part of out aura so we feel when they are hit.”  
“Good, you will be my ally, the others will be hostile.”  
He pointed toward one of the demons and reached out with his aura and brushed it against the outer layer of the chosen demon's aura, asking permission to get a better feel for it which was quickly granted.  
The demonstration was repeated, but this time hitting only the hostile targets, while protecting the friendly targets from being 'hit' by the other targets.  
He knew he was showing off, but the display he gave them was one of skill, not power.  
“Anyone else care to tell me what I am unable to do?”  
He challenged the group, but no one seemed to be willing to step up and accept the challenge.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“Do I really have to drink this? It stinks!”  
Emelie scrunched up her face at the pungent smell of the greenish brown, liquid that sloshed slowly in the stone bowl.  
“Sorry, but yeah...”  
Ylian gave her a sympathetic smile and held out the bowl for her.  
“Yuck, this is just plain putrid!”  
She was struggling to keep the cold, slimy and slightly lumpy liquid down, the foul taste didn't help, but after some retching she was able to keep it down.  
“ _Surströmming_ and _Hákarl_ has nothing on this stuff, at least they taste good, this is every bit as vile as it smells!"  
She huffed and complained until Ylian handed her a small sprig of what seemed to be some sort of mint.  
“Here, since it grows within the temple garden it is permitted for you to eat it. It will get rid of the taste, and help settle your stomach.”  
“Wow, this tastes really nice. You think they would let me take some seeds, or maybe a small plant of this stuff with me?”  
“Maybe, we can ask them. But for now, I brought some entertainment.”  
With a whirl of black smoke Ylian presented a leather folder filled with parchment pages.  
“I thought we weren't allowed to bring anything from outside in here?”  
“Usually you're not, especially not clothes or food, but I cleared these with the high priestess in charge of the temple.”  
“What are they?”  
Leaning forward she let her curiosity get the better of her.  
“Courting offers.”  
Ylian quipped with a grin.  
“Wait, as in proposals? For me?”  
“Exactly!”  
Time passed quickly as they laughed and joked about the rather ridiculous offers.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take, how are you holding up?”  
Lucifer's voice held a hint of concern as he watched Takeshi trying to calm his rapid, shallow breath and racing pulse.  
“Give me a moment.”  
The was a hint of a growl in the words and his voice carried traces of the duality that revealed that the shadow within was close to the surface.  
Lucifer allowed his aura to surround them, to calm the inferno of Takeshi's aura, and to hide as much of it as possible from the other demons who were watching the aftermath of the deadly challenge before them.  
He watched as Takeshi willed his body back under control, claws and fangs retracting and the fiery red fading from his eyes as the pupils returned to the round shape of a human.  
A few steps to the side one of the assistants placed the headless body of a night-demon on a simple stretcher and quickly carried it away, only stopping for a moment to pick up the head along the way.  
Lucifer though back to the exchange that had triggered the short, but fatal, fight.

  
**.·:*¨¨*:·.-Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.**

“What is this _thing_ doing here? These rings are for adult males only!”  
Takeshi's head snapped up at the scornful words and quickly spotted the demon that had spoken.  
It was a young night-demon, the colors and embroidery on his clothes identified him as a Norai Lilim, son of the fae Tamlin, a noble of the Seelie Court.  
Lucifer could feel the tension returning to Takeshi's shoulders and he cursed silently to himself, he had spent nearly half a mark trying to help Takeshi relax so that he could remain in control and keep the heat at bay.  
While not as effective as when Ylian did it, it was working and now his efforts were undone by some uncouth youth with a big mouth.  
“I assure you, I am well past my majority.”  
Takeshi offered a way out of it, but it was not heeded.  
“Oh, it wasn't your age I was questioning...”  
Lucifer let his hands drop from Takeshi shoulders and didn't move when he felt him reach back and grab the hilt of the ornate sword at his waist, Takeshi was expected to answer such an insult fast, and harsh.  
The night-demon had just smirked and drawn his own blade, confident that Takeshi would be no threat to him, a misconception that he did not have the time to regret as the obsidian blade flashed out once, severing the head from the body.

  
**.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.**

  
“Are you good to stay, or should we head back to our camp?”  
Takeshi's aura had finally calmed down enough for Lucifer to be able to pull his own back.  
“I'm fine, at least as long as no one else decided to be an idiot and challenge my _Ramhiro_. The Beast was not too happy about that.”  
Lucifer had no doubt that the demon within had reacted very badly to that, Ramhiro was the male version of Ramhiri, the rights, and duties, of an adult, things like the right to settle a piece of land, the right to try for political office, to claim courting-rights as well as the duty to aid the Lord in protecting the lands and a long list of other duties.  
The night-demon had challenged Takeshi's right to be considered an adult male, questioned his ability to fulfill the duties that came with being a full citizen.  
“Well, if you feel your control slipping do let me know and I will have one of the shadows take us back.”  
“I will, I have no desire to lose control of my heat when I am so close. I want to be able to court her properly, even if it will probably be a scandalously short courting if she accepts.”  
“I have no doubt she will accept, and I would place my fortune that you will be mated by the end of the great feast. A lovely little scandal indeed.”  
Lucifer teased, and soothed at the same time.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“They have no intention of giving us proper food, do they?”  
Emelie poked at the small bowl of thin gruel topped with various herbs.  
“I'm afraid not.”  
Ylian confirmed with a sigh while giving his own bowl much the same treatment, it was one of the things he hated about standing Shuumai, it was a great honor, especially for one that had no offspring of their own, but the food was horrible.  
“But there will be plenty to eat once your presentation is done. Though, you are strong so it will probably be pretty late for you, probably not until well after the rise of The Nine.”  
The presentation was one of the few times where the weak came before the strong, one of the reasons was to ensure that everyone stayed for the entire presentation, rather than sneak away once the stronger had been brought forth.  
Another reason was so that the presentation of the strongest would be highlight, the starting point of the true feast, a feast that would last for 100 days, first 50 days until The Nine fully aligned and eclipsed, and then another 50 until the alignment ended and they all returned to their usual patterns.  
“There will be more courting offers once the presentation is done, won't it?”  
“At least one.”  
Ylian teased with a smile.  
“He better, or I will throw traditions out the window and initiate a courting myself.”  
“I'm sure he will, and there will probably be others as well. I wouldn't be surprised if someone tries to challenge him for courting-rights.”  
“Isn't that up to me to decide?”  
“For the most part, but since he was your Guide, they can challenge him for the right to court you, but it would of course still be up to you if you mate them or not. They simply believe that by gaining courting-rights they would be able to sway you to their sides during the 100 years that a full courtship lasts.”  
“Well, it won't be 100 years if Take and I court, I doubt it will even be 100 days...”  
“In a way you have been courting much longer than that though, just not formally.”  
“I guess we have.”  
She began to tell Ylian about how she had met Takeshi, not just the short version that they had told everyone.  
“I remember the first time I saw him, a stranger in fancy clothes telling me he needed to talk to me about something important about my family. My first thought was that he was there to tell me that my sister was dead. And I was right, only he told me she was my mother, not my sister.”  
She told Ylian about the turbulent days in Gothenburg, about how her grandparents cut their ties with her once she found out they were not her parents.  
Ylian couldn't help laughing when she told him about the somewhat troublesome reactions when her body began to prepare for the change.  
“That honor of his seems to get him into some rather interesting dilemmas.”  
“No kidding. Have I told you about Amanda?”  
“Not in any detail, you have mentioned her in passing only. Maybe after you finish telling me about all your adventures with Takeshi?”  
They still had quite a few hours before it was time for her to get dressed, head back to the beach and be ready to be called before Lilith.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Logan, have you found the gift you were looking for yet?”  
Roghan was leaning against a thick pole that had been driven into the ground to hold up the top of the large tent that held several small market-stalls.  
“Not yet. It needs to be just right. It's not just any gift after all. It's her Ramhiri, I can't gift her with just any old trinket for that.”  
Roghan just shook his head with a smile, he had been through the same several times with his own children, and would again soon as his youngest should be ready for her presentation in a few years.  
“Do you have any children of your own ?”  
The question made Logan freeze for a moment.  
“I can't know for sure, but I don't believe so.”  
There was a hint of sadness in Knight's tone that made Roghan regret his question.  
“You are still young, there is plenty of time. Maybe one day your Lilim will chose to birth you a daughter as strong-willed and beautiful as she is.”  
Even mated many succubus chose to bare children to several males, an instinct to ensure a greater chance of survival for her blood.  
“She is an alpha in my pack, and she will be mated to my other alpha. I would be overstepping just thinking of such a thing.”  
“She is Lilim, such things are common among our kin, even more so among the succubi.”  
“She will be conflicted by some of the Lilim breeding practices, keep in mind that she she still thinks very much like a human.”  
Knight knew they would need to talk to Emelie about it soon as her waking instincts would end up confusing, and possibly distressing her if they didn't explain.  
Humans as well as many mortal animals had an instinctive aversion against reproducing with closely related individuals, something that many Lilim lacked.  
Demons in general did not suffer the risk of compounding hereditary defects and it was not entirely uncommon among Lilim for even half siblings to have offspring to strengthen the Lilim blood, as long as any non Lilim parents were not closely related.  
It was something that also brought to light another major difference between most demons, and most humans, demons would often separate the biological aspect from the emotional one, breeding was not about emotion, but rather about the bloodlines, or as humans would see it, survival of the genetic code.  
Begetting offspring with someone they had a strong emotional bond with was preferred, but many would also breed with anyone they believed strong enough to strengthen their offspring, their bloodline.  
“I'm not looking forward to explaining that part to her...”  
Knight sighed and moved to the next stall in search of a gift for her.  
“I can imagine it could be rather amusing to see Maroue trying to lecture her on that.”  
Roghan's smirk did hold a hint of pity though.  
“Yeah, she might just end up killing him if he does that...”  
Knight wasn't entirely sure how he felt about the entire situation with Emelie and her father, as much as he wanted them to have a normal relation, he had to agree with her that Maroue was failing rather spectacularly at connecting with his daughter.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Mika told me that I should be prepared for quite a few negative reactions if I allow myself to be courted by Take. That many will object because he is not a highborn demon, because he is ' _flightless_ '...”  
Emelie's voice was low and somewhat hesitant.  
“I'm sure there will be a few, some will probably even try to challenge Take over it. And he will kill them for their troubles. But most will know well enough to keep their mouths shut.”  
“What about me, will I have to fight anyone?”  
“It's possible. But I don't think anyone will challenge you for the right to be Takeshi's mate, but if they do, you must not hesitate. You must strike fast, and you must strike with deadly force, be it claws, fangs and tail, or whatever weapon you can grab. If you do not you will lose the right to mate him.”  
“I won't hesitate.”  
There was a cold determination in her voice that gave Ylian a surge of pride, she may not be their own, but she was their niece, their true kin.  
“Don't worry so much, many will be deterred by the simple fact that you will have Lord Lucifer backing your courting.”  
Ylian didn't mention that they were convinced Lilith would be backing the courting as well.  
“I guess...”  
“For now, let's focus on getting you to your next bath, and surviving another bowl of, what did you call it, _'ruttet tapetklister'_?”  
Emelie couldn't help laughing at Ylian's attempt at Swedish pronunciation.  
“Well, it tasted rotten and had the consistency of poorly mixed, lumpy wallpaper-paste...”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Knight walked up to another fairly large marquee at the marketplace, the construction instantly revealed that the traders within were some sort of nature spirits as the very grass and plants of the plain had been made to grow, and reform into a large tent.  
Once inside he was met by the scent of a wide variety of herbs, fruits and vegetables as well as aromatic wood, sap and resin.  
For a moment he considered buying her a perfume necklace, but he quickly abandoned the idea, he enjoyed her natural scent far too much, and he knew Takeshi loved her rather unique scent as well.  
Looking around he spotted a seed vendor in the back of the marquee and he instantly came to think of the various seeds Emelie had already from various sources, maybe a nice collection of seeds would be a good gift.  
“If I may ask, can any of these be grown in the human realm?”  
The grass-demon that managed the stall looked a bit surprised at first but quickly answered his question.  
“Yes, they can all be grown within the human realm. Some easier than others and some will need some rather special care to be able to grow there.”  
“What kind of special care?”  
“This one for instance will need decaying flesh mixed into the soil where it grows. Ideally you would plant the seed in the cadaver of a smaller animal, then once the seedling had grown a bit you bury a larger animal and set the seedling into it. Once it is fully grown it will need to be fed regularly. The easiest way would be to just place a body at it's roots and once it is completely gone, bones and all, it is time to place a new one there.”  
The vendor continued to explain about the various seeds, one kind must never be exposed to direct sunlight, another needed to always have water covering it's roots.  
He cautioned that one of them would grow long, razor-sharp wines that would attack and steal blood from any demons that came close to it, it could be trained however to not cause undue harm.  
A sudden flare of power behind him had Knight spinning around in time to see a young tree-demoness grow one of her limbs out and shape it into a simple stool with a hidden compartment.  
“Apologies, I did not mean to startle you.”  
“No need to apologize.”  
Looking at her wares gave him an idea for Emelie's gift and he quickly motioned her to join him before turning back to the seed vendor.  
“Would you be able to make a box with all the different seeds here, including instructions for their care written in Urui.”  
“Of course.”  
Both demons instantly agreed.  
“Would it be possible to have it done before the presentations start?”  
They looked at each other and Knight knew they were communicating somehow.  
“A Ramhiri gift is it?”  
“That was the plan. She loves many of the fruits and vegetables she has come across here, but we will eventually need to return to the human realm.”  
“We can do it. And we will if the pay is fair.”  
Knight spend the following hour negotiating with the two demons, discussing the design, and what would be fair pay.  
In the end he spent a substantial fortune, but had several things added to it, there would be shielding runes worked into the box that would keep the seeds viable for centuries while at the same time preventing them from accidentally sprouting if the box was exposed to moisture, light or heat.  
The box itself was alive and would produce a high quality humus and it would also sprout a small bush on top that would house demon insects that would be beneficial to the plants.  
He also bought a large selection of beads made from various perfume-woods with enchantments on each bead to preserve the scent and prevent them from breaking, several containers of tea encased in runes that would preserve the fragrance and taste of the tea as well as a few jars of herbal creams with similar enchantments to keep them from ever going bad, gifts for those who called the island their home.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“How about we go visit the market and pick up a few Ramhiri gifts for your little Lilim?”  
Lucifer had been keeping an eye on the increasing fluctuations in Takeshi's aura while trying to help him stay in control, at first the mock fights and competitions had helped soothe him, but now they were starting to have the opposite effect.  
His suggestion was met by a flash of fangs and a low growl but after a few moments Takeshi shook his head and blinked away the red haze from his eyes.  
“That might be a good idea.”  
Takeshi turned toward his sparring opponent and pulled him to his feet before giving a short bow, thanking him for the fight.  
Walking over to the to the master of the ring he handed him the two fighting-sticks with a slight bow, thanking him for having been allowed to train with his students.  
“Just let me get washed up first.”  
Takeshi had worked up a pretty good sweat sparring with various demons and he would rather not wait to get clean.  
“Of course, can't have you scare all the ladies away.”  
Lucifer wrinkled his nose in mock complaint, he didn't mind the scent at all, Takeshi was healthy and clean so his sweat didn't carry any unpleasant odors, it only made his natural scent stronger and added a slight salty tang.  
At the simple bath Lucifer quickly waved off the water-nymph that approached to help Takeshi wash.  
“Apologies sweetheart, his blood is running hot enough as it is. But you can keep me company while we wait.”  
The nymph huffed at him with a smile before darting away to aid the next demon to step into the bathing area.  
“Do you intend to try to lure every female we meet into bed?”  
Takeshi snickered at him from behind the simple divider of reeds woven together with supple wines, behind it the water had been manipulated by the nymphs to create a simple, but comfortable shower.  
On one of the walls the wines that held it together had grown a small pitcher-plant, the pitcher containing a simple, unscented oil that was used as soap and a towel of some sort of chamois material was hung over the edge.  
When Takeshi stepped out from the small stall Lucifer was holding out the top of the gi he was wearing, he had taken it off at the training area.  
Takeshi quickly put it back on before allowing one of the nymphs to brush and braid his hair.  
“These towels, may I ask what they are made of?”  
“Of course young master. They are made from the hides of Omarachai.”  
He didn't recognize the name and she quickly explained that it was a large water serpent that her people hunted for food and materials.  
“Would it be possible for me to purchase a few? I quite enjoyed the quality.”  
“Of course, but the ones we have here are of poor quality, not fit for sale.”  
Takeshi recognized the way of thinking, the unwillingness to sell an inferior product that would not properly reflect the skill of the artisan that made them.  
“Can I find them at the market?”  
“Yes, my spring sisters have a marquee offering our crafts.”  
She reached out and plucked a small, arrowhead shaped leaf from the vine before gathering a globe of water in her hand and allowing it to engulf the small leaf.  
“Take this, it will guide you to my sisters.”  
The globe of water was cool in Takeshi's hand and it tingled with power, but it maintained its shape and didn't feel wet, when he turned slightly the leaf within turned so that its point did not change direction.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“How many more of these horrible things will I have to eat?”  
Emelie glared at the empty bowl that had contained another serving of the stinky, slimy, lumpy glop.  
“Don't worry, that was the last one, from now on we will be served a fragrant flower tea that is rather delicious. There will also be a variety of simple unleavened wafers with various flavorings.”  
“Good, 'cause I don't think I could stomach another serving.”  
“You did well, you took them all without more than pulling a few rather amusing faces, many of the others failed and had to do it over, some will even have to wait for their presentation.”  
Each of the young Lilim and their Shuumai were required to consume nine bowls of the vile mixture, one for each of the nine moons to prove themselves worthy of the honor of being presented during the great festival.  
While they spoke one of the priestesses of the temple approached them, carrying a tray that held a pair of simple cups, a plate filled with wafers in various shapes and colors and set of stone jars that smelled of flowers.  
Behind her another priestess carried a kettle, a small tripod and and a container with fire-stones, she set the items up on the ground in front of them with a speed that told of a lifetime of experience.  
“You may take your water from any of the flowing streams, but the still water of the ponds is forbidden.”  
Emelie and Ylian nodded their understanding and thanked the two priestesses.  
“Oh, there's even some kind of honey here.”  
Emelie sniffed at the sweet smelling substance in a crystal decanter.  
“It's not honey, it's wood-sap.”  
“Oh, like maple or birch syrup.”  
She quickly grabbed one of the small fragrant wafers, a pastel blue one shaped like a flower and used the long, thin, crystal rod to place a single drop of the syrup in the middle of the flower.  
“These are really good! Do you think they would be willing to teach me how to make them? And let me teach someone else?”  
“I don't know, why don't you ask them?”  
Emelie quickly called for one of the priestesses to ask.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Let's go find the nymphs first, then we can browse the other stalls.”  
Takeshi was grateful for the makeshift compass, but the foreign energy grated on his senses.  
When they entered the simple marquee that housed the nymph traders one of them instantly approached, no doubt sensing that Takeshi carried something made with their power.  
It only took a few minutes for Takeshi to place an order for a large amount of their finest towels, and the price was charged to the Obsidian Palace.  
“You do know I can afford to buy these myself, right?”  
Takeshi complained lightly.  
“I know, but it would be a waste to use your finely crafted gold for simple things like these. Use it for the Ramhiri gift instead.”  
They quickly made their way to the edge of the market area and began to make their way toward the center.  
The entire area was designed like a large spiral with marquees lining the path, toward the center the marquees were replaced by smaller stalls, all to make it easier for the browsing customers to find their way.  
They had made it through about half of the marquees when Lucifer found his gift for Emelie, a thick tome bound with leather, wood and cold-forged metal, heavy enchantments woven into the binding.  
Enchantments of protection to keep anyone from reading it without permission, to protect it from the elements, even water and fire.  
Others were enchantments of convenience, to summon the book to her side no matter where she had placed it, to always find the page she wanted, and it would never run out of blank pages to use.  
“She will need a good journal for her studies in demon magic.”  
He quickly added a various ink-sticks and an ink-stone, as well as several bottles of enchanted liquid inks.  
There was a gasp from the quill-maker when Lucifer reached back and pulled a few feathers from his wing and selected a few of the beautiful metal nibs.  
“Would you combine my purchases into a kit please.”  
“Of course my Lord.”

While the craftsman began to show Lucifer the various bags and boxed he had to offer, Takeshi could feel Knight getting closer so with a brush of aura he excused himself and went outside to meet him.  
“Beta, Roghan.”  
“Take.”  
“Alpha.”  
Greetings were quickly exchanged and they found a seat around one of many small tables that littered the empty spaces between the marquees and as soon as they were seated a young demoness came and offered them refreshments.  
“So, not found anything of interest yet?”  
Takeshi glanced at the rather empty look bag that Knight was carrying.  
“Actually I have. It's being completed now and will be delivered to our marquee in time for the Ramhiri gifts.”  
“Oh, what did you find?”  
“Seeds. Demon plants that can be grown in the human realm. Fruits and vegetables, even a few decorative ones, and guardian plants. And a box to store them, and protect them as well as instructions for how to grow them.”  
“She will enjoy that a lot.”  
“How about you? Found anything yet?”  
Knight countered.  
“Not yet, Lucifer found her an enchanted tome and some writing implements in there, so that she can write a proper journal when she starts to learn about magic.”  
“It seems my father and I think alike, I found a shadow codex that I hope she will have good use of.”  
Roghan patted the heavy looking bag he carried.  
“Only me left then.”  
Takeshi muttered.  
“Oh, I'm sure you will find something.”  
Knight soothed before telling Takeshi about the presents he had bought for the rest of their household.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Let's go Em, it's time for your last bath before getting dressed.”  
She looked up from the low table where one of the priestesses was showing her how to mix the various herb used to make the thin wafers.  
She quickly thanked the young demoness who promised that once the Feast of the Nine was over she would come visit the palace to continue the lessons, she also promised to bring all the seeds needed to grow the herbs and plants used.  
When they entered the bathing area all the other young Lilim and their Shuumai were already there, waiting for the priestesses to bring them the woven baskets that held their clothes.  
“Those are not the clothes I brought.”  
It was obvious that the basket contained the scholar's robe that Maroue wanted her to wear.  
“These were left for you by your father.”  
She could feel Ylian's cool aura push against hers, soothing her temper.  
“I will not wear robes I have not earned by my own power. Bring me the hunter's garb that I brought with me.”  
“Of course.”  
Her demand caused quite a few surprised looks, the position of scholar was a high one, and most would gladly wear the robes if they could.

“Let me help you with that hair.”  
Emelie sighed and handed Ylian the brush before turning around and allowing them to brush all the tangles from her hair while using a touch of power to dry it.  
With her hair untangled she quickly got dressed, the heavy cloak was left in the basket though, she would put that on later.  
“Bring out all of your true form. I will make sure to braid your hair so it does not get tangled in your horns.”  
She did as Ylian asked, and they began to divide her hair so that the style would complement, and bring out her horns.  
During her time in the demon-realm she had grown another pair of horns, Munin had explained that it was a sign of power, to have been 'born' with two pair was rare for a Shirai, and to grow a third before the presentation was even more rare.  
Suddenly Ylian pulled their hand back with a hiss.  
“There is power here, power that does not like me touching it.”  
“Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot about it.”  
With a moment of focus she brought forth the aquamarine crown that Artemis had given her.  
“What is this? It carries a lot of power...”  
“Artemis of the Hunt gave it to me so that we would be able to find the way to Atlantis.”  
“I see. You should wear it openly for your presentation, it's a testament to your power. You should proudly display anything that speaks to your strength and skill, the presentation is a time show off all that you are.”  
“Even if it's a weapon?”  
“Soul-blades, or weapons earned through trial, like your hunting blade, may be carried and displayed.”  
She nodded and reached within, bringing out her scythe.  
“Blade of my soul, forged by Isa the balrog smith. Though, I don't know her name as she has not spoken to me.”  
“A magnificent scythe, you should carry it with pride, and you should carry your hunting blade as well.”  
She nodded and returned the scythe to her soul, she would bring it, and the hunting blade, out again when it was time.  
She was glad that she had been able to learn how to place them both within her soul.  
Leaning back she tried to relax while Ylian tried to tame her hair without touching the crown.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take-san, this way.”  
The sudden appearance of the dragon caused quite a few of the shoppers to jump back but Takeshi just looked at her and nodded, it seemed she had picked up on something of interest.  
Following her into one of the marquees he instantly sneezed at the strong scents inside, tables and shelves, boxes and baskets, all filled with jars, vials and bags filled with various substances and plants, even animal parts.  
A witch's shop, proudly displaying the ingredients for their magic.  
Next to a small table several large boxes were on display, each containing a wide selection of tools and ingredients typical to a selected school of magic.  
One held the tools, and bones of necromancers practice, another held small weights, scales and hundreds of small vials filled with herbs, a herbalists cache.  
“This one, it carries the magic of dragons.”  
Kiryu changed her size and pointed to one of the boxes and the closest assistant quickly began to tell her of all its contents, but Takeshi found himself distracted, drawn to one that held the tools of a runecrafter and somehow he knew that it was what he had been looking for.  
“This one, can you have it wrapped and brought to the marquee of the Lord of the Obsidian Halls in time for it to presented as a Ramhiri gift please.”  
While one of the assistants scurried to do as asked he turned and watched Kiryu cut into her palm and crystallize her blood as payment for the dragon box.  
“For Amanda when we return, she is learning my magic well.”  
Dragon magic didn't use many tools, but the ones they did use were rare, and powerful.  
“I'm sure she will love it.”  
Takeshi agreed as he continued to look around in the marquee, he had a feeling there was something else in there he needed to buy and after a while his eyes fell on a small table displaying wands made from various materials.  
Some radiated power, others were just pretty sticks, but it was one of the closed boxes that drew his attention.  
“May I see these?”  
“Of course young master. But be warned, these are special, they are fated and will only be sold to correct buyer.”  
When the box was opened it instantly became obvious why he had felt drawn to it, inside were a pair of wands, a silvery metal with a rainbow crystal at the top, but what made them so special was that they were identical, but mirrored.  
“They do not have special power, but they posses a calm energy.”  
The artisan that had made them quickly explained.  
“They should be perfect for my little twins, they are soul healers. Rainbow auras. Identical, but opposite.”  
The last part made the artisan perk up.  
“Twin girls, sparkling lights pulled from darkness. One green eye, one gold eye.”  
The words made Takeshi tense, it would seem like the artisan was a seer, but at the same time it felt right.  
“Flaming red when they borrow the form of the night hunter.”  
He added when the artisan had stopped speaking.  
“They are yours, I will charge no fee for them. They were made to be brought to your girls.”  
The artisan refused payment for the wands so Takeshi added a thick codex of healing and two of the boxes with the tools for making charms for healing and protection.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”  
Lucifer had waited outside, talking to a pair of wood nymphs.  
“I did, even found a few gifts for my girls.”  
“Good, then we should head back, get some food and bathe before the presentation starts.”  
“I won't be eating until she is allowed to.”  
“Tea then, by now she will have been allowed tea and _tiroli._ ”  
“Tiroli?”  
“They are similar to the communion wafers some of your churches use, but well flavored. They are served with fragrant flower tea and and a syrup made from wood-sap.”  
“Tea and tiroli it is then.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Are you ready for your presentation Em?”  
“No...”  
The look she gave Ylian made them smile and shake their head while holding out a hand to help her stand.  
“Come, the barge awaits.”  
She took a deep breath to steady herself before taking the offered hand and allowing Ylian to pull her to her feet and place her hunter's cloak over her shoulders, mindful of her wings.  
Outside the sun had began to set and the presentations would start once the first moon began to rise.  
She and the others would wait on the barge, their Shuumai would be called by Lilith's herald and asked to introduce their charge, the Shuumai would then call their Lilim and introduce them to Lilith.  
“Ylian, there is one last thing I would like to ask of you.”  
“I will aid you in any way I can.”  
“When you introduce me to Lilith, would you honor my wish to have my bonds to Take, and my own accomplishments, placed above my bloodline, and my relation to Maroue last if mentioned at all. He has not earned the right to call himself my father.”  
They had spent quite a bit of time talking about what titles she could claim and she wanted her titles of merit to be placed before titles of blood and birth.  
“I will.”  
Ylian's words were simple, but a promise nonetheless.  
“Now relax. Once the barge leaves the island your pack will be able to sense you again, and if they feel you this agitated it's sure to cause them concern.”  
“I'm trying...”  
She leaned against Ylian's shoulder, allowing the cool aura to calm her.  
“Don't worry so much my little niece, You will do fine.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
Takeshi was dosing of slightly, leaned against Lucifer's chest while the black-winged angel used his hand and his aura to to calm raging instincts and soothe tense muscles.  
A slight flicker of energy at the edge of his awareness made him tense and look up, toward the lake and a few moments later he felt it again, but stronger, and this time Knight looked up as well.  
“She has left the island temple then?”  
Lucifer's words were not really a question, there was only one thing that would cause both of the males to react that way, they could feel their precious little Emelie again.  
“We should prepare for the main event then.”  
A few minutes later they could hear the large bells start to ring, announcing that the young Lilim were on their way.

It didn't take long for everyone to get ready and quarter of a mark later they were once again gathered inside Lucifer's marquee.  
“Take, Logan, you should carry your weapons openly this evening. It will attest to the power of your pack, and that will speak to her power as co-alpha.”  
Lucifer turned his attention to Takeshi alone before speaking again.  
“I know I probably ask in vain, but if you were to free your aura of the seals it would further speak to her power.”  
“I know, but I can't risk it. It may very well be the only thing that allows me victory if someone truly strong chooses to challenge me for her.”  
“I figured as much. But I had to ask. Now how about we go claim our seats and wait for the young Lilim to arrive?”  
Takeshi nodded and with a gentle tug on the bond with Knight he waited for Lucifer to lead the way.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“How long do you think it will take before it's my turn?”  
The long wait was making Emelie nervous, part of her fearing that she had been found unworthy, that Ylian's name, and thus her own, would not be called at all.  
“I don't know. The priestesses have gauged your strength and they have told the herald who will call us in order, the weakest first and the strongest last. And you are strong, so you will be called late.”  
Ylian didn't mention that she would probably be the last to be called.  
“How about we cause some trouble when it's our turn?”  
“Oh, what kind of trouble?”  
Emelie instantly perked up and turned to Ylian with avid attention, her worries instantly forgotten.  
“When we are called, we shadow travel rather than walk.”  
“But won't the only shadow there be that of Lilith?”  
It was extremely rude to step into someone's shadow without permission.  
“It will, but mother won't mind if I step into her shadow, and I won't mind if you step into mine.”  
“Wait, mother? But, you don't feel like a Lilim...”  
“Much to my mother's frustration the blood of my father is strong and I took most of my traits from him.”  
“So Maroue is your full brother, and yet he does not recognize you...”  
“A blind old fool indeed.”

When Ylian's name was called Emelie was sleeping lightly, curled into their lap.  
“It's time.”  
She instantly bolted awake and there was a brief trickle of fear in her aura but she squashed it and squared her shoulders, with a deep sigh she nodded to Ylian that she was ready and as they vanished into the shadow she called forth her weapons and readied herself to follow.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Fated_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi could feel the flicker of fear from Emelie when Ylian was called and it was with pride he felt her overcome it.  
A gasp ran through the crowd when Ylian appeared in Lilith's shadow, but the Mother of Demons just nodded slightly in greeting, not taking offense.  
**“Speak Shuumai, name the one to be brought before me.”  
** As with those before, Lilith's voice carried clear and everyone instantly fell silent, and Takeshi found himself curious of how Ylian would introduce Emelie.

“I bring before you a Huntress of the Realm, Co-alpha of Pack Kiryu. Daughter of Maria who gave her life for Hope. Wielder of a Soul-blade forged by Isa the Balrog. Carrier of the Key to Atlantis, granted to her by Artemis of the Hunt. Seed-bearer of The Avatar of life. Child of your child, Child of the Shadow's child.”  
The murmurs were rather loud as the presentation was far from traditional, most would bring forth the Lilim linage first, but Takeshi was not surprised that Emelie had asked Ylian to change that.  
“Come and stand before the progenitor of our kind, Emelie!”  
When Ylian spoke her name she appeared in his shadow, standing proud with all that she was displayed for all to see.  
**“You failed to mention her beauty.”**  
Lilith teased as she inspected Emelie.  
**“And her courage.”**  
Unlike the others, Emelie didn't bow and submit before Lilith, instead she raised her head and met her grandmother with a cold determination.  
**“Strong, beautiful and every bit as proud as a Shirai Lilim should be. Yet, you choose to wear the hunter's garb rather than the robes of your father, why?”**  
“Maroue has yet to prove himself worthy of that title. And I will not wear the mark of a title I have not earned by my own ability!”  
There were shocked gasps at her audacity but Lilith threw her head back and laughed.  
**“A child of my own heart!”**  
With a flare of her overwhelming aura she silenced the crowd before speaking again.  
**“Come, step closer and claim the true power of your heritage."**  
As she spoke she motioned for Emelie to step closer and Emelie followed the beckoning finger.  
**“Never before has a Shirai of such power been brought before me. It is with pride I grant you your power, and my blessing.”**  
There was a new wave of whispers and gasps as Lilith leaned in and kissed the center of Emelie's forehead, the ones before she had merely tapped with a clawed finger, and no mention of granting them her blessing.  
While he watched Lilith lean in, Takeshi steeled himself, as did Knight by his side, the true awakening of a Lilim's power was painful, even their bodies would change to reflect their new power and that pain would travel through the bonds, but they had to stay calm, stay back until the change was over.

Emelie felt cool lips against her forehead, and an apology brushed against her mind.  
For a moment nothing seemed to happen but then a searing pain began to radiate from where Lilith's lips had touched her skin and it took quite a bit of effort not to bring her hands up as the pain grew stronger and began to spread.  
Remembering her lessons with Takeshi and Roghan she started by focusing on locking down her body, forcing it to stay still, once she was sure she would not be able to move she began to pull on her aura , forcing it to flow with her will.  
Takeshi bit down on the growl that wanted to tear from him as he watched Emelie's wings flare slightly and her tail whip from side to side in agitation before stiffening and curling around her.  
He recognized the signs of locking down your body against pain, and soon her aura became visible as it twisted around her, faster and faster until she stood within a swirling tempest of her own making.  
Her raging power made both Ylian and Lilith take a slight step back, while the herald and the honor-guard fled the podium, even the demons seated nearest the podium were look rather uncomfortable and quite a few were beginning to back away.  
Takeshi could no longer see her behind the whirling wall of her power, but he could feel her pain, and her focused determination.

Emelie could feel her body straining to change, the scaling on the limbs of her wings becoming more prominent, even sharper than before and the membranes tougher.  
Her tail grew longer and the shape of the tip changed slightly, losing the slight heart-shape and becoming longer, sharper.  
She wasn't the least bit surprised when she felt the familiar feeling of horns breaking through skin.  
Her fingers, tail and mouth was tingling, and when she felt something drip from her hands and fall on her tail she realized she now had venom-glands similar to Amanda's and she found herself a bit curious as to what effect her new venom would have.  
The lust inducing venom she possessed was not produced by venom glands, it was a crystallization of her aura.   
So far she had been bearing with the power flowing through her, allowing it to change her as it saw fit, but when she felt the power focus on her bones to make them grow she began to fight it, she had no desire to become taller.  
The sudden spike in pain almost made her cry out despite her efforts.

“ _She's fighting it...”_  
Takeshi's tone held a clear tone of concern, and fear, not knowing what had made Emelie suddenly fight the change.  
_“Remember, the change in power will change her body, the power is probably trying to change something she does not wish to change.”_  
Lucifer tried to calm Takeshi down, but he could tell that he was reaching his limit and silently prayed that it would end soon.  
He had barely finished the thought when the tempest of power suddenly vanished and Emelie stood before them again, swaying slightly as she struggled to regain her senses.  
Ylian was instantly at her side to steady her while Lilith once again spoke.  
**“You have passed you ascension, all the rights of Ramhira are now yours, you may claim a plot of land within the realm of our kind. And you, Fated child of Destiny may now grant the right of courting upon those you believe to be worthy.”**  
  
_“It's time.”_  
Lucifer followed up on his words by shoving Takeshi out of his seat and onto the smooth path that lead from their elevated box seat to the podium.  
Takeshi stumbled slightly but quickly recovered his balance and turned to flash his fangs at Lucifer, but there was no real anger behind, and all he got in return was a knowing smile.  
When Takeshi set foot on the stairs to the podium Emelie turned around to face him and he walked up to her in silence before kneeling down and holding out the folded tessen toward her.  
“Emelie Eriksson, would you allow me the honor of courting you?”  
Behind him the crowd suddenly went dead silent and he could feel them all focus on him and Emelie.

 


	70. The Eclipse

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

 

Takeshi was struggling to keep his aura from revealing just how nervous he was and the silence seemed to last forever but he kept his head bowed, this was one of the few times he would show any submission.  
Then he felt her take the tessen from his hands and tap her wing on his shoulder.  
“Yes.”  
He looked up at her, but didn't rise, he would allow her to place her courting mark before he did, so all he did was turn his head slightly to the side to bare his left shoulder to her and she instantly leaned in and sank her fangs in deep.  
Takeshi gasped at the feeling of her new power, it was wild, and ice and for a brief moment he almost lost control of his heat but then it was over and she tugged lightly at his wrist with her tail.  
Rising to his feet he pulled her tightly against his chest and as he did she turned her head to the side so that he could mark her in turn, and as he bit down he heard a snickering whisper from Lilith.  
“Ah, I see why you refused part of your transformation. A significantly larger lover does have its benefits.”  
Once he withdrew his fangs the silence broke as the crowd began cheering and whooping, but mixed within were complaints and after a few moments a familiar voice rose above them, the young male that was supposed to buy the lizard creature that Emelie had bought.  
“I waivered my claim on the creature, and brought the gold back to the Shirai Lilim in return for courting rights!”  
The crowd instantly stilled, waiting with baited breath to see how Emelie and Takeshi would respond.  
“I don't recall agreeing to your offer.”  
Emelie's tone was soft, but unyielding.  
“Then you will return the beast to me, and the gold!”  
The flicker in the males aura revealed that he knew he had no real claim.  
“She was miria! It was not her place to grant, or reject your offer. And as her guide I reject your request for courting rights.”  
Takeshi's voice was even but with a deadly edge and when the young male was about to speak up Takeshi cut him off.  
“Do not challenge me on this, I will not be able to stay my hand from delivering a fatal blow if you do.”  
For a moment it seemed like he would be challenged, but then the male backed away.  
“Well, if that's all done I would like a chance to have a word with my little granddaughter here. You will join my table at the feast!”  
Lilith's voice was light but there was no doubt she expected to be obeyed.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

After being more or less dragged to Lilith's table they once again told their stories, though Lilith seemed to be more interested in the more private, and intimate aspects of their story.  
And much to Emelie's frustration Lilith constantly encouraged the slightly competitive teasing that Takeshi and Knight were so fond of.  
“Your alpha puts great trust in you, to allow you to touch his intended mate in such a way.”  
“Hmph, he is just really good at knowing where the lines are drawn, and which one he can push, and which to steer clear...”  
Emelie's words were cut short by a small hissing yelp as Knight grabbed her tail and ran his hand along it, followed by a slightly louder yelp when Takeshi grabbed her from Knight's lap and pulled her into his own, and then bit down into the bladed tip of her tail with sharp fangs.  
“Take, if you don't knock that off I'm gonna jump you here and now, spectators be damned!”  
Takeshi however just grinned at her and nipped at her tail again.  
“Oh, you just go ahead, I'm quite sure no one would mind. It wouldn't be the first time a show was offered during the feast after all.”  
Lilith quickly assured them.  
“You are just as bad as them!”  
Emelie complained, but Lilith just laughed and with one more nip at Emelie's tail, Takeshi managed to push her over her limit and within moments they were engaged in one of their usual romps, completely ignoring the fact that they were currently seated at the table of honor.

“It seems like the marking is helping him stay in control.”  
Hugin's voice was low as he spoke with Knight, out of respect for their host they didn't hide their conversation.  
“We were hoping it would. A temporary marking had similar effects on me during my last heat.”  
“Oh, what is it I hear about a heat?”  
Knight cursed rather loudly when Lilith's breath brushed against his ear, he hadn't noticed her move.  
The ancient demoness just laughed a soft, purring, laugh as she slipped into his lap.  
“Well, come on, do tell me.”  
There was no point trying to refuse her.  
“The energies of the demon realm brought on the onset of his first heat, and in order to ensure that he would be able to spend it with Em he has been suppressing it. And he has been having increasing problems staying in control.”  
“Ah, sounds like we will have a scandalously short courting to look forward to. How delightful.”  
It seemed like Lucifer's suspicion about Lilith's reaction to the situation was accurate.  
Knight couldn't help feeling somewhat curious when Lilith slipped out of his lap and began to sneak up on Takeshi and Emelie, and Emelie's reaction when Lilith caught her tail and gave it a sharp nip had everyone laughing, it seemed Lilith was intent on testing their limits.  
Lilith quickly crawled back into Knight's lap and settled down to watch the two, offering occasional teasing commentary, but after a while her amused smile began to turn into a frown.  
“Does she always hold back like this?”  
“Unfortunately, yes. She's afraid of losing control of her power and hurting him.”  
“And he always tries to pull out her power, encourage her to open up?”  
“Since he acted as Guide for Amanda. As he taught her, she also taught him, showing him what it can be like to be with someone who opens their soul completely.”  
“I guess I will have to add a few more lessons to her training as she learns to control her full power.”  
It was the boon granted to the strongest Lilim of the presentation during the Feast of the Nine, Lilith herself would teach them during the 100 days of the full event.  
“Oh well, how about I have some fun with you while we wait for those two to come up for air?”  
She accentuated her words with a slight push of power, the familiar seduction of a succubus and an increase in pheromones, but before she had a chance to lean in and give him a kiss laced with her own particular brand of poison she was interrupted by a tail wrapping around her arm in warning.  
The combination of Takeshi's warning growl and Emelie's displeased hiss made it clear that they did not appreciate Lilith targeting their friend, their pack-mate.  
“My my, protective are we? Don't worry, I am not going to eat him, just planning to have a bit of fun, he won't be harmed.”  
While her words did make them quiet down a bit they were still objecting.  
“I do believe they are trying to say that he is theirs.”  
Lucifer quipped while patting his own lap, offering to be the one to entertain her instead.  
“Oh well, I guess I will have to settle with you for now. There should be plenty of opportunities once they are mated.”  
The obvious tone of disappointment in her voice made the others chuckle and toss teasing barbs his way.

The sun was just starting to rise when Knight once again found himself nearly jumping out of his seat when a familiar voice whispered in his ear.  
“The way you watch them, you are in love with her, aren't you?”  
“Him, actually...”  
“I see...”  
There was only acceptance, and a hint of amusement mixed with sympathy in her voice.  
“I do love her as well though, just not the same way. Not to mention she is quite desirable.”  
There was a sigh of longing in Knight's voice.  
“You have fed her, haven't you?”  
It seemed Lilith somehow knew that he hadn't actually slept with Emelie, and it obviously confused her somewhat since she could feel the blending of energies that came with repeatedly feeding a succubus.  
“I have have, but she always feeds of my life-force. She has refused to actually lay with anyone other than Take. Wanting him to be her only partner, at least until they are properly mated.”  
“For being so strong, she is remarkably human.”  
“That she is, but it might be what makes her so strong...”  
“Perhaps.”

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi and Emelie had only slept for a few hours when a commotion outside their marquee woke them up rather roughly.  
“What is going on?”  
Takeshi didn't bother getting dressed, he merely grabbed the thin demon-silk blanket and wrapped it around his waist before heading outside.  
A large caravan wagon pulled by a lizard-beast of some kind stood in the empty area between the tent that he shared with his pack and the twins, and the tent that Lucifer and Roghan used.  
“Remember the night-demon that challenged you yesterday?”  
Lucifer offered with an amused smirk.  
“Yes, under demon law I was well within my right to kill him.”  
“Indeed you were. And under the laws specific to the night-demons all that was his is now yours. His lands, all his holdings, titles, even his mates and children are legally yours. His father will no doubt be here soon to test you to see if you are worthy to claim his son's place in the Seelie court as well.”  
“Great, having to deal with fae is the last thing I needed right now.”  
Takeshi's frustrated sigh made the others laugh.  
“Don't worry, the fae have great respect for courting pairs, it will be kept brief to minimize the disturbance.”  
Knight reassured him, but Takeshi had a feeling that it would be trouble nonetheless.  
“I guess I will need someone to get me up to speed on the finer details of night-demon law. I would prefer to have some idea what to expect.”  
“I might be able to be of service in that.”  
The young female that sat atop the wagon spoke up, but she didn't look at him.  
“And who are you?”  
“I am Seia. Under night-demon law, I am your mate.”  
She looked up slightly, but everything about her screamed submission, to extreme levels.  
“Unless you choose to reject me.”  
As she spoke her aura became tinged with fear, and Takeshi had a feeling that rejecting her could be a very bad thing for her.  
“I will do nothing until I know what I am doing.”  
The relief in her aura was obvious.  
“Now Seia, do you have a tent or marquee packed in that wagon?”  
Again there was a tinge of fear in her aura, a fear of rejection.  
“I do.”  
“Good. As you probably know I initiated a courting last night, and I'm afraid my Em won't be able to tolerate you living in our marquee since you are not pack. But don't worry, it will be temporary.”  
Takeshi quickly explained to her before turning to Hugin and Munin to ask them to help set up Seia's tent.

“This is the only tent you have?”  
Takeshi looked at the small, tattered piece of leather and the rather short wooden poles that made up Seia's shelter, a simple tepee in very poor condition.  
“Yes, the marquee we were staying at belongs to my late mate's brother.”  
“Well, this is unacceptable.”  
Takeshi quickly turned to Lucifer.  
“Do we have any spares?”  
“I'm afraid not.  
“Hugin, Munin, would you please take Seia and go buy a suitable tent.”  
“Of course.”  
Once they had left Takeshi turned to Lucifer.  
“If I reject her, refuse to take her as mate, what will happen to her?”  
“She belongs to one of the most extreme tribes, their females are little more than property. If you reject her she, and her daughters will become _'Tharas'_ , while her sons will be taken in by her mate's family.”  
“And what is _Tharas_?”  
Takeshi had a feeling he was not going to like the answer.  
“Outcasts, and when it comes to females, public property...”  
The snarl that followed Lucifer's words made the guards at the edge of their camp area jump slightly in concern.  
“Well, one thing is for sure, you will not be rejecting her!”  
Emelie's voice from the entrance to their marquee instantly put a stop to Takeshi's growl.  
“Can the decision be delayed long enough for a formal mating?"  
Her tone was sharp, demanding, all alpha.  
“Yes, for 100 days.”  
Lucifer didn't take offense to her tone.  
“She does not enter our marquee, and you Take, will not enter hers alone, or be alone with her anywhere until after our mating.”  
“ _Hai._ ”  
Takeshi just agreed, Emelie's restrictions were only there to make sure she could stay in control of her instincts, as long as Seia didn't challenge her it should be enough.  
Both of their instincts would be a bit strained around others, around those who could be possible competitors.  
Takeshi was fine with Knight due to their bond, and the twins oaths soothed his instincts, Roghan and Ylian was fine due to their close familial relation with Emelie, Lucifer on the other made him tense and it didn't help that Lucifer seemed to enjoy setting off Takeshi's instincts.  
Maroue was causing some issues because Takeshi could feel that he didn't really approve of the courting, but Maroue was at least wise enough to keep his mouth shut about it.  
Emelie had similar issues with Lilith, who also seemed determined to tease them as much as she could, Mika on the other hand was fine because she was mated to her soulmate.  
They both had some issues with Lucifer's servants and guards, but those had plenty of experience at keeping themselves invisible, unnoticed by raging instincts.  
They had decided that they would only leave their small camp to attend the evening meal for a few days to allow their instincts to settle a bit, and give Emelie a chance to practice her control a bit.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take?”  
Hugin called from the doorway of their marquee.  
“Ah, how did the shopping go?”  
“We found a nice marquee for Seia and her children. I hope you do not mind that we purchased some furnishings, as well as clothes and a few other things. Very little of what is in that cart is for her or her daughters. Most was her mate's, or intended for their sons.”  
Hugin didn't even try to hide his distaste for the ways of Seia's tribe.  
“Of course I don't mind. Why don't you have Mika help you make sure they have everything they need. Seia might be more comfortable speaking with another female.”  
“I will.”  
For a moment he stood there in silence, then he seemed to make up his mind about something.  
“How much do you know of her tribe?”  
“Not much yet, other than that they are extremely patriarchal, to the point where females are quite literally property.”  
“They call themselves the Children of the Blue Sands and their rather extreme ideas has made them ostracized from most demon societies, even here they are barely tolerated.”  
Hugin told Takeshi what he knew about Seia's tribe, while most demon societies were mostly gender neutral, or even matriarchal, even among the night-demons, there were a few exceptions, and the Children of the Blue Sands were the most extreme.  
Their females were granted no rights, they could not own property or earn money, if their keepers allowed them to work, anything they earned belonged to their keeper.  
They had no right to chose their mates, and they had no right to refuse their mates anything, even sex, even if their mate ordered them to sleep with someone else, within the Blue Sands a male could legally prostitute his mate, even his daughters once they had undergone their first rite of passage.  
Takeshi's growl grew louder when Hugin told him that the first rite for their females was quite different than it was for other demon cultures, while they still adhered to that the female was not to be harmed, her willingness was less important, she was expected to do as she was told by her father, or keeper.  
And the young female was not taught about the pleasures to be had, she was only taught how to please the males.  
“I won't allow that!”  
Takeshi was tethering on the brink of control as Hugin approached him slowly, for once he didn't seem to have any problems keeping his energies submissive.  
“I know you won't. You are a true _alpha_. However unintentional. they are now yours. Yours to care for, to protect, and your honor won't allow for anything less.”  
Hugin stopped in front of Takeshi, turning his head slightly to the side to bare his neck he just waited.  
He still had to force himself to keep still when Takeshi grabbed him by the shoulders and gave his neck a sharp nip before releasing him.  
“Feeling more in control?”  
Hugin waited until Takeshi's breathing had slowed down and his aura wasn't lashing out around them before he spoke.  
“I do, thanks. I know you hate submitting like this.”  
“I don't mind, I really don't. My instincts might rebel, but it's getting easier. Your instincts are running high now, the heat, the courting, and now this mess. You needed me to submit to soothe those instincts.”  
Takeshi reached out for Hugin and placed his hand on his mashen, sifting through the soft feathers while gently dragging his claws against the sensitive skin, trust, gratitude, acceptance.

With Takeshi once again a bit more relaxed, Hugin continued telling him what he knew of Seia's tribe until Munin joined them to inform them that Lucifer had invited them all to share a meal in his marquee.  
When they stepped inside the large marquee Seia's children had joined them, four daughters and two sons.  
“Seia, would you introduce us please.”  
It hurt him to see how she scrambled to as he asked, and it hurt even more to see how her daughters cowered and scrambled to try to serve him and the other males at the table, even their brothers, who were actually ordering them around as if they were servants, or slaves.  
“Arath, Toben. That's enough. Your sisters are not servants, do not treat them as such.”  
Takeshi's voice carried a distinct growl and when they seemed like they were about to object he enforced his will with a push of his aura before he turned to Seia and her daughters.  
“If you are to be members of my house you need to learn that you are not servants, nor slaves. While I will occasionally demand obedience you are not expected to serve, or be subservient.”  
The way Arath sneered behind Takeshi's back while he was speaking to Seia and her daughters had Emelie concerned, it was obvious that the older boy did not agree with what Takeshi was saying so she reached out over their new bond and shared what she was seeing.  
_“I know, I can feel it. I fear he might be too accustomed to their ways, to the power of it. I might not be able to change his views, we will have to keep an eye on him.”  
_

Once they were done eating Takeshi sent Hugin, Munin and Mika out along with Seia and her children to do some proper shopping.  
“Ylian, I would like to ask you a favor.”  
“Ask away, I will do whatever I can to help.”  
“As a shadeling, you are a greater shadow. That means you are able to create _'Shikigami'_ , or spirit dolls, right?”  
“Yes, we call them shadow-puppets. Why?”  
“Can you make one for each of them, to keep an eye on them, and alert me if something is wrong?”  
“I can. I will.”  
“Thank you.”  
_“You gave me your word that you would assist me in becoming pana, This is nowhere near enough to replay that.”  
_ Ylian added silently, not entirely comfortable with speaking about it openly.  
Takeshi just nodded slightly and turned to Lucifer.  
“If I am to be able to protect them, I will need a formal House for them to be placed in. I know one would be formed when Em and I get mated, but I don't feel comfortable waiting that long.”  
“I figured you wouldn't, so I have prepared the documents needed.”  
Lucifer handed Takeshi a rolled up scroll.  
“Sham.. _'Shamarai'_? Moon flower?”  
Takeshi read the house name written in the runes of the Obsidian Halls and looked closely at the large emblem in the center of the document, the Shamarai flower was the demon realm equivalent of a waterlily, but the flowers shared some characteristics with lotus flowers as well.  
“Yes, it can also be read as 'Spirit', or 'Hope'...”  
“I like it.”  
“I thought you would.”  
Lucifer turned toward Emelie as he spoke.  
“I have one for you as well, normally you would be considered to be of Maroue's house until your mating, but you have rejected him, and thus his house. So you should have one of your own.”  
He handed her a scroll just like the one he had given Takeshi and she opened it to read it.  
“ _'Miri'_ , Destiny?”  
“It was your grandmother that picked it.”  
“So once we are mated, we will be House Shamarai Miri?”  
“You will.”  
“I think I can live with that, what about you Take?”  
“I think I can manage.”  
“I still prefer being Emelie of Pack Kiryu though...”  
She pushed against Takeshi with a low purr that instantly lit the familiar fire and pulled on his control of the heat.  
“Don't mind me, I'll gladly wait while you get that out of your systems.”  
Lucifer quipped as he leaned back, obviously intending to watch them if they allowed it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“You need to learn to trust yourself.”  
Lilith sighed as Emelie once again hesitated to release her power.  
“Come here little one, let's talk.”  
Lilith patted the pillow next to her.  
“You spend too much of your focus on worrying about hurting others. Your powers are a part of you, they won't harm those you do not want to harm.”  
“I was barely able to control it before you unlocked even more power...”  
“That is because you didn't have your full power, part of your power was being used to seal the rest. Normally a human born Lilim is raised by their fathers, teaching them all the things they need to know about demon society. And they are brought before me within days of their change.”  
Lilith pulled Emelie close into her side before unfurling her wings and wrapping them tightly around them.  
“With your power partially sealed, it was unbalanced, making it harder to control. And you have so much power, you are stronger than any of my other grandchildren, even stronger than many of the children I have given birth to myself.”  
“Yeah, lot of good that does me...”  
“It's not without reason I named your house _Miri_ , you are a child of destiny, the Fates have given you an important task. And that task will take power, walking by his side as his mate will not be easy.”  
Lilith continued to explain to Emelie that one of the reasons why Takeshi had to be the one to bring her through her change was so that her power would know his.  
It made his energies a part of hers, changed her power to be more in tune with his, changed it into something that wasn't entirely demon, but not human either, changed it into something new, or perhaps, something very old, older than Lilith, older than mankind, maybe even older than the very universe around them.  
“He's an _Avatar_ , isn't he..? Just like you, Lucifer, my grandfather, even Ylian...”  
“He is a potential, someone born with the ability to one day become one of the Avatars.”  
“Just what are the Avatars anyway?”  
“That my sweet girl, is a lesson for another day. For now, how about I teach you a few things to test the control of that alpha of yours?”  
“Oh, that sounds like fun.”  
Emelie grinned at the idea of Lilith teaching her how to ruffle Takeshi's feathers so to speak.  
“Munin, come, join us. I require someone to help me demonstrate.”  
Lilith beckoned the guard to step closer.  
“ _Nana_ , don't order my poor little raven to do things like that!”  
Emelie chastised with a laugh and for a moment Munin looked rather horrified at her addressing Lilith with such familiarity  
“Oh, it was merely a request, not an order.”  
“Coming from you, it would be treated just the same.”  
“Do not worry Lady Em, her request is one I would be honored to fulfill.”  
Munin spoke as he walked slowly toward them, removing his armor as he did, leaving only the simple tunic that he wore beneath, once he reached them he kneeled down and spread his wings in submission.  
“Within the limitations of my oath to Pack Kiryu, I am yours to do with as you please, my ladies.”  
The slight black tint that was creeping up his neck was the only thing revealing his embarrassment, and excitement.  
“He is rather cute, your little raven.”  
Lilith's words caused the black tinge to deepen and begin to spread down his torso and when she reached down and began stroking the base of his wings his entire body took on the black tinge of his blush.  
“Now, your alpha is not winged, so with the lack of a mashen his sensitive spots will be slightly different. But I am sure you know where they are.”  
With a skill born from thousands of years of experience Lilith used Munin's body to show Emelie a few more things about bringing pleasure, about pushing a male to the edge, and keeping him there.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“I **will** get your grandmother for this...”  
Takeshi hissed as Emelie tested the new tricks Lilith had showed her.  
“She offered to give you a few lessons as well...”  
There was a slight grumble in her tone, she did not want to tell him about that, but she knew Lilith would know if she hadn't and would find some embarrassing way to punish her for it.  
A sudden tingle of awareness from one of the shadow-puppets that Ylian had created to watch over Seia's children brought Takeshi from the edge and into clarity.  
“Em...”  
“I know, I felt it.”  
With a flare of power they vanished from their pile of bedding and appeared in Seia's marquee just in time to see Arath backhand Shisi, sending the girl to the floor and a moment later Ylian arrived in the same manner.  
“ _Stop!_ ”  
Takeshi's voice was heavy with _command_ as he leapt in between Arath and the girl with a snarl, not taking any chances.  
_**“What do you think you are doing?**_ **”**  
The duality that entered Takeshi's voice revealed that the demon within was just as upset as he was.  
“I am Arath, eldest son and heir of House Miara! As a daughter of my house she is mine to do with as I please and she **will** obey me!”  
“House Miara ended when you father challenged me and lost. You are House Shamarai now and the ways of the Children of the Blue Sands are not our ways. If you can not accept that you are welcome to leave, and become _Tharas_.”  
Takeshi unfurled his aura and allowed it to bear down upon the young demon in front of him.  
“You will not order your sisters, or your mother around. And you will never lay a hand on either of them, ever again. I am the head of House Shamarai and you will obey.”  
Takeshi could have used _command_ to force obedience, but instead he chose to test Arath, give him one last chance.  
But the way Arath scoffed when Takeshi turned to help Shisi up wasn't promising, the boy either believed his senses to be too weak to notice, or didn't care if he did.  
“Shisi, don't be afraid, I'm not upset with you.”  
The way she shivered and tried to make herself smaller, crawling back against the reinforced wall of the marquee made a part of Takeshi want to just take Arath's head from his shoulders.  
Shisi was the third youngest of the children, had she been human Takeshi would have estimated her to be about 4 maybe 5 years old, but she was probably closer to 30 years old, night-demons matured slowly.  
Toben was the youngest, then came Noia, Shisi, Leeah and Moira, then Arath who was the oldest.  
“Come here, let me take a look at you.”  
Her lip was still bleeding sluggishly, her fear disrupting her energies and making her heal slower, and the dazed look in her eyes had Takeshi worried that she might have concussion.  
It was a struggle to resist just picking her up, but he waited until she came to him herself and once she did he wrapped his aura around her and began searching her aura for any signs of injuries beyond what he could see.  
He was relieved to find that other than the split lip and a developing bruise she was unharmed, the dazed look had been from chock.  
“I need you to relax for a moment so I can help you heal that bruise.”  
“Okay...”  
Her voice was low and her Urui was heavily colored by her native language of the Blue Sands.  
Takeshi sighed when she flinched away from his hand as he reached out to help her energies focus on healing.  
“Easy, I'm not going to hurt you.”  
Once he was satisfied with how the bruise healed he used a claw to cut his thumb and smear a drop of blood over the cut in her lip, instantly sealing it.  
“There, all better, right?”  
“Mhm..”  
She nodded slightly.  
“Now run along to your mother and show her that you are okay.”  
He watched her skip past Lucifer and Roghan in the doorway of the marquee and with a sigh he addressed Lucifer.  
“Could I borrow a few guards for a while?”  
“What for?”  
“I don't want to allow Arath another chance to harm a female. So I don't want him to go anywhere without a guard to keep an eye on him.”  
“I will assign a few guards to it. And I will make sure to pick those who are the most avid supporters of your views on how a female should be treated.”  
“You have my gratitude.”  
Takeshi gave a slight bow.  
_“No need for such formality, I happen to agree with you. Not only did he strike a female, a mere child, his own **sister** , simply for not being obedient like a slave, and he took pleasure in it.”_  
The concern was heavy in Lucifer's tone.  
_“I was hoping I had misinterpreted that feeling.”_  
Takeshi almost sighed out loud.  
_“No such luck I'm afraid. I couldn't tell if it was the power he enjoyed, or the inflicting of pain. But either is just as bad.”  
“I will give him another chance, but that's it. I will not risk the others just for his benefit.”  
“Spoken like a true alpha. Now you grab that future mate of yours and get back to what was no doubt something rather pleasurable, and I will see to that the boy is informed of his new restrictions.”  
_ It wasn't until Lucifer mention his and Emelie's previous activities that Takeshi realized that both him and Emelie were completely naked.  
“I have spent too much time with demons...”  
He muttered with a sigh before grabbing Emelie and asking her to take them back to their bed.  
Their courting had barely started and things were already a mess.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

On the 5th day of the alignment Tamlin arrived along with a group of fae to test Takeshi's worthiness.  
“Worry not, these tests will not affect your courting.”  
Tamlin assured Takeshi before asking to speak with him in private.  
“Your mate-to-be can wait behind the screen, they are enchanted to grant privacy so she can see us but not hear us.”  
One of the fae indicated toward the decorated screens, similar to shōji screens, that were used to divide the large marquee.  
“My beta will wait with her as well.”  
“Of course.”

Tamlin kept asking all kinds of questions, most of them seemingly irrelevant, but Takeshi had enough experience to know that they were not, and Knight had warned him repeatedly about the ways of the Fae.  
The Seelie Court might not be as malevolent as the Unseelie Court but they were still very dangerous creatures.  
“Okay, may I speak for a moment?”  
Takeshi spoke up when Tamlin paused for a moment.  
“You may.”  
“I mean no disrespect to your court, or the fae in general. But I have no desire to sit as a ruling member of your court, even if it is as a lesser prince. I am not fae and I should not rule over fae. I feel that the title should be given to Leeah once she reaches her majority, she is a brilliant girl and given a chance to develop I believe she would make an excellent member of any court.”  
“Leeah, she is the third child. Why not Arath, the son, the eldest, or Moira?”  
Tamlin questioned in return.  
“Arath is cruel and relishes in having power over others, in dominating those who cannot defend themselves, taking pleasure in inflicting pain and fear on those weaker.”  
“And you know this how?”  
Takeshi braced himself for a moment, getting his anger under control.  
“I have seen it with my own eyes, in the way he treats his sisters, the servants, and any female he meets. Look into my mind if you do not trust my words.”  
“It is not a matter of trust, I need to see this for myself. So try not to fight me.”  
“I know the drill.”  
Takeshi sighed and prepared for the intrusion into his mind, and he was slightly surprised at how gentle Tamlin's mental touch was.  
“I see. Indeed unsuitable. And Moira?”  
“She is a gentle soul with an even gentler heart, it would destroy her to have to make the harsh decisions of a ruler.”  
“It is indeed not something suited for all.”  
Tamlin nodded his agreement.  
“I would however be most grateful if I was allowed a consulting position of sorts, to be allowed to hear and speak in matters that involves the human realm, the mortals within that realm, or the balance of the realms.”  
Takeshi added and Tamlin looked at him in silence for a while before nodding slightly.  
“You have spoken with wisdom and honor so I will consider your words and a messenger will be sent once I have made my decision.”  
“Just warn the messenger not to enter the marquee, neither I, nor Em, are fully in control of our instincts right now.”  
“Worry not, they will be properly briefed. I have no desire to lose a messenger to the folly of disrupting a courtship.”

The following day a female fae arrived at their camp and asked to speak with Takeshi and Emelie.  
“Lord Tamlin has made his decision. Takeshi of House Shamarai, you are to carry the seal of the court until Leeah of House Shamarai, formerly of House Miara is ready to ascend that position, when she does you shall become adviser to the court.”  
She held out a small box and Takeshi looked at it, slightly vary of accepting a gift from a fae, but when she gave her word that it would do him no harm he took it and opened the box.  
Inside was a heavy gold signet ring with a seal in the shape of a moon-flower, the seal of House Shamarai.  
Takeshi nodded his acceptance, and understanding.  
“It carries a lot of enchantments, I would appreciate to know what they are.”  
“Protection from theft and trickery, no one but you can remove it from your hand. No one but you can use it to form the seal. It can also form a gateway to the realm of the Fae, to bring you to the great halls where the Seelie Court gathers.”  
“And how does that work?”  
“Stand before a gateway, crafted or natural. State your name and reason for entering the court while pushing your aura through the signet, it will activate the gateway.”  
“By gateway I assume you mean things like doorways, mirrors, surfaces of water, rock-crevices or fairy circles?”  
“Yes.”  
Takeshi listened while the fae explained in more details about the enchantments and how they worked.  
“Would you please give my gratitude to Lord Tamlin?”  
“I will.”  
She brought a small vial of water and a silver plate from her bag and poured the water onto the plate, and with a wave of a hand the water turned into a portal, and when she touched the surface she vanished, and a moment later the plate vanished.

Barely an hour later the fae returned and once again asked to speak with Takeshi and Emelie.  
“My name is Bris, Lord Tamlin has requested that I be your aid.”  
The fae bowed slightly to Takeshi who returned it with a slight nod.  
“ _Bris_ , as in the wind?”  
Emelie piped up when she heard the name of the fae.  
“Indeed I am Lady Lilim.”  
“Please, my name is Emelie, or Em.”  
“As you wish Lady Emelie.”  
Emelie sighed at the title, but nodded.  
After a short conversation about what her duties would be, Bris gave her oath of service before joining the others in Lucifer's marquee, leaving Takeshi and Emelie to their own devices.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

It was the 8th day of their courting when the first challenge came, and much to everyone's surprise Emelie was the one challenged, not Takeshi.  
When Tamlin decreed that Takeshi was to join the Seelie Court he became a rather desirable match, any child born to him in the time before Leeah took her place in the court would be a noble of the Seelie Court by their own right, and that would make the mother a noble as well.  
When the young demoness stepped up and challenged Emelie as they walked through the marketplace, Takeshi couldn't help a twinge of sorrow at the thought of the life that would soon be lost.  
The demoness was nowhere near strong enough to be of any threat to Emelie.  
The challenge had ended as fast as it started when Emelie whipped out with her tail and wrapped it around the neck of the challenger and with a quick yank she snapped it.

It was the first of many challenges they both had to fight, and Takeshi was relieved that most of the challenges were against him, either challenging his right to court Emelie, or trying to win his position in the Seelie Court.

After two weeks of daily challenges Takeshi and Emelie simply stopped leaving their fenced off camp, spending most of their time in their own marquee, only leaving to join the others in Lucifer's marquee for the meals.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take?”  
Emelie murmured from her place curled into his chest.  
“ _Hai sweetie_?”  
“It's time isn't it? Your heat, our mating? At the peak of the eclipse?”  
“Ideally it is, but only if you feel you are ready.”  
He pulled her closer and brushed his hand along her wings and over the mashen.  
“Take, I have been ready for this for a very long time.”  
Emelie shifted around a bit until she was straddling him.  
“How about we talk to the others at breakfast, then I release it?”  
Takeshi traced his claws along her sides and hips, enjoying the blast of peppermint that assaulted his nose.  
“Sounds like a plan.”  
She practically purred at him.  
“Remember, once my heat starts you will be pulled along, and enter a heat of your own.”  
“I know. Lilith, and Roghan, have both explained it in great detail.”  
She leaned down and began nibbling at the courting-mark, almost instantly sending Takeshi to the edge.

“So, I guess this will be your last breakfast with us as unmated?”  
Lucifer quipped in a teasing tone the moment they entered his marquee to join the others for a morning meal.  
Takeshi and Emelie looked at each other for a moment before nodding with rather telling smiles.  
“I will have the guards set up the wards on your marquee while we eat.”  
Lucifer gave a nod to his ever-present majordomo who quickly bowed and left to inform the guards of their new task.  
The meal was filled with teasing, and more than one suggestion for ways to get the most out of their heat.  
“Do you think you can handle the servants entering your marquee with food?”  
Lucifer wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any issues if his servants entered the warded area.  
“I don't know, it might be better if Logan brings us our food. He is marked by both of us so he shouldn't trigger any reactions as long as he keeps his head down.”  
Takeshi wasn't sure of how much control he would have and he didn't want to risk hurting one of the servants.  
“I think that might be a better idea.”  
Knight agreed.  
“Logan it is then. I will have the servants prepare plenty of food and drinks that will last the day and Logan can bring them in for you.”

With the meal done Takeshi and Emelie prepared to return to their marquee.  
“Wait, you can't run of without giving us a chance to offer our well wishes.”  
The way Lucifer and Lilith smiled set off all kinds of alarms in the back of Takeshi's mind.  
Lucifer walked over to Emelie and pulled her close and with a kiss to the forehead he wished her a pleasurable heat, and a strong mating before turning to Takeshi.  
When Lucifer leaned in toward him Takeshi didn't expect anything different than what had been done to Emelie, so he was stunned for a moment when Lucifer claimed a proper kiss, and he was also surprised to find that there was no hint of challenge, or dominance in it.  
“You really do taste like _power_.”  
Lucifer teased before giving him the same well wishes that he had offered Emelie.  
There was a brief moment of almost hesitation before Lucifer quickly ducked in and stole another kiss, but this time with a lot more force and just enough dominance to make Takeshi growl in warning.  
“And _passion._..”  
Lucifer laughed as he stepped back.  
Takeshi found himself rather confused when both Roghan and Ylian did the same, kissing Emelie on the forehead and him right on the mouth.  
_“It is intentional, to help trigger our heat. Roghan and Ylian kissed her on the forehead because they are too closely related to be possible mates, why Lucifer did, I do not know though.”  
_ The Beast offered a partial explanation for the somewhat odd behavior.  
Takeshi was still rather distracted with the Beast when Lilith did the same, so when she gave his lip a sharp nip he reacted without thinking and returned the kiss, which earned him some laughs and cheers, Emelie joining in the teasing.  
Once they settled down a bit Knight stepped over and gave his own well wishes, and a pair of far more intimate kisses that were returned in kind.  
Munin's kisses were a bit more reserved, but they carried a honestly of sorts, friendship where the others had carried various degrees of desire.  
Something in the way Hugin blushed and hesitated made Takeshi grab his chin and kiss him back before he had a chance to step back and the way Hugin spluttered while wishing him a pleasurable heat and powerful mating made Takeshi grin at him.  
Takeshi felt a surge of anger and disappointment when he noticed Maroue peeking out from his section of the marquee, but refusing to step over and offer his own well wishes.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Wow! This is intense...”  
Emelie was straddling Takeshi's lap, nipping and kissing his neck while digging sharp nails into the back of his shoulders, the first stirrings of heat lending a frantic, almost desperate nature to her actions.  
“It is...”  
He reached behind her and grabbed the base of her tail, using both hands to make his way to the tip so that he could pull it around in front of her and give it a sharp nip that sent her over the edge.

As the day moved on Takeshi pulled and prodded at Emelie's aura, trying to make her open up more.  
“Em, _love,_ you need to trust me, trust yourself. Let go...”  
“I'm scared...”  
“I know you are. But I trust you. Let go...”  
The feeling when she finally let go and opened up to him was beyond description, even the times when Amanda had done it came nowhere close.

“ _Sweetie_ , you think you could handle joining the others for a while? Watch the rise of the Nine with them?”  
Once Emelie let go of her fears and opened up her aura fully their heat had taken a rather interesting turn and the following _activities_ had given them a measure of control back.  
“I think so. If I feel like I'm loosing control I can always bring us back here. Besides, I don't think they would mind watching...”  
“I have no doubt they would take great joy in watching.”  
He pulled her closer and as he kissed her he could feel the telltale shift in the energies around them that alerted him that she was about to shadow-step.

“Well well, look who decided to join us.”  
Ylian was the first to greet them, no doubt alerted to their shadow-travel by their own abilities.  
“Would be a shame to miss such a rare event, now wouldn't it?”  
Takeshi quipped while trying to tuck Emelie under his chin to keep her from pouncing on Knight.  
“Will you two be okay around others?”  
Lucifer did nothing to hide his concern, or amusement.  
“I think we will be okay. At least as long as no one pushes us.”  
Feeling that Emelie's energies were back under her control he let go and grinned as she instantly pounced on Knight, though in a far more controlled manner than she would have a few moments ago.  
“ _Alpha_ , please keep hold of your mate-to-be, she is ruining my clothes...”  
Knight complained while pointing to the tears in his shirt.  
“Em sweetie, how about you save those claws and fangs for me?”  
Takeshi reached out and snagged the flicking tail and gave it a light tug to bring Emelie's focus back to him and she instantly pounced and within moments they were otherwise occupied.  
“Looks like we will have something interesting to watch while we wait for the Nine to rise.”  
Lilith leaned over in her seat to get a better look at Takeshi and Emelie, offering casual commentary on their technique that rewarded her with the occasional growl, or hiss, depending on whose technique was currently under scrutiny.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Between the constant teasing and intentional pushing of instincts, Takeshi and Emelie were both tethering on the brink of losing control, and they both fund it to be rather enjoyable.  
“Will you be leaving during the eclipse?”  
Ylian's question made them pause, considering their options.  
“Do we have to?”  
Emelie asked after a while.  
“There is nothing that says a mating needs to be done in private. Most simply do it in private to make it easier to stay in control, especially if it is a heat mating.”  
“So no one will mind if we stay, or at least try to?”  
Her voice was almost hopeful.  
“I promise you, no one who matters will mind. Quite the contrary...”  
Ylian teased lightly.  
_“Take, can we stay? I don't know why, but it feels right...”  
“Of course we can. Though I have a feeling we better be prepared for quite a bit of teasing about it.”  
“Like they don't tease us every chance they get already?”  
“True. A very public mating it is then.”  
_ Takeshi gave Emelie a harsh kiss before turning to Ylian.  
“I guess we are staying.”  
“Excellent choice.”  
Ylian watched as Emelie crawled into Takeshi's lap and began to squirm around, trying to find a comfortable position.  
“Would you like me to have some bedding brought here?”  
Ylian was struggling not to laugh at the sight of Emelie trying to soothe the effects of the heat while trying not to knock the chair over.  
“Please do.”  
Emelie nearly begged.

“I do believe this will prove to be the most entertaining feast yet.”  
Lucifer whispered in Lilith's ear.  
“Maybe we should follow their lead? I wouldn't mind a cute little girl with my tail and your wings.”  
She practically purred in reply.  
“As tempting as that sounds, I think such an undertaking might be better suited for my heat.”  
“I guess, but you have to agree, they are rather, inspiring. Aren't they?”  
“Indeed they are.”  
Lucifer tugged gently at the ties that held the top of Lilith's dress together.  
Roghan and Ylian shared a knowing look before shaking their heads at their respective parent's behavior.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

As the nine moons rose and began to slip into alignment for the eclipse the light slowly shifted and began to affect the aura of those present, soothing and relaxing, making them unfurl and flow with the flow of the light.  
Takeshi however was struggling against it, trying to maintain the control over his aura as the light somehow counteracted the seal.  
“Don't worry Takeshi, my sitting area is well warded, no one outside will be able to feel more than a trickle of our power. My own energies are far too much for most demons to handle, as are Lucifer's and the eclipse will bring out all of our auras.”  
Lilith explained, trying to calm him down a bit.  
“I promise, it's safe for you to release your aura, no one will be hurt. The guards and servants know not to enter the area once the alignment for the eclipse starts. Only a few of the elder servants will enter, but they are able to withstand our energies.”  
Her words made Takeshi relax a bit, but he was still fighting the release of his aura.  
“Even if the wards were to fail, only the strongest demons are allowed this close to the focal-point. Demons strong enough to handle your energies.”  
“Focal point?”  
“Indeed, the alignment of the moons causes a focal point to form here on the beach.”  
“That focal point wouldn't happen to be where you moved our bedding with such insistence?”  
“Now, what makes you think that?”  
Lilith's impish grin confirmed Takeshi's guess.  
“Alright, enough. _Stop worrying and let your aura go_.”  
Takeshi felt the familiar power of suggestion wash over him and he gave Lilith a slight glare as he let go of his aura.  
“Using _suggestion_? That's not really fair is it?”  
“Not in the least, but well worth it.”  
Lilith quipped.  
“You know, your aura has a nice feel to it when you are not restraining it.”  
She was pulling and prodding at his aura as it unfurled and once it was relaxed she grabbed him by the hips, spun him around and gave him a push toward where Emelie was resting.  
“Now go bathe your mate-to-be in that fire of yours.”  
He could feel a slight burn as her claws dug in when she slapped his ass to get him moving, no doubt giving him a hefty dose of the same lust inducing venom that Emelie had developed after her ascension.  
“You do know I can easily counteract that stuff, right?”  
He tossed over his shoulder as he continued to walk toward Emelie.  
“I know, but you won't. You will take it all out on our little Em.”  
Takeshi just shook his head with a grin at her words, she was right after all.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When the nine moons aligned fully there was a pulse of energy across the lands and moments later that energy shifted, and pulsed again as the moons went into full eclipse.  
The full eclipse would last for one hour, then it would all slowly return to normal over the following 50 days.  
As the second pulse passed Takeshi began to pull at Emelie's aura.  
“It's time love.”  
She nodded and turned to face him, opening herself to him as he did to her.  
Takeshi leaned in and gave the courting-mark a gentle nip, using it as a conduit to begin to channel his power into her and when he pulled back slightly she did the same.  
Emelie straddled his lap and leaned into his chest as they pulled their unleashed power in around them and focused it into the bond formed by the courting-marks.

“Now that is a beautiful sight.”  
Roghan whispered as he looked at the way Takeshi's and Emelie's auras blended, his eyes the solid silver of a true seer.  
“It is. Makes me feel a bit sorry for those that do not posses the sight.”  
Lucifer's eyes were the same solid silver as those of his son.  
“It is quite beautiful for the rest of us as well.”  
Ylian was just as mesmerized by the sight as the seers of the group.  
Takeshi's red aura was swirling and mixing with the purple of Emelie's, building up around around them like a whirlwind, slowly becoming more and more entwined until they could no longer tell the energies apart.

When Emelie looked up at Takeshi her emotions were written plainly on her face, tears flowing freely down her cheeks and Takeshi could feel that he was in the same condition, somehow the light from the eclipse tore down all defenses, mental, spiritual and emotional.  
He could feel the sum of her flowing through him, and he could tell that she was feeling him in the same way.  
He couldn't really tell how long time had passed when the flow of energy between them suddenly leveled out and found a balance of sorts.  
Emelie's energy was blanketed under his own, but it was willingly, she allowed his power to cover and guide hers, accepting him as the dominant one in the mating.  
Though he could feel the occasional burst of energy breaking through, a clear sign of her personality and independent nature and he did nothing to prevent it, allowing her energy to flow freely, merely letting his energy flow with hers, protecting it and supporting it.

As their energies settled they both knew it was time and reaching for the innermost core of each other's soul they began to form the bond.  
There was a moment of silence when the threads of energy connected and they could feel the sum of their existence bleed together.  
As he kissed her he poured his very essence into her, past, present and future, all that he had been, all that he currently was, and all that he could become focused into a single feeling and as he did he could feel her answer in kind.  
_“Soulmate...?”_  
Emelie's presence carried amazement, and hesitation, as the thin strands of energy began to twist around each other to form the ultimate bond, the mating bond.  
_“My precious soulmate!”_  
Takeshi echoed back at her, but with a deep rooted certainty and a joy unlike anything he had ever felt before.  
_“Soulmate! Mine!”_  
Emelie's hesitation was gone and she echoed Takeshi's joy back at him along with a wicked desire and teasing humor that matched his own..  
A few moments later they both felt the bond snap into place, and as it did their auras exploded outward, causing ripples to form on the lake and as it passed over those gathered to watch the eclipse, cheering and whistling erupted, celebrating the formation of a mating bond between soulmates.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Eclipse_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When Takeshi and Emelie came down from the high of their mating the eclipse had ended and they found themselves surrounded by the others who were studying them and prodding their energies with avid curiosity.  
Takeshi flared his aura and gave them a mock growl which made them back up and return to the sitting area, but they were laughing and teasing as they did.  
They didn't stay away for long though, and when they returned they all carried trays of treats, and small trinkets, symbolic gifts to give the newly mated pair good fortune.  
Much to Takeshi's frustration the giving of the gifts was very similar to how they had offered their well wishes before the heat started, complete with kisses, and wandering hands.  
“You still taste the same. Just as nice, only stronger...”  
Lucifer teased with a slight hint of surprise, he obviously expected a change.  
Still buzzing with the high of the mating, and the effects of his heat Takeshi couldn't resist a bit of payback, snaking his hands behind Lucifer he placed one hand on his mashed and the other behind his head and stole a kiss for himself, using sharp fangs to steal a drop of blood.  
“You don't taste bad yourself.”  
Takeshi quipped when he pulled back.  
“Your mate tastes better though.”  
Unlike the previous time Lucifer had given Emelie a proper kiss this time.  
“That she does.”  
Takeshi agreed with a grin before pouncing at Emelie and kissing her, much to the others amusement.

When they came back up for breath the others were waiting with their gifts and there was quite a bit of teasing going around, Takeshi and Emelie giving as good as they got, but unlike the previous time the kisses didn't hold the same heat, instead they were familiar, friendly, almost calming.  
“Oh, no you don't little raven. Come here.”  
Takeshi slowly stalked toward Hugin, holding out his hand and beckoning him to come closer.  
After what Takeshi had done the previous time the young guard was hesitant and had tried to get away with kissing Takeshi on the forehead, but in his current mood Takeshi wouldn't have any of it.  
“If you don't stop I will have to find a way to punish you...”  
The tone in Takeshi's voice made Hugin visibly shiver, every feather of his wings trembling with a mix of excitement and a hint of fear.  
“I think you better obey, little brother.”  
Munin stepped in behind Hugin, blocking his brothers escape and within moments Takeshi was upon them, bringing his hand to Hugin's mashen Takeshi halted any further attempts to escape as Hugin leaned into the gentle touch.  
“That's it my little raven.”  
Takeshi leaned in and claimed his kiss, keeping it teasingly soft.  
After a few moments Takeshi could feel a slight answer, but it was hesitant, a mix of desire and confusion, but when he felt a trickle of fear he pulled back and released Hugin with a ruffle of the small feathers at the base of his wings.  
As he stepped away Takeshi could hear Hugin's confused chirping, not really words as much as a display of emotions.  
During his time studying the rune-script with Munin, Takeshi had developed a fair understanding of the spoken language as well as he had made Munin read the runes out loud, including all alternative readings in both Urui and the Obsidian language.  
He couldn't speak it himself without shifting, so his learning of it was slow, but he understood the basics of what was being said.  
Takeshi felt a pang of sorrow at the confusion and fear that was relayed by Hugin's chirps but it soon gave way to relief and gratitude as Munin's voice joined in and began to soothe his brother.  
_“Easy brother, he can feel your fear and you know what that does to him...”  
“But...”  
“No, just let it go for now brother. We will have a lot of work to do.”  
_

If Takeshi had known just how right Munin would be, he would have asked Emelie to bring them to their marquee and put up every seal he knew.

 


	71. New Life

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

  
“Take, Em. Another group has arrived.”  
Munin called from the doorway of the marquee and his words were greeted by groans.  
For the past days there had been a constant stream of guests coming to give Takeshi and Emelie the traditional _'Moira'.  
_ Moira loosely translated to 'The first gift', or 'Fortuitous gift', a token gift given to those newly mated for good fortune.  
Apparently it was believed that giving a _moira_ to a soulmated pair would give the one one who gave it good fortune as well, and would help attract their own soulmate to them.  
Though, Takeshi could feel that most of those visiting were just looking for an opportunity to weasel themselves closer to him and Emelie, trying to earn their favor.  
Emelie had picked up on the same feeling so they had decided to only meet with young children, those with pure intent, carrying symbolic gifts.  
Little handmade tokens, flowers from the plains around them, a shell or a shimmering stone from the beach, some even gifted them with small demonic animals that they had caught.  
At first they had refused to meet with any of the visitors, but the sight of a pair of sisters struggling with one of the flying octopus creatures of the plains had reminded them of Alice and Anne and they decided that they would meet with the children who came carrying gifts of their own.

**.·:*¨¨*:·. Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

“Come here girls.”  
Takeshi smiled as they pulled and struggled to keep the creature from floating away.  
When they got closer Emelie noted that it was a pregnant female and she silently pointed that out to Takeshi.  
“Girls, don't you think it would be better to let her fly free and have her babies in the plains where they belong?”  
Emelie spoke softly when the girls stopped in front of her and Takeshi.  
“We wanted to catch a baby for you, but they are like super hard to catch so we caught her instead. Then you can let her go later.”  
“Well, that is clever thinking. You think like a hunter. But her babies won't be safe like that.”  
The two girls ducked their heads and their wings fell, showing their remorse for having endangered the clutch of babies.  
“We don't have another gift...”  
“Oh don't worry about that.”  
Emelie tried to soothe them but they were both inconsolable but after a few moments Takeshi got an idea.  
“Why don't you girls try asking her if you can have a few of her eggs? Then we can watch over them until they hatch.”  
“But she can't speak...”  
“Use your auras, reach out for her, let her feel what you want.”  
By now the parents of the girls were starting look rather concerned and as they tried to come closer Hugin and Munin stepped in.  
“Worry not, your young ones are perfectly safe. My masters both have a great love and care for children.”  
It took a few minutes, but they girls managed to relay what they wanted to the creature and the creature granted them their wish by carefully expelling four of her eggs from her gas-filled body.  
Takeshi carefully took the eggs as they were expelled and handed two of them to Emelie before giving the girls one each.  
“You girls take really good care of, and protect, those eggs and I'm sure they will hatch into adorable little...”  
Takeshi paused for a moment and looked at the floating creature.  
“Well, adorable little whatever they are supposed to be.”  
The last part had the girls giggling while Emelie ushered them back to their parents.

 

**.·:*¨¨*:·. End Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

 

“Any children for us to meet with?”  
Emelie sighed as she shifted slightly pushing Knight's hand away from her hip so that she could shift her position on top of Takeshi.  
“Yes, five of them.”  
A huffing sigh from beneath her told them that Takeshi would rather stay where he was and the muttering from Knight made it quite clear that he agreed.  
“Take, let go of my tail and get dressed.”  
Emelie scolded lightly when Takeshi grabbed hold of her tail and began pulling her back toward the bed.  
“And what if I don't feel like letting go?”  
“You better not be planning on greeting those kids wearing nothing but a smile.”  
“They are demons, I'm sure they won't mind.”  
With another tug on her tail he pulled her back into his lap and silenced her objections with a kiss.  
By the time Takeshi let go of her Knight and Munin were waiting with a pair of elaborate robes for them and quickly helped them dress, all while Takeshi refused to let go of Emelie's tail.

While they spoke with the children and accepted the gifts Takeshi noticed that another group arrived, a handful of adults and a little girl holding a very expensive looking jewelry box.  
When Hugin took the girl to the side Takeshi focused a part of his attention on them to listen in on the conversation.  
“That's a beautiful box, did you pick it out?”  
“No, daddy picked it.”  
“Did you have something else you wanted to give them?”  
“Mhm, but daddy said it was no good. That they wouldn't like some 'piece of junk'...”  
The sadness and disappointment was obvious in her voice.  
“What was is you had for them?”  
Hugin encouraged her.  
“This...”  
She reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a long, spiral seashell, almost as long as her lower arm.  
It was transparent like glass with several bands of color along the spiral, alternating between red and purple.  
“Why did you pick this one?”  
“The colors makes it look like their powers.”  
“You're right, it does look like them. Did you feel them as well?”  
“Mhm, they felt really nice.”  
“Why don't you leave that box here and go give them that beautiful shell? I'm sure they will love it.”  
“Okay!”  
She practically chirped before skipping toward the other children.  
When Takeshi and Emelie thanked her for the beautiful gift she was beaming at them.

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi sighed when the caravan master brought him another marker, indicating that they had another section loaded with items within the behemoth tortoise.  
It was their sixth, not counting the items that had been ordered from the various vendors to be delivered at the Obsidian Palace, one held the various items that they had bought at the market, one held the items that Seia and her children had brought with them, the others held the various moira gifts they had received.  
On top of it all Lucifer had told him that a steady stream of gifts had been delivered to the palace as well, it seemed like he would have to purchase an entire warehouse, and learn more about teleportation runes, ideally finding runes that would allow travel between the human realm and the demon realm.  
“You have become a rather rich man during your stay here.”  
Ylian brushed against his back, still in their incorporeal shadow form.  
“I already was before coming here. And I place greater value on the trinkets the children gifted us with, than the treasures their parents tried to purchase us with.”  
“I know you do. But having a substantial wealth to your name might become useful when it comes to caring for Seia and her children.”  
“Part of it will be for the benefit of our spawn as well. I know you have rather large wealth yourself, but I insist.”  
“You have done more than enough. If it wasn't for your aid I would not be carrying these. They are strong and I have no doubt it will be a successful spawning. I **will** become a true pana.”  
“And I will stand proudly at your side as para. I know it's not expected among your kind for a para to stick around after conception. But I will not abandon my children, or their pana.”  
Takeshi felt the familiar chilling sensation as Ylian passed right through him and appeared in front of him.  
The old shadeling stayed in the incorporeal shadow form in order to conserve power, to give as much as possible to the growing spawn and Takeshi assisted as much as he could, allowing his aura to flow through Ylian and gently brush against the tiny life-flames within, letting them draw as much as they wanted.  
Allowing himself to fall into the ebb and flow of energy Takeshi though back on those three days nearly two weeks ago.

**.·:*¨¨*:·. Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

“Ylian, may I have a moment of your time?”  
Takeshi extracted himself from Emelie while Knight had her distracted.  
“Of course.”  
They walked behind one of the divider screens for a measure of privacy.  
“I have been thinking about my promise to aid you in becoming pana. And I have a question that might be a bit, well, intimate.”  
“Nothing short of a true mating would be more intimate than the transfer between pana and para. Ask your question.”  
“I was wondering if it would improve your chances of a successful spawning if we did this while I am still under the influence of my heat.”  
“But, your heat should have ended by now?”  
Ylian sounded rather confused.  
“Normally it would have, but the instinct to procreate is keeping my heat active, though a slow burn that is easy to hide.”  
“So she still struggles with her fears...”  
“She probably will for a long time. But I can, and will, wait for her, as long as it takes.”  
“You are right though, if you are still in heat, especially if it is prolonged by a breeding fever it should greatly increase the chances for a successful spawning. Though, is Em going to be okay with that? Even if she has no conscious desire to breed her instincts might rebel, you are quite desirable as a breeding partner, and you are her soulmate.”  
“She is fine with it. She has actually been pestering me to find a way to end my heat since it's pulling at hers, prolonging hers as well.”  
They agreed that they might as well get it over with as soon as possible, and with that they re-joined the others.

“Em, would you be okay with only Logan for a while?”  
“I should be. If not I will ask our little ravens for a hand. Just don't stay away for too long, or I might end up trying to kill Lucifer.”  
While Takeshi laughed at Emelie's complaints about Lucifer's frequent propositions, Hugin and Munin quickly assured them that they would gladly help if needed.  
“Then I will go with Ylian and return once yi is carrying. With some luck that will also allow my heat to end, and yours with it.”  
“About time, it's driving me insane!”  
“Really? And here I thought you were enjoying yourself...”  
Takeshi quipped at her which earned him a frustrated hiss.  
“There is such a thing as _'För mycket av det goda'_ you know.”  
“Too much of a good thing? Impossible!”  
He teased in return.  
“You are the one who is impossible! Now run of and make me some cousins!”  
“ _Hai hai, sweetie._ ”  
A huff was the only reply she offered as she shooed him out of the marquee while Ylian followed them with a telling smile.

The rest of the day had been spent in Ylian's small marquee, allowing their energies to synchronize, and talking about some of the finer details of what needed to be done.  
Shadelings didn't have genders so their reproductions was different, any shadeling could become both pana, the one to carry, and para, the one who gives, their equivalent of mother and father.  
They were also able to become pana with the help of someone of another species, and it didn't matter if the para was male or female, or neither, a shadeling was even able to become pana on their own.  
Becoming pana without a para carried a high risk though, the offspring would be weaker and few survived long enough to transition from spawns into proper shadelings.  
The process was different as well, sex wasn't really needed, instead there was a transfer of energy, the pana would prepare by forming a chamber of sorts within their true, incorporeal, form.  
Within that chamber they would collect energy and the para would assist by feeding their energy into it as well, and when enough energy was gathered a catalyst was added.  
There were many ways for a shadeling to create the catalyst needed, and the potency of the catalyst depended on the method.  
The potency of the catalyst determined how much energy it could bind into a new form, a more potent catalyst gave fewer, but stronger spawns, and the most potent catalyst of all was a strong sexual release.  
Once the catalyst had been released the pana would return to their true form and avoid taking a corporeal form or do anything that drained their energies in order to allow their growing spawns as much energy as possible to feed of.  
Most para would leave once the catalyst had been activated, but Takeshi made it clear to Ylian that he would assist in feeding the growing spawns.

Takeshi was carefully wrapping Ylian in his power, pushing it into them while trailing teasing kisses along their neck when he felt them shift their form slightly, taking on a more female appearance.  
“You don't need to change your form on my behalf. I don't care if you appear more male or female. Just keep the form you are most comfortable with.”  
“I know, but certain activities are easier, and more enjoyable, if I wear a more compatible form.”  
Takeshi chuckled at Ylian's answer and began to trace the new curves with his claws, enjoying the shiver he managed to bring out.  
Takeshi found himself struggling to keep his flow of energy even with Ylian's, and it was becoming harder and harder to suppress it to keep an even flow, even the slightest spike could disturb the balance needed.  
“Can you handle a higher flow? I'm not sure I will be able to keep my power stable like this.”  
“You are strong, but not strong enough to overwhelm me, not yet at least. Just, step it up gradually please, the energy is so fragile at this stage.”  
“Of course.”  
Takeshi carefully let go of his energy and when it flowed freely he breathed a deep sigh of relief.  
“You know, your energy is rather comfortable when you are relaxed. Warm, protective, even nurturing.”  
Ylian was leaning back into Takeshi's chest, focused on channeling their combined power into the chamber within that would soon hold the fragile new lives.  
“And when I'm not relaxed?”  
“Sharp, and a bit too hot for someone like me to be comfortable.”  
“Do all shadelings have cold energies like you?”  
Takeshi decided to try and get a few answers while he waited for Ylian's need for energy to be sated.  
“We do, it's our nature. Just look at Em, a succubus would normally be hot, like fire, the heat of passion and desire. But she has inherited so much from my father, her shadow heritage shining through in the crisp chill of her aura.”  
They spent several hours just talking and channeling energy, but when the sun began to rise Ylian turned slightly and told Takeshi that it was done, that all they needed now was the catalyst.

“Being this submissive does not suit you.”  
Takeshi complained slightly as he nipped at Ylian's neck.  
To feel Ylian force their energies into submission felt strange, Takeshi knew why they did it but it gave him a feeling of wrongness that was ruining his mood.  
“You know, I quite enjoy a spirited partner. Or do you believe that Em, or Logan, submit easily?”  
“They are pack, I'm not.”  
“Don't worry, my Beast can tell if someone is trying to challenge me or claim dominance. The lack of submission alone won't trigger any reaction. It has grown to enjoy being pushed just as much as I do.”  
“Why am I not surprised.”  
Ylian laughed and slowly allowed their power to rise, to tease and mock challenge, and when they pushed clawed hands against Takeshi's chest he rolled to the side, pulling Ylian along until they were straddling him.  
When Ylian leaned in toward Takeshi's throat he leaned his head back slightly, giving them access to his neck and throat.  
He could feel the burn of his heat rise and he encouraged it, letting the thrill of walking the edge light the fire.  
“I think this just got very interesting.”  
Ylian whispered against Takeshi's neck before giving him a nip with sharp fangs, earning them a groan as Takeshi's heat returned with full force.  
Teasing laughter was replaced by a yelp and a moaning sigh as Takeshi dug his claws into Ylian's hips and pulled them down sharply.

“Only four, I don't think I have ever heard of anyone carrying such a small clutch. But they are strong, stronger than I had dared hope.”  
Ylian carefully used a trickle of energy to probe the chamber that held the budding life.  
“Four life-flames, strong and stable.”  
Takeshi agreed, allowing his energy to gently brush against them and when a tiny lick of power answered and latched onto his aura, drawing power from it his smile turned into a grin.  
“Shadelings rarely carry less than twenty, and those that do usually do so because they had very little energy to start with. We had so much power, I was sure I would be carrying an unusually large clutch. But your heat, your raw instinct and desire to procreate gave the catalyst a boost.”  
There was worry, a hint of fear, in Ylian's tone, no doubt concerned that none of the young would live long enough to mature fully.  
Ylian had explained before that shadelings were born in a larval form of sorts, as lesser shadows and only the strongest survived long enough to mature into shadelings.  
It was not uncommon for a shadeling pana to carry a clutch of 30 to 50 and only have one or two become shadelings.  
“They are stronger than a normal spawn, right?”  
“They are. Much stronger.”  
“Then I wouldn't worry so much. Also, unlike most pana you will have their para here to feed them even more power.”  
The sensation of Ylian's incorporeal form leaning against him was a strange one, but Takeshi was sure he would get used to it.

**.·:*¨¨*:·. End Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

 

“I find myself longing for the the day these are ready to leave the chamber.”  
Ylian sighed and shifted slightly, brushing a tendril of power against the tiny lives within.  
“They joy of pregnancy getting old already? Image being human then and carry for 9 months.”  
Takeshi teased with a smile.  
“I don't mind carrying them, I just miss my corporeal form. I don't think it would harm them if I did retake it, but I don't want to take the risk.”  
“Oh, any particular reason why you miss it so much?”  
Takeshi's aura brushed against Ylian's in a rather suggestive way as he spoke.  
“I can see why your pack insists on calling you impossible, and horrible... But yes, that is one of the reasons.”

 

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Are you sure you are good to travel?”  
“Oh, would you stop being such a worrywart. I'm just a bit low on energy from the drain and the lack of proper food.”  
Ylian sighed and tried to divert Takeshi's attention back to packing up their camp.  
“You did say that you think they are about ready to leave the spawning-chamber. Maybe we should stay here until they have?”  
“Don't worry, it's not like a human birthing, there's no risk involved. And they will remain in their current form for a while after they leave, their corporeal form will be like a marble, protecting them.”  
Ylian explained, adding a bit more details than last time they had spoken of it.  
“So you are sure then?”  
“Yes, I'm sure. Now go fuzz over something else will you?”  
Ylian sighed before nailing Hugin and Munin with a glare to try to silence their amused chirping.  
Ylian enjoyed that Takeshi cared, and worried about their spawn, but he could become a bit much sometimes, a real mother-hen, though, that part of him was one of the things that had drawn them to him as a para.  
Turning their focus inward Ylian let their power brush against the four little ones and smiled as they responded in an almost playful way, showing that they were ready to be born.

“Take, could you carry this out to the wagon please?”  
Emelie pointed toward one of the large chests filled with clothes.  
They would pack the wagon and bring it to the edge of the camp where the caravan master would see to that it was packed into the behemoth tortoise.  
Much to Takeshi's relief it was the final chest, once it had been removed from the marquee it was time to take it down and prepare it to be loaded onto the 'desert-tank'.  
He was securing the chest when Emelie tapped his shoulder with her tail, hand occupied with a stack of baskets and lids.  
“Take, when you are done loading those chests onto the wagon could you grab Logan and take a few of those empty amphorae over there and join us at the beach?”  
“Of course sweetie.”  
Takeshi glanced toward the waterline where Seia's children were combing through the sand under Ylian's watchful eye, though, as usual Arath was just sitting to the side, pretending to be his sisters' keeper.  
Takeshi had very little hope for the boy, but he refused to just give up.  
Arath had been refusing to pack his own things, expecting his mother, sisters or one of the female servants or guards to do it for him.  
He hadn't packed his things until Takeshi had ordered that none of his house would do it, and Lucifer ordered that none of the guards or servants were allowed to help.  
Before that Arath had been speaking to the others from the blue sands, happily telling them that Takeshi had not bedded Seia, suggesting that she had been found unworthy, something that would make her _tharas_ in their eyes and place her in quite a bit of danger.  
In the end there had been no choice than for Takeshi to consummate the bond with her, the others of her people would be able to tell if he didn't, but it had been one of the hardest things he had ever done.  
Not because he found her unworthy or anything like that, but because she didn't actually want him, she only did it out of necessity and the deeply ingrained training to always obey a male, especially her mate, and in the end it had taken Emelie's powers for him to be able to do what needed to be done.  
The lack of desire along with he taint of fear in Seia's aura and scent had made it near impossible for him to _perform_ , and even when smothered in Emelie's peppermint and dosed by her venom it had been a struggle.  
For a moment he found himself thinking back on the conversation he had shared with her afterward.

 

**.·:*¨¨*:·. Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

  
  
  
“You are an honorable male. I'm sorry....”  
Seia's aura was even more submissive than usual, something that made Takeshi's instinct rebel.  
“Ssh, don't apologize. I'm the one who should be apologizing for not being able to find a way around this. No one should ever need to do something like this.”  
“It is the way of my people.”  
“House Miara of the Blue Sands is no more. You, and your children are House Shamarai of the Silver Lakes now. You are no longer subject to their ways.”  
“I know, but it will take time to get used to it, to change how I have been raised to be.”  
“Good thing then, that time is something we have plenty of.”

 

**.·:*¨¨*:·. End Flashback .·:*¨¨*:·.**

  
Takeshi grabbed a pair of the amphorae and began to walk toward the water, thinking about his house and all that came with it.

There had been quite a bit of debate about what origin Takeshi's house would claim, since Takeshi's origin wasn't from within the demon-realm.  
He could have claimed the Obsidian Halls as his origin since Lucifer was the one that had granted him his house, but somehow it didn't feel right and when Lilith offered to give him the Silver Lakes, a neutral territory for all demons, as his origin he accepted.  
Emelie had the choice between the Obsidian Halls or the Black Mountain from Maroue, or the Eternal Night from Lilith and she had chosen the latter for her House Miri.  
And since Emelie submitted to him during their mating their combined house 'Shamarai Miri' would claim the Silver Lakes as it's origin.

“Welcome to the treasure hunt.”  
Ylian greeted with a tired smile, as long as they were in their incorporeal form they were unable to eat or drink, having to feed solely on energy, something that left them rather exhausted.  
“I hope the kids have not been too much trouble.”  
Takeshi paused for a moment to set down his burden before sitting down next to Ylian, releasing some of his aura to feed both Ylian and their little clutch.  
“Not at all, the girls are very well behaved, and they are adjusting fine to their newfound freedom. Toben doesn't fuss much and Arath is his usual charming self.”  
The last part was Ylian's diplomatic way of saying that Arath had been behaving like a stuck-up brat as usual.  
“It's good to finally see them playing around and having fun.”  
“It is. You should join them.”  
“I will once our little ones here stop trying to drain me dry. You make sure to take your fill as well.”  
“It's okay, Roghan will give me what I need before we set out. Save your power for our spawn, you know they won't accept any but ours.”  
Takeshi was grateful that the others had decided to help with giving Ylian the energy they needed, even Lucifer and Lilith had given freely, if he had to do it himself he would probably be very drained by now.  
While the spawn fed of his energy he watched the children collect shells on the beach and place them in the baskets that Emelie had brought.  
Emelie liked the glass-like shells and wanted to bring plenty of them with them back, and while he watched she shoveled the blue and green crystal sand into one of the lids and used it as a sieve, collecting the fine sand on top of a piece of cloth before packing it into a tightly woven basket.

“Ah, done feeding my little cousins?”  
Emelie looked up from the basket filled with shells when he placed the amphorae in the sand next to her.  
“For now, they are hungry little rascals.”  
“That's good, means they will be strong.”  
“That they are. Now, anything else you need me to do?”  
"Yeah, fill those with water from the lake and drop one of these in before sealing them up.”  
She handed him a few small crystals, similar to the ones used to create the stasis field they used to keep food from spoiling, they would keep the water fresh and prevent it from going stale or becoming tainted.  
“As you wish my Lady.”  
Takeshi teased with a bow and a quick step to the side to avoid her tail before picking up the amphorae and heading toward the water.  
“ _But you_ _ **are**_ _my Lady. Most precious of all treasures. My soulmate.”_  
_“And you, my soulmate, should know better than trying to flatter me.”_  
As much as she tried she couldn't hide the pleased joy from his words, the bond transmitting them as clearly as it did her words and in return she felt his content amusement.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

It was the third day of their return trip when Takeshi felt sharp fluctuations in Ylian's aura from within Lucifer's palanquin, signaling that they were about to birth their spawn.

Ylian shared the warded palanquin with Lucifer and Lilith in order to conserve their energy and have access to plenty of energy to feed off and Takeshi joined them every few hours to allow the spawn to feed from him.  
“Go. Be with yi.”  
Emelie gave Takeshi's qilin a slight nudge toward the ox beasts that carried the palanquin.  
“May I enter?”  
Takeshi called with slight hesitation, unsure what rules tradition dictated for births.  
“Of course, come.”  
Ylian's voice was slightly strained and Lucifer was the one to open the door of the palanquin to let Takeshi in.  
Once inside Takeshi found Ylian resting on a pile of pillows with Lilith at their side, gently feeding them energy from her vast reserves.  
“Come, let them feel you while yi prepares to expel them from the chamber.”  
Lilith nodded toward the pillows on Ylian's other side.  
Takeshi joined them and allowed his energy to brush over Ylian and their spawns.

“Take, would you stop being so antsy. I assure you, there is no discomfort.”  
Ylian scolded gently as they prepared to bring out the first of their spawns.  
“I know. But it's still a rather disconcerting sight to see you with your hands inside your body like this.”  
“I guess it would be for someone who is used to always being corporeal.”  
Takeshi watched as Ylian carefully manipulated the small balls of energy within, gently urging one of them closer to the surface.  
“Hold out your hand and coat it with your power.”  
Ylian instructed and Takeshi did as he was told, then suddenly Ylian closed their hand around one of the spawns and pulled it out, gently placing it into Takeshi's waiting hand.  
He was surprised at the weight of it, although the size of a quail egg it was heavy, as if it was made from solid platinum and it was cold like ice but very clearly alive as tiny wisps of shadowy energy explored his own energy.  
After a while it seemed to recognize him and the egg-shape unfurled into a small cloud of shadow energy that slowly enveloped his hand before returning to it's smaller, corporeal form.  
When Ylian held out their hand with the next spawn Lilith held out a small box with soft padding and four small indents that was obviously made to house the spawns in their egg form.  
Takeshi carefully placed the one he was holding into one of the indents before taking the next one from Ylian's hand and soon it unfurled as well, tasting his power, getting to know him and this time he placed it into the box once it resumed its egg form and waited for Ylian to extract the next one.

Once all four spawns had been placed into the box Lilith held it out to Ylian who had just retaken corporeal form.  
“Four strong spawns. Take pride in your young, pana.”  
Ylian picked them up one by one, repeating the greeting, and bonding process that Takeshi had just gone through.  
“Thank you for gifting me with these.”  
Ylian reached for Takeshi, pulled him closer and gave him a kiss that relayed all of their emotion.  
“Em is going to be pestering you to meet them as soon as possible you know.”  
“I know, but she will have to wait until they mature a bit more, but she should be able to meet them before we arrive.”  
Ylian closed the lid of the small box and hid it away in their clothes.  
“But right now, all I want is some proper food.”  
The demand brought on some knowing chuckles and shortly after several trays of food was brought in while Takeshi left to find fresh prey to bring back to Ylian to allow them to replenish what they had lost.

When Takeshi returned to the caravan with his catch they had stopped for the night so he brought the massive buffalo beast to the fires where his pack and the others were resting.  
He quickly released the travois from the harness of the pack-beast and handed the reins to one of the servants, another servant came and took the reins of his qilin, they would bring them to the stable master and see to that they were taken care of.  
“A little snack for our new pana.”  
Takeshi teased lightly, but the hungry gleam in Ylian's eyes as they approached made him step away from his prey and as they walked past him, Ylian handed Takeshi the box that held their young.  
They prowled around the beast, assessing it before abandoning their usual humanoid form in favor of some sort of shapeless blob, enveloping the beast and when they began to reform there was no trace of it, not even skin or bones remained.  
“Mmm, that's better.”  
Ylian licked their lips and focused back on Takeshi.  
“You think you could catch me something alive next?”  
Ylian was nearly purring at him.  
“Fresh blood and flaring life-force?”  
He held out the small rectangular box to Ylian who took it and placed it back in its hidden fold.  
“Exactly...”  
“Think you can manage until tomorrow without eating someone? I could use a bit of rest.”  
“Cheeky...”  
Ylian huffed at him.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

The news of the birthing had obviously spread fast as a steady stream of demons came by to congratulate Ylian on a successful spawning, offering gifts, and various treats.  
A sudden spike of agitation from Ylian made Takeshi stop and direct his mount toward them, once there he found Ylian baring their fangs against another shadeling while curling around the box with their young, obviously not wanting the other anywhere near them.  
“I do believe that means you should leave.”  
Takeshi placed himself between the newcomer and Ylian.  
The shadeling only glanced at him with a scoff before trying to move past him, something that caused a slight trickle of fear in Ylian's aura.  
The newcomer was no match in power under normal circumstances, but Ylian was still weakened and the young were sensitive to sudden bursts of power.  
“I insist.”  
Takeshi placed his hand on the hilt of his hunting blade in warning.  
“That little toy of yours can't harm me.”  
The shadeling sneered and tried to move closer again, only to stop again when a heavy blade was placed against its neck.  
“Perhaps not, but this one will if you do not leave.”  
Knight had called out his armor, as well as his steeds barding and made for a rather intimidating image.  
_“Draw Glenys, a regular blade can't touch it.”_  
Knight urged him and he could feel Glenys respond within, letting him know that she would gladly be drawn to keep the stranger at bay.  
Thankfully it was never needed as a black crystal blade joined Knight's silver one on the opposite side of the shadelings neck.  
“I suggest you do as the para asks.”  
Lucifer's voice held a deadly chill and the shadeling left in a hurry.

“Ylian, what was that all about?”  
Takeshi's question was answered by an uncomfortable silence as Ylian checked on their young.  
“Something about yi had you really upset. Please, tell me why.”  
Ylian looked at him with a deep sigh.  
“Shadelings are cannibals. The stronger of us will consume our enemies and absorb their power. But there are weaker shadelings, and cowards, who act without honor. They will attack stronger pana while they are still week from the spawning, even if they are too weak to absorb the pana. Instead they will steal the immature spawn and absorb them to increase their own power.”  
Ylian's aura was heavy with revulsion and Takeshi could feel the spawns becoming increasingly distraught by their pana's agitated energy.  
“Don't you think you should have told me about that? That there might come shadelings wanting to kill, to eat, our babies?”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep his temper from showing in his aura, not wanting to upset the little ones any further.  
“I didn't think anyone would have the gall to try something like that in the middle of the caravan, among friends and guards.”  
The revulsion was slowly being replaced by tendrils of shame and guilt.  
“You should have told me anyway. I'm not a shadeling, I don't know your ways and neither does my Beast.”  
“You're right, I'm sorry.”  
Ylian's aura had settled down again and they were focusing it on their spawns, trying to calm them and Takeshi added his own power to the mix, focusing on the part of him that was alpha, protector.

“Logan, watch over them while I hunt please.”  
After a long conversation with Ylian they had agreed that they would focus on getting them back into fighting condition so that they would be able to properly defend themselves and their spawns.  
And that meant food, live food, and lots of it.  
“I will.”  
Knight nodded and called his armor and blade.  
“And if that shadeling shows up again, you tie it up and offer it to Ylian as a snack!”  
Takeshi's tone held a hint of a growl.  
“Gladly.”  
While Knight took up post at Ylian's side, Takeshi steered his mount over to Emelie.  
“Em, feel like joining me to catch something nice for your Susai to eat? I could use your help with taking it alive.”  
“Sounds interesting. Does yi want anything particular?”  
“Fresh blood and a flaring life-force. We need to bring a few back here for yi. Hopefully I'll be able to talk yi into joining us once yi feels a bit stronger.”  
“I think we can manage that.”

Two marks later Takeshi and Emelie returned with two of the buffalo creatures, charmed by Emelie's power they were docile enough to be handled and Ylian made short work of them.  
“We spotted several large herds of these, as well as some larger beasts and several packs of predators moving in the same direction as the caravan. Think you are strong enough to join us on a hunt tomorrow? I will guard the little ones with Logan and our raven brothers by my side and Em can help you gorge yourself.”  
“That sounds like a good idea.”  
Ylian quickly agreed, driven by hunger and a desire to protect their spawn.

“Em sweetie, I don't think you should be complaining about my appetite anymore...”  
Takeshi chuckled as they watched Ylian consume another beast that looked like a mix between a mammoth and a rhino, measuring about 5 meters at the withers the beasts were massive, and Ylian was absorbing their 5th one, on top of several of the buffaloes and a few predators.  
“Oh, I will still complain. You are not a shadeling and shouldn't eat like one.”  
“Come on, sweetie. I don't eat the hides and bones...”  
Takeshi mock wined.  
“Are you saying I'm a glutton?”  
Ylian whispered in his ear as they took their young back from Takeshi's hands.  
“Umm, no?”  
Takeshi's tone was teasing, playful and earned him a gentle nip on the ear to which he retaliated with a kiss.  
“Had your fill yet? Or should we round up a few more?”  
Emelie watched the scene in front of her with a grin.  
“I am quite sated, thank you for the assistance.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Em, would you like to hold yi?”  
Ylian held out their hand, one of the spawns resting in the cupped palm, curled together into its egg form.  
“Really?”  
Emelie lit up like a sun.  
“They are mature enough now, just try to keep your aura calm so you don't startle or scare yi, they are sensitive to energies. Once yi feels safe yi should change yi's form.”  
Ylian placed their spawn in her hand and she slowly brought it closer to her face.  
“Yi is a lot heavier than yi looks...”  
“Your mate gave them a lot of strength, that is what makes them feel so heavy.”  
There was no mistaking the pride in Ylian's voice.  
“Oh, yi is changing.”  
Emelie froze slightly, trying not to scare the little one.  
“Aw, yi is adorable!”  
“Yeah, if you like clouds with tentacles...”  
Knight teased over her shoulder.  
“Oh, be nice or shut up!”  
Emelie hissed at him and flared her wings slightly while being careful not to let her aura fluctuate.  
“Well aren't you a curious little thing...”  
She cooed at the spawn as it explored her hand and claws.  
“They are, and they will start becoming bolder soon, and start learning to take new forms.”  
Ylian watched as Emelie used her tail to tease their spawn, gently poking it with the tip and then pulling the tail away when the spawn reached for it.

“Hey! This cheeky little rascal just took a taste from me... I thought you said they would only accept yours or Takeshi's energy?”  
Emelie yelped in surprise when she felt the spawn steal a bit of her energy.  
“I have never heard of a spawn accepting energy from anyone but their pana or para before...”  
Ylian sounded rather surprised.  
“If I may ask, do you know of any cases where the para is soulmated to someone other than the pana?”  
Knight had a feeling about what might be the cause.  
“No, can't say I have ever heard of it.”  
“It could be the mating bond, as his soulmate she carries a bit of his signature within her, maybe your little whelp recognizes that?”  
“You may be right. If she carries enough of his energy they might accept her.”  
Ylian agreed after a moment.  
“Well, whatever the reason is, this little glutton seems happy enough to eat yi's fill...”  
Emelie groused while holding up her tail, dangling the tip in front of her so she could get a closer look at the spawn who was clinging to it, feeding of her aura, all while carefully holding her hands beneath, in case the spawn let go.  
“Don't worry Em, shadeling spawns are sensitive to energies, but not fragile. Falling from your tail won't harm yi, merely teach yi not to let go without looking.”  
“Learning the hard way, huh?”  
“Indeed. They have many lessons they need to learn. All of them do and learning from experience is the best way as long as it can be done in a reasonably safe way.”  
Ylian held out their hands, urging Emelie to take the other three as well.  
“Please hold them, I would like to see if they all accept your energy.”  
“Em the tasty cousin...”  
She mock complained, but took them nonetheless and by the time they latched on to her energies she was smiling and cooing at them.

“Now that you have unlocked your true power, you will be leaving soon, won't you?”  
Ylian spoke softly while watching their young explore Emelie's wings.  
“Not for a while. I need to train, learn as much as I can about my true abilities. I was hoping you would teach me about the shadow part of me.”  
She looked at Ylian for a while before speaking again.  
“And there's no way Take will leave while these little rascals are as vulnerable as they are now.”  
She caught one of the spawns and cupped her hands around it before gently blowing a puff of air charged with a tiny hint of power on it, causing it to revert to its egg form for a moment before slowly unfurling again to continue its exploration of her body and aura.  
When she looked up she studied Ylian for a while.  
“You know, you have been so different lately, it's confusing. You used to feel mostly male, but now you feel much more female.”  
Emelie's voice was a bit hesitant, it was a very private matter and usually not something that was spoken about.  
“It's not so strange. The instinctual behaviors related to childbearing and rearing are perceived as feminine traits by most species. While projecting confidence, dominance and power are considered masculine.”  
“It's not just that though, you seem a lot younger too.”  
“Well, it's my first time being pana so I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, out of my league, even a bit insecure which would make me seem younger.”  
“I would never have have pegged you for being one to be insecure. But you know what, you seem a lot happier too.”  
“I am. I have been wanting to become pana for a very long time, but been unable to find a suitable para. I didn't want to pick someone I didn't feel was right or do it on my own, risking to spawn a weak clutch that would perish, or fail to mature into true shadelings.”  
“I'm glad my Take proved to be a good match for you.”  
She brought her wing around and blew a puff of air and power on the spawn that was clinging to the thumb claw, making it revert to its egg form and she caught it as it fell and handed it back to Ylian before twisting the other wing around to give the next spawn the same treatment.  
The second and third spawn was quickly given the same treatment and handed back to Ylian while in their egg form, the fourth one was a bit trickier as it was hiding at the top of her new horns, out of reach of her hands and she didn't want to risk using her tail to grab it.  
“As am I, as am I.”  
Ylian smiled and reached for the last spawn, untangling it from Emelie's horn with a small spark of power.  
“They like you.”  
“Does that mean I will be the go-to babysitter, and random snack?”  
She mock complained.  
“Of course.”  
Ylian teased in return.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Now relax, keep hold of that dark, cool power. Let it wrap around you the same way you do when you step into the shadows, but instead of pushing it outward to form the gateway, pull it inward, use it to change.”  
Ylian repeated the familiar instructions with a calm voice and Emelie struggled to do as they said, but once again she lost hold of the power and ended up vanishing and reappearing from a nearby shadow.  
“Maybe I just don't have enough shadow in me to change my form.”  
Emelie sighed deeply.  
“I'm sure you will be able to learn it, just give it time. You have only been practicing these powers for two years, and things like this takes time when you are not born into a fluid form.”  
Ylian soothed her.  
“I'm still getting used to two years being 'only'. It doesn't feel like I'm getting anywhere.”  
“Don't worry, you are improving. You gather your power faster, and hold it longer for each lesson. You just need to figure out how to trigger it, but that is something I can't help you with, it's different for everyone.”  
“If you say so...”  
Emelie sighed and began gathering her power again.

“Okay, that's enough for now, you are not focusing anymore.”  
Ylian stopped Emelie as she began to gather her power once again.  
“I need to feed, properly.”  
She sighed.  
“Well you could have joined them you know.”  
“I would end up killing someone if I did. And that would cause a lot of trouble.”  
Takeshi had left for the Blue Sands with Seia, her daughters, Toben and a few of Lucifer's guards to re-claim the holdings of the former House Miara and Emelie had chosen to stay behind since she doubted she would be able to keep her cool if exposed to the ways of the Children of the Blue Sands.

Over the past two years Seia had blossomed with her newfound freedom, and she had found love in one of the palace guards and Roghan had confirmed that they were a soul-match, much to their amusement the guard in question was Merle.  
Knowing that, Takeshi had asked Lucifer to gift Merle to House Shamarai, with the guard being of his house Seia's family could not object if he _gifted_ her to him as mate.  
Since Emelie was his soulmate and they had formed the bond before he formally accepted Seia, Seia was considered a _spare_ mate, expendable and those mates were often used as bargaining chips, though in this case it would be a rouse.  
The children would still be considered his though, but he would not separate them, they would live with their mother, though of the six only five remained, Arath had been banished half a year after their return to the Obsidian Halls.  
Arath had caused quite a bit of trouble from the start, but when he tried to force himself on a young female there was no choice but to brand him with the rune of the outcast and banish him from all demon societies.  
He had admitted his actions with no sign of remorse, instead he acted as if it had been his right so he had been allowed to live only because Takeshi had found him, and stopped him, before he had a chance to do more than scare the girl and give her a few bruises.  
Takeshi would return once he had set up Seia and her new mate as caretakers of the property he had gained when he defeated the night-demon that had challenged him.  
For Emelie that meant that she had to feed from other sources, even Knight didn't have the stamina to be her sole source of energy as she spent a lot of it in training.

“Don't worry Em, if Logan is unable to give you enough energy the rest of us will gladly assist.”  
“I know. It's just... It's not the same...”  
“You miss your mate. There is no shame in that. A mated succubus prefers the energy of their mate, as does most vampirics. They synchronize with their mates, making it easier for them to sate the hunger.”  
“I know...”  
Emelie sighed even deeper than before, exhaustion starting to creep into her aura.  
“You know, it would be much easier if you learned to accept other partners, even if it's just for a quick snack. It will be hard for you to keep your hunger sated with just two males.”  
Ylian scolded gently, the conversation was familiar, they had spoken of it many times before.  
“I'm trying!”  
She hissed at Ylian.  
After her mating she had finally felt comfortable with sharing herself with Knight, to feed from him in the true way of the succubi, but she was still struggling with the idea of bedding someone outside the pack, even if it was just to feed.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Lady Em!”  
Brenna waved with a wide smile.  
“Brenna, it's nice to see you, it's been quite some time now.”  
Brenna and her mate-to-be waved for Emelie to join them on the bench.  
“I apologize for not adjusting my form, but it might be unwise in my current condition.”  
As she shifted slightly Emelie noticed she was pregnant.  
“Congratulation! When are you due to lay?”  
Emelie beamed at her.  
She had been rather surprised when they first arrived and Munin had told them that the obsidian angels were oviparous, laying one, sometimes two eggs a few weeks after conception.  
It was apparently common among winged demons to lay eggs, the wings making a regular birth more complicated, and carrying the weight of a fetus and extra fluids like a human would restrict their ability to fly.  
“I should have laid already, but the healer assures me there is nothing wrong. Probably just nerves, it's not uncommon to be late your first time.”  
They spent most of the day talking, catching up on all that had happened in the past four years.  
Brenna was still courting her hunter, the younger brother had chosen to drop out of the courting after seeing the deep feelings that had developed between the two.  
Their courting would be a bit more traditional than her own had been, probably lasting for 50-100 years before a mating was considered.  
Their conversation was interrupted though when Brenna suddenly became agitated and began to shift around in her seat, shielding herself with her wings and before long she was holding an egg, about double the size of an emu egg with a shiny, deep black shell.  
While she was laying her egg Hugin and Munin scrambled around the local stores to find something to help her carry and protect the egg and they quickly returned with a woven basket, a pile of blankets and a handful of smooth fire-crystals to help keep it warm as well as a small bucket of warm water, a few washcloths and a small piece of unscented, soft, soap.  
“Thank you.”  
Brenna took the cloth and cleaned the egg while chirping and cooing, with the egg clean she carefully wrapped it and placed it in the basket before cleaning herself a bit.  
Emelie was a bit surprised that no one seemed to notice that Brenna had just laid her egg in the middle of the park.  
“It's not an entirely uncommon occurrence, the need to lay can come quite sudden, even for experienced mothers and obsidian angels are quite active while they carry. Everyone here has probably seen it before, even you, though you may not have noticed, or realized.”  
Munin explained in a soft whisper, as usual he seemed to know exactly what had her confused.  
Thinking about it she quickly realized that she had been underneath Brenna's wings, giving her an excellent view of the laying of the egg while everyone else had been on the other side of the feathery barrier.  
They quickly talked Brenna into going home and getting some rest but before they separated Emelie made her promise that she would visit, or at least send an invitation when the little one was ready to be seen.  
As she watched them walk away Emelie could feel a twinge of longing.

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_New Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Aw, how cute can you be?”  
Emelie cooed at the little girl in Lilith's arms and Takeshi found himself agreeing, she was one of the cutest things he had ever seen.  
She had her father's black hair and feathered wings, covered in soft, fluffy, down feathers that were just as black as her hair and a long tail curled around her mother's arm and a pair of tiny horns could be seen hiding among the tufts of wild hair.  
When she looked up at them she revealed bright red eyes, wide with childish wonder and after a few moments of looking at Emelie she reached out her hands for her and flicked her wings with excitement.  
Emelie quickly caught her as she threw herself from her mother's arms, careful not to hurt her wings she shifted the girl into a more comfortable hold.  
“Easy there cutie, it's much too early for you to try to fly.”  
While her wings were no doubt large enough to carry her she only had a handful of true feathers, the rest was just soft baby down, it would be years before she had the feathers needed for flight.  
“I'm Susu, not cutie...”  
Lilith's daughter, Susu, complained with a huff.  
“Of course you are Susu little one, but you are still a cutie.”  
Emelie tapped Susu on the nose which earned her a scowl that was quickly replaced by a radiant smile.  
While she played with the little girl she thought back to the first time she had seen a glimpse of her.

Shortly after their return from the Silver Lakes, Lucifer had gone into his heat and left for a few days to sate the lust, a moon later a heavily pregnant Lilith arrived at the palace to give birth.  
Like many demons Lilith carried her young for a very short time compared to humans, and she had come because she wanted the girl's father to be present, and she also asked that Emelie was present for the birth.  
Emelie had been rather surprised as she watched Lilith smile and laugh her way through the birth, seemingly taking great joy and pleasure in the process despite the obvious pain.  
Emelie recalled the thrill of excitement she had felt as she prepared to aid Lilith's delivery, her grandmother had insisted that she should be the one to assist her, to 'catch' the baby girl as she emerged from the womb.  
She had stared in wonder at the tiny infant in her hands, naked wings tucked tightly against her back and the tail had quickly come up to curl around her body with the tip instinctively seeking out and curling around the nearest creature which just happened to be Emelie's hand.  
Lucifer was beaming with pride when Emelie handed him his daughter and he smiled widely at Emelie as she struggled to unwrap the thin, fragile, tail from her hand and wrap it around his hand instead.  
“She likes you.”  
Lilith grinned through her exhaustion.

With the birthing done Lilith had secluded herself in her rooms for a few days before leaving to return to her own hidden castle to raise her baby girl in safety.  
They had not seen or heard from her for seven years until today when she had suddenly appeared at the gates with a little girl clinging to her.  
Susu appeared to be around three years old, demons matured differently than humans, and she was as curious as they came once she had gotten over her shyness around the new, powerful creatures that surrounded her.

“You are quite the natural.”  
Lilith teased as Emelie tried to untangle her tail from Susu's tail.  
“So I've heard...”  
She muttered while she dislocated a few joints in her own tail so that she could undo the knot that had formed without hurting the girl's slender tail.  
“Oh, that must have hurt...”  
There was pity, and quite a lot of gratitude in Lilith's voice.  
“There, all done. Now you be careful with how you wrap that tail of yours.”  
Emelie gave the tip of Susu's tail a quick kiss before letting go.  
“I will!”  
Susu promised with usual exuberance of a child.  
“Now run along and play with the others.”  
“Okay!”

Emelie let go of a deep sigh as she watched Susu join Ylian's little group of rascals and Ani, Brenna's little girl.  
Takeshi had named the girl after the Groove-billed Ani since her baby chirp, a signature sound that would in time evolve into her name, sounded like the call of the Ani.  
“You love children, and you obviously long for children of your own, yet you refuse to even try to conceive.”  
Lilith kept her voice low as she curled her wing around Emelie.  
“I want children, but I don't want to lose them before they are even born. I'm terrified of the thought of becoming pregnant only to find out that the child was too weak and was killed by my own power.”  
Emelie's aura reflected her pain and fear so Lilith pulled her close, smothering her aura with her own so the children wouldn't sense her.  
“I am sorry. Such is the curse of my daughters and their daughters. The curse of my precious little Lilim girls. The only solace I can offer is that your mate is strong, your chances of a successful breeding are better with him than with most.”  
“Better, but still not good?”  
“I'm afraid not. Even with a powerful demon you would probably lose more than you successfully birth.”  
“I suspected as much...”  
Emelie leaned into Lilith's touch, letting it soothe her fears.

 

 

 

 


	72. Returning Home

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take!”  
Emelie was beaming with pride when she entered the private garden.  
“Hello love, what has you in such a good mood?”  
She didn't answer him, instead she gathered her power around her and in a small flash of power the petite blonde was replaced by a tall, curvy, redhead with sparkling blue eyes.  
“Congratulations sweetie!”  
He pulled her in for a searing kiss, it did feel odd though as the form she had transformed into was so much taller.  
“Over eight years, but I finally found it.”  
“No one ever doubted you would.”  
“Ylian told me there is nothing more for me to learn from yi, that it's time for me to find my own path.”  
“Indeed it is. It's time for us to prepare to return home.”  
They had stayed longer than anticipated to give Emelie a chance to learn how to transform like a shadow.  
“It's been almost ten years...”  
Emelie's tone was slightly hesitant.  
“You are forgetting about the chronoshift, only one year has passed for them.”  
“After all this time I'm still trying to get used to things like that.”  
“Don't worry, there is still some time left to adjust to the idea.”  
Takeshi teased, it would take some time for them to get ready to leave, they had gained quite a bit of assets that needed to be secured and they needed to find caretakers for the various beasts they had found or been gifted with over the years, many could not be brought to the human realm.  
“But for now, how about you give me back my beautiful little mate?”  
Takeshi smelled her hair, even her scent had changed slightly and he found it unsettling.  
Emelie mock scolded him for being shallow and fixated on looks as she returned to her true form. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Lord Shamarai, a message has arrived from the Master of the Roost.”  
One of the black-winged guards bowed deeply and held out a small silver platter with a rolled up parchment sealed by a wax seal with the silhouette of a flying bird that looked like a swift or a swallow.  
Takeshi took the scroll and dismissed the guard with a sigh, he disliked the way some of the guards would fawn and grovel, most would address him as _'Iero',_ the male form of _'Ieri'_ which was similar to how you would use 'Sir' in English and the level of respect, and formality was somewhere between -san and -sama in Japanese.  
For the most part Urui followed a pattern for gender distinction that was very similar to Spanish, -o for male, -a for female and with the addition of -i for the base form..  
He quickly read the message which was short and to the point.

“ _She has laid her clutch.”_

'She' in this case was a demonic version of a homing pigeon, it was similar to a swift, or a swallow, and like a homing pigeon it could always find it's way home and it was a true realm-walker, able to freely cross the realms to find its way.  
Home for these birds was wherever the egg hatched, and the hens always laid even numbered clutches where the eggs was laid in pairs, the two chicks forever bound to each other.  
They could always find their soul-twin and the place where their egg had hatched, so if the eggs were separated and hatched in two different locations the birds could always find their way between those locations, if you brought one of the birds with you when traveling its twin could always find you.  
It was also possible to craft a beacon of sorts from the shell of their eggs that could be used to set a temporary home while traveling.  
Takeshi intended to leave one egg with Seia and bring the other with him to the human realm and initiate the hatching once they had return to their island to make sure she had a quick way of reaching him, the palace had other means of contact.  
It had taken quite bit of convincing, and currency, to talk the Master into parting with a pair of the valuable eggs.

“Good day iero _.”  
_ Takeshi greeted the Master of the Roost with a slight nod.  
“Ah, Takeshi iero. Here to collect your price, are you?”  
Takeshi was glad that he had become quite proficient in the language of the Obsidian Halls over the years as the old angel's Urui was near unintelligible and heavily mixed with his native chirps.  
“Indeed I am.”  
He was quickly brought to a fairly large nest where the pure black bird rested, carefully shifting her eggs, though the eggs didn't really need her to incubate them, they would develop just fine on their own.  
They wouldn't hatch until triggered to do so by pulse of aura, either from the parent, or as they had been conditioned to for generations, the Master of the Roost, or one of the keepers.  
Takeshi had spent some time learning the art, and had been taught how to trigger the hatching, and triggering the hatching of one egg would cause it's twin to hatch as well.  
The Master of the Roost asked him to choose which pair of eggs he wanted, each pair was different from the other.  
One was a deep emerald green, another pure black, the third pair was a blueish purple and the final pair a mottled gray, lacking the clear gemstone quality of the others but yet he found himself drawn to the rather drab looking eggs.  
“Those two, the gray ones.”  
“Hmph, I should have known better than to let someone with your instincts have their pick...”  
The old master groused, confirming that Takeshi had made a good choice.  
“We have bred them for countless generations, so long that they are no longer able to produce viable offspring with their wild brethren. This has caused the bloodlines to grow thin, but on rare occasions a pair of old-blood eggs will be laid.”  
He explained that the old-blood were able to have viable offspring with their wild counterparts, and that offspring was compatible with all of the bred bloodlines, making them invaluable for bringing in fresh blood.  
“I can imagine you would not wish to part with them then.”  
“I gave my word that you would have your pick of her next clutch and so you will. You chose them, they are yours.”  
Takeshi could tell though, that the old demon did not wish to part with them.  
“How about we make a deal. You may use them for breeding if you pay half the value of the offspring to my house. Though only for the preservation of the bloodlines, I will not see them bred for profit.”  
Takeshi offered.  
“A most generous offer that will be thoroughly considered.”  
It was a good offer, but even at half value it was a lot of currency, especially since a clutch was usually 4 to 8 pairs of eggs.

When he returned to the guest-wing, and the rooms that had been their residence for the past 9 years, he was carrying two carefully crafted boxes, one for each egg and after a few quick words with Hugin and Munin he headed out to find Knight so that they could head to the Blue Sands and deliver the egg that would be left with Seia.  
Seia had fully mated her guard, but they were still house Shamarai, and her children were considered to be Takeshi's, and he would not allow them to suffer under the ways of their people.  
Along with the egg he also had a long list of instructions about how he wanted the children to be raised, especially regarding the girls, and their future _First Rite_ , he would not allow it to be performed by one of the Blue Sands males, instead they would travel to the Obsidian Palace when it was time, and Lucifer would assist in finding a suitable male to be their Guide, or take it upon himself to ensure that it was done right by the girls.

He quickly went through the mental checklist of things that needed to be done before they left and found that it was about halfway done.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“A word if I may?”  
Takeshi waited for the delegation to leave before approaching the dais.  
“Take, what can I do for you this fine day?”  
Lucifer sounded tired and Takeshi couldn't blame him, he had spent the better part of the day listening to a group of farmers squabbling over property lines, grazing rights on nearby common land, contamination of crops from crops grown on nearby fields and suspicions of unwanted mating of livestock.  
“Has there been any news about those _Itiri_ that Em wanted?”  
Itiri was a popular meat and egg fowl within the demon-realm, the small birds looked like a mix between various _Galliformes_ species like quail, ptarmigan and pheasant, the pure white birds were good egg layers and the meat was succulent and tender with a rich, gamy taste, but they were tiny, about the size of a button-quail.  
“Ah, sorry about that. I had intended to inform you earlier but these quarrelsome farmers are taking a lot longer than anticipated to deal with.”  
Lucifer rose and joined Takeshi, sending one of the servants to fetch a meal.  
“The eggs arrived earlier today, they should be brought to your rooms once the carrier has been prepared. The bird farmer will see to that a few adults birds are ready for you when you leave.”  
Itiri eggs were easy to hatch in incubators and the chicks were quite capable of eating on their own so adult birds were not needed, but having a few adults helped to teach the chicks to forage more effectively and avoid predators.  
The Itiri were nearly flightless and disliked water, so they would stay put on the island even if given free range and they would be unable to reproduce on their own due to their eggs needing a very specific energy only found in some crystals native to the demon-realm to hatch.  
They had considered other breeds as well, but the larger, omnivore birds would pose a risk to the native animals of the island, especially the smaller frogs and lizards, the Itiri, though equally opportunistic omnivores were too small to be a major threat, only able to catch smaller bugs or scavenge from available carrion.  
The downside of bringing demonic creatures with them was that they would have to carry the birds and the eggs across the borderlands as nothing alive would survive being teleported by the rune circles.  
Luckily though, the crystalline ore needed for the itiri nests could be transported using the rune circles.  
“Good, that's one more thing gone from the list. Em is having quite the case of the pre-travel jitters.”  
Emelie had been driving him up the walls with her constant worry, checking and rechecking everything.  
“I don't think anyone has managed to miss that.”  
Lucifer teased in return, she had been running his staff ragged as well.

They took a seat in one of the small gardens and soon a table was brought in and servants began filling it with platters of food.  
“She is scared, so scared...”  
Takeshi spoke up after a while, his voice weary with a touch of concern, and sadness.  
“Scared of what?”  
Lucifer was pretty sure he knew what the problem was, but he asked anyway.  
“She is afraid of losing control and harming the girls. Here even the weakest creature has a natural resistance against demonic energy.”  
“I had a feeling that might be the case.”  
Lucifer sighed deeply.  
“Unfortunately there's not much we can do to help her with that, only time can. She needs to learn to trust herself.”  
“I know, but that does not make it any easier.”  
There was a long silence as Lucifer studied Takeshi's expression, even going as far as gently prodding at his aura.  
“And you have your own fears, don't you?”  
There was another long silence before Takeshi answered with a sigh.  
“Dan, and Manda...”  
“Your pack, your lovers.”  
Lucifer struck at the core of the issue with the accuracy of experience.  
“Indeed. For them only a year has passed and I return a long since mated male.”  
“And you worry how they will react and how that will affect your pack, your chosen ones.”  
Something in Lucifer's tone encouraged Takeshi to answer the unspoken question.  
“Dan will be a bit jealous about the mating and he will try to hide it by acting grumpy but it won't last for very long. Manda on the other hand I have no idea how she will react.”  
“Manda, she is the daughter of Atlantis, right?”  
“Indeed...”  
“And you love her.”  
It wasn't a question but Takeshi nodded anyway.  
“Does she know?”  
Takeshi's instant bothered blush had Lucifer chuckling at him.  
“Well, that is part of the problem. I kinda dropped the L-bomb on her when we left to come here.”  
The look that Lucifer gave him made Takeshi raise his hands in a placating gesture as his aura drew back slightly, not quite submissive but not far from.  
“I assume your pack has already read you the riot act?”  
Hearing Lucifer use the very human expression threw Takeshi off for a moment and he couldn't help the small laugh that escaped.  
“Repeatedly, along with very detailed descriptions of what they will do to me if I don't handle things to their liking when we return.”  
“You truly have a good pack.”  
“I do, don't I...”  
“I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of your pack, if they are anything like your mate and your beta they will be able to handle it. They might give you a good beating for the trouble but I'm sure your pack will end up even stronger than before.”  
Lucifer looked at Takeshi in silence, something in his eyes made Takeshi want to squirm but he managed to fight it down.  
“But you are more worried that they will reject you, aren't you? Worried that their hearts will have found new targets.”  
Lucifer's words struck true once again.  
“I find myself being a far more selfish creature than I would prefer. I don't even know if I will ever be able to love Dan, or Logan, but yet I wish to keep their love.”  
The color slowly bled from Lucifer's eyes while Takeshi spoke and he soon found himself under the scrutiny of the eyes of a seer.  
“I don't think you are as selfish as you claim. You don't care if they love someone else, as long as they still love you as well, do you?”  
Before Takeshi had a chance to answer the barrier around the garden pulsed, alerting them that someone was entering and a moment later Emelie's power sifted through the garden.  
“Ah, so this is where you were hiding.”  
The barriers around the rooms and gardens prevented those outside from feeling the aura of those who were inside, though Takeshi, Emelie and Logan could still use the pack or mating bonds to locate each other in case of an emergency.  
“Hello there sweetie.”  
Takeshi greeted her with a kiss, and Lucifer tried to give the same greeting which earned him a slap and a hiss.  
“The caravan from the Riverlands just arrived so I'm gonna take the boys and go check if they brought anything of interest. You two want to tag along?”  
“As much as I love going shopping with you I'm afraid I have a prior engagement. I need to head to the library and see the head scribe about those copies she promised me.”  
Takeshi quickly explained which earned him a pout before she turned to Lucifer with a teasing smile.  
“What about you, Uncle Luci?”  
There was a strangled noise from one of the guards at the way she spoke to the Lord of the Obsidian Halls, the guard was obviously fairly new on the job as it was hardly the strangest way, or most familiar way, she had addressed the old angel.  
“I would love to, but alas, I still need to solve this issue with the farmers.”  
Emelie gave another pout that was quickly replaced by a brilliant smile.  
“Oh well, your loss.”  
She spun around and began skipping toward the doorway.  
“Do try to be nice to the guys, okay Em?”  
Takeshi called after her, he knew she would not be able to resist visiting the marsh witches, and they would not even try resisting playing their games with Logan and the twins.  
“I'll make sure to protect them if you get that family tree Maroue promised he would make.”  
She would of course do that anyway, but that didn't stop her from a teasing haggle.

Takeshi sighed, even after almost 10 years Maroue still hadn't been able to prove his worth so Emelie refused to acknowledge him as her father, and she barely tolerated his presence, even Maria's spirit had begun to shun him about a year after Emelie's presentation.  
Instead she had adopted Roghan and Ylian as substitute fathers, though the pair mostly acted like crazy cousins.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“You need to get that guard of yours nice and drunk, maybe then he will gain the courage he needs.”  
Lucifer whispered in Takeshi's ear while observing the way Hugin kept glancing at them.  
“Or maybe I should just lock the two of you in a room with nothing but shiiza to eat...”  
The teasing suggestion earned him a mock growl.   
“Don't be so hard on him. After all, this, us leaving, is what has been holding him back.”  
Takeshi's tone was low, almost soft.  
The plans for their return home was coming along nicely, but it was also causing a bit of tension, especially with Hugin who had developed a strong bond with Takeshi over the years.  
But the knowledge that Takeshi and the others would one day leave and return to the human realm held Hugin back from acting on his desires, even when Takeshi had given him rather blatant invitations.  
It wasn't love, at least not the way humans understood it, but something more primal, instinctive.  
Hugin recognized Takeshi as a true mate, someone who would make a nearly perfect match and being unmated his instincts were pulling at him, telling him that he should try to win Takeshi's favor, to try to earn the right to court him.  
Takeshi could feel the pull of the mating instincts as well, but it was different for him since he had found his soulmate and deep down a part of him had known since the first time he came close enough to her to touch her aura so the call of his mating instinct had never been very strong.  
Lucifer had explained that most demons would lose their mating instinct if they found their soulmate, but some, strong alphas like Takeshi, had the instinct to build a pack, an instinct that would make them seek out multiple mates.  
“My brother will regret it if he does not act on his desired before you leave.”  
Munin added in a somber tone, trying to speak on his brother's behalf.  
“Perhaps, but it's still his choice.”  
Takeshi sighed, he knew Munin was right, but he wouldn't force the issue.  
He had tried to encourage Hugin countless times over the past ten years, but whenever he managed to get Hugin to respond to him the response would be hesitant and confused at first, then hungry and desperate, but that almost instantly gave way to an intense flare of true fear that made Takeshi back away.  
The way Hugin instantly looked away and began talking to Knight when Takeshi met his gaze made it rather clear that he would get the same reaction again if he tried to invite him.

“You can spend the night with me instead.”  
Lucifer whispered in Takeshi's ear, an offer that had been made one way or another on a nearly daily basis since their first meeting.  
It wasn't that Takeshi was unwilling, the problem was that they were both dominant, and very stubborn, neither of them willing to submit to the other and unless one of them submitted they would end up fighting rather than enjoying the intended pleasures.  
“As stubborn as always.”  
Takeshi pushed his own energy against Lucifer's and quickly fell silent, instead of the usual answering push Lucifer's energy pulled back slightly and bowed to Takeshi's, signaling his submission.  
“I am stubborn, and patient, but I am also a very curious creature, and I have countless years of experience of submitting regardless of my will. Submitting to get something I want isn't as hard for me as it is for you.”  
Lucifer reduced the size of his form slightly and gently brushed his wings against Takeshi's arms as he spoke, causing Takeshi to tilt his head back with a shuddering breath, resting it against Lucifer's shoulder.  
“Besides, I won't be truly submitting, just not trying to dominate. That is a very important difference, one that I can hopefully help you learn.”  
Lucifer trailed kisses along Takeshi's shoulders and neck, grinning when he felt the rise of Takeshi's aura, and pheromones, that signaled his growing arousal.  
Takeshi allowed the sensations to flow through him while he pushed at Lucifer's aura, testing and prodding but it continued to bend to his power, subdued, controlled, not entirely submissive, but close enough to keep from triggering his own instinct to fight for dominance.  
Turning around he pushed slightly, pinning Lucifer against the tree behind them and claimed a rather rough, and dominant, kiss.  
But even when Takeshi pushed the limit, Lucifer's energy remained calm, controlled, and there was no hint of it rising to fight back or dominate Takeshi's energy.  
“Well, if you ask like that, who am I to refuse.”  
Takeshi's whisper held a teasing promise as he reached out with his aura to let the others know he would be leaving for the night, something that earned them a few hoots and an “About time!' from Emelie.  
“I find myself inclined to agree with her.”  
Lucifer's voice was breathless as he folded his wings around them and called on the magic of his home to bring them both to his private rooms.

“Don't worry. I gave you my word, tonight you will be the dominant one.”  
Lucifer soothed when the flare of power caused Takeshi to grasp the base of his wings with a low growl.  
“My power won't rise unless you ask me to take a more dominant position.”  
Lucifer ducked down slightly and began to trail soft kisses along Takeshi's jawline and the corner of his mouth, a submissive, even apologetic, signal for most species and it did work as intended.  
The instincts that Takeshi had absorbed from the shadow beast slowly settled down, allowing Takeshi to regain a measure of control which he used to return the kisses, but in a far more teasing manner and while he did he carefully undid the ties and buckles that kept Lucifer's ornate, but light, armor in place.  
“Allow me.”  
Lucifer shrugged out of the simple tunic that was worn under the armor and reached out to undo the ties of Takeshi's clothes.  
When he reached around to undo one of the ties in the back there was a slight growl of objection at the rather dominant position.  
“Oh, touchy are we?”  
Lucifer teased lightly as he moved behind Takeshi to undo the ties without crowding him but before he had a chance to, Takeshi spun around and pounced on him, pinning him against the giant bed at the center of the room.  
Lucifer hissed slightly at the sudden strain on his wings but before it became painful Takeshi pulled back slightly, allowing him to shift his wings into a more comfortable position before he once again pushed down, pinning Lucifer underneath him.  
“Such control, even now.”  
Lucifer reached up, once again reaching for the ties of Takeshi's clothes and this time there was no negative reaction, his position pinned beneath Takeshi's body more than sufficient to soothe ruffled instincts.  
As the soft material fell away he began to trace the lines of Takeshi's tattoo's, starting with the tribal design on his right pectoral that represented Ylian and their four spawns, feeling the flicker of energy hidden within.  
Takeshi's reaction to the touch brought out a pleased sound and the chittering coo made Takeshi look down with a somewhat dazed smile.  
Leaning down Takeshi began to trail kisses and soft nibbles over the exposed body beneath him and with a gentle nudge he made Lucifer turn over so that he could reach the sensitive area around the mashen and the ripples in Lucifer's aura promised a most entertaining night.

“Mmmh, that beta of yours has taught you well.”  
Lucifer had abandoned even trying to speak Urui, instead his words came out as a soft warble accentuated by a few chirps that revealed his satisfaction and slowly fading arousal.  
“Actually, Dan has taught me far more. Logan is too much like me to serve as a good lesson.”  
Takeshi traced a claw along Lucifer's sternum as he spoke, watching the muscles twitch slightly, once again noticing the slight difference in how the muscles moved, caused by the addition of flight muscles.  
He had studied the anatomy in detail, but he still found it interesting to watch the effect.  
“Ah, your human lover. I suppose he would require a more tender touch than that overgrown mountain crossbreed of yours.”  
The choice of words might have sounded harsh, but the trills and chirps held no trace of the sub-harmonics that signaled disrespect.  
“Indeed he does, but not for the reasons you believe.”  
Takeshi recalled one of his many conversations with Dan, a conversation that had nearly made him travel to Sweden on a manhunt.  
“Dan carries some emotional scars with him. In particular regarding intimacy. His first male lover had some superficial similarities to me, larger and stronger, as well as highly dominant.”  
“Sounds more than just superficial.”  
Lucifer's observation had Takeshi instantly snarling at him.  
“I am nothing like that _dokar_!”  
Lucifer immediately apologized, assuring that he had meant no disrespect, 'Dokar' was a harsh word and he knew Takeshi was not one to use coarse language without good reason.  
Dokar was reserved for those that would abuse those weaker, or dependent, for rapists and similar wretches.  
“He took advantage of the young, and somewhat insecure Dan, and when those insecurities made Dan want to wait before taking their sexual relation to the next level that dokar became violent and tried to force himself on Dan.”  
Takeshi spoke of how Dan's fears would occasionally surface if Takeshi didn't hold back his strength, or if he became too dominant.  
“He has taught me many things about satisfying a male lover though, and about maintaining control.”  
“Now you just need to learn how to let go of that control, how to allow someone else control.”  
A decidedly teasing note entered Lucifer's tone as he spoke.  
“Oh, you would enjoy that, wouldn't you?”  
Takeshi teased back.  
“Very much so, and I would make sure you enjoyed it just as much.”  
“I'm sure you would try...”  
Takeshi's answer was interrupted by the familiar deep sound of a singing bowl, calling the residents of the palace to breakfast.  
“I guess we should join the others, or they might just come looking for us.”  
Takeshi sighed.  
“We could always invite them to join us if they do.”  
Lucifer chirped, but he did get out of the bed as he spoke.

“So, how was he?”  
Emelie clung to Takeshi's shoulder while questioning him, and stealing bits of his breakfast.  
Her question was met by silence while Takeshi closed his eyes, as if focusing on recalling every detail of the night he had just spent with Lucifer and after a while his smile began to turn downright sinful.  
“Mmm...”  
There was a slight pause as the smile turned into a teasing grin.  
“Why don't you find out for yourself? I'm sure he won't refuse you.”  
The teasing reply earned him a frustrated shriek followed by some rather colorful expressions in several demon languages.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi looked out over the chaos that had overtaken the large garden in front of the palace as it was being prepared for a feast, it was barely a mark into morning but the entire palace was abuzz with activity.  
It was finally time for them to leave, everything was packed and ready and they would head back to the human realm the next day, but not before receiving a big sendoff.  
The area in front of the palace was a mix between a garden, a park and a town square with a large paved area in the middle surrounded by various plants and water features as well as smaller paved areas connected by stone paved walkways and it was now being prepared to host a rather large gathering.  
Most of those that they had gotten to know in the past ten years would be there.

He watched a group of hunters set up one of their rune circles, trying to make it large enough to allow them to move an entire adult gong into the garden without needing to cut it apart, but they seemed to have some problems adapting the shape to the available space in the garden.  
Normally it would be a perfect circle, simply enlarged to fit what was being transported, but the space allowed in the garden was rectangular so the rune weave needed to be adapted to fit, something that took more than just knowledge, it required skill and the ability to adapt, to think outside the box.  
“Need a hand with that?”  
Takeshi offered his aid to the hunters working on trying to bend the circle without distorting the runes too far for them to function properly.  
“It would be most appreciated if you could offer any idea's on how to form the circle to encompass this entire area.  
The young hunter indicated toward a simple rope fence that circled the stone paved area in the middle of the garden.  
Takeshi walked around the area to get a better feel for it before sitting down next to the hunters.  
“What have you tried so far?”  
They quickly described what they had tried, all of it was rather basic, trying to distort the shape of the circle, as Takeshi has suspected the young hunters lacked the experience needed to make more advanced alterations of the runes.  
“Considering the body shape of a gong we should be able to make an elliptic summoning area by making two circles, one at each point, then connecting them with the same type of rune pattern that is used to direct energy currents. We might need to add a few amplifiers to get a stable teleportation field though.”  
“It might work.”  
One of the younger hunters quickly caught on to what Takeshi was planning and the other hunters agreed, hurrying to form the needed runes.  
“I'll head to the storehouse and have them adjust the circle there, the field will be easier to stabilize if the design of both circles match.”  
One of the hunters spoke up once the runes were completed.  
“That's good thinking, you do that.”  
The hunter, a shadow demon of some sort, fidgeted for a moment before speaking up again.  
“May I?”  
He indicated toward Takeshi's shadow, asking for permission to step into it in order to shadow travel.  
“Of course, go ahead.”  
Takeshi shifted his position slightly to give a larger shadow for the young demon to use.  
“Thank you, iero Matra.”  
As the demon vanished Takeshi shook his head slightly at the title, 'Matra' was usually reserved for high ranking magic wielders, combined with with 'Iero' the young shadow had pretty much addressed him as Archmage.

A few minutes later the teleportation field flickered to life and the gong began to materialize and Takeshi noted it was an unusually large specimen which explained the hunters insistence on bringing it in whole, it made a good tribute, and excellent proof of their skill.  
Moments after the gong appeared the hunter stepped out of the shadow it cast and walked over to them.  
“They are ready to start transporting the rest of the items now.”  
The two circled used to bring in the gong were quickly disconnected and they began using them to bring in crates of fire stone, fragrant wood shavings and herbs as well as metal rods that would be used to build a roasting spit and a fire of sorts that would be able to cook the giant creature.  
With the roasting spit completed several of the guards that carried noble blood took their larger forms and grabbed the spit and lifted it, and the gong, onto the supports.  
With the gong raised from the ground the hunters scrambled to construct a raised fire pit below it, once a simple brick wall had been build the began to fill it with fire stones.  
Fire stones didn't really burn, they generated heat but no actual flames and they were used for a wide range of tasks that required heat liker heating water for cooking and bathing, campfires and heating of homes by building them into the walls.  
However since they generated heat without smoke they were rarely used for roasting as it would add no flavor.  
But they couldn't build an actual fire large enough to cook the gong so they began to lay a bedding of fire stones and covered it with herbs and wood shavings to generate the flavorful smoke that would enhance the taste of the meat.

“Takeshi iero?”  
A feline demoness approached him hesitantly, the way the tip of her tail twitched revealing her nervousness.  
“Yes, how can I help you?”  
“I have have been tasked with preparing the human dish you call 'Sushi', but I am uncertain if I am doing it correctly.”  
“Well, let's go have a look then.”  
“Thank you very much iero.”  
“Please, address me as Take.”  
“As you wish Take.”  
“And how should I address you, _sweetie_?”  
She blushed and huffed slightly at his tone and smile before introducing herself as Mieni.  
“So. Mieni, what part of the preparation are you concerned about.”  
“It's the rice. I have studied the process, but none of the rices we have matches the rice used in the human realm. Also I am unsure about the dosage of the rice vinegar and other flavorings.”  
Takeshi had faced the same problem when they first arrived in the demon realm, but he had long since solved it.  
“Do you have any of the blue rice from the Riverlands?”  
“Yes, plenty.”  
“How about purple rice from the plains around the Silver Lakes?”  
“Yes, I have that as well.”  
Mieni was starting to sound rather curious.  
“Red rice from the Red Plains?”  
Mieni just nodded.  
“And finally, silver rice from the cloud farms?”  
“Some, but not much.”  
“It should be okay, we only need a little of it.”  
Takeshi had found that none of the demon realm rices worked on their own so he had started to mix different strains of rice until he found a mix that had a suitable taste.  
“Hugin, would you go fetch a cask of my saké please? The one made from the black mountain-rice.”  
Hugin had been his constant shadow since the preparations for the feast had started and seemed somewhat reluctant to leave but after a slight push from Takeshi's aura he relented.  
“Of course...”  
Hugin turned to one of the other guards, assigning the guard to keep an eye on Takeshi before leaving, but Takeshi was sure he would rather have asked the guard to fetch the cask, but the guard was was not one of the royal guards so he would not be allowed to enter the inner palace.  
When they arrived at a small cooking wagon Mieni showed Takeshi how to activate the runes that brought rice and other ingredients from the stores and he quickly began showing her how to mix the rices.  
The result didn't really have much in common with sushi rice, the flavors were more complex, but Takeshi considered the end result to be even better than the sushi he remembered from the human realm.  
Selecting two bowls of similar weight he set them on the balance scale and added a small fire stone to the lighter bowl to balance the scale before filling the other bowl with rice, then balancing it by adding water to the first bowl.  
He then emptied the rice into a basket before adding enough water to the bowl to balance it against the control bowl ten times and emptying it into a larger container.  
He repeated the process of balancing the scales again, but this time with larger containers and the water as the target weight before weighing the blue rice and placing it into another basket, then adding an equal weight of red rice into a third basket.  
Finally he placed purple rice equal to the combined weight of the red and blue rice into a large cooking basket that had been filled with water and brought to a gentle boil.  
“1 part silver rice, 10 parts red and 10 parts blue rice, and finally 20 parts purple, by dry weight. The water should have about 35 parts per 1000 of golden mountain salt.”  
Takeshi quickly explained.  
“The purple rice needs to be added first, then the red, the silver and finally the blue.”  
Mieni added while he measured the salt and added it.  
It wasn't really a question but Takeshi nodded anyway, each of the different rices had slightly different cooking time.  
While they waited for Hugin to return with the saké he explained about mixing the flavoring.  
“Normally you would use rice vinegar, sugar and saké or mirin, but since the taste of this mix of rice is different we will do it slightly differently. We will use the saké I have made and manaroka sap. It can be made with orcha as well, but then you will only need half as much manaroka sap, the balance between sweetness and sourness should be the same as in mature shiiza berries.”

When Hugin arrived Takeshi was going through the toppings, giving Mieni tips on how to cut the various meats and vegetables to bring out their taste and texture and what combinations would complement and enhance each other.  
“You just can't help yourself, can you?”  
Hugin questioned while looking at the way Takeshi was playing with Mieni's tail.  
“Aw, but she doesn't mind, or do you?”  
Takeshi leaned in and blew a puff of air on the tip of her ear.  
“Depends, do you intend to finish what you started?”  
“Of course, I can't leave such a lovely lady unsatisfied, now can I? My mate would be most cross with me if I did.”  
Mieni instantly froze which had Takeshi chuckling.  
“Don't worry, she does not object to me having the occasional little adventure with the lovely ladies of the realm.”  
“Occasional? More like weekly...”  
Hugin teased with a huff.  
“Ah, but there are so many lovely ladies here to enjoy a pleasurable distraction with.”  
It was one of the things that most demon cultures had in common, and that separated them from most human cultures, they had a very open view on casual sex, even for those mated.  
It was only frowned upon if it was done against a mates wishes, with someone the mate did not approve of, or in secrecy, behind the mates back.  
“And quite a few interesting males as well.”  
Takeshi added with a rather suggestive tone, brushing his hand along Hugin's wing, making the angel blush a deep black.  
Hugin was right though, over the past ten years Takeshi had taken quite a few lovers, both casual 'one night stands', and more long term ones and he had fathered several children with females that had approached him for that very purpose.

“There, now it just needs to rest for at least a mark, then you can start making the sushi.”  
Takeshi gently nudged Mieni toward one of the small hideaways in the garden, surrounded by lush green plants it offered a bit of privacy for lovers and Hugin took up post at the entrance to ensure no one would disturb them.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“I guess we won't be seeing Logan anymore tonight.”  
Emelie quipped as they watched Brenna lead Knight toward the guest wing, her mate-to-be following closely behind them.  
“Probably not, it's their last chance after all.”  
Munin agreed with her.  
They had all been rather surprised when Brenna and her mate-to-be approached Knight a few weeks ago, telling him that she was entering her reproductive cycle and that they wanted him to be the father of her next child.  
Knight had been somewhat hesitant at first, but after a long conversation with them he had agreed to try, but their chances were not good, it was hard for an Obsidian female to conceive with another species and Knight was unsure if his fertility would be sufficient outside of his heat.  
“I hope they succeed, even if he won't be here for the hatching I am sure Brenna and her mate-to-be will take good care of it, and Ani would love to have a little sibling.”  
Emelie's voice carried the familiar hint of longing.  
“As do I, but for now, I believe I will follow their example and retreat for the night.”  
Munin's eyes were locked on one of the maids who was dancing around the fire in front of them, her aura reaching out and brushing against his and the way her wings flicked slightly when she passed them was a clear invitation.  
“You go have a pleasant night, we will see you at breakfast.”  
Emelie gave him a slight shove before climbing back into Takeshi's lap.

“Hugin, I need a word with you please.”  
Emelie had been dragged into the dance by Ylian and Roghan, and Takeshi took the opportunity to try to have a word with Hugin, motioning him to join him, but Hugin began to back away, looking for a reason to leave.  
“No, not this time, you **will** join me and we **will** speak about this matter.”  
Takeshi pushed his aura out, using it to surround Hugin and smother him with power until he obeyed.  
“Easy now, you know we need to talk about this. There is no more time.”  
Hugin averted his eyes as Takeshi spoke, not wanting to admit that he was right.  
“We are leaving tomorrow, and though I fully intend to return here one day that may take many years. Years that will be even longer for you, and there is always a risk that I will never be able to return.”  
Takeshi tried to make Hugin look at him while he spoke.  
“I know, why do you think I fight my instincts so hard?”  
Hugin snapped at him before instantly looking away, embarrassment and a hint of shame flickering through his aura.  
“Because you are afraid. Afraid to lose your heart.”  
Takeshi leaned closer and allowed his hand to trail along Hugin's wing, slowly working his way toward the base.  
“But answer me honestly, isn't it too late to be concerned about that?”  
Hugin turned to meet his gaze, and while he didn't speak up the answer could be seen as plain as day in his eyes.  
Takeshi leaned in and claimed a soft kiss before pulling back slightly.  
“Wouldn't you rather know, than go on, possibly for the rest of your life wondering what it would have been like? I know I would regret not knowing.”  
Takeshi couldn't help smiling at the rather shocked look Hugin gave him.  
“You should know me well enough by now to know that while I may not love you, I do care. And it might just be mating instincts recognizing you as a true match, but I do desire this, desire you.”  
Takeshi burrowed his fingers into the soft feathers at the base of Hugin's wings and was rewarded with a soft cooing mixed with small confused chirps, but soon the feathers puffed slightly as Hugin began to relax and lean into the touch.  
As Hugin relaxed the confused chirps were replaced by more excites ones, and the soft, content, cooing grew louder.  
“Let's return to our rooms and explore this properly, shall we?”  
Takeshi leaned in and kissed the corner of Hugin's mouth and after a few moments he was rewarded with a slight nod.  
Pulling on the power of his beast Takeshi pulled the shadows closer around them and with a burst of energy they vanished into the shadows and reappeared in Takeshi's private room.

“What do you say Em, would you like to go spy on them for a while?”  
Lucifer leaned in and whispered in her ear.  
Emelie turned to him and nailed him with a scandalized glare but only a moment later she ducked her head and he could see a blush creep up her face before she looked up with an impish smile and nodded vigorously.  
“Yes..!”  
Her answer was somewhat breathless and her excitement was obvious as Lucifer folded his wings around them and called on the magic of the palace to bring them to his rooms.  
When they arrived he reached out with his power and brought one of the large mirrors closer to the bed before dipping his hand into a small table fountain and scoping out some of the mist that covered the surface of the water.  
Blowing the mist onto the mirror activated it and connected it to his seer powers, allowing him to show Emelie what he was seeing.  
“This is amazing!”  
She practically cooed and when she leaned back into him his focus faltered for a brief moment, making the image flicker.  
They watched Takeshi and Hugin talk, kiss and slowly Hugin's tension seemed to melt away.  
“That is so hot somehow...”  
Emelie murmured as they watched a small scuffle that ended with Hugin submitting and the scene turning far more carnal.  
“I think it's time to give them their privacy.”  
Lucifer whispered and he could feel Emelie nod.

.·:*¨¨*:·. At the same time in Takeshi's room .·:*¨¨*:·.

“Come here my little raven.”  
Takeshi beckoned Hugin closer and began to remove the light armor, but he left the soft tunic, not wanting to push Hugin too far, too fast.  
Grabbing Hugin's chin Takeshi gave him a soft, teasing kiss and as he deepened it he could feel the usual response, hesitation at first, then an increasing hunger and desire followed by a creeping fear.  
But instead of backing away, Takeshi slid his hand around Hugin and entwined his fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck and with a slight push of aura he deepened the kiss further, pushing his own desire into it.  
For a moment it didn't seem to have any effect, the fear just kept increasing, but then suddenly it stopped and Hugin's kiss turned from hesitant to aggressive, trying to dominate Takeshi which led to a small scuffle, but the fight ended as suddenly as it had started when Hugin submitted, utterly and totally.  
The kiss that followed was painfully sweet, and desperately soft, years of repressed emotions focused into that single moment, that single touch.  
_“Ssh, it's okay, I know. Hang in there.”_  
Takeshi soothed while removing Hugin's tunic.

.·:*¨¨*:·. Back in Lucifer's room .·:*¨¨*:·.

Lucifer called back his power and bowed his head slightly, taking in Emelie's scent, enjoying the tantalizing peppermint.  
“May I?”  
Emelie could feel Lucifer's breath tickle against her neck as he spoke, the warmth of his lips and hands just shy of touching her and combined with what she had just watched it lit a smoldering heat in her belly.  
Leaning her head back against Lucifer's chest she allowed her pheromones to flow freely, enjoying the almost touch, allowing it to fan the heat in her belly from smoldering embers into a raging fire.  
“Yes..!”  
Her breathing was quick and shallow and she found herself unable to silence a quivering moan as Lucifer's breath hitched slightly before he began to trail kisses along her neck and shoulders, slowly moving down toward the base of her wings.  
“Please...”  
She all but begged as she pushed back into him, curling slightly to expose her mashen to him.  
She was rewarded with his arms curling around her, pulling her closer before his breath teased across the sensitive skin at the base of her wings, when the heat of his lips touched it she let out another quivering moan.  
“You... Are... Amazing... Beautiful... Strong...”  
He wasn't even trying to speak Urui, instead whispering sweet nothings in his native tongue, singing her a soft serenade.  
Another quiver traveled through her body and when she pulled away suddenly he let her go with a disappointed warble, but moments later it was replaced by a surprised chirp as she spun around and straddled him.  
When she pushed her hands against his chest he leaned back, allowing her to push him to his back he slowly placed his hands on her hips and he struggled to keep still when she ground herself into him.  
When her clothes vanished in a wash of shadow-power he could feel his heartbeat stutter for a moment at the implications, and when her nails sharpened and began to tear into his tunic he was glad that he had taken the time to remove his armor while they watched Takeshi and Hugin.  
Looking up at her he didn't speak, no words were needed to relay his question and when she nodded with an almost shy smile he leaned back and closed his eyes, giving her the freedom to do as she pleased.  
He was not disappointed when he felt her shift slightly and lean forward, the kiss started soft but quickly turned hungry and demanding before she broke it off and pushed herself against him, allowing his hands to guide her.  
The sharp trill he gave voice to was one of conquest, but it quickly softened into one of pleasure, and contentment.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Breakfast quickly turned into a barely contained chaos as everyone tossed teasing quips at each other about their choice of partners for the night.  
“So, was he worth it?”  
Takeshi gave Emelie a knowing look and when she actually blushed slightly he laughed and pulled her close before giving her a searing kiss.  
“And what about you, how was our little raven?”  
“Quite interesting. It will be a treasured memory.”  
The deep black blush on Hugin's face made it quite clear that he had heard their little conversation, and it caused his brother to tease him further.  
As the meal drew to its end Brenna and Knight found themselves being the target of most of the teasing as everyone could sense that she had finally conceived.

“Promise me that you will find some way to let me know when our egg has hatched.”  
Knight held Brenna close, brushing his face against her wings, a gesture that relayed his mixed feelings, telling her he would miss her her, thanking her for carrying his child, begging her to let him know if the hatching was successful.  
“I will. If all else fails I will send a message to Seia and Merle, I am sure they would gladly send the bird to let you know.”  
Brenna's mate-to-be nodded his agreement before giving Knight a small box.  
When Knight opened it it revealed a small feather charm with three feathers, two adult and one juvenile.  
“Thank you.”  
Knight gave Brenna a quick kiss before turning to her mate-to-be and their daughter and placed a quick kiss on each of their foreheads.  
The gift carried a strong symbolic meaning, in essence it meant that they had accepted him into their family as a co-mate.

As they gathered in the main hall to say their goodbyes a steady stream of gifts were handed over, some symbolic, others useful.  
Ylian's little ones gave Emelie a pair of beautiful earrings with five stones each, one stone for each of the spawn and one for Ylian.  
She was struggling to hide her tears as Ylian helped her put on the earrings.  
Hugin and Munin presented them with a large crystal sculpture that was glowing with power.  
“Even if you have been traveling into the borderlands to re-acclimate yourself to the energies of the human realm there might be some issues. This crystal is charged with the energy of this realm, it should be sufficient to alleviate any ill effects.”  
While Munin spoke they could tell that Hugin was struggling with his emotions, his feathers shivering with stress.  
Takeshi thanked them both, even if they ended up not needing the extra energy when they returned it could also be used to feed Emelie in case of an emergency.  
Mika gave Takeshi one of her feathers, charged with her youki and asked him to see if he could find any survivors of her flock and let them know she lived and thrived.  
“I will try.”  
He promised her before hiding the feather away within his soul.  
Roghan gave them a large scrying bowl which confused them for a moment as none of them had the seer's gift, but Roghan just shook his head with a smile and asked them to trust him.  
Ylian's gift had Emelie in tears, they gifted them a box of mist stones, the stones were rare and hard to create but if a stone was placed into a small body of water it would slowly transform it into a mistpool.  
The demonic mist would be connected to every mistpool in every realm, regardless of distance and allowed for communication, sometimes even travel, between pools.  
Emelie was crying and hugging them in gratitude and Takeshi thanked them with a kiss.

A mark later everyone save for Lucifer had given their gifts and said their goodbyes.  
“My gift isn't as much as gift as it is a request. These crystals hold a fragment of my soul, they will react in the presence of my soulmate. Please, find her for me.”  
He handed a small box to Takeshi, and Takeshi could feel the presence of several fragments, a closer inspection revealing ten of them.  
“We will try our best to find her, and prepare her to be able to travel here.”  
Takeshi's aura flared, binding his words into an oath.

Just as they were about to pick up their things Lucifer spoke up again.  
“I'm not quite done yet.”  
They paused and turned to look at him.  
“Munin, Hugin.”  
Lucifer called both their true names, and the names Emelie had given them.  
“Yes my lord?”  
They both bowed deeply.  
“I hereby release you from all your vows, all your duties and obligations. You are free to leave should you chose to.”  
There was a stunned silence as Lucifer's word sank in.  
Hugin was the first to recover, turning to look at Takeshi with a questioning chirp.  
When Takeshi nodded with a smile he found himself nearly knocked over by Hugin before the angel seemed to realize what he was doing and moved back slightly, wings dropping into submission, and worry, but it didn't last long and after a few moments he advanced on Takeshi again.  
“Of course you can come with us if you want to. We all see you as friends, pack, and more.”  
Emelie soothed, and teased, while Takeshi had his arms full of nearly hysteric angel, trying to calm him down.  
It was one of those rare occasions where it truly showed just how young the twins really were, by obsidian standards they were barely adult, equivalent of late teens or early twenties in a human.  
While the worked on helping Hugin calm down Lucifer handed Munin a box containing a pair of necklaces, each with a raven pendant that would help hide their obsidian features, to make them appear fully human.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

In the guard chamber where they had first arrived several guards were waiting for them to say their goodbyes and give them each a wrapped parcel containing sweet treats, spices and a small bottle of orcha, a traditional gift to patroling guards who were expected to be out for a long time.

“ _Welcome back Takeshi-san. Do you wish me to inform the others of your return?”_  
As they climbed the lava tube that connected the borderlands to Dimmuborgir Takeshi's com-unit came to life with Angel's voice.  
“No, thank you. I want it to be a surprise.”  
Hugin and Munin looked somewhat puzzled for a moment, not seeing who Takeshi was talking to.  
“That's Angel he's talking to, you remember we mentioned her, right?”  
Emelie explained in a hushed tone.  
“Ah, the artificial lifeform.”  
Munin nodded, his curiosity obvious.  
_“Is there anything else I can do?”_  
“Could you prepare the Blackout for launch please. And fill me in on important events while we were gone.”  
_“Of course Take-san.”  
_ Angel and Takeshi continued their conversation as the group continued their climb to the surface.  
When they exited the tube that connected the borderlands with Dimmuborgir it was midday and they quickly moved toward their cottage.  
When they arrived they were greeted by the old woman, her grandchildren and several of the Huldu who apparently had revealed themselves to their fellow caretakers.  
Takeshi and the others didn't stay though, they merely loaded their live cargo onto the Blackout, the rest of their things would be brought to their island using teleportation circles.  
They carried the live creatures and eggs that would not survive the process, and Emelie had chosen to bring her seed collection as well to be on the safe side.  
With their cargo loaded they thanked the caretakers for a job well done and said their farewells, wanting to get back to the Hawaii estate as fast as possible.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Returning Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When they set the Blackout down at the landing pad everyone was waiting for them, no doubt alerted to their return by the pack bonds.  
“Mommy!”  
“Daddy!”  
Sarah and Maria barreled into them, tugging and pushing at the pack bond to reinforce it and learn to recognize the slight changes in Takeshi's and Emelie's auras.  
“Ssh, easy girls. Why don't you go greet Logan so we can say hello to the others?”  
Takeshi scooped up Maria and tossed her to Knight, earning him a squealing laugh.  
They quickly introduced Hugin and Munin before continuing the greetings, hugging, laughing, even crying, and plenty of kisses of varying intimacy.  
Some of the greetings ended up with quite a bit of teasing, Melissa for instance had taken the opportunity to steal a quick kiss from Takeshi, and he had responded by pulling her close and kissing her breathless.  
It took several minutes for her to stop spluttering long enough to call him ' _horrible'_.

“Alpha...”  
Takeshi froze at the tone in Amanda's voice.  
“Manda...”  
He greeted her with a hesitant tone, he had no idea how she would react.  
“You have mated.”  
Her voice held a chill that made Takeshi's heart ache and he could feel a trickle of fear forming.  
“I have.”  
There was a long, heavy, silence before Amanda stepped up to him and pulled his head down slightly, drawing him into a soft kiss.  
Somehow she managed to pour all her emotions through the kiss, nearly overwhelming him with confusion, pain, fear, but also a bubbling joy and hope.  
“What you said, is it still true?”  
“It is. I do love you my sweet Manda.”  
He assured her before pulling her back in for another kiss.  
_“Aishiteru.”_  
He whispered against her lips.

 


	73. Home Sweet Home

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

The girls eagerly helped carry the various crates and cages to the house and before long they were gathered in the garden, tables piled high with various treats that were safe for humans to eat.  
“So what have you guys been doing the past year?”  
Jenna piped up from Dan's lap.  
The two had obviously grown closer over the past year, but Takeshi could tell the relationship was more one of siblings than one of lovers and much to his disappointment a part of him was relieved to learn that.  
“For us it's the past ten years actually.”  
“What?! Ten years? You serious?”  
“Yes, very serious. It has been ten years for us.”  
Jenna was gaping like a fish out of water when Takeshi explained the chronoshift.  
“Guess that will be a bit confusing for a while.”  
Jenna hummed with a smile once she collected herself enough to speak.  
“I'm sure it will be, but I'm also sure we will manage. But how about we start with a proper introduction of our new twins here?”  
The suggestion was met by eager nodding from their resident twins who were eager to have another pair added to their household.  
“Munin is the elder, and a bit of a bookworm.”  
Munin just huffed at the somewhat teasing introduction before introducing himself with his true name.  
“Oh, he sounds like a bird!”  
“That was my real name, but you can call me Munin.”  
“And this cute little raven is his brother, Hugin.”  
Hugin blushed vividly, and Takeshi found that it felt strange to see him blush red instead of black.  
Hugin introduced himself as well before Takeshi told them that they should show the others how they really looked and they both nodded in agreement before reaching out for the pendants and deactivating them.  
“Wow!”  
“Pretty!”  
Sarah and Maria instantly ran up to them and began inspecting the large wings.  
“Our pretty little ravens.”  
Takeshi agreed with a teasing smile.  
“So, have you slept with both of them, or just Hugin?”  
Amanda teased lightly, drawing her own conclusions from the way they reacted to Takeshi's teasing.  
“Now now, you know I don't kiss and tell...”  
“Hmm, guess I will just have to ask them.”  
The embarrassed chirps as she began asking them all sorts of intimate questions had the others struggling to keep from laughing, a struggle that was soon lost when Hugin took his raven from and fled onto the roof of the house to try to get away from her, only to be harassed by Melissa instead who shifted and followed him.  
“Excellent shift Lissa. You have learned well while we were gone.”  
Takeshi completely ignored Hugin's somewhat distraught chirps, or more precisely, caws in his current form, in favor of complementing Melissa on her shift.  
Melissa preened for a moment before going back to harassing Hugin and after a few moments Takeshi shifted to a raven himself and 'rescued' Hugin from the rather energetic parrot that was chasing him.  
“Okay girls, be nice to our little ravens.”  
He returned to his human form and scolded them lightly.  
There was quite a bit of teasing and snickering when Hugin instantly landed on Takeshi's shoulder and refused to change back, instead spending his time pecking at Takeshi's ear while making soft caws and clucking noises.  
_“Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a raven courting behavior?”_  
Jenna used her familiar to keep her question silent, she figured Hugin had suffered enough teasing for the day  
_“Indeed it is. He is a bit, overwhelmed, at the moment.”_  
Takeshi reached up and began stroking Hugin's head, trying to calm him down a bit, as he was now he was mostly raven, the animal instincts holding strong sway over his own logical mind.  
_“Would it be okay if I touch him?”  
“Why don't you ask him yourself, he can communicate with your familiar. Besides, he will move if he does not want to be touched.”  
“Okay...”_  
Her tone was slightly hesitant and her familiar managed to relay the cause, a concern about making some cultural faux pas.  
_“Don't worry sweetie, they have lived with us for ten years, they won't take offense unless offense is intended.”_  
Jenna just nodded and reached for Hugin's head and began to slowly stroke the soft feathers and before long he was puffing his feathers, begging to be scratched.  
“Aw, how adorable.”  
Jenna cooed when Hugin craned his neck to give her better access to scratch.  
“He is, isn't he.”  
Takeshi agreed which earned them a somewhat embarrassed squawk, but the feathers stayed puffed and there was a slight flutter in the wings, begging for attention.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“These are your rooms. You will have to manage with the small beds for a few days while I make some larger ones though. But you are welcome to rest with us in the den.”  
Takeshi showed Hugin and Munin to a pair of rooms in the wing that the pack was using for their private rooms.  
“We usually sleep in the garden, or in the den, depending on the weather. The private rooms are mostly used for those activities that would be unsuitable for the girls to witness.”  
Munin voiced an amused chirp at his brothers expense when Hugin, still in his raven form, let out a rather distraught caw at the mention of more intimate activities.  
Though, they didn't really need rest yet, it would take them weeks to return from the 50 hour cycle of the Obsidian Halls to the normal 24 hour cycle.

Once the girls were sleeping Takeshi found himself at the focus of both Amanda's and Dan's attention, both of them trying to tease him into something more intimate.  
“Okay, that's enough.”  
Takeshi snapped at them when he almost dropped the glass he was holding.  
“Dan, how about you let Manda have tonight and give me until the weekend to get settled in then we can head out somewhere for some alone time, okay?”  
There was a hesitant silence before Dan nodded.  
“I guess...”  
The subdued tone of Dan's voice made Takeshi cringe slightly.  
“Come here, silly.”  
Takeshi beckoned for Dan to come closer and when he hesitated to move Takeshi pounced and pulled him into his lap.  
“Seems like I need to remind you about not trying to hide that beautiful heart of yours from me.”  
Dan squirmed slightly, but didn't offer any real resistance, instead he sighed and submitted when Takeshi gave him a gentle nip on the ear, leaning his head to the to give Takeshi access to the pack mark.  
_“Please, stop blocking the bond.”_  
Takeshi gently tried to coax Dan into opening the bond fully.  
_“No, not until we are alone, please don't make me.”_  
The raijū relayed a sense of urgency bordering on fear that along with the words made Takeshi relent and allow Dan to keep hiding a bit longer.  
_“Ssh, easy. It's okay, I can wait.”_  
Takeshi had expected a much stronger reaction from Dan, but so far he had been very calm, but it remained to see what he was hiding.  
The fact that Dan almost instantly fell asleep did give a good hint as to the level of emotional stress though.  
“Munin, would you carry him to the bedding please?”  
Takeshi carefully shifted Dan into Munin's waiting arms, trying not to wake him.  
It wasn't entirely successful though as Dan did mutter a few incoherent complaints, but he quickly settled down and allowed himself to be carried to the large pile of bedding.  
The slightly surprised and confused chirps from Munin as Dan latched onto him and refused to let go had the others grinning and chuckling.  
“Looks like your sleeping spot for tonight has been decided.”  
Takeshi teased, he would of course help Munin get away from Dan if he wanted him to, but it would be good if Munin accepted being Dan's temporary snuggle pillow.  
“It's fine, I'm just a bit surprised that he would latch on to a stranger so eagerly.”  
Munin settled down and shifted into a more comfortable position, mindful not to wake Dan again.  
“Since I allow you to sleep with us, invited you into the den, I obviously trust you, and he trusts me.”  
“A trust well deserved I am sure.”  
Munin shifted his wing slightly and draped it over Dan before settling down to get some rest, the occasional soft chirp was the only signs that he was still awake.  
“Hugin, why don't you go join your brother?”  
Takeshi's suggestion was met by a somewhat disgruntled caw and a slightly sharper nip at his ear.  
“Now now, don't be like that.”  
Takeshi tapped Hugin's beak with a claw to distract him from the somewhat abused ear.  
He wasn't upset though, Hugin was running on instinct at the moment, trying to cope with everything that had happened during the day, fleeing to his raven form made it easier for him to ignore the outside world, reducing the additional input to deal with.  
When Munin called his name Hugin perked up a bit, and after a bit of affectionate preening, sifting through Takeshi's hair with his beak, Hugin hopped off his shoulder and joined Dan and Munin among the pillows.  
Hugin did remain in his raven form though, finding a perch on top of Munin's wing.

“Jenna, why don't you join the others, or would you rather return to your room?”  
Takeshi nudged the half sleeping Jenna who was currently using his lap for a pillow.  
“Mhm, too far, too sleepy.”  
She muttered and buried herself deeper into Takeshi's lap, but before she had a chance to fall asleep again she found herself hoisted into the air by Knight.  
“Hey! Put me down!”  
“I will once we get to the bedding.”  
“Wait for me.”  
Emelie jumped on Knight's back and held on tightly, _allowing_ him to carry her to the bedding as well, leaving Takeshi and Amanda alone in the smaller sitting area.  
“How about we make good use of our brief privacy?”  
Takeshi's teasing question was accompanied by trailing kisses along Amanda's neck and shoulders before focusing on the pack mark and the way her aura opened up to him made it perfectly clear that she intended to make the best of every moment they had before the girls would come out to have breakfast.  
Takeshi intended to use the time to show her some of the new _tricks_ he had learned during his stay in the demon realm.

Truly feeling Amanda's soul again confirmed one thing that Takeshi had suspected since learning more about the topic of mating's, she was a true match, and he found himself wanting to court her, wanting to claim her as mate.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Take, I hate be the one to rain on your parade, but we really need to talk about how the global security situation has developed while you were away.”  
Matthews looked old and tired, and the chair in Takeshi's study made him look smaller, it was obvious that he had been worried about the developments and quite frankly, so was Takeshi.  
Angel had given him a short report during their return from Iceland and it wasn't looking good.  
There was massive political unrest brewing in Europe, former Soviet and Southeast Asia, the EU had been disbanded and many of its former member states were suffering increasing internal conflict.  
The Middle East, Africa and South America were suffering armed conflicts that were rapidly growing larger, drug cartels and corrupt governments further destabilizing the areas.  
The US and what remained of NATO along with several private financial players, drug syndicates and arms-dealers all had a vested interest in the conflicts and their presence further fanned the corruption and unrest.  
“Most experts are in agreement that unless something drastic happens we will have World War 3 inside of ten to fifteen years.”  
Matthews continued his briefing, but Takeshi interrupted him for a moment.  
“Most?”  
“Yes, some experts insist on a less optimistic projection. And I think I agree with them.”  
“What about you Angel, what is your assessment?”  
Takeshi turned to the swirling galaxy projection as he spoke.  
“I estimate no more than five to ten years until we face a global armed conflict.”  
The display changed into a projection of Earth, showing current hot spots before displaying a projection of Angel's estimates for the development of the various conflicts.  
“And you Thomas?”  
“I'm with her.”  
“That does not give us much time to prepare.”  
“I'd say two years, we could stretch it to four, but no more.”  
Takeshi nodded to Matthews's words before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.  
“Let's call the others in here, we need to make plans.”

A few minutes later Dan and Knight joined them in the study, Emelie, Amanda, Jenna, Hugin and Munin would join them as soon as they returned from the beach.  
“First of all, what's the status of the military vessels we acquired?”  
As always Angel was on top of matters and her projection changed to display their assets and Takeshi noted that there were a lot more than expected.  
“Thanks to Angel we have been able to salvage all of it, and incorporate some of the stuff Mandrake was working on. And our grateful arms-dealer has sent quite a bit more stuff our way, including people that he believes will be willing to join our cause.”

It took them most of the day, but by the evening meal they had a pretty solid plan to work after.  
They would be buying land in low risk areas and build safe houses of sort where they could go if their Hawaii home came at risk, they would also contact Amarok and make sure he was prepared to house them all if things went bad.  
Takeshi. Knight and Emelie would take a short trip the following week to deliver the promised Sanctuary-seed to the Huldu, planting it at the heart of their land in Iceland, that would give them one more possible hiding place if things went bad.  
Matthews would keep working his contacts and together with Angel he would try to enlist the manpower needed to run their military hardware, to form a militia of sorts that would be tasked with protecting their island home.  
Meanwhile Takeshi intended to take his pack to find Atlantis, but he would have to talk to Dan first, he wanted to bring his entire pack, and that would require Dan to take the blessing and he intended to offer it to Jenna as well, to bring her along if possible.  
Hugin was not too happy though when Takeshi told them that he wanted Hugin and Munin to stay behind and help Matthews and the girls while Takeshi and the others searched out Atlantis.

“ _Hugin, I need you to help keep the girls safe. Please...”  
_ Takeshi shifted his focus away from the debate at the table and focused on his own silent conversation with Hugin.  
_“Since I have to bring Manda for this and I don't want to leave the twins again so soon I will have to bring my entire pack. Leaving very few defenders with powers behind.”  
“I know, we wouldn't be any good anyway, I just don't like it.”  
“I know you don't, but I will try to return as fast as possible.”  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Dan, time to get up sleepyhead.”  
Takeshi gently shook him but was rewarded with muttered curses in Swedish as Dan turned over and went back to sleep.  
Munin looked up from his spot under his brothers wing and just shook his head when he spotted Takeshi's amused grin.  
“Be nice to the poor guy, he has only slept three hours.”  
Munin's whisper was low enough not to disturb anyone.  
“I know, he can go back to sleep once we have boarded the Tiamat.”  
Takeshi took a moment to decide how to wake his very sleepy head of security.  
Mind made up he leaned in and nipped at the pack mark before giving Dan a kiss that had him wide awake and spluttering in a matter of moments.  
“Take!”  
Dan hissed in part annoyance, part embarrassment.  
“Come on, it's time to head out, you can go back to sleep on the Tiamat if you still want to sleep more.”  
Takeshi hadn't slept at all, instead he had spent the past few hours making sure the Tiamat was properly stocked for the weekend, he had no plans to make land during their little trip.  
The mention of their little trip had Dan perking up a bit, but it was still obvious that he had not slept enough and before anyone had a chance to complain Munin had extracted himself from his brother and picked Dan up, taking full advantage of his true size.  
“Is there anything you need to pack or should I bring him down to the boat right away?”  
“It's okay, I have brought everything we need already.”  
Takeshi watched the way Dan clung to Munin with a grin, it seemed he was not too fond of being carried through the air over the roof of their home.  
“It's okay Dan, Munin won't drop you.”  
Takeshi's words made him relax slightly, but they decided to walk anyway, if Dan became too agitated he would have a hard time falling asleep again.  
By the time they reached the small lagoon Dan was sound asleep in Munin's arms and didn't even notice when the angel crossed the water between them and the Tiamat with a few strong strokes of his wings.  
Takeshi just shifted into his favored peregrine form and joined them.  
“You can put him down there.”  
Takeshi pointed toward the sitting area on top of the owner's suite while grabbing a few pillows and comforters.  
“Angel, would you take us out please.”  
“Of course. What is our destination?”  
“Just cruising, stay clear of other boats and avoid bad weather if there is any.”  
Takeshi intended to leave Angel at the helm for their little trip.  
_“Have a nice trip.”_  
Munin's thoughts carried clear and when Takeshi looked up he was sporting a wide grin as he spread his wings and took off toward the house.  
_“We will. Take care of my girls while we are away.”  
_ Takeshi raised his hand in a salute of sorts, a gesture he had learned from the hunters. _  
“I will, you have my word.”  
_ Takeshi took a quick look at the route that Angel had suggested before giving her the okay and once he had he curled up behind Dan to wait for him to wake up.

“Welcome to the world of the living.”  
Takeshi teased lightly while holding out a mug of steaming hot coffee for Dan.  
“You know I totally love you, right?”  
Dan sighed while gulping down the hot drink.  
“I know.”  
Takeshi refilled the mug with a smile.  
“I was talking to the coffee.”  
Dan's quip made Takeshi laugh.  
“Sure you did.”  
Takeshi teased back.  
“And you know you are crazy, right? Hot coffee in this weather...”  
Takeshi never really understood Dan's almost maniacal desire for steaming hot coffee in this hot weather, if he wanted the caffeine a strong iced coffee ought to be a better choice.  
“Oh, stuff it. I'm not caffeinated enough for your teasing yet.”

Takeshi just smiled and held out a bowl of fruit salad, not the slightest bit bothered by Dan's morning temper.  
Sitting down Takeshi watched Dan make short work of his breakfast.

“So, you think you are caffeinated enough for a bit of a more serious talk?”  
Takeshi could feel a flicker of fear in Dan's aura but it was quickly suppressed.  
“As ready as I'll ever be...”  
“Don't worry, It's nothing bad.”  
Takeshi soothed.  
“You know we are heading to Atlantis next, but I really don't want to leave the twins behind.”  
“So I will be alone here while you go then...”  
The drop in Dan's mood was instant.  
“Now now, let me finish talking before you jump to any conclusions.”  
“Fine...”  
Dan was still moping a bit.  
“I don't want to leave you either, and there is only one way we can solve that. Will you accept the Blessing?”  
Takeshi couldn't help smiling as Dan's eyes went impossibly wide when he realized what was being said.  
“Yes!”  
There was no hesitation in Dan's voice and the total determination that echoed through the bond confirmed the spoken words.  
Takeshi just nodded and beckoned Dan to come closer?  
“Now?”  
“Would you rather wait?”  
Takeshi had no intention of pushing Dan, but at the same time he didn't want to wait.  
“I guess not.”  
Dan agreed and moved over, making himself comfortable in Takeshi's lap.  
“When you feel the power try not to fight it, if you do it will hurt. Instead try to allow your instincts to take over, let them guide it and shape it into a form that suits you.”  
Takeshi calmly instructed Dan while shifting him slightly to allow better access to his neck while also moving him into a position where he could restrain him.  
“If you start fighting it I might have to restrain you, you know that, right?”  
“I know...”  
There was a slight tremor of fear in Dan's voice.  
“I know you don't like it, but once started the process must be completed or it will kill you.”  
Dan just nodded, fear still tainting his aura.  
“You know I won't actually hurt you.”  
“I know, it's just...”  
“Ssh, I know. Just try not to fight it and it won't be needed.”  
“Just, do it, okay? Before I lose my nerve.”  
“As you wish.”  
Takeshi leaned in and gave the pack mark a gentle nip before he moved to the unmarked shoulder and began to tease it with gentle kisses.  
“May I?”  
He gently dragged slender fangs against the skin, asking for permission to steal a few drops of blood first, the effects of the bite would help Dan handle the power of the blessing.  
“Always...”  
Takeshi sank his fangs in and took a few drops of blood, but feeling the very essence of all that was Dan surprised him somewhat as it lit a familiar fire.  
Takeshi had been with Dan many times, and he did enjoy those times, but his own reactions, his own lust was always a reaction to Dan's desire, fuel by _his_ love, _his_ want.  
This time was different, he could feel his own want, his own lust burning hot within

“Hmm, I think I will make you wait a few more hours.”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep his breathing somewhat even, making sure nothing was transmitted over the bond until he wanted it to.  
“What, why?”  
Dan's confusion only made Takeshi smile against his neck.  
“Because I find myself wanting to enjoy the human you one last time if you will allow me.”  
As he spoke Takeshi opened up the bond and allowed Dan to feel his desire.  
“Take?”  
Dan shifted slightly and opened up the bond fully, reaching out through it to get a better feel for Takeshi's emotions.  
“Oh, shit... Wow... Damn... Take...”  
Dan was rambling and cursing rather incoherently as the bond flooded him with Takeshi's desire, leaning in Takeshi silenced him with a soft kiss.  
_“Yes!”  
_ Dan twisted around so he was straddling Takeshi before leaning in and pulling him closer, bringing the kiss from soft to searing.  
It had always been a bit of an odd sensation for Takeshi to have Dan straddling him, despite the rather dominant position Dan was entirely submissive.  
Dan's traumatic experience at the hands of his first 'boyfriend' had left him with some issues, one of those issues was a tendency to feel trapped if he was beneath a larger partner, triggering an intense panic.  
To avoid that Dan would usually be the one on top so to say, but Takeshi intended to at least try to get him past his fears for once.  
“Mm, so eager.”  
Takeshi pushed Dan back slightly before cupping his cheek.  
“Look at me.”  
When Dan's eyes locked with his own he nodded slightly and began to turn them both around among the pillow.  
“Easy, don't look away.”  
Takeshi could feel the first stirrings of fear from Dan and quickly began to distract him from what he was doing.  
“Look at me, see me, feel me, nothing else matters.”  
Much to Takeshi's relief it was working, by focusing Dan's awareness on him, someone who he trusted, and flooding him with emotions over the bond he was able to keep him calm enough to keep going.  
But in the end it was still too much for Dan and the fear began to surface, preventing them from taking things all the way.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Damn. You have learned some new tricks...”  
Dan was grinning at Takeshi, all flushed and breathless.  
“I have.”  
Takeshi agreed with a pleased smile before leaning in, nipping at Dan's unmarked shoulder.  
“Ready?”  
“Yeah, unless you plan on going another round...”  
_“I think you have had enough for now.”_  
Takeshi teased as he sank his fangs into Dan's shoulder at the crook of the neck and the way Dan leaned back into him made Takeshi hope that he would recover quickly.

Takeshi was grateful for the lessons that Lilith had given him about controlling the power of an Avatar, it allowed him to separate the pure power of the blessing from the part that was his own.  
It gave a purer transition, allowing the ones receiving the Blessing to chose their form without being influenced by the part that was his own power, though as expected he could feel a slight pull on the bond, asking for the part of the power that was his own.  
He could feel Dan sift through the strands of power and hone in on the part that was dragon, pulling at it, demanding more of it and Takeshi gave without hesitation.  
If Dan wanted the part of him that was dragon, the Takeshi would do all he could to see to that Dan got what he wanted.  
_“That's it, make it your own.”_  
Takeshi allowed his pride to echo over the bond as Dan took to the power of the Blessing just as easily and calmly as he had taken to the pack mark.  
Takeshi could feel the shift in Dan's aura as the power settled, but there were no visible changes to his appearance which had Takeshi somewhat concerned for a moment, but when he could feel sharp claws prickling his skin he relaxed.

“ _Look at me. Let me see if you still have those pretty blue eyes of yours.”  
_ When Dan opened his eyes a third eyelid instantly slid into place, but it retracted when Takeshi held up his hand and shaded Dan's eyes.  
_“Absolutely stunning.”_  
Takeshi murmured when he got a look at Dan's eyes, their electric blue color had managed to turn an even more vivid shade and there were sparks of power emanating from the slit pupil, eyes worthy a true dragon.  
“Are they still blue?”  
Dan winced slightly at the volume of his own voice which made Takeshi cup his ears to help filter the sounds, but he didn't go back to using the bond as the reaction had been slight.  
“An amazing blue, but you will need to wear glasses or contacts unless you learn to change them.”  
“Slit pupils?”  
“Indeed, but it suits you.”  
Taking hold of Dan's hands Takeshi inspected the claws.  
“Such delicate claws. Slender, but deadly.”  
Takeshi tested the sharpness of one of the claws by dragging it along his palm, cutting clean and deep without applying force.  
Noticing the way Dan's breath hitched and his eyes glazed over Takeshi offered him the bleeding hand.  
It would seem that vampiric tendencies was to be expected by those he changed.  
“Go ahead if you want to.”  
Spurred by Takeshi's words Dan leaned in and began to carefully clean away the blood, but he didn't make any move to bite down.  
“No need to be gentle.”  
Takeshi groaned, the soft touch of Dan's tongue was rekindling the fire from before.  
Dan however just hummed against his hand, the touches even softer, deliberately teasing and once he had cleaned the blood from Takeshi's hand he began to use his claws to trace patterns on Takeshi's chest.  
The touch was gentle, but occasionally he would use just enough force to draw a thin line of blood that he leaned in and clean up with a languid lick.  
“You better stop that unless you want to find out just how much stamina your new body has.”  
Takeshi hissed at him, but did nothing to stop him.  
“Hmm... Tempting, but I think I need to eat something first.”  
“You are welcome to eat me if you want to.”  
Takeshi quipped before considering the alternative interpretation of his words and Dan's eyes instantly dropped to his crotch before looking away with a vivid blush.  
“Why do you always have to drag me down into the gutter?”  
Dan mock complained.  
“Oh, like you aren't already there?”  
Takeshi quipped in return.  
“Nowhere near as bad as you...”

Dan slowly rose from the pile of bedding and didn't bother to put on any clothes.  
“But before we do anything else, I need a bath. Must be some sand in the bedding 'cause I'm itching all over my back.”  
Dan complained and tried to reach the spot that was bothering him.  
“Come here, let me.”  
Takeshi beckoned and Dan instantly moved closer, and when Takeshi began to gently scratch his back it became rather obvious what the cause was.  
“I don't think a bath will help you much.”  
“Oh, why's that?”  
“You are growing scales. Beautiful blue and green scales.”  
A quick inspection also revealed several small bumps on Dan's head where horns were slowly forming, but it seemed Dan hadn't noticed those yet.  
Instead of mentioning it Takeshi continued to softly scratch the areas where the scales were forming, it seemed the reaction was similar to the one that the angels had when molting or regrowing lost feathers.  
Both Susu and Ani had loved getting their wings scratched while they were molting, Hugin and Munin would readily let themselves be scratched when they had new feathers growing, even Lucifer had been eagerly pestering them for a good scratch whenever he lost a bunch of feathers while sparring, or from pissing Emelie off.  
“Don't worry, the itching should stop once the scales are fully formed.”  
Takeshi soothed when Dan began to squirm when he paused to take another look at the progress of the horns.  
“Since this is your fault I fully expect you to keep at it until it stops itching.”  
“Oh, demanding are we?”  
Takeshi resumed the scratching with a smile.  
“Mhm, and while you're at it, could you do something about that twitching muscle in my back please.  
“I aim to please.”  
Takeshi teased while brushing his fingertips over Dan's back to find the offending muscle.  
“Hmm, it would seem that you will require some flying lessons from Em or the boys soon.”  
He hummed when he found the reason for Dan's complaints, his muscles were shifting to make room for flight-muscles and he could feel a pair of bumps forming, no doubt the early stages of what would become wings.  
“What?”  
Dan nearly fell from Takeshi's lap.  
“That aching and twitching is your body adapting itself to accommodate the new flight-muscles.”  
“Okay, any more surprises I need to be ready for?”  
“Nah, not really. Thought you might need a bit of help with your hair once your horns are done growing.”  
Takeshi couldn't help himself, it was far too much fun to tease Dan.  
“Horns?!”  
Dan's hands flew to his head so fast that Takeshi almost didn't catch him in time to stop him from sliding out of his lap and down on the floor.  
Sifting through his hair Dan quickly found the four solid and somewhat sore bumps.  
“I hope for your sake that this change comes with the ability to shift...”  
“Don't worry, it does, I can feel it.”  
Takeshi pulled Dan closer and set to work on soothing the discomfort of the change, and distracting him from the pain when needed. _  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

Takeshi watched the scales erupt, each a mix of emerald and sapphire and with the deep color and clarity of a top grade gemstone, the pattern of scales soon merged with the scales formed from his own scale in the pack mark, surrounding the black scales with a sea of blue and green.  
The horns were so deeply saturated with the same blue and green that they looked almost black until they caught the sunlight which instantly revealed their true color.  
The wings took the longest to form, but once they had formed they displayed the same blues and greens, but in a somewhat different manner, the colors shifted and changed with Dan's emotions, even when he was calm they swirled in lazy patterns.  
“Beautiful...”  
Takeshi whispered while gently stroking the wings, slowly making his way toward the base to see how Dan would react.  
When he brushed his fingertips along the mashen he was rewarded with a sharp gasp followed by a quivering moan as Dan arched into the touch.  
“Oh, wow... I see why Em loves it when you touch her wings.”  
Dan was struggling to speak through the intensity of his feelings.  
“It's such a shame you didn't grow a tail as well though.”  
The soft murmur and gentle strokes of Takeshi's thumb over his tailbone made Dan turn slightly and pin him with a somewhat questioning look.  
“What? I like tails...”  
The mock innocence made it perfectly clear why Takeshi liked them but before Dan had a chance to call him out on it he spun around and stared at the raijū with wide eyes.  
The bright blush and sputtering gave Takeshi a pretty good idea what the little weasel was telling Dan and when he turned around his eyes had the telltale look of someone influenced by power, or instinct.  
Takeshi just waited with avid curiosity as Dan leaned in and bit down just above his right collarbone, the slight pain of the bite was followed by a rather odd feeling as Dan began to sift through the energies that flowed within.  
But it didn't last very long, mere moments later Takeshi felt Dan latch on to the power of the Blessing and tug gently on it, begging for it to respond to him, to give just a little more and the power answered, a tiny spark flowing through the blood that Dan was taking.  
When Takeshi felt the spark gather under his hand his smile grew even wider and when the small bump formed he began to gently rub it to aid the growth and soothe any discomfort.  
_“Take! Too much, I can't...”_  
Dan was squirming in Takeshi's hold, gasping for breath he was beyond words, even over the bond he was barely making sense.  
“Then stop trying. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”  
Takeshi teased softly.  
“But it's...”  
Dan tried to object but Takeshi hushed him.  
“Ssh, I know...”  
The tail of many species was a very sensitive erogenous area unless they intentionally numbed it, for instance when fighting, a skill that could take a long time to learn.  
The tail was in fact so sensitive that most could easily be brought to completion just by stroking it, though in Dan's case he would probably grow scales on the tail that would make it less sensitive.

“That's it. It's almost done now.”  
The tail was no longer growing longer and the scales had begun to form along with a ridge topped with spikes, the tip had also begun to split into several spikes.  
A few minutes later Dan's aura began to flare wildly and his body went rigid in Takeshi's arms as the extra energy was expelled.  
But in the wake of the pure energy of the blessing Takeshi could feel a tiny flicker of Ylian's power emanate from the mark he carried and travel over the bond to Dan and settle there.  
Moments later Dan collapsed and exhausted from his change he instantly fell asleep.  
With Dan deep asleep, Takeshi took a moment to inspect his new form, he would take the time to explore what the tiny shadow fragment might do later..  
Gently lifting the spines that ran along the top of the tail revealed soft but durable webbing and spreading the spikes on the tip of the tail revealed more webbing, making it rather obvious that Dan had chosen an aquatic dragon as his form.  
It wasn't much of a surprise though, Dan's aura carried the calm, healing energies that were typical for someone aligned with the life-giving and healing aspects of the water element.  
It was possible though that the plans to seek out Atlantis had some influence, Dan did not want to be left behind again.  
_“He did that for you, you know.”_  
There was a slight edge to the raijū's tone, it was obviously not entirely happy with events.  
_“I know. It may not have been the best of reasons to grow a tail. But having one will help him in the long run.”_  
Most demonic species with leathery wings had tails that they could use as a rudder to increase their control while flying while those with feathered wings instead had the ability to very precisely control the positioning of each feather in the wings.  
_“Takeshi of House Shamarai, Alpha of pack Kiryu. Will you hear my request?”  
_ The raijū had never addressed him so formally before and as it spoke it changed into it's larger wolf form, all that made Takeshi curious about what kind of request it had.  
_“I will hear it.”  
“Will you swear to protect and honor him as if he was a mate, even if he never claims a part of your heart, or the formal status of mate?”_  
The request stunned Takeshi for a moment, he had never even considered not to and for a brief moment he felt insulted that the raijū would think so low of him before realizing that it was asking for a formal vow, an oath that would offer a measure of protection.  
All bonds could be challenged, but few would be willing to challenge a mating bond, or an oath that carried the same meaning.  
There was no hesitation as he spoke the words, placing his oath to treat Dan as if he was a mate in every way possible.  
_“And I promise, if I ever find myself able to truly love him, I will seek to court and mate him properly.”_  
Satisfied with Takeshi's words the raijū moved closer and bumped its head against his hand, a rather forward request to be petted that Takeshi didn't mind granting.  
Takeshi reached over and scratched between the large ears, mindful of the third eye, before carefully running his hand along the long, whip like, appendages behind the ears.  
It didn't take long before the raijū was trying to crawl into the bedding with a soft, content, growl that sounded more like a purr than a growl.  
_“You know, this would be a lot easier if you took your smaller form again.”_  
Takeshi's suggestion was met by a slightly displeased tone to the growl, and the long appendages wrapping around his arm to keep him from letting go.  
_“Okay, okay. You win, I won't stop.”_  
With a slight chuckle he resumed rubbing the false eye at the tip of the long appendage, only pausing occasionally to shift his attention to the other appendage as they seemed to be almost fighting for the attention.  
The raijū had four of the long appendages, one from behind each ear and one from each of the front elbows, but the ones behind the ears were the most sensitive and active.  
The elbow appendages, while less active, were more prone to the static discharges that revealed the raijū's lightning elemental nature.  
Touching the elbow appendages could be a rather painful experience depending on the raijū's current mood, if it was angry, or scared, it could deliver what would be a deadly jolt to most creatures.  
On the other hand if it was in a good mood the discharge would be a gentle tickle, or just enough of a jolt to make someone jump if it felt playful, or in the mood for some teasing. _  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Welcome back sleepyhead.”  
Takeshi teased while putting a mug of steaming coffee under Dan's nose.  
The murmured 'Good morning' was quickly followed by a startled yelp as Dan accidentally crushed the mug and Takeshi found himself struggling not to laugh at the curses that followed.  
“Damn, I knew I'd get stronger, but this is silly...”  
He carefully picked up the shards of the mug and handed them to Takeshi before taking the offered towel to wipe away the spilled coffee.  
“At least you didn't get burned.”  
Takeshi had inspected Dan's hand and lap carefully to make sure he hadn't gotten scalded by the hot liquid.  
“I can't be around the girls until I have this under control.”  
Dan wasn't paying any attention to Takeshi, instead he was focused on the ceramic shard he was rolling between his thumb and forefinger before easily crushing it to dust.  
“Don't worry, your senses will adapt soon and you will be able to control how much power you apply again.”  
“I know. It just feels strange. Yesterday I would have hurt my finger if I tried to do that, and I would have needed tools to actually crush it.”  
“Not to mention some nasty burns from that coffee.”  
Takeshi added with a teasing smile and held out a new mug of coffee which Dan eagerly accepted, but held onto very carefully.

“So, how are you feeling?”  
Takeshi waited for Dan to empty his mug before trying to speak to him.  
“Like I could eat an elephant.”  
“Don't worry, we don't have any elephants, but there is plenty of meat in the storage rooms.”  
Takeshi's teasing was rewarded with with a frustrated huff.  
“What good is it down there?”  
The glare did carry a touch of anger, the hunger making Dan far more irritable than normal.  
“Point taken. Food first, then we explore your changes. Okay?”  
“Hmph, whatever, just feed me.”  
Dan got up from the bedding, intent on heading to the galley but before he could take two steps he found himself caught by strong arms, and just in time to save him from hitting the deck, face first.  
“Easy, remember that the wings and tail change your balance.”  
“No shit...”  
He grumbled while Takeshi pulled him back on his feet.  
“Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough. But for now, maybe you should wait here while I bring the food?”  
Takeshi glanced between Dan's wings and the somewhat narrow doorway and stairwell that lead into the Tiamat.  
Reaching up he gave the closest wing a gentle tap to clarify his point, Dan simply would not fit through the narrow passages in his current form, the wings much too large.  
They slowly walked over to the railing where Dan would have something to hold onto so that he could get used to his new balance while Takeshi prepared their food.  
“Try not to fall overboard, okay?”  
Takeshi teased over his shoulder as he headed down toward the galley.  
“Stuff it will ya...”  
The muttered response only made him laugh more, even without the bond Dan had totally failed at sounding upset.

Takeshi quickly filled the condiment trays with various sauces to dip both vegetables and slices of meat and fish into, after a few moments of consideration he also mixed a few dips suitable for dipping fruits into and filled a tray with them before placing the trays into the carrier.  
The addition of the fruits did offer a bit of a dilemma though, the cooler was already filled with meat and fish so he would either need to find another way to carry the fruits, or make a second trip.

“You have any idea how ridiculous that looks?”  
Dan was laughing so hard he lost his balance and ended up sitting on the deck.  
He had begun laughing the moment he spotted Takeshi with a large basket filled with fruits on his head.  
“Indeed, but it does come in handy sometimes. The hunters taught it to the youths that were working on their trials, and I helped a few of them practice.”  
After placing the food on the table he helped Dan up and walked with him to the seat, ready to grab him if needed.  
“I can see why hunters would want keep their hands free, but wouldn't it be easier to just use a backpack?”  
Dan helped unpack the tray carrier and empty the cooler, placing the various chunks of meat on top of the cold marble slab in the middle of the table.  
“Well, in a society where most inhabitants have wings, backpacks really aren't a big thing.”  
Takeshi lit the small table grill, hopefully it wouldn't be needed though, just like the others Dan would need to get used to eating his meat raw.  
“I know you are aren't too keen on the idea of eating raw meat, but you need to try it. Chances are that you will find your taste somewhat changed.”  
“I know. I was actually paying attention to Manda's change in case you forgot.”  
Dan poked at the thin slices of meat before using his chopsticks to pick one up and dip it into the thin sauce that Takeshi offered him.  
“Wow! This is **good**! What is is?”  
Dan grabbed several slices and dunked them into the bowl.  
“It's gong meat and a sauce made with orcha, unripe manaroka and several demon realm herbs.”  
“None of that aphrodisiac stuff I hope?”  
Dan gave the meat a suspicious sniff before stuffing it into his mouth, unable to resist his hunger.  
“Don't worry, shiiza does not go well with savory foods. I made a nice selection for dessert though.”  
Takeshi pointed toward one of the trays that was filled with various demonic desserts.  
“I won't be sleeping tonight, will I?”  
“No, you won't.”  
Takeshi gave him a rather telling smile while offering him another plate with thin strips of meat.  
“Now, how about you try some regular meat? Gong is delicious, but it won't be all that easy to get more.”  
Dan however was too far into his hunger to even notice what Takeshi said, instead eagerly devouring the offered meat and Takeshi simply kept offering him more.

“How about you let me have a closer look at you before you dig in on dessert?”  
Takeshi caught Dan's hand as he reached for the basket of fruit and pulled it closer, turning it over he dragged one of his claws along Dan's palm to test the toughness of the skin before inspecting the curved claws, testing their strength and sharpness against his own.  
Turning the hand over again Takeshi inspected the scales that protected the fingers, running his thumb along each slender digit before focusing on the back of the hand.  
“Hey!”  
The reaction when Takeshi gently pried at one of the scales was instant, Dan pulled his hand back and cradled it against his body while glaring at him.  
“Okay, okay. I won't do that again, promise.”  
Dan huffed at the promise, but he did place his hand back in Takeshi's waiting hands and tried to keep still while Takeshi inspected his new form..  
“You make quite a beautiful dragon, but how about we see if you can return to being my cute little human looking Danny?”  
“Take..!”  
Dan's grumbling complaints made Takeshi snicker, and want to tease him even more.  
“Fine, my cute little _Dan_.”  
He stressed the Swedish pronunciation of Dan's name, which made Dan look at him and sigh.  
“Why do I bother putting up with your antics?”  
“Because you love me?”  
Takeshi deadpanned in return, making Dan burst into laughter.  
“Yeah, lucky for you I do, or I would have shot you ages ago.”  
“Nah, you are too much of a nice guy to do that.”  
While they spoke Dan's features changed slowly, the scales and wings fading away, but the eyes remained the same and the pattern of black scales along his back remained, they had changed slightly though, blending better with Dan's skin.  
Dan gasped and moaned when Takeshi gently brushed his fingers over the small scales.  
“They are soft...”  
The murmured words held a hint of surprise and Dan nearly jumped out of Takeshi's lap again when the soft touch of fingers was replaced by teasing lips. _  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“This isn't going to be very fair if you don't have some shiiza too...”  
Dan was blushing vividly while trying to get Takeshi to eat one of the orcha soaked berries.  
“Dan, that's not a good idea.”  
Takeshi refused the offered berry before explaining his reasons, silencing Dan's objections with a slice of fruit.  
“When affected by shiiza I lose control. I won't be able to hold back. If I bed you while under its influence I **will** take you...”  
It was a bit of a sore spot for Dan, due to the abuse and attempted rape he had suffered at the hands of his first male partner he had a lingering trauma that would surface whenever they tried to take things to the next level.  
He had been unaware of just how bad it was before he met Takeshi as he had always been the dominant one in his other relationships, but that was not possible with Takeshi, and Dan felt no real desire to be dominant toward him.  
As grateful as he was that Takeshi had never tried to push things, always accepting his limits, Dan found himself wanting more.  
He knew he would probably panic again, but a part of him wanted to push past that, especially now that he had felt Takeshi's desire to have him, and not just an answering echo to his own desire, but a true desire.  
“Well... That's kinda what I was hoping for...”  
“Hmm?”  
Takeshi cocked an eyebrow in question and Dan blushed even brighter as he tried to explain.  
“You know I trust you, and you know I want this. But what that asshole tried to do, did, to me keeps getting in the way.”  
The hint of fear and shame that always tainted Dan's aura whenever he recalled what had happened quickly gave way to a surge of anger, something that gave Takeshi hope that Dan was indeed ready to put it behind him for good.  
“I know, but are you sure this is the way you want to do it? I won't be able to be gentle, and even if you panic and want to stop, I can't promise that I will be able to. Even if I manage to get enough control to purge the shiiza from my body, the effect it has will remain for quite a while.”  
Takeshi's words left Dan silent for a moment before he squared his shoulders and locked eyes with the man he loved, wanted.  
“I'm sure. Right now, under the influence of this shiiza stuff, and not having any for a year, I don't think I've ever been this...”  
He fell silent with a deepening blush.  
“Desperate?”  
Takeshi offered with a pointed smile.  
“Oh shush...”  
Dan blushed even brighter.  
“Oh, don't worry. I know how you feel. After all, I have 10 years to make up for...”  
The way Dan's eyes widened and the rather loud gulp had Takeshi laughing in a heartbeat and moments later Dan joined him.  
“Like you didn't screw everything cute and willing over there...”  
Dan's smile and blush belied his gruff words  
“Well, not everything, we were only there for 10 years after all. And there was the hot and willing, and a few other versions of willing to consider as well...”  
“You are impossible...”  
He snuggled in closer and once again held out one of the silver berries, and this time Takeshi took it, and gave his fingers a slight nip for good measure.

“Damn, this stuff is effective.”  
Dan was breathing heavily and squirming in Takeshi's lap, desperate for something, anything and Takeshi could feel the shiiza taking hold, raising his own desire to match.  
“Oh believe me, this is just the beginning.”  
As he whispered the teasing words, Takeshi began to feed his own feelings through the bond, intentionally pushing and enveloping Dan in his own arousal and raw want, need, and the reaction was instant.  
Through the flaring aura and spiking pheromones Takeshi felt something snap in Dan and as he watched Dan's form retake many of the dragon like traits he abandoned all effort to stay in control, instead he followed Dan's lead, slipping into the grasp of pure instinct, and desire. _  
_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Home Sweet Home_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Oh, wow. Ow..? Damn! How does Em do this?”  
Takeshi had been watching Dan slowly wake up and the muttered complaints made him chuckle.  
“Carefully, that's how. Not to mention being a Lilim, a succubus, she is uniquely suited to such activities.”  
Takeshi's choice of words, and the way he stressed some of them turned Dan bright red in a matter of moments.  
“Yeah, but damn. She is tiny... And well, you're most definitely not... Damn, I never realized just how fucking huge you really are...”  
Dan groaned before abandoning the idea of trying to sit up until his body had a chance to heal some more.  
“I did warn you. But don't worry, your new body should come with enhanced healing. It might just need a bit of push to get started.”  
Takeshi slowly leaned in and sank his fangs into the pattern of soft scales on Dan's neck and as he did he also used the claw on his thumb to pierce his fingertips before digging his claws into Dan's hips, hoping that the damage combined with the small amount of his blood would trigger Dan's own healing.  
Dan's soft sigh of relief confirmed that it was working.

By the time they set their heading back toward the island Dan seemed to be all but over his trauma, only resting long enough for his body to heal before goading Takeshi into another round.

Looking out over the utter chaos that was breakfast Takeshi couldn't help smiling and shaking his head with a slight sigh.  
“Home sweet home...”  
The sound of his voice alerted his rather preoccupied little girls who instantly spun around to greet him.  
“Daddy!”  
The distraction combined with the shift of focus however forced Takeshi to take a quick step to the side as the plate of sashimi that Sarah had been levitating suddenly flew his way.  
“Sarah! What have I told you about allowing yourself to be distracted while levitating things?”  
Eriko scolded her lightly.  
“Umm, don't?”  
Even when scolded there was a slightly impish tone to Sarah's answer.  
“Exactly.”  
“Gomen ne Sensei...”  
Takeshi could almost see Eriko roll her eyes at the less than proper apology, but the ducked head and somewhat subdued aura seemed to be enough to appease her.  
“Try to remember that in the future. Now go apologize to your Alpha, after all, he is the one you almost hit.”  
Sarah nodded and quickly scrambled toward him, and he kneeled down to catch her, but by the time she reached him she had reverted to her wolf form and he found himself with his arms filled with a squirming pup that was eagerly licking at his face in apology.  
He gave her a gentle nip on the ear in reprimand before forgiving her and sending her back to the table.

“Home, _insane_ home...”  
The muttered comment had everyone that heard it chuckling in good humor.

 


	74. Lessons

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“That's it, feel the wind, let your instincts tell you what to do.”  
Takeshi watched as Emelie and Aellai tried to teach a very nervous Dan how to fly.  
It was mostly Emelie doing the teaching though, the sylph assisted by bending the winds, making them flow strong and smooth to make it easier for Dan to gather to courage to make his first flight.  
He watched as Dan carefully tested his wings, and the winds, like fledgling about to jump from the nest for the first time.  
“That looks dangerous...”  
Jenna's voice was low and heavy with concern.  
“Don't worry sweetie, he is a lot more durable now, and he will heal much faster if he manages to get hurt.”  
He tried to soothe her, but her worry was as stubborn as she was.  
“Unless he hurts the base of the wings, right?”  
“Yes, but the instincts to protect that area are very strong, trust him.”  
“I do, but I'm still worried...”  
“Of course you are. You have grown close while we were gone.”  
Takeshi couldn't help adding a bit of a teasing tone which instantly earned him a slap.  
“Not like that! He's like a brother!”  
He just laughed and waited for her temper to simmer down a bit before explaining that Aellai would use the wind to help keep Dan safe, and Hugin and Munin were keeping an eye on the lessons and that they would catch him if necessary.

Looking away from the flying lessons Takeshi looked down at the woman in his lap, it was as good a time as any to make his offer to her.  
“Jenna, I would like you to consider accepting the Blessing as well.”  
“What? Wait, you want me to become like you guys?”  
“I do, and so does the rest of my pack.”  
For once Jenna was silent, and after a few minutes she spoke up again.  
“Actually, I have been thinking about it ever since I met you guys. But it didn't feel right to ask for it. But there are a few things I would like to know first.”  
“Of course, ask away.”  
“Can I tell my family the truth if I accept?”  
“They seem trustworthy, and your father reacted well to learning about the stallion. If you feel that you can tell them, then tell them. As for anyone else, I want you to ask me first so I can check them out. After all, all of our safety is at stake.”  
“I will. The second thing I want is your word that I will always have a place with you guys. If I'm going to live forever I need to have at least some people around me that won't grow old an die on me.”  
“Of course, that has always been my intention.”  
“And here I thought your intention was to get me in bed.”  
Her teasing quip was accompanied by a very intentional shift that caused her to grind into him, and stir a rather obvious reaction.  
“Oh, don't worry, the bed part is optional...”  
The startled yelp when he flipped them around, gently pinning Jenna beneath him was quickly replaced by laughter and when he leaned in and stole a quick kiss she grabbed his head and pulled him back down, deepening the kiss.  
“I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.”  
Her laugh was breathless as she broke off the kiss and pushed at his chest for him to move aside, which he obeyed with a reluctant groan, he very much wanted to continue exploring her.  
“That was downright evil.”  
Takeshi's mock complaint was met by more laughter.  
“Oh, you didn't enjoy it?”  
“I'm supposed to be the one doing the teasing, not be the one getting teased...”  
He groused, but was unable to keep the smile from pulling at the corners of his mouth, he did after all enjoy being teased almost as much as he enjoyed teasing.  
In the end, Jenna just huffed at him and crawled back into his lap.  
“So, when will we do this?”  
He considered her question for a moment, he did want t get it done as soon as possible, but he had quite a lot on his plate at the moment.  
“This week is a bit full, we need to take a _Seed_ to Iceland and there is the preparations to meet with the mercenaries, next week isn't looking much better, but the weekend after that should work.”  
“So plenty of time to get cold feet then.”  
“I think you made up your mind a long time ago, didn't you?”  
“I guess I did. I just never thought you would come right out and offer it to me. I was trying to find a way to ask for it.”  
Takeshi looked at her for a moment, taking in her slightly nervous fidgeting.  
“If there is ever anything you want to ask me I want you to feel comfortable doing so, no matter how strange, or selfish the question might seem. Even if you ask me something that upsets me I won't hold it against you, or punish you for it.”  
“I will try to remember that.”  
“A small warning though. If you question me or my decisions openly before the pack my instincts might demand that I give you a slight reprimand. But would not be because you asked, but rather because of **how** you asked.”  
“Bad idea to challenge an Alpha, especially on pack matters in front of his pack. Got it.”  
“Good. Now, how about we seal the deal with a kiss?”  
He wagged his eyebrows at her with a grin.  
“You are such a dog.”  
Jenna's deep sigh was belied by her teasing smile.  
“Oi! That's 'Wolf' to you young lady.”  
The mock complaint was quickly silenced as Jenna gave him what he had asked for.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“A measure for your thoughts.”  
At first Takeshi didn't seem to notice Hugin's presence, but after a few moments his aura shifted slightly, inviting Hugin to join him.  
“I'm planning to place an oath to Jenna tonight, but I can't think of a suitable item to bind it with.”  
“May I ask what kind of item you need?”  
“Just a simple trinket really, I usually make a piece of jewelry, the problem is I can't think of a suitable design. I want it to carry some symbolism that is relevant to the oath.”  
“And what oath do you intend to swear?”  
“I have already promised her that she will always have a place with my pack, my house. But I want to place a formal vow.”  
“So, home, family, belonging, protection.”  
Hugin hummed and sat down next to Takeshi, draping a wing over his back.  
“This really is more of my brothers thing, but I do have one suggestion if I may.”  
Takeshi startled slightly when Hugin finally spoke up.  
“Of course.”  
Takeshi watched as Hugin brushed his hand over the sand to flatten it and then began drawing a simple symbol in the sand.  
“ _Othala_ , home, heritage, family.”  
Takeshi instantly recognized the old Norse rune representing house, or home, as well as groups, and those things important to a person and with a low voice he recited what he could remember.  
But Hugin was not done yet, next to Othala he began to draw another rune.  
“ _Algiz_ , or _Elhaz_. Protection, shelter, guardian.”  
Takeshi continued to recite when the rune was completed.  
“They are both good choices, but still, they don't feel right.”  
“I'm not done yet.”  
Hugin quickly erased the runes and began to draw Othala again, this time a bit larger and before Takeshi could ask what he was planning he drew Algiz over it but placed it slightly higher so that the bottom of the Algiz rune was started inside the square of the Othala rune.  
When he was done there was a symbol that looked like if you had taken two squares, cut one of them in half diagonally and placed one half on top of and one half below the other square so that the corners were touching and the placed a nail through all pieces.  
“Hmm, I like it. What do you say about this.”  
Takeshi began to draw the symbol, but he drew it horizontally instead of vertically, then at one end he drew a circle and inside it the Obsidian rune for Shamarai followed by the symbol again, forming a band with a circle in the middle.  
Hugin nodded his agreement.  
“Though, you should put the actual flower in there, not the rune.”  
He added after a moment.  
”Of course. I just need to figure out how to make it. I usually make things like this from bloodstone, but I have no idea how to create them in the proper color, black and red just isn't right for making a moon-flower.”  
The shamarai flower looked like a lotus flower with each petal cut from high quality moonstone, clear or slightly milky with a pale blue sheen and silvery veins.  
Each petal had a silver edge that made it look like cut gems in a fitting, the leafs a deep emerald green, unlike the Sanctuary plants it wasn't actually crystal though, it was just as soft and alive as any normal flower and it carried the deep, sweet scent typical for many night blooming flowers.  
“How about condensing some of the mist from the mistpool, that would give it a silky white color, and in an emergency it could be used to create a mist portal.”  
Takeshi paused a moment to consider Hugin's suggestion.  
“Hmm, it has merit, but shamarai are still shades of blue, not pure white.”  
“The common ones are blue, but shamarai do come in all colors, and the rarest, most prized ones are crystal clear, and after those the white ones.”  
“I guess there is still a lot I need to learn, even about my own house.”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, to have been unaware of such a basic thing despite all his studies had him somewhat annoyed.  
“You only stayed in the Obsidian Halls for ten years, it takes us several hundred years to learn the basics.”  
“That might be, but this is knowledge relevant to my house.”  
Hugin shook his head at Takeshi's argument before distracting him by tapping the back of his head with his wing.  
“It's probably as simple as no one considering that you might not know.”  
“True, but that does not make it any less frustrating.”

After the midday meal Takeshi brought Hugin along and went to talk to Eriko.  
Takeshi was hoping that she would agree to add some of her fox magic to the ring, the same protection against deception that she had given the girls.  
Reaching out to pinpoint Eriko's aura he found her in the larger study that the girls used as a classroom.  
“Ah, Take, Hugin. What brings you here?”  
They quickly greeted Eriko and nodded to Carol and Amy who were working on their math lessons.  
“ _Eriko of the Silver House. Will you hear my request?_ ”  
Takeshi spoke his request in Japanese.  
“Oh, such formality. I can't very well refuse when you ask like that. Speak and I shall listen, and consider.”  
“Would you consider giving Jenna the same protection that you have given the other girls? And if so, what will your price be?”  
“Of course. That protection is for every member of your leash, formally marked or not. As for the price, it remains the same. Teach her to be true to this world.”  
While she spoke Eriko picked a stand of hair from each of her tails, but before she could begin to braid them Takeshi stopped her.  
“If it is acceptable to you I would like to incorporate it into the design of a ring I am making for her to bind my own oath into.”  
“Oh, and how would it look?”  
Takeshi took a piece of paper from the desk and drew the design on it.  
“The band will be bloodstone, black base and red rune and in the center a white shamarai made from condensed mist. And if you accept, your silver hair lining the rune as well the petals of the flower and forming the veins of the petals.”  
“Shamarai, moon flower, was it?”  
“Yes, very similar to a lotus flower.”  
Eriko hummed at his reply and used her fox magic to create an illusion of the design and after Takeshi asked her to make a few tweaks she nodded with a smile.  
“A beautiful oath, a promise of home and belonging, protection and guidance.”  
Eriko hummed while turning the image of the ring over to inspect all of it.  
“Do you accept to merge your power with mine and the mist to make this?”  
“I do.”  
Eriko quickly told the girls that she would be leaving for a while, and that if they got stuck on their problems they could ask Angel to help them, or give them new tasks until she returned.

They entered the small cave behind the garden waterfall and walked past the gravel beds where Takeshi grew his wasabi to the back of the cavern where a three tier waterfall that emptied into a raised pool had been cut into the wall and one of the mist stones placed at the top where the water flowed from a crack in the rock wall.  
Takeshi carefully wove his aura around his hands, coating them like a pair of gloves before gently dipping his hands into the sapient mist and focused on what he wanted to do.  
At first he could feel a slight resistance and the mist seemed to slip away from his hands, but after a while it came closer, flowing and wrapping around his hands and when he cupped them it began to gather, and condense, until it looked like he had his hands full of milk.  
“Now.”  
When he spoke up Eriko quickly dropped the nine strands of hair into the mist in his hands and when it began to swirl in a lazy circle he took a calming breath and used the claws of his index fingers to pierce his thumbs and allowed the blood to drop into the circling mist.  
But when Hugin reached over and dropped a pair of small feathers into his hands Takeshi almost dropped the gathered mist, he could fee that one feather was Hugin's, and the other was from Munin.  
“We have given our oath to you, Em and Logan, and we intend to extend that to the rest of your pack, as well as an oath of protection to those who are yours.”  
“A little warning next time please.”  
Takeshi had no reason to reject their added promise but he was a bit concerned how it would affect the end result of the ring.  
Closing his hands around the condensing mix of mist, blood, fur and feathers he focused on the image of the ring and began to bend it to his will, slowly shaping it into the form he wanted.  
When he opened his hands and looked at the ring it looked almost exactly as he had imagined it, but with the addition of a pair of small feathers separating the two runes of the band, as well as a ring, or crown, of feathers supporting the shamarai flower.  
“It turned out rather nice.”  
Takeshi held out the ring so the others could take a closer look  
“I'm sure she will love it.”  
Hugin handed the ring to Eriko who just hummed and nodded her approval before giving it back to Takeshi.  
When he whistled the closest approximation he could to the Obsidian expression for gratitude and gave Hugin a kiss she broke down into yipping laughter at the utter shock on Hugin's face.  
Mere moments later a large raven was chasing a small silver fox around the inner garden, much to the amusement of those gathered there.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Jenna, would you join us for a moment please?”  
Takeshi beckoned from the small private garden and for a moment she looked a bit nervous.  
“Don't worry, I won't try to eat you. Unless you ask me to of course.”  
The teasing quip instantly washed away her worry and replaced it with a hint of temper as she quickly stalked toward him intent on giving him a taste of said temper.  
He brought her through the barrier into the small sitting area where Hugin and Eriko waited and motioned for her to sit down.  
“Earlier today I gave you my word that you would always have a place with us. But if you agree, I would like to turn that promise into a formal oath, sworn before witnesses.”  
“That's a pretty big deal, isn't it?”  
The usual playfulness was all but gone and Takeshi could sense a trickle of fear beneath the surface.  
“It is.”  
The calm agreement did little to settle her nerves.

“Will you hear my oath?”  
She jumped slightly when Takeshi spoke again, she had completely forgotten to answer him.  
“Yes, of course.”  
With a knowing smile Takeshi brought out the ring and held it out to her.  
“This ring will be my oath given form, a form that others will see, and feel. Once bound with my oath it will adapt its size to fit you, and you and I will be the only ones able to remove it from your hand.”  
Jenna took the offered ring and turned it over in her hand before handing it back to Takeshi.  
“It's a bit odd, but beautiful. Very much you.”  
Both Hugin and Eriko chuckled at the way she combined teasing and praise.  
“With this I bind my word. You will always have a home in my House , my Pack. Companion, guardian, guide or teacher, what you need we will provide.”  
As he spoke his power made the runes glow like burning embers and the shamarai seemed come alive, the petals moving slightly just like a real flower moving with winds and waves.  
When Takeshi was done speaking Hugin stepped up and gently touched the ring, adding a tiny spark of his own power to it, making the small feather design come alive and rustle slightly before settling down again.  
“If you ever find yourself in the demon realm, this will grant you passage to the Obsidian Halls, and housing within for as long as you may need.”  
Hugin quickly took a step back to make room for Eriko who allowed a tiny flicker of foxfire dance through the air and settle in the ring.  
“I, Eriko of the Silver House extend to you the same protection and guidance that I have given the others under the protection of the Kiryu no Kage. The clarity of mind and perception to detect and see through deception and illusion, to know truth from lie.”  
When Eriko stepped back Takeshi held his hand out for Jenna.  
“Do you accept my word and my bond?”  
“Yes.”  
Taking her right hand he placed the ring on the middle finger and with a gentle flash it adapted to fit perfectly.  
“You can wear it on whichever finger you feel comfortable with, the size will always adapt.”  
“It might be out of line to ask, but is it possible to make a necklace for it? Just a simple chain with the same ability that others can't remove it?”  
Takeshi could tell she was nervous, but at least she managed to actually ask her question this time.  
“Of course. Eriko, Hugin, care to assist?”  
He could easily make the chain himself, but it would be stronger if the others helped.  
“Gladly.”  
“Anything to help.”  
They both pulled a few strands of hair out and handed to him, this time though the strands of hair from Eriko was from her head not her tails, still brimming with power it was nowhere near as potent as hair from her tails, the seat of her power.  
He quickly braided the strands and under his will they took the form of a black and silver byzantine chain, inspecting the chain he took one of the small sanctuary crystals he always carried and shaped it into a teardrop vial and with a quick cut he filled it with his own blood.  
“It's enough to help heal a wound, counteract a toxin or aid in fighting of a disease. And like this you won't have to take the chain off to put the ring on.”  
He took the ring and showed her how it would attach around the vial without removing it.  
“Now that's useful!”  
The kiss she thanked him with carried just enough heat to light a smoldering fire that Takeshi knew would not settle with less than him getting laid, luckily he had a few more than willing options if Jenna didn't give in.  
“Don't we get a 'Thank you' as well?”  
Takeshi knew things would go sideways the moment Eriko spoke, and true to character Jenna pounced at the old fox and gave her a proper smooch before targeting Hugin, the poor angel far too surprised to do anything to stop her.  
Much to Takeshi's frustration, and Eriko's amusement, Jenna instantly rushed out of the private corner of the garden and joined the others to show them his oath and she was quickly followed by a laughing fox.  
Takeshi quickly found himself alone with Hugin who was still in a daze from Jenna's rather sudden, and aggressive, kiss, the low confused warble revealing his state of mind.  
With a wicked smile Takeshi began stalking toward the unsuspecting angel, with some luck he would be able to tease Hugin into helping him relieve his currently rather pressing condition.

Hugin didn't seem to notice him at all as Takeshi slowly moved closer, not even when he stepped right into his personal space.  
With a grin Takeshi leaned in and stole a kiss which earned him a startled caw and a face full of feathers as the angel turned raven fled onto the beams that held up the simple roof that offered shade and protection from rain.  
“Now, now. Don't be like that, come here...”  
Takeshi teased and beckoned while Hugin sat at the edge of the roof, glaring and cawing at him.  
“Why don't you stop cursing at me and come here so we can do something about the effect her actions had?”  
Hugin tilted his head and gave Takeshi a rather suspicious glare before hopping down from the beam to one of the branches of the small avocado tree in the corner of the garden, casually pretending to be more interested in one of the fruits of the passion vine clinging to the tree.  
Takeshi slowly moved closer, the same way he would have if it had been a wild raven, Hugin was still struggling with everything that had happened and was frequently fleeing to the simplicity of the instincts of his raven form, allowing instinct to take over rather than to remain in control.  
Picking a ripe fruit from the vine he quickly cut it in half and held out for Hugin, taking advantage of his instincts and somewhat simplified way of thinking while in raven form, he would get scolded for it later when Hugin returned to his true form, but it would be worth it.

“Come, come.”  
Takeshi's beckoning call sounded very much like a caw and it was enough to draw Hugin's attention toward him and the offered treat.  
It took nearly half an hour before Hugin finally left the tree in favor of landing on Takeshi's arm so he could feast on the offered fruits, an avocado added to the price, though toxic to many animals Hugin wasn't truly a raven so it was perfectly safe for him.  
“How about you stop hiding under those feathers so I can give you a proper kiss?”  
The teasing suggestion was rewarded with a hard peck on the hand and Hugin flying away again, but after a quick lap around the garden he turned back, and retook his true form in front of Takeshi.  
He still didn't speak though, instead he settled for reducing his size slightly and burrowing his face in Takeshi's chest, soft cooing mixed with slightly more excited chirps as he reached up slightly and kissed the underside of Takeshi's jaw in apology.  
The raw emotion hidden beneath the the deceptively gentle gesture proved to be too much for Takeshi who tossed all caution aside in favor of grabbing Hugin by the chin and kissing him harshly while snaking his other arm behind him.  
Grasping the base of his wings Takeshi pulled him tight against his own body, flooding Hugin with with the desire and lust that had been growing steadily during the day and spiked even more from Jenna's teasing show of gratitude.  
For a brief moment Hugin fought him, tried to assume the dominant position but when Takeshi forced him to take a step back, pushing him against the low seating platform he submitted and allowed himself to be pushed into the pile of pillows.  
“Ah, my little angel of paradox. My warrior, all courage, fierce and strong. Loyal, beautiful and proud, yet so sweet and shy.”  
While speaking Takeshi pinned him down, leaned in closer and brushed aside the tousled hair, listening to the involuntary chirps that spoke of anticipation and desire.  
Slowly removing Hugin's clothes he enjoyed watching the way his skin darkened until it matched the large wings, happy that the brothers had listened when he told them that the charms to hide their true nature were not needed on the island.  
Though, he added to his mental checklist that they needed to try to make some other clothes for them, he would love to see them in something besides their simple tunics without them hiding their nature.  
He would especially love to see Hugin in a well tailored suit while still having the large black wings behind him.

Beneath the soft coos and chirps he could hear the familiar song of Hugin's soul, a song he would not acknowledge until Hugin was aware of it and spoke the words himself.  
_“I am Mainano, I am yours.”_  
His soul name, everything he was, offered without even being aware of it.  
If Takeshi truly wanted to force him to do something all he needed to do was speak Hugin's soul name, a whisper or even silently to his mind and Hugin would have no choice but obedience.  
Takeshi didn't know his own soul name though, he didn't even know if he had one, but if he did, and found it, he was sure he would one day give it to the angel.

When Takeshi and Hugin rejoined the others in time for the evening meal they did so in less than mint condition, Takeshi walked with a noticeable limp and Hugin held his left wing at a rather odd angle, but they both sported the telltale smile of someone thoroughly sated.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Dan, could you help Logan get the girls into the Blackout please?”  
“Got it, master pup-wrangler at your service.”  
The high spirited reply made Jenna and Amanda laugh, and Takeshi could feel the shift in the twins aura that told him they would make sure to make Dan eat his words.  
“Let's go get the seed, shall we?”  
The entire pack was in a good mood, looking forward to the short trip to Iceland to deliver the seed that would one day become a new Sanctuary, fulfilling their promise to the Huldu.  
Originally he had only intended to bring Emelie and make a quick delivery, but Amanda was curious about the seed and when he explained to her Jenna heard it and wanted to see it as well, before long the twins and Dan wanted to come too.

“ _ **Jenna, daughter of the wild, approach and take the seed.”**_  
The Mother's request surprised them, they had believed that she would have Emelie carry it this time as well.  
“But, I'm only human...”  
“So was I when I carried the seed that grew into this place. If you couldn't do it She wouldn't have chosen you to do it.”  
It took a while, but between Emelie's soothing words and the Mother assuring her that she could do it Jenna gave in and picked up the crystal seed, carefully cradling it against her chest which made both Takeshi and Emelie smile, she had done the same when she carried hers.  
“Do I still get to co-pilot now that Jenna has the seed?”  
Amanda had been taking flying lessons with Matthews and Angel during the past year and she was eager to show off what she had learned.  
“Of course sweetie, how else are you supposed to dazzle me with your skills?”  
While his words were teasing he did not doubt her ability to pilot the Blackout, both Matthews and Angel had praised her quick learning and skill, even Dan who was quite the scaredy-cat when it came to traveling with someone else at the controls had given her a thumbs up, though a slightly hesitant one.

As expected Dan and Knight had still not been able to corral the twins into the waiting plane, the sneaky little girls had abandoned their pup forms for agile lizards, easily able to climb the nearby tree's and hide under rocks.  
Takeshi noted with pride that they had become very skilled at controlling their size, even if they didn't have the vast reserves of power that he did it was still quite a feat to compress themselves into the tiny lizards they had picked.  
Borrowing the form of a raptor he quickly and carefully caught them and gave them a stern warning about the dangers of picking such small forms, while they were safe from predators on the island, the Mother made sure of that, they could still get hurt easily.  
“Wow! It's so pretty!”  
“Can we touch it?”  
Twin sets of eyes instantly locked on the seed in Jenna's lap when they entered the Blackout.  
“You can touch it if you promise to be careful. Jenna needs to touch it all the time or it will die.”  
Emelie cautioned them gently while Takeshi and Amanda made the final checks for takeoff.  
“Okay! Promise!”  
“Remember how to put your healing power around your hands?”  
“Of course!”  
She was hoping that focusing on their healing energies would help make sure their touch would not harm the seed in any way.  
“It's warm...”  
“Okay girls, that's enough for now. You can look at it more once we are in the air but I want you strapped in for takeoff.”  
Takeshi's interruption was met with a few grumbles, but they did as told, eagerly looking forward to him telling them it was okay to remove the seat belts again.

“Lets see what you can do, shall we?”  
Takeshi let go of the controls and placed his hands in his lap, handing control of the Blackout over to Amanda, though Angel was standing by if something went wrong.  
“That was really good, but remember to re-confirm weather and traffic data with Angel before committing to your course settings.”  
“I'll try to remember that. Thomas always does that when I'm flying with him so I forgot.”  
“Now, do you want to stay in manual, or let Angel take over until it's time to land?”  
“Well, there are a few things I'd like to show you, but it might be better if I do that without passengers.”  
“Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for that. Good old Thomas might be a pretty good pilot, but he is no fighter pilot, and I am hoping you would be willing to learn the fine art of aerial combat.”  
To be honest he had a feeling they would need all the pilots they could get, but he didn't want to make her, or the others worry.  
“Really? You will teach me how to fly like you do?”  
“Gladly.”  
In an instant she had locked the controls and turned navigation over to Angel, unstrapped herself and jumped into Takeshi's lap.  
“Easy there Manda, as much as enjoy that part of your nature now is not a good time. Not with the girls here.”  
“Sorry, it's just, it's been so long. I need more...”  
“Don't worry, once the immediate tasks have been dealt with I intend to take you out on the Tiamat for a week or so. Just you and me.”  
“And maybe Logan?”  
Her whisper held a hopeful, but embarrassed note that made Takeshi smile against her hair, if she wanted him to share her with Knight, at least physically, he would.  
“If that is what you want, then yes.”  
Tilting his head back slightly he gave her permission to steal some blood if she wanted to while he considered the full scope of her request.  
It wasn't the first time she had shown an interest in his beta, she would often curl up to him, or share his bed when Takeshi himself was occupied with Emelie or Dan, but despite things getting rather heated she would always get nervous and pull back rather than complete the act.  
It had Knight rather frustrated as he was more than willing to see to her needs whenever Takeshi was not available, and even though Knight had never mentioned it Takeshi knew that it also saddened him, the feeling that she still feared him at some level, maybe the planned trip would be a step toward fixing that once and for all.

When Amanda's fangs sank in he could feel his heart quicken, she had learned quite a bit about how to tap into the seductive aspect of her vampiric powers and after a few moments he could feel the rest of his body respond to her, and it did take quite a bit of willpower to force himself down.  
“Manda, remember, not now.”  
She whined slightly in objection to his rejection, but her power quickly settled down.

“Girls, do you remember what I told you about the Fae?”  
Takeshi questioned the twins while Amanda prepared to land the Blackout.  
“Be careful. Don't make promises. Don't accept anything they offer without making sure what they want in return. Be polite but don't grovel and always tell the truth.”  
They quickly recited the base points of what they had been taught about interacting with Fae.  
Their youth would offer them some protection, but Takeshi did not want to take any chances.  
Turning his attention back to the screens in front of him he watched Amanda set the plane down, it could have been a softer landing, but all in all she did well.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“This way Jenna.”  
Takeshi held out his arm to support her as they existed the Blackout, they would set the seed right away so that Jenna would be able to have a look at the place with the others.  
The Huldu waited for them by the stone cairn and greeted them once they reached it, but they made sure to keep a distance to the seed.  
“The seed needs to be set right away so the proxy of the Mother may rest.”  
The Huldu elder nodded and with a few muttered words the earth before the _Hörgr_ parted and revealed a small tunnel that would let Jenna place the seed underneath the cairn.  
Following the instructions Emelie had given her, Jenna slowly walked down the sloping tunnel and once she reached the bottom she slowly walked around the small room, trying to feel where the correct place was.  
Unfortunately Emelie had not been able to help her with that, the sensation depended on the person.  
She understood when she finally felt it, there was no way she would ever be able to describe the feeling, but somehow she just knew what it meant and she carefully placed the seed on the spot that felt right.  
After a few moments it began to sink into the soil and thin crystal roots began to sprout and Jenna knew her task was done so she stepped away and headed back to the entrance where Takeshi was waiting for her to help her out of the tunnel.  
While the old Huldu sealed the tunnel behind her she was surprised to see that a small seedling had begun to grow on top of the carefully stacked stones and before her eyes roots began to crawl down the sides and before long a gnarled weeping willow had made the stone cairn its home, draping its long flowing branches down around the stacked stones.  
“Does that mean that the Soul-tree of this Sanctuary will be a willow?”  
Despite her curiosity Jenna found that she simply did not have the energy to take a closer look at the growing tree.  
“Probably.”  
Sensing her fatigue Takeshi picked her up and began carrying her to the cottage.  
The seed had a strong emotional effect on the one carrying it and it left Jenna exhausted but Takeshi was more than happy to take care of her while she recovered, intending to take the time to spoil her a bit, he did after all want her to give in and sleep with him before he changed her.  
He quickly found that it would have to be some other day though as Jenna fell asleep almost instantly once he had helped her out of her clothes.

“You are falling for her.”  
Dan's teasing tone was tainted by an undercurrent of pain, longing and just a hint of accusation, no doubt caused by seeing yet another woman find her way to the heart of the man he loved.  
“I am.”  
Even if his words caused Dan pain Takeshi had no intention of lying, or in any way hold back or hide the truth, instead he just pulled Dan into his lap, silently asking him to forgive the pain he had caused.  
“You know, sometimes I ask myself if loving you is really worth it all.”  
The pain behind Dan's words made Takeshi pull him even closer and wrap him in both arms and aura.  
“Then you do something like this and prove that it's worth every bit of pain.”  
With his head burrowed into Takeshi's chest Dan's words could barely be heard, even by the enhanced hearing of those in the room but Takeshi didn't need to hear them, he could feel them as clearly as if they had been his own.  
“What do you say we go work on your flight while Jenna sleeps?”  
Takeshi could feel the heat of Dan's blush at his suggestion.  
He had found that he could easily motivate his mate and his lovers to learn things very fast by using a combination of teasing and some creative, intimate, rewards.  
Dan was well aware that if he did well his lesson would end up in bed, if they made it as far as to a bed.

“Come on, show off those wings.”  
Takeshi gently teased and coaxed Dan into unfolding his wings and flaring them to show of the brilliant color of the scales and membranes.  
“Beautiful, you make for a rather stunning dragon you know.”  
Dan was sporting a rather vivid blush as he tried to brush aside the compliment, but Takeshi refused to let him.  
“If you don't believe me, ask our shadow lady.”  
When Dan refused to ask Kiryu himself Takeshi gently pulled at the bond with the old dragon and she was more than happy to respond and set Dan straight.  
_**“With a bit more confidence you would have your pick of flights. Even the ancient matriarchs would gladly invite you to their flights, hoping to add your characteristics to the next clutch laid within their dens, be it their own clutch, or one of their daughters clutches.”**_  
Her words left Dan somewhat stunned and Takeshi used the opportunity to steal a kiss that had Dan muttering half hearted curses at him.

“That's it, feel the wind, listen to your instincts.”  
He watched Dan face the wind and raise his wings slightly, spreading them wide to try to catch the wind to help give him lift, like a hatching preparing for its first flight and Takeshi found the sight to be quite adorable, but he refrained from telling Dan that as it would just lead to another bout of embarrassed cursing.  
“Almost there, just a little more.”  
Dan still needed to figure out how to use his new energy to boost his flight, for now he was relying on muscle power and the aid of the winds, not very effective.  
“Come on Dan, fly for me!”  
When Dan finally managed to lift himself from the ground Takeshi flooded the bond with approval, pride and joy, and when Dan lost his balance and fell Takeshi was there to catch him.  
“You did well, now you just need to figure out how to use power to aid your flight.”  
“Did well? I was barely able to get off the ground, and crashed almost immediately...”  
It was obvious that Dan didn't consider it much of a success and Takeshi was determined to make him see just how wrong he was.  
“Don't be so hard on yourself, you managed to fly without using any power, that is quite a feat in itself.”  
He rubbed his hands along Dan's wings that were shaking from the effort, carefully checking for any sign of excessive strain or damage from the crash, even if he did manage to catch Dan there was still the possibility of torn muscles or sprains as Dan's new form had not yet reached full strength.  
“Oh, wow... Please, whatever you just did, do it again...”  
Takeshi was somewhat surprised at Dan's very vocal reaction, but was more than happy to backtrack and find the spot that had given such obvious pleasure.  
“Like this?”  
“Oh... Yes! There!”  
Takeshi looked at the pattern of bright, electric blue scales among the ocean of teal and aqua mixed with bluer hues that dominated the wings, it was a recent addition as it had most definitely not been there the previous night.  
The tiny scales, no more than few millimeters across, painted the pattern of a forking lightning bolt across each of the large wings which made for a rather stunning look, but Takeshi was more interested in the way power flowed through them, and the fact that they seemed to be sensitive to touch.  
Brushing his hand along the pattern earned him a sharp gasp followed by a quivering moan and a release of potent pheromones.  
“Oh, you like this, do you?”  
The teasing question was met by a barely coherent mix of cursing, demands and begging and he quickly gave in to the demands that he continue, leaning in he began to trail kisses along the pattern and found that it was buzzing with energy and his curiosity got the better of him.  
“Hey! Did you just lick me?”  
Dan jumped slightly at the somewhat odd sensation, still not accustomed to the feel of his own body.  
“Mhm...”  
Takeshi hummed and did it again.  
“It tingles...”  
When Dan tried to move away Takeshi simply pounced and brought him to the ground before pinning him and continuing the very thorough exploration of the new marks.  
“Take, that tickles, and since when do you purr?”  
Dan's squirming earned him a nip on the ear before Takeshi answered him.  
“Not purr, growl. Now stop squirming and let me have a proper taste.”  
“Whatever, feels like purring, sounds like purring, I call it purring.”  
Takeshi just nipped at his ear again, stealing a tiny drop of blood before going back to slowly licking his way around the lightning bolt pattern.

“Okay, that's it... Knock it off! I don't mind you getting a bit rough, but I'm not some damned scratching-post! The heck has gotten into you?”  
Dan's somewhat annoyed words made Takeshi pause for a moment, and when he did he realized that Dan was right, we was acting rather odd and focusing inwards he found the reason, and cursed rather loudly.  
“Take? What's wrong?”  
Dan's annoyance instantly turned to concern.  
“We need to head back to the cottage, then I need you and Manda to take Jenna and the girls and head back to the island.”  
“What? But we were supposed to stay here all week?”  
“It's my heat...”  
Dan went silent in a heartbeat, closed off the bond and nodded stiffly, not trusting his voice.  
After the return from the Obsidian Halls they had spoken about Takeshi's heat and how it was different than Knight's, especially since Takeshi was mated to his soulmate.  
It had made Dan long for the day when Takeshi's heat returned, he wanted to feel the raw desire and fraying control that Emelie and Knight had both described, and now Takeshi was sending him back to the island, staying behind with just Emelie and Knight.  
“Dan, I know you want to be with me during the heat, as does Manda, and I do want you to, so very much. But I can't risk hurting Jenna due to my loss of control so I need you to take her away from here.“  
As Takeshi spoke Dan calmed down slightly and allowed the bond to open slightly.  
“I know you can get a bit rough, and Em explained that the heat makes that worse, but would you really be so out of control that you can't contain your strength enough not to hurt her?”  
Takeshi sighed deeply at Dan's question.  
“That's not the issue. The issue is that while she responds strongly to me, physically, she is not ready mentally, or emotionally to give in to that. Normally that is not an issue, if she pushes me too far I can just let her know, and tease one of you guys into helping me blow off the steam.”  
The wide-eyed look on Dan's face told Takeshi that he was beginning to understand, but somehow he felt the need to put it into words, to reveal to Dan the darker side to a demonic heat.  
“Yes, it's exactly what you are thinking. While under the influence of my heat there is a high risk that I would not accept her rejection when her body indicates otherwise. Even if I might not force her physically, simply in order not to cause her an injury that would make me unable to continue. I would probably use _suggestion_ , or even _command_ to force her to comply with my every wish, my every desire, and that would be just as bad, if not worse.”  
“I... I'm... I'm sorry...”  
“Dan, my poor, pure Dan. How many times will I have to tell you not to apologize for what you feel? We all feel what we feel, there is no shame in that, what matters is if, and how, we act on what we feel.”  
At Takeshi's gentle scolding Dan relented and opened up the bond again, allowing Takeshi access to his darker emotions.  
“I'm...”  
“Don't...”  
Takeshi warned with a teasing grin when Dan was about to apologize again.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“No! I refuse to!”  
Jenna's voice was a furious hiss as she tried not to wake the sleeping twins.  
“Jenna, please. It's for your own safety, I don't want to hurt you.”  
Takeshi tried to reason with her but she was refusing to listen to him.  
“Oh, but hurting Danny and Manda is okay?”  
“Jenna, please listen to me. It would be dangerous for you to stay here during my heat, I will lose my normal control.”  
Instead of listening she silenced him with a glare and continued her furious lecture.  
“I will not be the reason they miss out on your heat, is that perfectly clear?”  
With a frustrated growl Takeshi spun around and hurried out the door.  
“I need to clear my head. Em, Logan, would you please try to explain to her.”  
As soon as he was out the door he shifted and took to the skies , flying in a wide circle around their land.

“He really is trying to protect you, you know.”  
Dan was the first one to speak up after Takeshi's somewhat abrupt exit.  
“He explained it to me on the way back here.”  
The last part was aimed more to Emelie and Knight than to Jenna.  
“Jenna, this might be hard for you to accept. You have learned to trust him just as we have. But he is not human, he hasn't been since he was changed, even before that he was unlike most humans. And a part of what he was changed into is demon, with demon instincts.”  
Emelie took it upon herself to try to explain to Jenna.  
“One thing that is completely demon is his heat. Since we are mated, and soulmates, his heat won't be as bad as Logan's, but he will still lose his usual control and react like a demon. One of those things is that he won't care that you say 'No' if your body is inviting him, saying 'Yes' so to speak.”  
When Jenna was about to speak up and interrupt Emelie, Dan intervened, placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking his head, silently asking her to listen to Emelie.  
“You are probably aware that he wants you, but I don't think you are fully aware of just how bad he wants you. If you are here he will be focused on taking you, right now he still has enough control to resist the urge, but once he is fully into his heat he won't even try to resist.”  
Emelie paused for a moment to allow her words to sink in a bit before laying down the final blow.  
“If you stay, and you try to resist him, he **will** force you. Probably not physically, instead he will use his mental power to force you to comply, suggestion, or even command depending on how strong your refusal is. And he would never be able to forgive himself for violating you in such a way.”  
There was a moment of somewhat uncomfortable silence before Jenna spoke up and this time Dan didn't stop her.  
“Look, I understand what you are saying, I really do. But you aren't hearing what **I** am saying. I don't have any objection to sleeping with him, quite the opposite. It's just, I don't know if I can handle loving someone I have to share with others. But I don't want to be the reason you miss out on his heat. It may not be how I wanted it to be, but we don't always get to do things the way we want to.”  
Dan nodded and pulled her close, when they first met he had been drawn to her, for a while he even believed he was falling in love with her, but they had both agreed that their love more like siblings, not lovers.  
“Don't do it on mine or Manda's behalf, we would both rather wait for his next heat than see you hurt by it. But, Jenna, trust me, as hard as it is at times, loving him is worth all of it. Every last bit of pain is forgotten when you truly feel him, feel how he cares. I have a hard time with sharing him as well, but he always makes sure to take the time to go away somewhere with me to allow me some time alone with him.”  
“But you are pack...”  
Her mumbled objection made the others laugh.  
“If you truly chose to stay here, to offer yourself to him, he will want to take you into the pack. And as co-alpha I will gladly accept you, and I have no doubt that our overgrown beta agrees.”  
Knight huffed at the less than flattering title, but he assured Jenna he had no objections to bringing her into the pack, and despite not having much say both Dan and Amanda eagerly agreed.  
They spent another hour talking before Knight stood up and informed the others that he would head out and see if he could find, and return, their wayward alpha.

“Alpha, feeling more like yourself?”  
Knight called out to the form of the circling raven from the back of his steed and watched Takeshi veer and dive toward him.  
He was only mildly surprised when Takeshi didn't break of the dive and instead shifted at the very last moment, crashing into him and knocking him out of the saddle.  
Within moments he found himself pinned to the ground by a very demanding alpha, demanding not only submission, but assistance in regaining a measure of control.  
The demon horse looked down at them and snorted in amusement before trotting off to inspect a colony of rodents scurrying about nearby.  
“Such a strong alpha, pulling me into his heat. And on on a ten year cycle. It seems my life will be an interesting one.”  
Knight mused while allowing Takeshi to have his way.  
“Actually, my shadow tells me it may be a one year cycle. That it may run in accordance to the flow of time of my birth realm.”  
The idea of a one year cycle had Knight groaning, as much as he was enjoying it, it would be troublesome if it was to happen once a year, in addition to Emelie's and his own heat.  
Not to mention the possibility of Amanda and Dan having a cycle of their own and there would probably be more additions to the pack over the years.  
“Let's hope it's a ten year one, shall we?”  
Knight chuckled teasingly while offering Takeshi his throat.  
“Mhm, could get a bit tedious to go through this every year.”  
Takeshi agreed before abandoning speech in favor of nipping at the offered flesh.  
“Mmm, Alpha, please, could try to be a bit gentler? Not that mind your enthusiasm, but I promised the girls I would take them for a ride when they wake up, and that will be a bit hard to do if you cover my rear in cuts and bruises.”  
Takeshi gave Knight a sharp nip in reprimand for his objections, but he did let off a bit, taking care not to leave any more lasting marks or soreness.

When they returned to the cabin the twins were up and about and instantly demanded that Knight make good on his promise to show them the _tölt_ , the rather unique gait of the Icelandic horse.  
“Go ahead, we'll be fine.”  
Emelie was the one to tell them to get going as Takeshi was rather preoccupied with making sure that Dan and Amanda were saturated in his scent and aura as it helped soothe his heat.  
“Jenna, Logan told me that you are determined to stay. That you intend to offer yourself to me so that Dan and Manda won't have to leave.”  
Takeshi was still nuzzling Amanda when he spoke up and Jenna instantly stopped her preparations of the evening meal and sat down across the small table.  
“Like I told them, that's a part of the reason, but it's not the entire reason.”  
“Then tell me please, what is the entire reason?”  
His blunt question seemed to throw her off for a moment, but she recovered quickly, though she was sporting a rather vivid blush when she answered him.  
“It's not like you have missed how I react to you, physically.”  
“That would indeed be hard to miss, but I also know that does not mean you actually **want** to sleep with me.”  
Giving Amanda a gentle nudge to move over he motioned for Jenna to come sit in his lap instead and though slow, she did do as he asked.  
“You really aren't going to make this easy for me, are you?”  
She complained when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly against his chest, nuzzling her neck to take in her scent.  
“Not really.”  
He mused in a somewhat teasing tone and she shook her head with an exasperated sigh.  
“Look, it's not that I don't want to. It's just..”  
She paused and took a deep breath, burrowing her face into his chest so he could not see how badly she was blushing.  
“I'm scared, afraid that I won't be able handle living at the island with everyone, while loving **you**. Loving someone who I have to share, someone who loves others, and might never love me back. And there is no way I'll be able to sleep with you and not fall for you completely.”  
The salty scent of her tears cooled Takeshi's inner fire considerably and he pulled her even closer.  
Kissing the top of her head he wrapped his aura around her and made sure that her familiar was paying attention.  
“Jenna, sweetie. If I steal your heart you have my word I will do everything I can to protect it, to care for it. There is no way around having to share, but other than that I will do what I can. I can't promise there won't be problems, or pain, quite the contrary I'm sure there will be. But I can promise I will try to solve any issues as best as possible if you just promise me you will tell me if something is wrong.”  
While she nodded against his chest her familiar relayed her promise to not let any issues fester and for the moment he allowed her to keep her silence, he would try to get her to put her promise into words later.  
“Take, can I make a really selfish request?”  
She whispered against his chest.  
“Of course you can, but I might not grant it.”  
“I've made up my mind, I will do this. But could we wait a few days?”  
“I can try, but the closer we get to the peak of my heat the harder it will be for me to stay in control. Is there any particular reason why you want to wait?”  
He could feel the heat of her blush even through the shirt he was wearing and he smiled widely as she mumbled and stuttered, tripping over her words.  
Leaning back he opted for waiting, allowing her to find her words without pushing her.  
“At the peak of your heat, that's the true you, right? Nothing hidden, nothing held back, all that you are, laid bare?”  
Her questions gave Takeshi a suspicion what her request might be, and if it was what he believed he would gladly grant it to her.  
“That's right. Most noticeable will be my aggression, I will be rougher and more prone to having a violent reaction, and I will be more dominant, demanding greater submission than I normally do, and I will do so far more forcefully.”  
“Does that include...?”  
Her voice trailed of but he knew what she was asking, her scent made that perfectly clear.  
“Yes, that does include during sex. More biting and clawing, generally more forceful.”  
Her scent shifted slightly to fear and he quickly continued.  
“I won't be using my full strength though, I will still be aware of how fragile humans are and see to that I don't cause undue harm, but there will be cuts and bruises.”  
Her fear quickly abated and he took the moment to confirm his suspicion.  
“So, knowing that, are you sure you want to wait?”  
“Yeah, I am. If I'm going to fall for you, it might as well be the real you. So, is it okay to wait until the peak of your heat?”  
“Yes, if you are sure that is what you want, then I will do everything I can to make it so.”  
She didn't respond, but he could feel her gratitude, and embarrassment, even without the help of the familiar.

“Now that that is decided, there is something I would like to ask you, offer you.”  
Jenna looked up and nodded that she was listening, from what the others had said she had a pretty good idea what he would ask her but she still held her breath, hoping.  
“I would like you to consider joining Pack Kiryu. Becoming family to us all in the one way that truly matters to us.”  
“Why?”  
She wanted to slap herself, she wanted what he offered, and yet she questioned it.  
“You are bright and fierce, you stand by your ideals and have a desire to protect. Not to mention courage and a delightful temper.”  
The teasing addition earned him a frustrated groan, but she didn't punch him as she usually would have.  
“I'm guessing that taking my temper out on you would be a bad idea right now?”  
“Well, unless you get tired of waiting, then yeah. So, will you think about it?”  
“I don't need to think about it, I accept.”  
“Don't rush it, I want you to think it through thoroughly. I want you to remember what I am, that I am a killer. That a monster is hidden within.”  
“Did you forget that I saw you kill those gang members? I know you're a killer, and damn good at it. But I don't believe you are a monster...”  
“You did see me kill them. But I was wearing a mask with dark lenses, you didn't see my face, the way I smiled and laughed, the way I enjoyed killing them even though I could easily have allowed them to live. They were just soldiers, without much choice.”  
“I don't believe you...”  
With a sigh Takeshi reached out over the bond with Knight and called for him to join them for a moment.  
They waited in silence and when Knight entered the room Takeshi asked him to tell Jenna about that winter day, about what happened in the Blackout, about his darkness.

“I don't care. I still can't see the monster you refer to.”  
Jenna shook her head and clung tightly to Takeshi, refusing to let go, to show any sign of rejection and it made his instincts soar.  
“Then submit to me as your _Alpha_.”  
He leaned in to burrow his face in the crook of her neck and she instantly turned her head to the side to allow him access to the spot where her neck and shoulders met, but the catch in her breathing and spike of her scent distracted him.  
Trailing kisses along her neck he paused at her jawline.  
“Will you allow me to kiss you?”  
Asking instead of taking took a lot of effort, but he didn't want to risk setting her off, that could end badly.  
“Mhm...”  
Her hummed reply and slight nod carried an almost pleading note and Takeshi found himself struggling to be gentle, to only take what had been readily offered, fortunately it was still in the very beginning of his heat so he was able to resist most of its pull.  
As he moved his focus from the taste of her lips to the soft skin at the inside of her wrist he also slowly shifted her around to get better access, but it would seem Jenna didn't realize what he was asking for.  
_“Jenna, he wants to taste your blood, but he won't ask you, not while you are like this. You must be the one to offer it, tell him that he may.”_  
Watching the way Takeshi was kissing Jenna's wrist, and the way he was taking in her scent, Emelie decided to take mercy on them and lend some aid.  
For a moment her silent words were met by confusion, then came clarity and she heard Jenna whisper to Takeshi.  
“It's okay. Just, please be gentle...”  
Amanda had described the feeling to her, but Jenna hadn't really believed her, she had believed it to be some demon thing but now she realized it wasn't.  
As Takeshi's fangs slid through the thin skin at her wrist she felt no pain, only on odd pressure, and pleasure.  
A few moments later he withdrew his fangs and sealed the wounds with a lick, and she found herself missing the feeling of his fangs and the odd surge of emotions they had brought her.  
“Are you ready?”  
His voice was barely more than a whisper but she could hear the slight strain as he struggled to control himself.  
“Yes, as ready as I'll ever be.”  
He guided her to turn around so that she was leaning her back against his chest and while he trailed nibbling kisses along her neck he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her.  
This time the bite did hurt, but somehow she understood that it wasn't really the bite itself that hurt, the pain came from trying to adapt to his energy.  
_“Don't resist him. Submit and there will be no pain.”_  
This time the words of advice came through Dan's familiar and for a moment she struggled with it, but when she thought about the future she found it surprisingly easy to submit.  
The approval and pride that surged through the forming bond almost made her cry, it had never occurred to her that submitting, when not forced, was also an act of acceptance and trust, the ultimate proof that she harbored no lingering fear or resentment from how they met.  
Once she submitted she could feel the heat of his power flowing through her and it didn't take long before his fangs withdrew, and once again she found herself wishing they hadn't.  
She startled slightly when she felt his hand move to her neck followed by the sharp sting of his claw cutting across where he had just bit her, and a moment later there was a rather sharp pain as something was forced under her skin.  
The pain was short though and was quickly replaced by a slightly burning itch crawling down her back and she knew it had to be the same pattern of scales that the others sported, and she could feel Takeshi's joy that she took to his mark so readily.  
Slowly her eyes widened and she looked around the room.  
“I can **feel** you, all of you...”  
She looked like she was about to say something more when the strain of the day caught up to her and her eyes went blank as her body turned limp in Takeshi's arms.  
“Dan would you place her in the twins room please, their scent will help keep my attention away from her.”  
“Should I stay and keep an eye on her?”  
“If you want to, but it won't be needed. Her familiar will let us know if something is wrong and the twins can keep an eye on her as well when they return.”  
Dan's nod was accompanied by relief tainted by a hint of shame, shame that he was relieved he could stay with Takeshi and not have to keep an eye on her.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Lessons_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Jenna had spent the past two days with the twins, trying to stay clear of Takeshi until the peak of his heat, but the fact that she could feel the others over the new bond made it very hard, especially since they were having insane amounts of sex.  
Staying with the twins and taking care of them helped keep Takeshi from seeking her out, Logan had explained that when her scent was so heavily mixed with the twins scent it made her register as a nursing female to Takeshi's instincts.  
In its most basic form the heat was a reproductive instinct, so youths who were yet to reach full maturity, and those carrying or nursing young didn't trigger Takeshi's instinctual urges.  
He had also explained that the same wouldn't work against his own heat since he was not mated, quite the opposite, a nursing female would attract his attention since it was proof of her ability to carry to term and care for her offspring which in turn was proof of her suitability as a mate.  
It had worked almost too well, she hadn't seen Takeshi at all and now she was feeling rather nervous.  
Dan had dropped by a few minutes earlier with food, a basket with soap, shampoo and conditioner, all specifically made to remove any foreign scents from her body and make her own, natural scent stronger.  
He had also given her a wrapped package containing a soft dress and a simple underwear set, along with a warning that she should not get attached to them, as they would probably not survive her next encounter with Takeshi.  
Turning to the food she was happy to find that the small kettle contained a simple gruel with rye, barley, some herbs, onions and small pieces of fatty mutton that had been cooked until soft and tender.  
There was also a platter with butter and cheese as well as a few thick slices of still warm _Hverabrauð_ , the traditional dark _Rúgbrauð_ , rye bread, baked in one of the local hot springs, a small bite revealed that it was Takeshi's version of it, it lacked the almost overwhelming sweetness it usually had and she had quickly found that she preferred Takeshi's version.  
Making quick work of the food she headed to the bath to wash the scent of the girls from her body all while trying to keep her nerves from fraying too much.  
Once her hair was reasonably dry she braided it into a loose braid and put on the soft dress before venturing to the main room where she could feel Takeshi waiting for her.

The room was dimly lit and it took a moment before her eyes adapted but once they did she froze and simply stared at the sight in front of her.  
Takeshi looked positively sinful, the naked male was sprawled across the bedding in an almost lazy manner but his eyes were sharp and alert, and his aura almost burning in its intensity.  
Other than Takeshi the room looked empty, but the new bond allowed Jenna to feel that Emelie was in the room, no doubt hidden in the shadows, ready to step in if Takeshi got out of hand.  
Swallowing sharply she stepped into the room and she could feel the shift in Takeshi's aura as his eyes locked on her and gained a predatory gleam.  
For now it seemed he was content to watch her though, and acting on an impulse she slowly let the dress fall to the floor and before long the bra and panties followed it, leaving her as bare as the one in front of her.  
The rather obvious hard-on made it quite clear that he enjoyed the little show that she gave him and when he took himself in hand for a few lazy strokes she could do nothing but stare, mesmerized by the simple movement of his hand.  
When he raised his hand and slowly curled his index finger to beckon her to come closer she found that she was unable to resist the wicked gleam of his eyes, they were glowing like embers, giving of their own light, powered by the energy flowing through Takeshi's aura.  
As she reached the edge of the bedding he slowly rose and began to prowl around her, dragging sharp claws across her skin, hard enough to create thin, red lines, but not enough to actually draw blood.  
Remembering what Emelie had told her about blood she carefully placed her own hand over Takeshi's clawed fingers and applied a bit more pressure, just enough to draw a few tiny drops of blood from her own skin.

For a moment Takeshi froze, then he leaned in with a soft sigh and began to lick away the tiny beads of blood and as he did the sigh turned into a low moan, as if he had just tasted the greatest of delicacies.  
Studying her reactions he traced a claw along her chest, slowly increasing the pressure until she flinched slightly before leaning in and licking away the blood, healing the wound before doing it again in a different spot.  
By the time he reached the inside of her thighs he could barely believe that he was still in such control, it would seem the fact that he was mated had a greater effect than they had initially believed it would.  
But the moment he leaned in and tasted her properly he was proved wrong, between the taste, and the sheer slickness of her he felt his control shatter and when her hands came down and demanded more, even the fragments of that control was lost.

The low growl made Jenna open her eyes and look at Takeshi, and the moment she did she felt like she was drowning in the raw, primal, want that was reflected in his eyes and when he slowly moved back up her body, nipping and licking his way back to her neck she knew it was time.  
Despite being well prepared she gasped at the pain of the intrusion, he was even larger than he had seemed, but it was soon forgotten and she surrendered herself to him, and the pleasured he was offering, and demanding.

 


	75. Leviathan

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi set his feet against the soft sand and kicked off, allowing the momentum to carry him back to the surface.  
He wasn't the least bit surprised when Jenna slid up behind him and took herself a nice big grab, she was in an even higher spirit than usual as tonight he would give her the Blessing and he had to admit he was eager to see what form she would take.  
_“You know, if you keep that up, I might just forget about the Blessing and spend all night with other pursuits...”_  
He turned around and wrapped his arms around her, mindful of the diving gear, to make sure she wouldn't dart away before giving another kick toward the surface.  
_“You wouldn't!”_  
She complained lightly, but she did stop teasing him and he responded with a mental shrug.  
He noted that Jenna seemed a lot more comfortable, at ease, after joining the pack, and giving in to him during his heat, he hadn't told her about his feelings for her yet though, but he intended to do so before the change.  
When they broke through the surface of the water he snatched away the mask that covered Jenna's face and leaned in to steal a kiss, as expected she tried to swim away, but to no avail and he claimed his prize.  
The way she pressed herself against him made it quite clear that she did not object to the way he was handling her, instead the water around them began to smell rather strongly of her arousal.  
“Let's join the others for lunch before we head to the Sanctuary.”  
His suggestion was met by a simple nod before she turned and began to swim toward the shore, but before she had even made it 10 meters one of the dolphins surfaced next to her, offering his dorsal fin which she readily accepted and allowed herself to be pulled through the water.

Lunch was as chaotic as ever and once they were done eating Takeshi said goodnight to the twins, in case he didn't return before nightfall, there was no way way of knowing how much time Jenna would need to adapt to her change.  
Dan would be joining them as well to act as Jenna's anchor, and help Takeshi look after her while she adapted and recovered.  
“This place never stops to amaze me.”  
With a cupped hand Jenna carefully scooped up one of the crystal insects and brought it closer to her face for a better look.  
“You do know you can come down here whenever you want to, right?”  
Takeshi leaned over her shoulder and dropped a tiny emerald snake into her hand.  
“What? I can?”  
“Of course, just remember not to enter the annex with the Soul-tree without getting Her permission.”  
“Now he tells me...”  
She muttered to the snake in her hand but the snake just looked at her for a moment before slithering away.  
“You could have asked...”  
Dan's teasing quip earned him a sharp punch on the arm.  
“Damn it! Those scales hurt...”  
The way she cursed and shook her hand had Takeshi struggling not to laugh, she had done the same with him on countless occasions.  
“Maybe you shouldn't hit me so hard then?”  
Takeshi found their bantering to be relaxing, it told him that the members of his pack were comfortable, content.  
“Don't worry, once your change is complete you can go back to effortlessly kicking his ass.”  
“Hey!”  
Dan instantly complained at the mention of having his ass handed to him by his _'kid sister'_.  
“Well, it's true, isn't it?”  
“Yeah, but do you have to bring it up?”  
The muttering reply was accompanied by a rather vivid blush.  
“Don't worry Danny, you are still a highly skilled fighter, she is just an even better one.”  
Jenna had taken to Takeshi's martial arts lessons like a fish to water and while he had been in the demon realm she had studied with Kasumi and Eriko, learning their particular flavor of combat.  
Designed for female fighters who were usually lighter and weaker than their opponent it focused on speed and agility rather than power and Takeshi had to admit that she was really good.  
Had she been a student of Hisao-hanshi she would probably be going through preparations for her _Rokudan,_ ranking examinations, 6th dan.  
Takeshi estimated her technical skill to be at a 7th or 8th dan level but she lacked the spiritual and mental maturity as well as leadership and teaching qualities required.  
Thinking about it rekindled a desire to get his own ranking done, he had never been formally examined since he was a Kage, but his skill was beyond any 10th dan he knew of.

“Okay kids, how about you stop roughhousing and come join me here instead?”  
Oh, he knew they would not like being called 'kids' but he couldn't resist, and when they pounced on him he caught them with a laugh.  
Takeshi enjoyed the mock wrestle for a while before actually trying to subdue them, and once he did it didn't take long before he had both of them pinned to the ground.  
“If we are done playing around, there is something important I need to tell you before we go on to the Blessing.”  
He could feel Dan retreat from the bond, hiding as much as possible without alerting Jenna, this time he didn't call him out on it or try to get him to open back up.  
Dan simply didn't have the control to only block Jenna without blocking the rest of the bond and he didn't want her to feel his reaction to what he knew Takeshi was about to say.  
Rolling to the side Takeshi pinned Jenna beneath him before leaning in and whispering in her ear.  
_“Aishiteru.”  
_ For a brief moment she looked puzzled, then her eyes widened as she remembered what it meant and her entire aura screamed her question at him.  
“Yes, really.”  
The kiss that followed was bruising and left them both rather breathless.  
When Takeshi pulled back and got back on his feet he found himself cornered by a rather impatient Dan who demanded he get a kiss as well.  
“So eager.”  
Takeshi hummed and once he had pulled Jenna to her feet he gave Dan what he was asking for, not minding one bit that Dan was acting a bit more demanding, almost dominant, instead he tilted his head back slightly, allowing Dan access to his neck.  
“Dan, that's enough. Let's explore this more some other time, okay?”  
His words trailed of into a groan when Dan didn't listen and instead bit down harder on his exposed throat and it took Takeshi a surprising amount of focus to push him back and distract him with a downright vicious kiss.  
_“Enough!”_  
For once Dan didn't submit right away, encouraged by Takeshi's obvious enjoyment he fought back a bit, his aura flowing with a very dominant pattern, but when Takeshi flared his own and wrapped it tightly around Dan's smaller aura it folded into submission.  
_“Alpha? Yes... Later... Promise? Please?”  
_ Dan's thoughts were confused at first, but as they cleared they quickly turned hopeful and Takeshi smiled into the kiss.  
_“Yes, I promise. This will be_ _ **thoroughly**_ _explored.”_  
Breaking off the kiss he ushered Dan and Jenna toward the mirror annex where they would stay until she was ready to rejoin the others.

“Remember, if you fight me it will hurt more.”  
Takeshi cautioned her while taking a seat among the pillows and motioning for her to join him while Dan took one of the larger cushions and had a seat next to the pile of bedding, close enough to be able to help if needed, but not close enough to disturb them.  
“Don't worry, I remember.”  
She crawled into his lap and made herself comfortable.  
“I'm ready.”  
Takeshi shifted her slightly to the side before leaning in and sinking his fangs into her shoulder and focusing on feeding her the power of the Blessing.  
For a brief moment her aura rose in objection, but almost instantly it folded and allowed the power to flow freely and initiate the change.  
As he had done before, Takeshi withdrew his fangs once he felt the Blessing take hold and the change begin.  
Cradling Jenna in his arms he watched her change, her light brown hair turning a deep copper with gold highlights, he could feel her muscles shifting and changing and he was not surprised to feel tiny claws pricking him.  
“Feline...”  
He murmured when fangs began to poke out from her lips and her body grew short fur that matched her new hair color.  
The long, strong tail with a tuft of longer, darker fur at the tip revealed her form to be that of a lion, Takeshi was slightly concerned though since she didn't show any signs of a hybrid form, it would make things easier, and safer if she was able to use hybrid forms.

“ _Jenna, could you open your eyes for me please?”_  
Her energies felt stable and he could tell that she was awake.  
When she looked up and revealed golden amber eyes he was pleased to find that the pupils were slit, and had the same fiery corona effect as his own eyes, clearly not the eyes of a lion.  
“What did I become?”  
She kept her voice to a low whisper, warned that she might need some time to adapt to her new hearing, Takeshi had used the silent communication though, but as she seemed fine he switched to whispering instead.  
“A magnificent lioness, my proud and fierce little huntress.”  
Running his hand along the tail he found the bone spur hidden in the tuft of fur but when he felt a sharp tip he brought it to his face for a closer look.  
“Or maybe more of a _manticore_ , you have a stinger rather than a bone spur on your tail. And the venom smells a lot like Manda's, it's probably paralytic as well.”  
“You're going to test it, aren't you?”  
“I am, but don't worry. I'll be safe.”  
He carefully pressed his thumb against the small stinger and found that the venom was almost identical to Amanda's, it only took his body a few moments to neutralize the familiar compound.  
“You should be able to control its potency the same way Manda does.”  
“But no wings...”  
A deep sorrow was quickly seeping into her aura and out over the bond, nearly overwhelming Takeshi and Dan, and when Takeshi felt questioning pulls from both Emelie and Knight he quickly wrapped his aura around Jenna to block the others from feeling her.  
“Don't worry, this is only one form, you can still learn to shift into winged forms.”  
“But those forms won't be me! I listened, I learned, those other forms will never be as easy to hold, or feel as natural.”  
The scent of her tears and utter despair in her aura made both Takeshi and Dan curl around her.  
_“Can't you give her another dose, like you did with my tail?”_  
Dan's thoughts were almost begging, praying that there was something they could do to soothe Jenna, to give her what she wanted so badly.  
_“I'm trying to, but the power won't respond. The Blessing has a mind of it's own, a plan and changing her any further is not part of it.”_  
Frustration, remorse and guilt was weighing heavily on Takeshi as he tried again to reach within for the power to give Jenna her wings, any power.  
_”There's nothing I can do...”_  
Pulling his focus from the powers within he focused it on Jenna, getting ready to tell he couldn't give her wings, but just as the he was about to speak up he felt a tiny flicker of power, but not from anywhere he had expected.  
Reaching within he pulled out one of the crystals that Lucifer had given him, one of the crystals meant to help them locate Lucifer's soul mate and for a brief moment he felt a surge of fear, fear that Jenna was the one.  
But he forced the feeling down with logic, had she been the one all the crystals would have reacted.  
Instead it seemed that the power of the crystal was somehow aware of what Takeshi was trying to do, and it was offering itself as a solution.  
Pulling it from within his soul he watched it morph into a black feather and he  placed it against Jenna's chest, a few moments later it vanished into her body and it didn't take long before Takeshi spotted the telltale signs of flight muscles forming.  
The wings that sprouted were pure black at first, but then they faded into the same copper and gold as her hair and fur.  
“She's a sphinx, not a manticore.”  
Takeshi found himself agreeing with Dan's correction of what species she resembled, the manticore was said to have a scorpion's tail and bat wings, while the sphinx was described as having feathered wings.  
“She's beautiful.”  
“And **she** can hear you, you know.”  
Jenna's complaint paired with a clawed pinch made Takeshi laugh, and moments later Dan and Jenna both joined him.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Lissa, can you carry those crates down to the Tiamat please. Have Munin help you if they are too much.”  
Takeshi nodded toward a few mid sized crated filled with vegetables while helping Jenna get her new bathing suit secured without messing with her wings.  
“No problem Take, I got them..”  
“Sarah, Maria, if you don't have your bags packed and waiting at the door in 15 minutes, we are leaving without them.”  
He could hear the twins scrambling to do as he asked and the occasional question for Angel where one thing or another was at the moment.  
They were headed to New Zealand to oversee the final stages of construction of the _Leviathan_ , the new yacht that would be their home during their search for Atlantis.  
Her base design was the same as the Tiamat, a trimaran wavepiercer but she was much larger, the Tiamat was large with her 50 meter length and 14 meter beam but she was dwarfed by the Leviathan, who with her 125 meter length and 20 meter beam was downright huge.  
Takeshi had decided to have a larger ship built after their trip to Los Angeles as the Tiamat was too small to comfortably house all of the residents of the Island, even for the pack it was starting to feel slightly cramped.  
It had taken him a year to find a suitable shipyard and another year with Angel's help to complete the designs and commission the build.  
Under Angel's supervision the build had progressed at record speed, but it had taken quite a bit of effort to enforce some of the unique design aspects, like the single pane window for the bridge where the shipyard designers were concerned that it would be unable to meet safety regulations.  
It was one of the reasons there were now traveling to the shipyard, to hand in material samples, all the windows would be made from Sanctuary crystals, ultra durable and light as well as glare and reflection free.  
They would also be supervising the installation of the computer core as well as the optical network, sensors and holographic systems that would allow Angel full access and control over the vessel.  
Sanctuary crystals would also be added into the structure of the yacht and specialized crystals would be placed along the keel that would grow to coat the hull, making it nearly indestructible as well as prevent any corrosion, or buildup, to tarnish it.  
These additions would be much easier to make while the ship was still in dry dock.

It would also be an opportunity to tighten the bonds within the pack, and allow Hugin and Munin time to get used to life at the island as they would be staying there while Takeshi took his pack to find Atlantis.  
Hugin had not been happy when Takeshi told them that he wanted them to stay behind and watch over his house and it had taken Takeshi over two weeks to get him to return from his raven form.

“Takeshi iero, do you have a moment to spare?”  
Takeshi was just about to grab the bags that Sarah and Maria had brought out when Munin called for his attention.  
“Munin, what has you all formal?”  
”Melissa...”  
“Ah, Lissa is getting under your skin, is she?”  
“Indeed she is.”  
“Is it the calling?”  
Takeshi had seen the way Munin looked at Melissa and it was obvious that he was interested in her.  
“It is, but she does not seem to feel it.”  
“Lissa was the first person I changed, and she was on the brink of death when I did. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but she is not as strong as the rest of us, she's unable to use hybrid forms and her instincts don't hold the same sway. She might not be able to feel the calling.”  
“I couldn't help noticing, she has not been through her first rite...”  
Munin was confused, and Takeshi could understand him, if Melissa had been a demon she would have had her first rite several years ago.  
“You are forgetting that we are not actually demons, very few human cultures adhere to first rites. Most of our cultures have a legal age of consent, any youth past that age is considered ready to engage in a sexual relationship, though it's common with certain restrictions for age difference for those who have year to reach their majority.”  
“So it would not be inappropriate for me to pursue her?”  
“No, she has reached her majority.”  
“Do I have your permission to pursue her?”  
“Munin, you don't need my permission for that, you need her permission.”  
“She is of your house, I serve your house, it would be inappropriate not to ask.”  
“You and your brother may have served House Shamarai while we were in the Obsidian Halls, but Lucifer released you of those vows. When I brought you with me here I didn't bring you to be servants. I brought you to be friends, and family. You are House Shamarai, should you accept.”  
Munin looked at him with wide eyes and Takeshi could hear the telltale chirps of confusion and surprise.  
“Just be careful with her, you know what she has been through.”  
“Of course, you have my word.”  
“Well, off you go. Go steal her heart. Show her the skies.”  
Takeshi gave Munin's mashen a quick brush before gently shoving him toward the lagoon where Melissa was helping the others pack the Tiamat.  
“Take, one last thing. A favor if I may?”  
“Oh? Go ahead.”  
“Could you please try to get my dear brother out of whatever tree he's sulking in this time?”  
Munin's deadpan delivery made Takeshi chuckle and promise he would try his best.

“Hugin, are you going to sit in that tree all day and refuse to let me say a proper goodbye before I leave?”  
The rattling caw that answered him sounded decidedly like the raven version of the riot act, but the underlying song of Hugin's soul made Takeshi smile.  
“Now now, if you talk to me like that I might start thinking you don't like me anymore.”  
Turning his back as if he was about to walk away Takeshi struggled to hide his smile when he heard the rustle of wings as Hugin left the tree and moments later Takeshi felt claws dig into his shoulder as the raven landed and began to peck at his ear.  
Reaching up Takeshi ruffled his feathers and tried to distract Hugin from abusing his ear to badly.  
“As much as I enjoy having my adorable little raven abusing my ear, how about you return to being my sweet, black winged, angel instead?”  
The suggestion was rewarded with a cheeky caw and another attack on his ear, but the shift in his aura told Takeshi that Hugin would change back soon.  
By the time they reached the lagoon Hugin had returned to his true form but he was still acting rather subdued, even when Takeshi gave him a kiss goodbye he barely responded.  
“Hugin, I want to you to look after what is mine, to protect that which is important to me. Will you do that for me?”  
As he spoke Takeshi brushed Hugin's bangs out of his face so he could see his eyes and after a few moments Hugin's gaze rose to meet his.  
“I will...”  
Takeshi brushed his fingers through the fine feathers of the mashen and whistled his gratitude before shifting and flying out to the Tiamat where his pack was waiting.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Now Maria, how would you suggest white place their next stone to get out of this situation?”  
Takeshi was enjoying teaching the finer points of _Go_ to the twins, testing their ability to spot and avoid popular traps.  
“That's very good, did Angel teach you that one?”  
“No, Eriko did.”  
“It's a very strong move. But, what if I do this?”  
Takeshi placed one of his black stones to attack from a new angle and Maria's eyebrows scrunched up in concentration, trying to figure out how to stop him.  
Looking to the second board he responded to Sarah's attack on one of his clusters by taking the corner he had been aiming for, and he had to admit a certain pride when she whistled a curse in the language of the Obsidian Halls for falling into his trap.  
“Sarah, as proud as I am for you picking up on the Obsidian language, that was not appropriate language for a lady, or a little girl.”  
_“Gomen ne...”_  
“Sarah...”  
Takeshi scolded lightly, if she was going to speak Japanese with him he would have her do it properly.  
_“Gomen nasai.”_  
“That's better, now focus on the lesson here. What did you learn from that move?”  
“Never trust Daddy when playing go?”  
The cheeky counter had him laughing and ruffling her hair before turning back to the game with Maria.

“That's good, now how about these readings here.”  
Takeshi drew Amanda's attention toward one of the screens on the bridge that displayed a wide range of meteorological data, including barometric pressure, air and water temperatures, humidity and detailed wind direction and speed, most of the data courtesy of the Tiamat's LIDAR system.  
Usually Angel would assess all the data, clean it up and display it in an easy to read manner, but Takeshi wanted Amanda to learn how to read the raw data so now they were looking at a nearby weather front.  
A tropical storm was brewing northeast of their position, fortunately all the data indicated that it would be heading east toward Japan while their path was south-southeast toward New Zealand.  
“This is going to be a really bad one, isn't it? Maybe we should put in a call to Tokyo?”  
“Yes, it will be a class 5 by the time it makes landfall. But don't worry, Angel has already relayed the data to the JMA.”  
“What about that boat over there? It doesn't seem to be very large and it's right in the path of the storm.”  
Takeshi looked at the small blip at the edge of the map display that had Amanda concerned and he had to agree, it looked like it might be in the path of trouble if it maintained its heading.  
“Angel, do you have an ID on that vessel?”  
“It's registered as the _Luna_ , home port is Los Angeles. Her classification is a schooner, 20 meter LOA. Minimal engine capacity, maneuvering thrusters only.”  
Angel quickly gave the details about the ship and it had Takeshi concerned, it was very risky for a boat that size to remain in the path of such a massive storm. Especially since she had no real engines and would be unable to use her sails in such harsh winds.  
“Your assessment of its chances of making it through the storm safely?”  
“Very low I'm afraid. If she does not break south she is almost certain to end up in distress.”  
“We need to get her on the line and make sure she is aware of the weather.”  
It took a few minutes for the Luna to respond but once she did Angel turned the channel over to Takeshi.  
  
“This is captain Paul of the Luna, what can I do for you?”  
“I'm Takeshi of the Tiamat. Are you aware of the severe weather forming due west of your location?”  
“I can't see anything, are you sure?”  
“Very, you will have a class four or five typhoon incoming in a few hours. You are directly in it's path.”  
The information was received with some rather colorful language as the captain of the Luna looked at the data that Angel had sent him.  
“You must have some really nice hardware at hand, think you could get on the horn to Tokyo for me and request a rescue? I won't make it out of the path of that storm in time and my own radio is damaged. I was barely able to pick up your transmission.”  
While the other captain spoke Takeshi was looking at the holographic images that Angel was displaying, showing that the Tiamat would be able to reach the Luna ahead of the storm and tow her south, clear of the storms path.  
“Of course. But if I may make a suggestion. The Tiamat has some very serious engines, if you break south now we could rendezvous with the Luna and use our engines to tow you out of the path of the storm. And if we can't make it clear in time we can at least take you and your passengers on board for safety.”  
It would be cramped as the Luna listed having eight souls on board, but Takeshi wouldn't feel comfortable just leaving them out there, especially since the chances of anyone else reaching them before the storm were slim.  
The suggestion was met with a few minutes of silence before captain Paul came back on the radio and informed them that he would break south and make best speed.  
“Angel, track the Luna and get us to her as fast as possible please.”  
“Hai!”  
Takeshi could feel the protective energy rise around them as Angel powered up the Tiamat's engines further than they had ever been outside of the stress tests they had run.  
Feeling the barrier rise the others quickly joined him on the bridge.  
“Take, what's going on?”  
Emelie ushered the twins over to Jenna before stepping up to Takeshi's side so she could look at the screens.  
“There is a massive storm brewing and we are changing heading to intercept a sailing vessel to get them out of harm's way as they are too small to be able to handle the incoming weather, and too slow to be able to get out of its way.”  
“I see. I'll make sure the girls are strapped in. Dan, would you and Jenna make sure all the cargo and the galley is secure?”  
“Of course.”  
The pair hurried into the interior of the Tiamat to make sure nothing could shift or toss.  
“I'm guessing you and Logan will be doing an extra check on the crane and davit?”  
She turned to Takeshi who was happy that Emelie was finally feeling more comfortable with taking charge and acting like the alpha she was.  
“Indeed.”  
“Well then, get going! I will keep an eye on the twins, Manda can monitor the Tiamat and the storm with Angel's help, and they will keep you updated if anything needs your attention.”  
“Oh, bossy. I like it!”  
He stole a teasing kiss before dodging out of range of her tail with a laugh.  
“Come on big guy, let's make sure we can pull the Luna out of harms way without taking any undue risks.”  
“Coming.”  
A quick glance to the twins showed them already working on strapping themselves into their seats, life jackets properly in place.

They caught up with the Luna faster than anticipated as Angel had pushed the Tiamat's engines very close to their limit.  
“Now that's a sweet boat! She's gotta be able to do like 40 knots, right?”  
The captain of the Luna, Paul, was staring rather wide eyed at the Tiamat as they pulled alongside the smaller sailing vessel.  
“Actually her top cruising speed is 70 knots, we topped out at just over 95 on our way here, but that's straining the engines in this sea.”  
The original engines of the Tiamat had only been capable of about 30 knots top speed and just over 20 knots cruise speed, the updated engines when he first obtained it topped out at 50 knots with a 40 knot cruise speed, just as Paul had estimated, but with the addition of a Sanctuary crystal power source, hull coating and a few other modifications they had greatly increased the speed of the Tiamat.

“Ah, a true goddess of the sea.”  
Paul kept chatting on about technical specifications and boats in general while they maneuvered the Tiamat in front of the Luna and used the Tiamat's tender to connect the lines from the Tiamat's davits to the Luna's bow mooring lines to use as improvised tug lines, the controls of the davits giving them an extra layer of safety and control.  
Meanwhile the catamaran tender would be connected to the Luna's stern to act as a support rudder if needed, and to keep her from drifting into the Tiamat if they had to reduce speed.  
“Are you sure those lines will hold? They look kinda flimsy.”  
“Don't worry, they are made with kumo-silk, This can easily handle ten times much as the 50mm blend the cruise ships use.”  
“Looks like quarter inch double braided, and with such strength, must be pure kumo-silk, and must have cost you a fortune...”  
“It is, and it did. Not to mention taking over a year to have them made to spec.”  
Paul gave the Tiamat a longing look and Takeshi could hear a soft sigh hidden under the wind.  
“You wouldn't happen to be looking to hire an experienced captain?”  
The tone was intentionally kept light and joking, but Takeshi could feel that there was hope hidden beneath, the man truly wanted to change boats.  
“Actually I am, how are your engineering skills?”  
Takeshi kept his own tone light and focused on reading the other man's reactions.  
“Out of date, but I don't mind some serious cramming if it gets me a better job.”  
Takeshi could easily tell he was being honest.  
“Oh. You don't like the Luna?”  
“Don't get me wrong, she is an amazing boat, but she is cursed with a not so great owner.”  
While they worked on getting the Luna out of harm's way Paul explained that the owner was a showoff, he would put a lot of money into keeping the exterior of the boat in top shape, like a well polished gem, but he would cut corners and pinch the pennies when it came to maintenance that didn't effect how she looked.  
“I'm headed to New Zealand to oversee the final stages of construction on my new yacht. She will be a wavepiercer like this one, but a lot larger, 125 meter LOA and 20 meter beam. And I could use an experienced captain and a few hands to run her.”  
Takeshi could tell that despite his youth, Paul was one of an old breed of captains. The kind of captains that truly cared for the ships they served on, and he felt trustworthy.  
He would of course be properly vetted if he were to be hired, but so far Takeshi had good feeling about him.  
“That sounds really tempting, you obviously take really good care of your boats.”  
“How about this, Angel will send you some maintenance manuals for the Leviathan and you can study them, and maybe find a pair of sailors you think you can trust. Then we can set up a meeting after we return home.”  
“Sounds good. Where is home by the way?”  
“My little island off of Hawaii.”  
Paul went wide-eyed once again.  
“You own an island? Should I know who you are?”  
“I do, and not really. You might know of my sister though, Kasumi Kiryu.”  
“Whoa, wait. You are Takeshi Kiryu, the guy who took down the GCTI?”  
“I am.”  
Takeshi was aware that revealing that could go sideways, but better now than later.  
Takeshi did notice that Paul was giving him rather suspicious glances, no doubt doubting his words due to the fact that he looked a lot younger than he should.  
“Man I can't, I gotta ask. Don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you a bit too young to be that Takeshi Kiryu? Maybe his son?”  
"No, I am the one who helped take them down. I'm older than I look."  
“Now I really want to change jobs. But I suggest you don't let the owner know who you are, he lost a lot of money when the GCTI went down. And he might just refuse your help if he finds out.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath, he had hoped to wait a bit with the big revelations but it seemed he had no choice now.  
“Come.”  
With a nod he asked Knight to keep an eye on the towing before leading Paul into the Tiamat to show him the truth.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Daddy, we're bored!”  
They were having a short break from yet another meeting about the specifications of the Leviathan and the twins took the time to voice their complaints about the long meetings.  
“I know sweetie. Just hang in there two more hours then we will head out to the reefs so you can swim and dive, all night if you want to.”  
_“Can we practice flying when we get there?”  
“If you promise to be careful.”  
_ With the silent promise the twins cheered up and returned to quietly playing their games in the corner.  
Takeshi silently wished he was merely bored like the twins, not annoyed and frustrated to the point where Dan was tiptoeing around him and both Emelie and Knight were buffering his temper.  
The certification agent was giving them a lot of grief over some of the design details, like the large windowpanes, or the low dimension of the lines used for mooring and anchor, despite having been provided with detailed test results of all the components.  
Thankfully Angel had grown very skilled at dealing with bureaucrats, and with a few thinly veiled threats of legal actions she had finally managed to get them to sign off on everything.

“Ah, Mr Kiryu, there you are.”  
For a brief moment Takeshi considered just shifting and getting the hell out of there.  
The shipyard owner had his niece working for him as a secretary, and the young woman had been hitting on him from day one.  
She was pretty enough, but he couldn't stand women who intentionally tried to seduce men they believed to be taken.  
Had she done her flirting openly, in front of Emelie he wouldn't have minded, but she would wait until the others weren't there before trying.  
“You smell amazing! What is that cologne you are wearing?”  
She was pressing herself against him, all but rubbing her half exposed breasts against him.  
Taking a short sniff reminded him of the second reason he wasn't particularly interested in her, underneath her cloying perfume she smelled of at least ten different men, a few of which he recognized as being married.  
While he himself had six partners, not counting any temporary fancy he found on their travels, he was open about it, all aware of each other but he knew from overheard conversations that she was not open about her exploits.  
“And you smell like a whore.”  
He quipped as he pushed her away and began walking toward the reception lobby where he could sense his pack gathering.  
He knew he shouldn't, but he had tried turning her away nicely, and not so nicely, and quite frankly he was fed up with her.  
The outraged spluttering behind him brought out a rather smug grin.  
Proper? Hell no!  
Crude? Damn straight!  
Enjoyable? Hell yeah!

“Damn Take, you need a shower!”  
Dan was the first to complain when Takeshi joined them but the others quickly agreed, the twins sneezing and hiding their faces in Emelie's skirt.  
“I know, sorry guys.”  
“If she's going to try to steal others men, she really should wear a less obvious perfume, and a lot less of it.”  
Emelie's musings made the others chuckle, and add their own quips about their opinion of the secretary.  
“Okay guys, that's quite enough, the girls are learning plenty enough crude language as it is.”  
Though trying, Takeshi's scolding words failed to relay any actual heat.

Back at the Tiamat Takeshi hurried to the shower, eager to get rid of the cloying perfume that stuck to his clothes and body.  
Leaning back against the wall of the shower he let the steaming hot water rinse away the special demon soap that effectively purged all foreign scents from a person, allowing their natural scent to bloom.  
He would of course be swamped by his pack when he stepped out, all of them instinctively wanting to get their scents back on him, usually he would use a less harsh soap that left traces of the packs cent on his body, but right now getting rid of the offensive perfume was more important than avoiding the hassle of reapplying the scent-marks.  
While he waited for the last trace of the woman's scent to disappear he thought back to the past month, it had taken quite a bit of effort to clear all the design quirks of the Leviathan with the proper authorities, not to mention the insurance company.  
Captain Paul had contacted him mid third week to ask if he had any objections to hiring women for the crew and Takeshi quickly informed the captain that he couldn't care less as long as the person was skilled and reliable.  
As an afterthought he had added that any prejudice against the relationships of his pack would not be tolerated, he didn't care, neither did Knight, but Dan, his sensitive Dan, would be bothered by it and Takeshi would not allow that.  
For now the plan was to relax for a week, then return to the shipyard and oversee the installation of the new components which was estimated to keep them there for another month, then back home for another two months before taking the blackout back to the shipyard to pick up the Leviathan and head back to the island.  
Once there they would add the more extreme Sanctuary crystal modifications and stock up before heading to the Mariana Trench, and the Challenger Deep where Stormborn said the entrance to the Atlantis maze was located.

The sound of the sliding door to the shower opening brought Takeshi from his musings and he was somewhat surprised that it was Dan joining him and not Emelie.  
Takeshi didn't move though, instead he opted to greet Dan with a slightly questioning brush of aura.  
“She suggested I take the opportunity to get some alone time with you before we reach the reef.”  
When Dan stepped into the flow of water Takeshi just leaned his head back, inviting him to further explore the fine balance of dominance and submission, Lucifer had been right about the value of learning to let go off some of the control, the pleasure in allowing someone else a more dominant position.  
“Mmm...”  
Takeshi could feel his own breath turning shallow and somewhat unstable as it became increasingly rapid and his heartbeat followed suit.  
“Ah... No need... To be gentle....”  
Takeshi was struggling not to dig his claws into Dan's arms and demand control back but he managed to keep his touch light, relying on the wall of the shower for support as Dan's claws emerged and began to bite into his skin.  
When Dan pushed him down slightly and bit into his right shoulder Takeshi couldn't hold back a groan as he found himself painfully hard.  
“Now who's eager?”  
Takeshi just growled at Dan's teasing and pushed down lightly on his shoulders, trying to urge him to take care of things but Dan seemed more than happy to let him suffer for a while, testing his control.  
By the time they left the shower and joined the others their scents were once again thoroughly entwined and the moment Takeshi stepped out on the deck the twins took a whiff at him and pounced, rubbing their faces into his neck and stomach.  
The others had a bit more control, but only a little bit and he quickly found himself at the bottom of an impromptu dog pile.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“ _Manda, would you keep an eye on the twins please?”_  
 _“Of course.”_  
 _“Let them swim themselves tired if they want to.”_  
 _“Oh, planning an interesting night?”_  
 _“Always.”_  
Takeshi ended the conversation with a teasing brush of aura before heading to the surface, he needed to talk to Dan.  
He had been thinking about his relationship with Dan a lot the past few years, even more so after changing Jenna and the new level of interaction between them since.  
It still wasn't love, but Takeshi could feel that something had changed, learning to allow Dan to take control had changed something deep within and it had deepened their bond significantly.  
In the end Takeshi had made up his mind, he would ask Dan if he would allow a courting.

“Dan, would you join me please?”  
With a nod Dan followed Takeshi into the Tiamat and the captain's office.  
Sliding the door closed Takeshi could feel a nervous energy building inside the warded room.  
“We need to talk, about us, about what has changed.”  
A trickle of fear snuck in over the bond when Takeshi motioned for Dan to sit in the small couch in the corner.  
“I'm sure you have noticed that I have changed somewhat since my return, and that that change has altered our bond.”  
Dan's shoulders tensed noticeably before he gave a short nod.  
“It's still not love, not the love you deserve. But I was hoping you would agree to allowing me to formally court you.”  
“What?”  
Pure shock traveled over the bond and beyond the single word Dan just sat there staring at Takeshi.  
“In demon culture a courtship is a mix between dating, and getting engaged. An opportunity to get to know each other, to see if you can find love but also a promise that if they find that they are a good match, if they find love, they will become mates.”  
“But, Em is your mate, your soulmate even...”  
Takeshi sat down next to Dan and brushed away the bangs that were covering the sparkling blue eyes.  
“I'm a pack creature, an alpha. It's in my nature to seek out more than one mate.”  
Leaning back he motioned for Dan to come closer and before long Dan was straddling him.  
“You know I don't care if you love me or not, I'd gladly be your mate anyway.”  
“I know, but I can't.”  
Takeshi kissed the underside of Dan's jaw in apology.  
“So what would this courting actually mean for us if I agree?”  
“Well, there wouldn't really be any change between us, other than a promise to become mates if I ever find myself truly in love with you. But the courting marks would let others know that you are claimed, and that you have a claim on me as well.”  
“And how long does a courting last?”  
“There really aren't any rules, about 100 years is common among demons. But how about we make it until we either mate, or you reject my mark, maybe in favor of someone else's?”  
The teasing tone was instantly replaced by a startled yelp when Dan actually leaned in and gave Takeshi's ear a light nip in reprimand.  
“That will never happen! I will always be yours! Only yours!”  
“No! **Never** promise me that! Swear to me that you never will!”  
The sudden flare of Takeshi's aura made Dan freeze and submit totally.  
“But...”  
Takeshi placed a finger over Dan's mouth while stopping him from moving away, keeping him in the more dominant position.  
“Dan, I know you can feel the Calling. That feeling of recognition that tells you I'm a true match. But there is always a chance that you will come across your soulmate, and I refuse to get between a soul mating.”  
“I...”  
Dan's voice faltered and he struggled to find the right words.  
Takeshi's sudden burst of dominant energy has knocked him off balance and he was trying to resist the demand that he swear, it wasn't _command_ , or even _suggestion,_ it was something deeper, more primal, the urge to obey one's alpha.  
“I won't, I promise.”  
The moment Dan made his promise the force of Takeshi's aura seemed to vanish and the settled back into their usual give and take.

“So, do you accept? Or would you need more time to think about it?”  
Dan startled slightly when Takeshi spoke up, he had almost fallen asleep in his lap after the rather emotionally draining talk.  
“I... I think I'd like that. A lot... To accept I mean, not more time.”  
“Then let's do this, shall we?”  
Takeshi turned his head to the side, revealing his left shoulder where the mating mark Emelie had given him was proudly displayed, shimmering with her power.  
“So, how do I do this?”  
Dan looked at the offered flesh with confusion.  
“Trust your instincts, draw blood and infuse your power into the wound.”  
“Is it really okay? What if I damage Em's mark?”  
“Don't worry, the mark is alive, it can change, adapt and heal. She accepts you and so will her mark.”  
Takeshi felt Dan nod against his shoulder and a brief moment later fangs dug in and power flowed into him and just like with Emelie the power flow quickly transformed into a wave of intense pleasure that left him gasping for breath.  
“Wow, I felt that...”  
Dan was looking at him with wide eyes and a rather obvious blush.  
“Imagine feeling the full force of it.”  
Takeshi teased while leaning in and sinking his fangs into Dan's shoulder, pouring power into it while at the same time reaching for the power Dan had left, twining, merging and binding it all into a nearly unbreakable bond.  
Feeling Dan's reaction to the bonding made Takeshi smile, his own reaction had been very similar, though, it had been much stronger with Emelie.  
When they re-joined the others they were met by teasing and catcalls.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Securing Tiamat's tender to the small stone pier Takeshi was fighting a wide grin when he noticed the way Melissa was almost leaning against Munin's chest, and his wings arched around them, covering her slightly.  
The protective, and rather possessive, display from Munin was a good indicator that Melissa was accepting his advances.  
A soft caw drew his attention to his own little angel who was perching on top of one of the pier lights in his raven form.  
“Aren't you going to greet me properly?”  
Holding out his arms he beckoned Hugin to come down and join them and for once there was no sulking or resistance, instead he got a face full of feathers followed by arms full of angel.  
The soft caws and slight flutter in the wings told Takeshi that Hugin was begging for something, but unable, or unwilling to put it into words.  
Sliding his hand to the base of the wings Takeshi gave him a rather intense kiss that quickly settled the involuntary actions.  
“Better now?”  
The answering chirp carried a distinct tone of annoyance with a hint of amusement, but at least he didn't shift back to his raven form.

“So, how did the girls behave while we were gone?”  
With the mortals of their household finally asleep they gathered in the garden to talk about their plans.  
“It was a bit rough the first week, but we managed to come to an accord of sorts. They do what they are supposed to and don't complain too much, and we don't hide the sweets and snacks, or have Angel disable their network access.”  
Hugin's list of punishments had the others laughing, the angels had quickly figured out the girls soft spots and used them expertly to keep them in line.  
“Don't worry Take, I don't think there will be any problems while you are away.”  
“I didn't think there would be.”

“So, what's next?”  
Kasumi refilled Takeshi's saké before leaning back to listen with mixed feelings.  
She was happy to see him build his own family, but she often found herself missing him, their bond was as strong as ever, but he was still distant.  
In their youth part of his focus had always been on the bond, on her, making sure she was safe, then during his time with the GCTI there had been his unit, but that thread of attention had always been there and it had come back in full in the time they had spent in Alaska before picking up Emelie.  
But now she rarely felt it, the bond was there, strong and true, but he had so many other things on his mind and a part of her resented it, jealous of the attention and care he showed his growing pack.  
“We keep training and preparing while we wait for the shipyard to complete the Leviathan. We will be vetting Paul and the rest of the potential crew so we can pick them up at the same time as the Leviathan.”

The plan was to train the crew while they added the finishing touches to the Leviathan, things that were unsuitable to let the builders know about, Sanctuary crystals, military technology and a few demon realm tricks, including a mistpool.  
There were several rooms deep within the ship that were dedicated to aquaponic gardens, another would be turned into a coop for a flock of itiri, complete with hatching-stones, there would also be a roost for the messenger bird and they would be bringing a shard of the egg so it, and it's twin, could find their way to the ship.  
The Leviathan would be able to sustain its crew and passengers for the most part, salt water would be purified by Sanctuary crystals for drinking water and salt for cooking and preservation, wastewater treated and used in the aquaponic system as a supplement fertilizer.  
Leftovers would be turned into compost for a few traditional grow-beds as some crops would not do well in the aquaponic system, the aquaponic would supply most vegetables as well as a base supply of fish, but fishing would be required in the long run to fully sustain the packs food requirements.

“Em, you will go with Logan to speak to the river spirits tomorrow, we need to make sure all the arrangements are done, and some time to get used to the blending would probably be a good idea.”  
Since Knight was unable to shift and Emelie's transformations didn't change her nature, neither of them would be able to breathe underwater so they needed to make some extra arrangements for them, they would bring breathing gear for everyone just to be on the safe side, but they had also spoken to a few river spirits during their time in the demon realm.  
These river spirits would possess Emelie and Knight, giving them the ability to breathe underwater, and also make them able to move through the water without problems.  
The spirits had agreed to assist them if they promised that they would do what they could to put an end to the pollution of the rivers of the human realm so that their kind could return there.  
As powerful as the river spirits were they were also very sensitive to impurities in the water where they lived, so sensitive that Emelie and Knight had to keep a strict diet, free from additives in order to keep their bodies pure enough for the spirits to possess.  
Fortunately their bodies would protect the spirits from any pollution present in the ocean water, and chances were that once they reached Atlantis the water would be pure enough for the spirits.

“Take, could I have a moment please?”  
Melissa was a bit hesitant as she approached him, and Munin was downright hovering at her shoulder which made Takeshi very curious as to what she might want.  
“Of course Lissa, what's on your mind?”  
It took a while before she spoke, blushing vividly as she did.  
“Munin has asked to court me, but according to demon customs I'm still a minor until I have been through my first rites.”  
She paused for a moment to grab hold of Munin's hand.  
“Will you be my guide? I know Munin could be my guide, but, I would like it to be you Take.”  
“I would be honored to.”  
During their time in the demon realm Takeshi had been guide to many young females, and a few males as well, and he had learned to enjoy it very much.  
At first his human sensibilities had rebelled against the idea of the adults teaching the young about sex in such a hands on way but as he learned more about the tradition of first rites he began to see the benefit of the idea.  
Instead of leaving it to chance with an inexperienced lover an adult would step in and guide the youth through their first time, making sure that they were not harmed, or caused harm.  
Teaching them about pleasure, about the balance of give and take, helping them find their own likes and dislikes, and how to find what their partners liked or disliked.  
Takeshi had received many requests to act as guide but Brenna had been the first time he accepted, even though he was only there as an extra, Logan had been Brenna's true guide.  
But taking part in it had showed him a glimpse of it and he had found that he was good at it, and he enjoyed it very much.  
“I need to ask you a few things first though.”  
“Like?”  
“Well, would you like us to be alone, or would you like Munin to be there with us? Or maybe someone else, another female perhaps?”  
Takeshi and Munin both laughed at the utterly mortified look on Melissa's face when she realized Takeshi was serious about inviting someone else, about perhaps inviting a female.  
“I.. Is that really... I mean...”  
“Yes, it's okay, it's fairly common among demons, after all, there are a few things that only a male can teach, and some only a female can teach.”  
Melissa sat down in silence for quite a while before speaking up again.  
“Do you think Eriko would be willing to help?”  
“Oh, any particular reason why you would chose her?”  
“Well, Em is your mate, and you love both Manda and Jenna, it would just feel really awkward to ask them.”  
Takeshi just nodded, he could understand her reasoning for picking Eriko, and he had no doubt that the old fox would be happy to help, the foxes had a similar tradition where a young fox would be guided into adulthood when they gained their third tail.  
“I'll talk to her in the morning, but I'm sure she will be honored to participate.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

As suspected Eriko had been delighted to be asked to be guide, and even Matthews had agreed that it was a good idea, especially after what Melissa had seen done to her sister, she needed someone she trusted to guide her through it.  
When the weekend came Takeshi, Eriko, Melissa and Munin headed to the Sanctuary to give Melissa some privacy for her first rites.  
“Come here Lissa, have a bite to eat and try to relax.”  
Takeshi patted his lap but she didn't move until Munin gave her a slight nudge.  
“Try this, it's made with shiiza and should help you relax.”  
Takeshi offered her a piece of light purple wagashi made with shiiza leaves that Takeshi had prepared by hand into a deep purple matcha powder.  
“But, shiiza, isn't that the aphrodisiac?”  
“It is. But the effect won't be very strong. The leaves have the lowest concentration of the active substance, especially young leaves. You won't notice the aphrodisiac effect, only a calming one.”  
After a few moments consideration she nodded and allowed him to feed her the sweet treat.  
“Oh, this is really good.”  
While Melissa made short work of the small wagashi pieces Takeshi began to trail kisses along her neck and shoulders while lightly brushing his fingers along her arms and legs, drawing the most delicious scent and enticing little sounds from her.  
“Mmm, so responsive. This is going to be a very enjoyable experience.”  
As he spoke he took the empty plate from her hands and handed it to Eriko who used her foxfire to move it out of the way.  
“Turn around. Look at me.”  
Her reactions were a bit sluggish as he helped her turn around and straddle his lap.  
“That's it, open your eyes and look at me, look into my eyes. The eyes are the windows of the soul, it will help you feel your lover.”  
When she opened her eyes and looked into his he could see that they were slightly unfocused and dark with lust.  
Without breaking eye contact he began to remove her blouse and bra, gently dragging his claws across her skin.  
“Go ahead, touch, explore, figure me out.”  
Takeshi invited her with a teasing smile and watched the emotions play in her eyes as she removed the top of his gi, watching lust and curiosity mix with a hint of fear.  
“There is no need to be gentle with me, I enjoy quite a bit of pain with my pleasure. While the line between pain and pleasure is a thin one, it's placement is different for everyone. My tolerance for pain is higher than most, and I enjoy more pain than most.”  
When she dug her nails into his chest he wanted to just close his eyes and lean back to enjoy the feeling, but he managed to resist and maintain eye contact.  
“Go ahead, use the power of the blessing, shift, use the strength. I can handle it.”  
With a ripple of power through her aura she shifted slightly, but with his eyes focused on hers he couldn't see what she had changed but when long slender talons dug into his shoulders it became obvious and the way her eyes widened at the slight involuntary buck of his hips made him smile widely.  
“I did that..?”  
She was murmuring to herself as she slowly dragged her talons along his skin.  
“Now, don't just give in to him and give him everything he's asking for. Tease him a bit, deny him what he is asking for, make him wait for his satisfaction.”  
Eriko's guidance made Takeshi growl, she was right of course, and he knew he would enjoy it immensely, but that didn't mean he wanted Melissa to stop what she was doing.  
“So, soft and gentle?”  
Breaking of eye contact she leaned in and began trailing soft kisses along the marks her talons had left on his skin.  
With the eye contact already broken Takeshi closed his eyes and tilted his head back, focusing on enjoying her touch, letting the feelings it evoked bleed into his aura to help her feel what she was doing to him.  
Moving his hands down her hips he hooked his fingers into the waist of her skirt and tugged gently which instantly made her lift her hips to help him remove it and when she moved to remove his pants he simply focused on the shift and made them vanish.  
The feel of her heated skin against his own tested his control, but he refused to rush things, she needed to be allowed to move at her own pace.  
Takeshi groaned as she ground herself against him, it seemed she was determined to make it hard for him to remain in control and when she reached down and tugged on his briefs he almost lost it and he had a hard time bringing them into his shift.  
“Oh, damn!”  
Takeshi cursed as she slowly trailed soft kisses down his chest and stomach while her sharp talons dug into the inside of his thighs.  
When she moved back up into his lap he moved his hands back to her hips and tugged on the thin bands of her underwear, but she refused to move so that he could remove them so with a frustrated growl Takeshi allowed his claws to lengthen and cut the flimsy fabric away.  
It earned him a startled yelp, but the burst of pheromones that accompanied it was encouraging, she was very close to losing control as well.  
With Eriko guiding her she pushed down and despite everything, all the preparations, Takeshi could smell a hint of blood but Melissa didn't seem to mind, or even notice.  
Keeping still and allowing Melissa control while she got used to him was quite a struggle, all he wanted was to toss her into the bedding and have his way.

When they returned to the house a week later Melissa and Munin were proudly displaying their courting marks, and Eriko was teasing them relentlessly.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Leviathan_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

With a flare of power Takeshi made sure the bracelet was secured around Jenna's wrist before giving her a nod.  
“Okay, try shifting back now.”  
He could feel her aura shift and turn, but her body remained in its current form.  
“I can't. It's working.”  
While preparing for their search for Atlantis they had come across a small problem, Jenna was having a hard time maintaining a form able to breathe underwater so after a long conversation with the Mother they decided to create a charm that would block her ability to shift while active.  
“That's good, now focus on turning it off, then shift and turn it back on.”  
It took a few tries before she figured out how to trigger the bracelet without Takeshi helping her, and a few hours before she managed to turn on and off without disrupting her shifts, but Takeshi encouraged her to keep practicing.  
“I wish I could do this as easy as the girls do.”  
She complained with a sigh.  
“You are forgetting that they have done this longer than you, and the fact that they were very young when they changed made it easier for them to get used to it.”  
“I know... I just... I don't want to hold the rest of you back...”  
“Don't worry, you won't. We still have a few months to go before we are ready to head out and search. I'm sure you will have it under control by then.”  
Takeshi held his hand out for her and when she took it he pulled her to her feet before heading toward the bow of the Tiamat.

The shipyard had called them two days ago to inform them that the Leviathan was ready for them so they were heading back to New Zealand to pick it up and once they had it they would be heading to Los Angeles to pick up captain Paul and a group of potential crew-members for a final vetting and hopefully training for running the Leviathan.

 


	76. Interlude 2047

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Well damn! And I though the Tiamat was one hell of a boat, but this baby, damn...”  
Paul was acting like the proverbial kid in the candy store as Takeshi showed him around the Leviathan, giving him a private tour before the applicants for the crew arrived, Takeshi had asked him to be at the dock two hours earlier than the rest.  
“This is the kind ship that people would pay for a chance to crew on.”  
“Well, I hope you're right about that, because I'm planning on having our prospects help put the finishing touches on her.”  
“Wait, you're telling me she's not completed yet?”  
“There are still a few things left to add, things that can't really be done by the shipyard. Things we don't want to reveal that we have. We will also be replacing all the furniture, linens and such.”  
“Yeah, I was a bit curious about why you would use all the cheapest stuff..”  
“Simply put, I don't mind paying good money for good quality, but I refuse to pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars extra just to get a fancy brand or designer label on my items.  
“Guess that makes sense.”  
“Also, a lot of the stuff I'll be using simply is not possible to buy, at least not in this realm.”  
The last bit made Paul shake his head and mutter, but all in all, he was handling things rather well.  
Takeshi took a quick look at his watch and noted that they had half an hour before it was time to meet the other applicants.  
“Care to join us for a bite before we go meet the rest?”  
“Don't mind if I do.”  
“Excellent. Now, do you want to take the long way over to the Tiamat, or a shortcut?”  
“Umm, shortcut?”  
Paul's answer held equal parts curiosity and worry and when Takeshi silently called for Emelie and she stepped out of the shadows he jumped rather high.  
“Take her hand and she will bring you over.”  
“Oh well, here goes...”  
Paul held out his hand and Emelie quickly took it and brought him through the shadows and Takeshi followed.  
Takeshi had learned how to tap into his inner demon's abilities, but it took a lot of power to use them and he found that shadow traveling in the human realm was quite draining, and if he did it with a passenger it would leave him weakened for hours. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

When the door closed Takeshi sighed deeply and crossed another name off the list of applicants.  
The woman had looked promising until Dan came in to get a questionnaire form from one of the applicants that Emelie was talking to, out of habit Takeshi greeted him with a kiss and the woman's reaction had been instant.  
She didn't show anything outwards, but Takeshi could feel the revulsion flow through her aura and brush against his own, like cold, wet slime and he quickly wrapped his aura around Dan's to keep him from sensing it.  
It was one of the reasons he insisted on meeting all the applicants in person, to test them and make sure they would be a good fit.  
The current interviews were just a first culling, to remove anyone obviously unsuitable, those that made it through would be living on the Leviathan and help them replace all the furnishings, and would be further culled over the coming month.  
“Next!”  
Another woman entered the small office, mid 30ies and athletic build with long hair, but Takeshi noticed that she wouldn't look straight at him, and her bangs covered the left side of her face.  
“Name?”  
“Melanie Richardson.”  
Takeshi quickly brought out the papers she had filled out earlier as well as the file Angel had gathered on her and as far as he could tell her qualifications were excellent.  
“I see here that you were in an accident a few years back, anything that will affect your work performance?”  
He could feel a slight dread surface in her aura but after a few moments she seemed to steel herself against it.  
“Not my ability, no. But most don't want to hire me because of it.”  
Turning to face him completely she brushed away her bangs and revealed that the left side of her face was severely scarred and he could see a Lichtenberg scar trail down her shoulder and arm.  
“That won't be an issue here. I don't care about looks, I care about performance and reliability.”  
The woman had never been a beauty by any standards and her scar would be considered hideous by most, but Takeshi had learned to take a more demon view on beauty and her scar marked her as a survivor, a testament to a strong will and in the eyes of a demon that was something desirable.  
“Now, would you mind telling me, in your own words, what happened?”  
He had read the accident report, but he was well aware that such reports could easily be forged to lay the blame at the worker instead of the employer.  
“I had just started working as an engineer on the _Princess,_ she had been having some power problems so while we were still in harbor I took down the power supply grid to run a full diagnostic on the power cells. Turns out the problems had been ongoing for a while and instead of running a proper diagnostic on the system they had bypassed the safety protocols, even disabled several of the breakers to keep them from triggering.”  
She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before continuing.  
“Without the safety protocols and breakers the power cells didn't fully disengage, instead a overload built in the system and caused a plasma arc discharge. I was hit in the face and the energy dissipated down my left arm, I was lucky that a disabled breaker caused it to travel through my arm instead of my leg.”  
Had the power traveled down through her body and out through her leg it would probably have passed through her heart, killing her.  
“Will you be okay working with power systems?”  
“For the most part. I'm not as fast as I used to be. After the accident I developed a bit of an OCD for checking all the breakers, manual lock down and things like that.”  
“Quite understandable.”  
After a few more questions Takeshi added Melanie to the list of people that made it past the first round and informed her that she could move her things to one of the crew cabins on the Leviathan.

Checking his list again he noted an unusually high number of female applicants, Paul had spread the word that Takeshi was looking to hire, and that unlike most other owners he had no objections to hiring women.  
Unfortunately many still refused to sail with a mixed crew, commonly citing logistic issues as the reason, things like extra showers and toilets or separate sleeping areas for men and women.  
Takeshi didn't see any reason for concern though, everyone would be properly vetted, and they would be informed that it would be a mixed crew.  
Many ships only offered group quarters with bunk beds stuffed into whatever space was available, sometimes as many as 12 or more crew members sharing a small cabin which could cause problems with a mixed crew.  
The Leviathan on the other hand had a selection of dedicated crew cabins, while small they were single bed cabins, the regular crew cabins came with a bed that folded into the wall and converted into a desk while not in use, a tiny cupboard kitchenette and a small bathroom with a toilet and shower.  
There was also a pair of larger officers cabins with a regular bed, separate desk and a slightly larger bathroom, the captain's quarters was a full suite with a small sitting room, small office and a separate sleeping area as well as a full bathroom and a slightly more well equipped kitchen area.

“Will there be a chapel available for prayer and mass?”  
“No. But if you are hired you can talk to the other crew members about setting aside a part of the common room for the use.”  
The man instantly began citing various California state regulations that required employers where the employees lived at the workplace to offer a place of worship, it was one of many new regulation in the wake of the new religious wave.  
With the increase in natural disasters and epidemics due to the imbalance of the realm organized religions had seen a massive increase, but unfortunately it had brought with it all the downsides as well with rampant bigotry and increased religious influence on laws and politics.  
There were several theonomic factions trying to gain political influence to fully re-merge church and state and it was one of the driving factors behind the increased unrest spreading across the world.  
Takeshi had nothing against faith, but he didn't like the way some factions were trying to force their beliefs on others, for instance the demand that employers provide chapels or prayer rooms, demanding that anything _offensive_ to their belief such as adult entertainment, alcohol, certain food items such as pork or shellfish be removed, or outright outlawed.  
A common demand was also to outlaw same sex relationships, premarital sex, abortion, even contraceptives and impose harsh punishments on those and many other things like adultery and working on the sabbath.  
There was also an increase in demands that only those that adhered to religious doctrine would be allowed to run for public office or even vote.  
“Those are California regulations, the Leviathan sails under the Marshall Islands flag.”  
“That's illegal! US citizens are not allowed to register their ships under a flag of convenience.”  
“That is correct. But I happen to be a Japanese citizen and fully within my right to register my ship under a flag of convenience.”  
The man continued to argue, and threaten to call the authorities until Takeshi asked Knight to have him removed from the Leviathan, needless to say he would not make it to the second round of selections.  
  
_“Are you sure you want to do this Dan? I can have Logan do it instead.”  
“No it's fine, I can do it. I need to work on my insecurities anyway.”_  
They had decided to give a bit of a show during the lunch break to see how the applicants reacted, to help weed out any that objected to the relationships of the pack.  
_“Then come here.”_  
Part of Takeshi's attention was on the group of people waiting for the break to end as he pinned Dan against the nearby wall and kissed him senseless.  
As expected the reactions were mixed and Takeshi focused on pinpointing the negative reactions so that those applicants could be dismissed right away.  
_“Seems like some of them enjoy the show, listen.”_

“Oh, my. Look at that...”  
“Now that's hot.”  
“Makes me want to trade places.”  
“Oh, which one?”  
“Both... I mean, who wouldn't wanna be kissed like that? Or have someone respond like that to your kisses?”  
“Never mind the kissing, imagine the sex.”  
Takeshi could feel Dan's skin heat up with his blush at the comments, and he couldn't resist sliding his hand down to Dan's hip and pull him closer which caused a few whoops and catcalls.  
But not everyone was appreciative of what they were seeing, voicing opinions about how it was immoral, unnatural, sin and sacrilege, voices that were quickly silenced by the others, but not before Takeshi committed them to memory so that he could make sure they would not make it to the next round of the recruiting.  
“That's just disgusting...”  
“Oh, shut up will you. That is plain sexy.”  
“It's an abomination!”  
“Enough!”  
The group startled as they had not noticed Emelie's approach.  
“You, you and you. Get out of here!”  
Pointing at those that had been voicing their dislike she made it very clear that they were not welcome anymore and that they could forget about any chance of being hired.  
“Anyone else that agrees with them can leave right now as well, we will find out sooner or later.”  
There was some grumbling as expected but when one of them likened Emelie to the _'Whore of Babylon'_ things went slightly sideways as she nailed him square in the jaw and sent him flying into the pool.  
“Logan, would you be a dear and get rid of the trash in the pool?”  
“Of course.”  
There was quite a bit of laughter as Knight used the life hook to fish the cursing man out of the pool, carried him by the scruff of his neck and dumped him on the passerelle.  
“Damn, that was one wicked uppercut.”  
“Ms Eriksson, would you teach me to punch like that?”  
“I might, if you promise to call me Em or Emelie, not Ms anything and definitely not Emmy, is that clear?”  
“Crystal.”  
With one last look at the group Emelie sauntered over to Takeshi and Dan, gave Dan a quick peck on the forehead before taking a good grab of Takeshi's ass and hair, pulling him down for a proper kiss that caused another round of cheering and catcalls.

At the end of the day the 57 applicants had been narrowed down to 26 that would join them back to the island for further culling.  
They would be living on the Leviathan while helping with the finishing touches, and testing to make sure everything was working, including the dock that was currently being constructed at the 'back' of the island.  
While the lagoon was large enough to easily fit the Leviathan the problem was getting it into the lagoon, it's beam too wide and it's draft too deep to get past the corals beneath the surface. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Take, do you have a moment?”  
Takeshi looked up from the sleeping twins to the slightly nervous man.  
“Go ahead Chris, just keep your voice down so you don't wake them.”  
“I know you made it clear that no special benefits will be given for religious practices, but I was was wondering if I could borrow one of the unused cabins for a few days as a prayer room. My grandmother is at her deathbed and I would like a chance to pray, to be with her in spirit.”  
“If you want to I can take you to her in one of the Blackouts so you can be there in person.”  
“I'm grateful for the offer, but I can't. I love my grandmother, but the rest of the family won't allow me to be there. I didn't feel comfortable following their increasingly fundamentalistic and extreme practices and beliefs. Instead I went down a more spiritual path which they refuse to accept.”  
Takeshi shook his head slightly at the idea of rejecting family like that.  
“I see. What do you need in order to hold your spiritual vigil?”  
“A calm room where I can get some privacy. A few candles, some fresh flowers, and if possible some herbs or incense to burn.”  
“Any specific flowers, herbs or incense if you could have your pick?”  
“Well, ideally white lilies and lotus for the flowers. Some yew, sandalwood and myrrh for incense.”  
“I think that can be arranged. If you could go find Em or Logan to watch over the girls I'll give you a hand.”  
Takeshi could just have called for them himself, but it would give him some time to consider his options.  
Chris was one of the applicants that Takeshi had a good feeling about, along with Paul, Melanie, Joshua and Manuela and this request could be a good opportunity to show him some of the magic of the world.

“That is just adorable.”  
Chris was smiling widely as Knight took the twins from Takeshi and tucked them under his chin which made them instantly curl up and snuggle against him.  
“Indeed it is.”  
Takeshi motioned for Chris to follow him toward the central area of the Leviathan, the area that would be the den, a place for the pack to gather and rest and beyond it was a small room where a Sanctuary was forming.  
“What you are about to see is something you must never reveal to others, is that clear?”  
There was a hint of _suggestion_ in Takeshi's voice to ensure Chris would listen and answer him truthfully.  
“I guess... Yeah.”  
Opening the door Takeshi took a step back to let Chris look inside, the Sanctuary was far from completed, but it was quite obvious already that it was not a normal place.  
“Wow! What is this place?”  
“This is a Sanctuary, or well, it will be once it is completed. A place of balance, of calm, a place to nurture the spirit. We have other Sanctuaries, larger ones, this one is just an oasis, a calm place while we are away from home.”  
Stepping inside Takeshi took a look at the progress they were making with it, since it was not connected to the earth they were not able to use a Seed of Life to create it, instead they had used regular crystal seeds like the ones the Mother had gifted to Emelie when they first moved to the island.  
At the back wall was a stone structure that had been shaped like a mountainside, complete with a waterfall that spilled down the side in several steps and gathered into a pool at the base before flowing into a babbling brook that disappeared into the foliage and to the hidden pump that brought the water back up to the top of the miniature mountain.  
At the top of the waterfall a bonsai tree sprawled and fell down in the cascade style, the bright red maple contrasting against the brilliant green moss that covered the rocks.  
The crystal clear water of the waterfall spilled into several small small pools with flowing mist before reaching the larger pool at the bottom where a handful of shamarai flowered.  
In the middle of the room there was a clearing that was large enough to comfortably fit the current pack, covered in soft moss and grass, there were no creatures in the Sanctuary yet, but there would be before they took off.  
“Did you carve all of those leaves yourself?”  
Chris was looking at the maple with wide eyes.  
“Actually, no. I grew it, encouraging it to grow the I wanted it to. It's alive, everything in here is, even the mist.”  
There was a long silence where Chris was just trying to take it all in.  
“This, it's magic, isn't it?”  
“It is. The magic of the Mother. The Avatar of Life.”  
The almost childish wonder on Chris face made Takeshi want to show him the Sanctuary of the island, show him the creatures that lived there, but that would have to wait until he was sure about him.  
“It's beautiful, and so calm. It's perfect. Is it really okay for me to use this place?”  
“This is the purpose of its existence. To offer peace of mind, to calm the spirit and soothe the soul. Just don't touch the mist, it can be rather strong willed and might take you over.”  
As he spoke Takeshi scooped up a tiny wisp of mist and motioned for Chris to hold out his hand.  
“It's okay, I will keep it from taking over completely.”  
Takeshi allowed Chris to feel the power of the mist for a while before forcing it to return to his hand.  
“That was, different. Not something I want to experience again, so I'll stick to that piece of advice... Though, would it be possible for me to be allowed to pick one of those lotus flowers?”  
“Those are actually not lotus, they are shamarai, moon flowers. Their name, _Shamarai_ is written with a character that can be read as spirit, or hope.”  
“Never heard of anything like it before, is it another magic related thing?”  
“It is, the flower is not from the human realm.”  
“So it's a no then?”  
“Yes, and no. I can't allow you to pick one of these. But I can bring one in a container for you by tonight. One that you can bring with you as a memory.”  
“Really?”  
“Really.”

Leaving Chris in the small Sanctuary to get a feel for the place, Takeshi headed to the island to collect the items he had asked for and to create a suitable container for a shamarai flower. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Onee-chan, mind if I raid your incense box a bit?”  
“Of course not. What's the occasion?”  
“Chris want's to hold a vigil of sorts for his grandmother, she is on her deathbed.”  
“Wouldn't it be better to just fly him to her?”  
“I offered, but apparently the rest of the family would refuse him to be there.”  
The mutterings that followed were far from flattering as she voiced her opinion, and Takeshi agreed with her wholeheartedly.  
“Anything else he might need?”  
“Some white lilies, if you could find the seeds I'll have Em grow them along with a shamarai.”  
Hugin and Munin had given Takeshi with a fairly large box of shamarai seeds as a naming gift after Lucifer made him House Shamarai and with Emelie's help several of them had been grown in the inner garden and the Sanctuary.  
Takeshi intended to make an amphora and a stand from Sanctuary crystal, some crystal soil and some of the sand and water that Emelie had collected at the Silver Lakes and one of the life giving crystals from the Sanctuary in the lid to make sure the flower would thrive.  
Luckily the shamarai adapted its size to its environment, the twins each had one in their room that grew in a small goldfish bowl and the flowers were only a centimeter in diameter, the ones in the Leviathan Sanctuary roughly 10 centimeters while the ones growing in the garden and Sanctuary pond were roughly 30 centimeters across, and the largest ones he had seen at the Silver Lakes had flowers over a meter across and leaves spanning nearly three meters.  
While Kasumi headed off to search for the lily seeds Takeshi took a few of the small, empty, glass vials out of the wooden box and searched out the yew, sandalwood and myrrh containers and scooped up some of the grains into each of the vials and attached a small label to each.  
Bringing the vials together he took a careful sniff to see how the scents mixed and he found that something was missing and he quickly searched the box for something to complete the scent before picking up one of the carved stone burners.  
The small burners were crafted by one of the obsidian stone carvers complete with a fire stone lining that made it possible to burn the incense without adding the usual charcoal disks, allowing a purer burn.

Takeshi was watching Emelie grow the small shamarai when Kasumi joined them and gave him a small sachet with lily seeds before dropping down into his lap.  
“She is getting really good at that.”  
“Indeed she is, but the twins are giving her a run for it. Another year or so and they will be expert little flora manipulators.”  
Kasumi couldn't help smiling at the pride she could feel surging through her brothers aura.  
“You are building yourself quite the pack.”  
“They are all amazing.”  
“You have taught and guided them well.”  
“No, I haven't done much at all.”  
“You are selling yourself short dear brother, you have given them safety, hope, a place to grow and thrive.“  
Takeshi just huffed at her and ruffled her hair.  
“You are all grown up now, a family man. I'm glad to see you are finally content, finding your place.”  
“I guess I am.”  
Takeshi shifted her around a bit so she was leaning back against his chest before tucking her head under his chin.  
“But I have really neglected my duties to you, haven't I?”  
“No. I released you from that oath long ago, even if you refuse to accept that. I just want a brother, not a Kage.”  
“Still, I've been away a year, and the first thing I do is leave again for months at end, preparing to go away for an unknown time again.”  
“You are doing what you need to protect those you love, your family. Doing what it takes to fulfill the destiny you have been given.”  
There was a moment of silence as Takeshi tossed the small packet of seeds to Emelie who had just finished growing the shamarai.  
“And what about you, Onee-chan, how are you doing, found anyone, or anything you fancy?”  
“Not really. Still working on making sure we can take over the family assets without any issues.”  
“As grateful as I am for all you have done to make sure I don't need to worry about the finances, don't forget to live for yourself as well.”  
“I won't, I promise. But honestly, I quite enjoy life here, the girls keep me occupied, and entertained. I have missed having Logan around though...”  
“Oh, I bet you have.”  
_“Hentai!”_  
Kasumi's accusation carried a distinct tone of teasing amusement that made Takeshi retaliate by tickling her until she was begging for mercy.  
He could understand where she was coming from though, with all the expectations of their family and the council Kasumi had never had much opportunity to be with men of her own choosing, so she had mostly opted to not be with men at all, only keeping in touch with a few select men that she trusted to keep their dealings to themselves.  
At the island those opportunities were even fewer, and when Knight joined them it had given Kasumi an outlet, a partner that had no expectations beyond a pleasant night, and that would never betray her trust.  
“You're right though. Logan has proven to be an excellent lover. He has given me something I wasn't really aware that I missed, not until he left again.”  
Leaning in Takeshi took a deep sniff at her neck.  
“Your scent, it's sad...”  
“Guess there's no hiding things from you anymore, is there?”  
“Care to share why?”  
He couldn't help a twinge of guilt, no matter what she said he had been neglecting her in favor for his pack, he should have noticed something was wrong.  
“Not really, but I have a feeling you won't be leaving me alone until I do.”  
“Indeed I won't.”  
Kasumi's answering huff made him smile despite the rather somber mood.  
“Seeing you with your pack, your own family, so content, even happy. It makes me wish I had a family of my own, children of my own.”  
“Someone to love, and be loved by...”  
Takeshi added softly when her voice trailed off and was replaced by a tension to her shoulders and a hint of salt.  
_“Hai...”_  
“When things calm down a bit, I want you to get a nice place in a major city, and move there for a few years. Meet some people, have some fun, get laid, live a bit. Leave everything else to Eriko and me.”  
“Maybe I'll take you up on that.”  
“You better, or I will find some other way to make sure you get out and around.”  
She responded with another slightly annoyed huff, but the sadness faded from her scent and was replaced with a more content scent, tinged with a hint of spicy annoyance. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Take, I hate to be a bother after all you have done, but could I ask for one last favor?”  
“Don't worry Chris, it's no bother. What do you need?”  
“I was wondering if someone might be willing to keep me company. No need to do anything, just be there. I... I really don't want to do this alone...”  
Chris aura and scent was heavy with shame and embarrassment which made Takeshi's senses itch.  
“There is no reason to be ashamed of that, we could all use some support at a time like this. Manda and I will be there, we will stay with you for as long as you want us to.”  
“Thanks. I really mean it, this means a lot to me.”  
“Like I said, don't worry about it, We're happy to help.”  
Reaching out through the pack-bond Takeshi gave Amanda a gentle tug, asking her to join them in the main room.

“Of course I will stay. I'd be honored to.”  
As expected Amanda instantly agreed to stay with Chris and Takeshi while Chris waited for word of his grandmother's passing.  
“It's settled then. Em or Logan will bring us food, and we will keep you company for as long as you want us to.”  
Takeshi checked his watch, it was still early so the twins would be with Eriko for their lessons.  
“Manda, why don't you give Chris a hand. Bring in something to sit on, one of the water coolers, some fruits, snacks and things like that while I go talk to the twins.”  
“Of course. And maybe you should have a word with Hugin as well, I saw him moping out on the jetty again.”  
“Don't worry, Hugin is fine. He sneaks off to the jetty to get away from the girls. To get some peace and quiet.”  
He could feel the angel at the edge of his awareness, slightly withdrawn, but calm and he couldn't feel anything to be concerned about, it was just Hugin being himself.  
He gave Amanda a gentle nuzzle of gratitude before heading off to talk to the girls, he was happy, and proud, that she was concerned about Hugin and that she stepped up to make sure he was okay.

Amanda was starting to act the role of a beta, and Takeshi suspected that Emelie would pick Amanda as her own beta before long, something that would give the pack further stability.  
It would however always be slightly unbalanced since Knight was a natural alpha, he did okay in the role of beta, but a natural beta male like Dan would have given a better stability, this however was not possible since Dan would instinctively submit to Knight.  
As a beta, Dan had both dominant and submissive traits, he could be highly dominant when needed towards those of lower rank, while at the same time being naturally submissive toward an alpha.  
Though, Dan always stepped up and acted the role of beta whenever Knight wasn't around and the others accepted it without complaints, including Hugin and Munin, despite Hugin being a natural beta as well.  
Takeshi's pack was a bit unusual, normally a pack would consist of an alpha pair, a beta pair and the remainder of the pack being naturally submissive, if another alpha was born into the pack they would be forced out upon reaching sexual maturity, and those born betas would be suppressed, or rejected.  
Takeshi's pack on the other hand had three alphas, and Dan, Amanda and Jenna were all beta personalities, with Dan being a natural beta, with Hugin and Munin added only Munin was a natural submissive, it could change with the twins, but Takeshi suspected they would both turn out to be betas, Sarah might even be a natural alpha.

“Can we at least come by to say goodnight?”  
As expected the news that he would be unavailable for a while, possibly a few days, had the twins pouting and sniffling against his chest.  
“You can come by, but Chris might not want to be disturbed. And we are doing this for him so his word goes.”  
“Okay...”  
They tried to pull the bottom lip quiver scam, but their scents gave them away in an instant so Takeshi just gave them a teasing tickle before letting them in on what gave them away.  
“Now now girls, it's not nice to try to trick your alpha.”  
“Sorry!”  
The impish tone and smiles made it quite clear they were not the least bit sorry.  
“Okay, enough playing around. Back to your lessons.”  
Flexing his claws in the age old trickle-threat he chased the girls back to Eriko before heading back to the main room where Chris and Amanda were waiting for him.

“All ready?”  
Chris jumped slightly when Takeshi spoke up and Amanda chuckled at him, she had been fully aware of Takeshi approaching them.  
“Damn! Wear a bell or something, will you!”  
“Nah, I quite enjoy startling people on occasion.”  
“I bet you do...”  
Despite the grumbled complaint, Takeshi's little stunt had the the desired effect, the atmosphere was lighter and he could see Chris crack a hint of a smile.  
Takeshi took the vase with lilies and handed handed them to Chris before grabbing the box with the shamarai and incense.

“These are the incense you asked for, I added a few more to complete the scent, to balance it.”  
Chris just nodded and took the vials and burner and set them down next to the lilies.  
“And this is the shamarai. The plant is fully self sufficient in the container, no need to add water or anything, not even light is needed, but natural sunlight will make it flower more.”  
He watched with a smile as Chris opened the box and carefully took out the amphorae.  
“It's amazing!”  
Bringing it up to his face Chris took a closer look at the small plant.  
“Wow, wait, there are even fish in here.”  
“Oh?”  
Taking a closer look Takeshi spotted several sea slugs, a few beautiful betta and some other small fishes along with a few dragonflies.  
“Emelie must have added them to improve the balance.”  
“But won't they need things like food, and water changes, and if those are actually bettas, won't they fight?”  
“Don't worry. They are not really alive.”  
Takeshi motioned for Chris to sit down before he began to explain that the creatures were not really alive, not in the way normal animals were and that they would not grow old, or get sick or injured or die.  
They were capable of eating, even reproducing, but it was not required and they would be fine living in the container.  
“But if they can reproduce, and don't die, won't it get crowded?”

Chris seemed to be genuinely concerned about the well being of the tiny creatures.  
“Don't worry about that, if they reproduce the adult forms will shatter and its matter will feed the new creatures, and as they grow some will shatter to keep the balance. The shamarai will be much the same, one flower wilts and is recycled into a new flower.”  
“Seriously?”  
“Yes.”  
Chris shook his head slightly and focused back on the crystal container, obviously trying to wrap his head around what he had just learned.  
“Look, I know it's a lot to take in but if you are going to be working so closely to us, you need to know about all of this.”  
“I have always felt like there was more to the world, but this, this is just... Amazing.”  
“This is just the beginning. Trust me.”

Instead of just being silent company, Takeshi and Amanda ended up talking to Chris most of the night, it was early morning when he received a message on the phone from his grandmother's doctor that she was close to the end.  
After receiving the message Chris went silent and tried to meditate, but he was having a hard time calming down.  
_“Take, I feel like I need to sing, do you think it would be okay if I do?”  
“I honestly don't know. You should try, see how he reacts.”_  
Takeshi trusted Amanda's instincts, if they told her to sing, then she should sing.  
She moved slightly before beginning to hum, then weave the haunting tones of her power as she slowly raised her voice.  
It was the same song she had sung during Diane's burial, and Takeshi could see the tension melt from Chris's shoulders and his aura settled down into the familiar pattern of a deep meditative state.

Takeshi estimated it was around noon when a buildup of energy brought him out of his light slumber and looking up he saw the spirit of an old woman form by the mistpool, it was quite obvious that it was Chris's grandmother.  
“Chris, I think someone is here to see you.”  
“What?”  
The reply was sluggish as Chris roused himself from his deep meditation and looked up.  
“Grams?”  
The spirit just smiled and nodded.  
“How is this possible?”  
“This place is connected to all life, it's easy for a spirit to tap into that, to borrow that energy to cling to this realm long enough to say a farewell to a loved one.”  
Takeshi explained in a hushed tone, trying not to wake Amanda.  
“Grams, is that really you?”  
The spirit nodded again and held out her hand.  
“Is something wrong? If she is here to talk to me why isn't she saying anything?”  
“A spirit can't speak on it's own, you need to let it touch you, or have someone else act as a medium.”  
When Takeshi explained, Chris held out his hand to the spirit, and when the spirit took it it began to change, the wrinkly old woman slowly became younger until she was replaced by proud woman in her prime.  
Posture straight and shoulders squared, head held high and her eyes carried a hint of steel, a true matriarch.  
A few minutes later the spirit pulled back and nodded to Takeshi and Amanda before fading away.

“That was... I can't... “  
Chris had been silent for nearly an hour before he finally spoke up, and he was still having a hard time gathering his thoughts into words.  
“Easy there. Focus on your breathing, calm and centered.”  
Takeshi recited some of the more basic points of meditation and it seemed to help as Chris took a few deep breaths before speaking up.  
“Did you know this would happen?”  
”No, but we knew it was possible.”  
“You have seen this happen before?”  
“I have, twice.”  
With Takeshi's admission the conversation quickly turned to living with loss and grief, his unit, Diane, to not being able to be there when Daisuke and Misato passed, not even being able to attend their funerals.  
At the end of the day Takeshi found that talking about it did help, that it had soothed the pain he had hidden deep inside. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

The work on the Leviathan was almost done and it was time to make the final selection for the crew, the remaining modifications were not something they wanted the rest of the applicants to see.  
Takeshi had gathered his pack, including Hugin and Munin, as well as Kasumi, Eriko and Matthews to make the final selection, though Takeshi was pretty sure the others would agree with most of his picks.  
He had decided he wanted Paul, Chris, Joshua, Manuela and Melanie but he was unsure how the others would react to him picking Joshua.  
Joshua was a good man, but he was barely literate and rather slow and because of that most would brush him of as being a simpleton and a klutz, but Takeshi saw other traits that he liked.  
As far as Takeshi could tell Joshua was a hard worker, honest and caring, an excellent cook and didn't mind doing the heavy, or dirty work, he loved animals and he had experience with farm work.  
He might need more detailed instructions, and he was not suitable for complex, or delicate work, but there would be others on board who excelled in that kind of work.  
“So, final round. Angel, the list please.”  
Angels holographic display swirled to life and listed the 19 names that remained.  
“First of, any names on the list that you absolutely will not consider?”  
Takeshi had a few names he wanted off the list, but he would let the others speak first.  
“Rosie, she is lazy and rude whenever she thinks we're not watching. And she always tries to blame others when she fails to do the work she is supposed to do.”  
Dan was the first to speak up, and the others quickly agreed that they did not wish to have Rosie working for them, and Takeshi readily agreed, she was on the list of people that he would have removed himself if no one else did.  
“Tom, he's a misogynic asshole, always arguing and complaining whenever a female tells him to do something.”  
Jenna's complaint quickly had Tom removed from the list as well.  
“We need to get rid of Fred as well, have you seen how he looks at and behaves toward anyone not white?”  
She quickly continued before anyone else had a chance to speak up.  
“Indeed, he even sneers at Julia and Amber.”  
Knight's tone was harsh and it was clear he agreed fully.  
Two more names were quickly removed before they moved on to the names they wanted to keep.  
“So, Paul as captain, any objections?”  
Everyone quickly agreed that Paul had proven his worth at managing the crew and no one had anything against him.  
“Good, then that's settled. Angel, would you bring up the list Paul made as well please.”  
Takeshi had asked Paul to consider who he would prefer for the various positions.  
Moving down the list was slow work, there were many opinions and aspects to take into account but in the end they had had a crew of six selected.

Takeshi was happy that no one had had any objections to his picks, including Joshua and in the end he had gotten all his names through, and he had agreed with the others to add Tessa as well.

With the selection done Takeshi, Emelie, Knight and Dan headed back to the Leviathan to inform the crew, sign contracts, and send the others on their way.  
It wasn't entirely without trouble though as several of those rejected tried to question the selection process, in the end Emelie knocked Tom on his ass while Knight dragged Fred of the Leviathan and onto the shuttle ferry that they had rented to take them to Honolulu and their flight back to LA.  
With the rejected applicants on their way back the focus shifted to signing contracts.  
Angel had worked up a basic contract and Takeshi had added a few personalized parts to the contracts, Joshua's contract for instance included a clause that he join the twins in their studies to work on his reading and writing.  
It was Jenna who had asked him to add it, she had noticed that Joshua would always try to find an excuse to be close when she helped the twins with their lessons, and when the twins heard that Joshua couldn't read properly they insisted that they wanted to help him practice.  
Melanie's contract included extended medical coverage that included costs for preexisting conditions, Takeshi intended to clear all her old medical bills from the accident.  
But before they signed anything there was the big reveal, Paul and Chris knew some of it, but they needed them all to know, and in more detail.

“Congratulations on making it to the end.”  
Emelie's announcement was met with cheering and some good natured bantering, and a few surprised exclamations as well.  
“Before we move on to the contracts there is something we need to show you. Take, you're up.”  
Takeshi stood up and headed to the middle of the sundeck before shifting to his werewolf form, then continued to a full wolf form and back to his human form.  
Stepping aside he made room for Knight to show off his armor, then Emelie showed her true form and Dan rounded it off with his new form.  
  
There was a long silence before Manuela finally spoke up.  
“See, I told you something was fishy!”  
“Nah, Manda is the fishy one.”  
Emelie's answering quip had them all laughing and with the odd mood dispelled they continued their show and tell while carefully gauging the reactions.  
Much to Takeshi's relief all of the new employees took well to finding out the truth about the ones they would be working for so they signed the contracts and brought them to the Island to meet the others.

Hugin and Munin caused quite a stir, especially when they showed off their true size, and the following intense curiosity and attention caused Hugin to flee to his raven form and camp out on Takeshi's shoulder, abusing his ear to calm himself.  
“Easy _amo_ , I would prefer my ear in one piece if you don't mind.”  
Hugin just cawed at him and hopped over to his left shoulder and snatched his earpiece and began pecking at it, trying to take it apart.  
Takeshi didn't mind though, if sacrificing an earpiece or two helped keep Hugin calm he would gladly give up as many as it took, he was planning to make a new design anyway.  
“You just can't help calling everyone _sweetie_ , can you?”  
Emelie teased Takeshi lightly while reaching up to give Hugin a scratch on the head.  
She was referring to him calling Hugin _'amo'_ , it was the male form of the Urui word _'ami'_ which had a similar meaning to _sweetheart_ or _dear_ but with slightly different connotation, while it was used between lovers, it didn't carry the same the romantic aspect and was also used between close friends or family.  
“Oh, got a problem with that _sweetie_?”  
“None whatsoever.”  
She pushed him toward one of the couches, mindful not to disturb Hugin's balance.  
“Hugin, why don't you take that to the twins? I'm sure they will be more than happy to help you pick it apart.”  
Her suggestion was met by a rather defiant chattering but when she flared her wings slightly Hugin ducked his head and obeyed with a soft chirp.  
With Hugin out of the way she pushed Takeshi down and straddled him before leaning in and nipping at her mating mark, mindful not to touch Dan's courting mark.  
_“I swear, sometimes it's like having an extra kid around.”  
“I'm sure he will get over it once he gets used to all the new stuff.”  
“Probably, but you have to agree, it's really cute.”  
“He is, isn't he?”  
“Are you planning on courting him?”_  
The question took him slightly off guard, he had spent a lot of time thinking about the implications of Hugin offering his soul name but he hadn't expected Emelie to call him out on it.  
_“No. But if he approaches me for courting rights I won't reject him.”  
“A reasonable compromise. Any particular reason for it?”_  
Takeshi paused at the question and reached out to get a better feel for her aura, she was fishing for something and he had a suspicion about what her goal was.  
_“You have already figured it out, haven't you?”  
“That you know his soul name? Yeah, I've known for a while.”  
“He's not aware that I know though.”  
“Planning on letting him know you know?”  
“No, not until he is ready to give it to me knowingly.”_  
She hummed her agreement to his decision before allowing her seduction to rise slightly which quickly turned things carnal. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

With the contracts signed it was time for Takeshi to see to the promise they had made to Lucifer and Roghan to bring the remains of Roghan's mate and daughter to the Obsidian Palace, and while they did that he would have the crew of the Leviathan take a short vacation.  
“During these two weeks I want you to think about how you want your cabins decorated. Things like what colors you want, or don't want. Do you want soft, medium or hard mattress for the bed. Do you prefer cotton, satin, or maybe linen or even silk for your bedding. Do you want your duvets to be thick or thin, heavy or light, warm or cool.”  
“Seriously? We get to decorate our cabins whatever way we want to?”  
Tessa was grinning widely at the prospect of making some changes to the rather generic space that would be home while she worked.  
“You will be living there a lot of the time so it's only fair you have a say. Stay within the budget and keep to safety regulations and we will make sure to get it done. I have also acquired a small apartment complex in Honolulu that will be renovated and decorated to your taste, but you will have plenty of time to think about that.”  
Seeing Joshua's somewhat troubled look and nervous squirming Takeshi turned to him.  
“Don't worry Josh, everyone will get a tablet with all the information on, and it's linked to Angel so she will be there to help at any time if you need her.”  
Joshua instantly lit up when he heard that Angel would be helping him, had taken a liking to her and she was more than happy to help him whenever he needed it and Takeshi was hoping she would be able to help Joshua improve in areas like reading, writing and math as well as boost his confidence.  
  
With the crew off to Honolulu Takeshi gathered his pack to make plans for retrieving the bodies from the tomb in France.  
“We will all be going this time, but I need you to warn you that you might not be able to come with us into the Obsidian Halls, it depends on how you react to the energies of the Demon realm. I will not risk your health.”  
“Won't language be a problem? The rest of us don't speak Urui...”  
Normally Jenna's concerns could have been an issue, but thanks to the natural linguistic ability of higher demons it was not a concern.  
“Those who matter learned English while we were there, so no need to worry about that.”  
“Okay. But I guess it won't all be nice and easy?”  
“It won't, there are a few things you need to pay attention to.”  
He began explaining about the culture of the Obsidian Halls, and of demons in general, especially about challenges, as much as he wanted to protect them he would be unable to act if a valid challenge was issued.  
They wouldn't have much contact with anyone outside of the royal family, but Takeshi wouldn't take any unnecessary risks.

“Everyone ready to head out?”  
Takeshi corralled the twins into the waiting Blackout and helped them get strapped in.  
“Yep, everything is ready.”  
Looking around he noted that everyone nodded their agreement with Emelie.  
“Let's go then. Em, you mind letting Manda take the co-pilot duty?”  
“Of course not, she needs the practice more than I do.”  
Emelie quickly traded places with Amanda and a few minutes later the Blackout was taking off.

It was dark outside when Takeshi set the Blackout down on the small, abandoned, parking area next to the old temple that hid the tomb.  
“Logan, will you be okay going back in there?”  
“Honestly Take, I don't know. But I will try.”  
“Don't force it, okay?”  
“Okay. But I won't just give up. I should be there.”  
“I know.”  
Takeshi brought out the torches he had purchased during their stay in the Obsidian Halls, smooth obsidian handles topped with a finely crafted fire crystals gave them all the light needed for enhanced eyes without being blinding, or posing any risk of setting anything on fire.  
Standing before the sealed door Takeshi called up his youki and removed the seal he had placed before drawing Glenys from his soul to remove the second seal.  
“Logan.”  
Takeshi stepped aside to allow Knight to be the first one to enter the chamber.  
With a wash of power Knight called his armor and stepped inside to take his position as honor guard and once in position he nodded for the others to enter.  
Takeshi and Emelie quickly removed the crystal that they had encased the bodies in, it had been bound into the stone altar to make sure no one would be able to move the bodies.  
“Hugin, Munin, lift them please so we can place the wrapping.”  
At Takeshi's prompt the angels stepped up and began to weave their magic into a web of power that gently lifted the bodies from the altar so that Jenna and Amanda could slide the fine silk cloth underneath them and carefully wrap the bodies.  
While they wrapped the bodies Emelie and Takeshi placed sanctuary crystals on the altar and began shaping them into a casket which Hugin and Munin lowered the wrapped bodies into before it was sealed and the crystals grew to fill the empty space, protecting and preserving the bodies.  
With the casket completed Takeshi nodded for Hugin and Munin to take the handles and carry it to the Blackout and once everyone was out of the chamber he quickly sealed it up again.

Setting down in Iceland Hugin and Munin once again carried the crystal casket, now covered with a blanket, as they made their way to Dimmuborgir and the passage into the Obsidian Halls.  
“Is everyone feeling okay?”  
“A bit strange, but okay.”  
“Good, now this is the threshold into the Obsidian Halls. I want you to step over it slowly and let me know if anything feels off.”  
Hugin and Munin had placed the casket on the table in the guards room while Takeshi made sure his pack could safely enter the Demon realm and the Obsidian Halls.  
Much to Takeshi's relief there were no issues and before long they were walking toward the palace.  
  
“Ah, Take. It's nice to see you back already.”  
They had barely made it halfway to the palace gates when they were met by a rather energetic shadeling.  
“Ylian, good to see you again. How are our little ones doing?”  
“They are growing nice and strong, a pride to their pana.”  
Before anyone could react Ylian had sauntered up to Takeshi and given him a proper smooch in greeting, and Takeshi of course couldn't let himself be outdone so he grabbed Ylian and repaid them with a kiss that left them somewhat dazed.  
“Mmm, Lucifer will be happy to find that you still taste like power.”  
The teasing quip made Takeshi huff, he had no doubt the old angel would make sure to claim a taste for himself.  
“Ylian, could you send word to Brenna and her mate that we are here?”  
“Of course. I'll make sure a runner is sent for Roghan as well.”  
Ylian bowed his head slightly to the casket and Takeshi nodded in gratitude.  
“Thanks.” **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

One of the guards directed them toward the grand hall and when the doors opened a honor guard waited inside and flanked them as they walked to the dais at the end of the hall where Lucifer was waiting in all his glory.  
“Wow...”  
“You mentioned he was big, but damn! He is humongous...”  
“Don't forget crazy good looking...”  
The hushed conversation between Dan, Amanda and Jenna made Emelie suppress a snicker and a glance over the crystal casket revealed a hint of a smile on Takeshi's face, had their reason for being there not been such a grim one she was sure he would have been smiling and laughing as well.  
When they stopped before the dais Takeshi removed the seals on his aura and allowed it to unfurl while Hugin and Munin placed the casket in front of him.  
“Welcome back Pack Kiryu of House Shamarai Miri.”  
Lucifer slowly walked toward them and reduced his size as he did.  
“It is an honor to be back. May I introduce the rest of my pack?”  
There was a slight murmur among the honor guard at the breach of protocol, but as usual Lucifer ignored it and nodded for Takeshi to go ahead.  
Reaching out over the pack bond Takeshi called for Amanda to step forward.

“This is Amanda Kaiyou, Beta of Pack Kiryu, Daughter of Atlantis.”  
Amanda let out a small gasp of surprise at being introduced as the second beta of the pack, and Emelie echoed her approval over the mating bond.  
Next he called Dan forward.  
“Dan Lindgren, born beta, second in line to Logan. And my _simoro_.”  
Takeshi knew that everyone could feel the courting mark, but mentioning the bond by referring to Dan as his simoro, bonded, potential mate-to-be, elevated its importance and he could feel a slight peak of curiosity from Lucifer at the deliberate mention.  
“Jenna Addams of Pack Kiryu, Seed bearer, Huntress, Daughter of the wild and my ama.”  
The last bit made Jenna blush vividly as Emelie had taught her what it meant.

“Last but not least, Sarah and Maria Eriksson, chosen daughters of Pack Kiryu and House Shamarai Miri. Rainbow twins, empaths and soul healers, pride of my pack.”  
Lucifer had acknowledged each of them with a slight nod and he gave the twins a wide smile and a wave which made them light up with smiles of their own.  
Stepping down from the dais Lucifer approached Amanda to take a closer look at her and greet her properly, and Takeshi felt a surge of pride when she squared her shoulders and raised her head to look straight at Lucifer's somewhat intimidating form.  
Amanda refused to be intimidated and when Lucifer leaned in and stole a kiss she rewarded him with a clawed slap, but he just smiled at her as the marks faded from his face so she settled for huffing and glaring at him.  
Following Takeshi's suggestion Dan was displaying his dragon form and Lucifer walked around around him to get a better look at the slightly flared wings, but when he reached out to touch one of them he quickly pulled his hand back to avoid getting shocked by the flicker of power that played along the the pattern.  
Instead he moved back in front of Dan and gave him a nod, foregoing his usual kiss on the forehead out of respect of Takeshi's courting mark.  
Jenna's greeting played out much the same way as Amanda's, though the marks from her claws wasn't healing, a clear sign that she had been unable to fully control her venom, but Lucifer smiled just as widely at her despite the sluggishly bleeding marks.

“Are all your females this aggressive?”  
Lucifer mock complained while the scratches on his cheek slowly healed as his body counteracted the small amount of venom.  
“What can I say, I like them feisty.”  
The annoyed flare of auras from the female members of his pack had Takeshi ducking his head with an impish grin, he would no doubt be the victim of their feisty nature later.  
The males present snickered and teased while they waited for Lucifer to recover and fully heal from Jenna's venom.  
When he had recovered Lucifer kneeled down to greet the twins and Takeshi watched with avid curiosity, he had no idea how they would react.  
“Well aren't you the most adorable little pups?”  
Takeshi watched Lucifer reach forward to ruffle the twins hair and then suddenly scramble back with a startled squawk when both of them demonstrated the sharpness of puppy teeth by sinking them into his hands.  
With Lucifer momentarily off balance they both shifted and pounced and moments later they retreated with a handful of feathers each, proudly presenting their trophies to Takeshi and Emelie.  
“Good work girls!”  
They both praised the proud girls, and their joy had everyone smiling before long.  
“Indeed, fierce little warrior ladies you have there.”  
Lucifer offered his own praise, but was a bit more careful about approaching them again.  
His carefulness in approaching them stemmed from the hint of fear he had sensed from them when they bit him, the reaction had been one of self-defense not aggression.  
_“My apologies, I didn't mean to scare them...”  
“They don't like being touched by people they don't know, especially males. You startled them a bit so they just reacted.”  
“I should have foreseen that with their history, humans are more sensitive to such things.”  
_ Turning back to the girls Lucifer reduced his size further in an attempt to appear less intimidating before holding out his hands to them. _  
_ “How would our little warrior pups like a proper trophy to commemorate their grand victory?”  
Lucifer's offer was met with suspicious glances and they both held their stolen feathers closer.  
“Daddy, why does he talk so funny?”  
Sarah's question caused a few gasps and suppressed chuckles and Lucifer's mock pout had Takeshi struggling not to laugh.  
“Sarah, don't be rude. English is not his native language. To him you sound funny when you speak the Obsidian language.”  
“Sorry...”  
“Don't apologize to me, apologize to him.”  
Takeshi watched Sarah approach Lucifer rather hesitantly and after a few moments Maria moved in and took her hand and together they closed the last few steps.  
For a moment Sarah didn't move, then she leaned in and rubbed her nose against the underside of Lucifer's jaw while doing her best to mimic an apologetic chirp.  
“Your alpha does not know what he is speaking of. You don't sound funny, you sound like an adorable little nestling.”  
“I'm a pup not a baby bird!”  
The affronted tone of the familiar complaint further strained Takeshi's control and he could hear his pack struggling not to laugh.  
“Of course you are, a fierce pup with the sharpest little fangs. But you still sound like the most adorable little nestling.”  
“I don't care what daddy says, you are really weird.”  
The deadpan delivery was the final straw and Takeshi broke down into laughter, and his laughter pulled his pack into it and before long everyone was laughing at the cheeky response. **  
**

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2047_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

Once everyone had calmed down Lucifer asked them to follow him to the royal mausoleum, but when the honor guard attempted to take the casket it caused a bit of a scene as Hugin and Munin refused to stand back.  
“Stand down, it is the sworn duty of Pack Kiryu of House Shamarai Miri to bring my lost kin to their final rest.”  
The guards quickly stepped back and allowed the twin angels to pick up the casket and Takeshi nodded for his pack to take up their positions again, flanking the casket much the same way as an honor guard would.  
When they arrived at the mausoleum Roghan and a group of his children was there waiting for them along with Ylian and their spawn.  
Hugin and Munin placed the casket in front of Roghan and Knight folded back the cloth that was draped over it so that the woman and infant inside could be seen before stepping back to give Takeshi space to step forward.  
“As promised, we return to you your lost mate and child so that they can rest forever within the realm of their kin.”  
For once Takeshi bowed fully, even his aura was somewhat subdued, though not as far as being submissive.  
What followed was a rather long, ritual exchange where Takeshi gave the body of Roghan's mate and child over to Roghan, and together they laid them to rest within the mausoleum.  
Takeshi was a bit surprised when Roghan asked him to be the one to help carry the casket into the mausoleum, he had thought that Lucifer would be the one to do it.  
Normally those who were not kin were not allowed within the mausoleum so it was a rather big breach of tradition to allow Takeshi and his pack inside, even Hugin and Munin were allowed inside.

Once the bodies were secure in the mausoleum they returned to the palace where an enormous feast was being prepared in a hurry, to the Obsidian Angels the return of lost kin, even if it was just the empty husks of their loved ones, was something celebrate, not mourn.

 


	77. Mainano

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“What is this?”  
Maria took a piece of meat from one of the many bowls on the large table and held it up for Lucifer to inspect.  
“That's _Zimara_.”  
“And what is zimara?”  
“It's a large river creature that looks a bit like an octopus with lots of arms, and teeth.”  
“So, ugly but yummy?”  
“Indeed, very ugly, and very yummy. Maybe we will get an opportunity to go catch a few so you can see what they look like.”  
“Can we daddy?”  
Maria instantly turned to Takeshi in full puppy-dog eye mode.  
“Of course we can, we will be staying about three months so there will be plenty of time.”

Sarah and Maria had taken very well to Lucifer, Roghan and Ylian once they got past their initial suspicion toward strangers and they were gladly engaging all of them in their antics and they had instantly fallen in love with Ylian's little gaggle of spawns.  
Amanda and Jenna were a bit less accepting of Lucifer due to his constant teasing and propositions, not to mention his love for trying to cop himself a good feel, but they both got along well with Roghan and Ylian.  
“Just saying _'No'_ won't do you much good here as long as your bodies respond to him, you need to whack him a good one if you want him to back off.”  
Takeshi's explanation was met by a few muttered complaints from Lucifer as Jenna instantly gave him a sharp elbow and tossed him over the table, though much to her annoyance he righted himself mid air and landed softly.  
_“Aw, why did you have to tell them that? I was having so much fun...”_  
Lucifer's complaint in the Obsidian language made Takeshi chuckle, he knew perfectly well what the old angel was up to, intentionally annoying the new females in order to teach them a few lessons about the local culture.  
Takeshi knew that Lucifer would take care not to take his teasing too far, but there were others who did not know of, or would not care about the human origins of his pack which could cause problems if they didn't learn how to fend off an unwanted demon suitor.  
Amanda wasn't quite as quick to use the information, instead she enjoyed testing her powers on Lucifer, playing a game of give and take, teasing invitations and rejections that he was more than happy to play along with.  
“Manda, you should stand up, let him use his wings. I promise you will enjoy it.”  
For a moment Amanda glared at Takeshi, but then she blushed and ducked her head before doing as he suggested.  
Leaning back to watch over her as she allowed Lucifer to tease her Takeshi startled slightly when he felt feathered wings brush gently against his own arms, he had been aware that Hugin was standing behind him, but he was surprised at the rather forward action.  
Takeshi closed his eyes and allowed his head to drop back against Hugin, enjoying the feelings that the gentle touch evoked, trusting that Emelie and Knight would keep an eye on Amanda so that she would feel safe.  
Takeshi held out for a few minutes before the desire to return Hugin's attention became too much, he needed to touch, to tease.  
“Come here Hugin.”  
Hugin's chirps spoke of agreement and anticipation as he moved to stand in front of Takeshi, his wings continued their soft touching throughout the movement but his hands dropped to his sides to allow Takeshi to do as he pleased.  
When Takeshi tugged on the chest plate of Hugin's armor he kneeled down to allow easy access to the buckles that kept it in place and moments later it fell to the ground and the soft tunic quickly followed.  
The complete lack of shame about nudity was one of the things Takeshi had learned to like about most demon cultures, a cultural trait that for the moment offered him an excellent view.

The feast had settled down, the children were sleeping in a pile under Ylian's watchful eye and most of the adults had paired up and slipped away, Takeshi and his pack had stayed in the garden though.  
Jenna and Dan were curled up under Munin's wings, Emelie was dozing off in Knight's lap while keeping half an eye on Amanda who was still pressed up against Lucifer, lost in the pleasure of his teasing touch.  
Satisfied that his pack was safe and content Takeshi turned his attention back to Hugin who was sitting on the ground next to him, leaned against his legs and resting his head in his lap.  
The angel was almost sleeping, lulled into a restful state by the gentle touch of fingers playing with the soft feathers at the base of his wings.  
“You are calmer, more balanced.”  
It wasn't really a question, Takeshi could feel that the unbalanced and agitated energies in Hugin's aura had settled down into a calmer pattern, much calmer than he recalled ever feeling them.  
“I am. With everything that has been happening, leaving for the human realm was just too much. Returning here has helped settle it all down a bit.”  
“Are you intending to remain here when we return?”  
Takeshi found that it was a bit of a struggle to contain his concern about Hugin's answer, he wouldn't try to persuade the angel either way, but at the same time he really wanted him to return to the human realm with the rest of the pack.  
“No, I can't. This realm is not where I belong anymore...”  
“Hugin of House Shamarai?”  
The question was an offer that Takeshi hoped Hugin would accept.  
“Yes.”  
With a single word Hugin accepted the offer and swore himself to Takeshi, to his house and Takeshi sealed it with a kiss on the forehead and a promise to protect.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Take, the hunters wanted to know if you were interested in taking on a hunt.”  
Takeshi looked up from the group of young shadelings to their pana.  
“Oh, what kind of hunt?”  
“A task from from the city elders. With the hunters out working the herds there are very few left to take tasks.”  
The hunters would on occasion receive tasks from the city, to hunt down dangerous, troublesome creatures, but at the moment almost all of the hunters were away for the great _Manata_ migration.  
The manata was one of the many beasts of the plains, it reminded Takeshi of a large buffalo, but it migrated like wildebeest and the hunters would all head out, not only to hunt and kill from the abundance, but also to protect smaller settlements in the path of the herds.  
“Well, don't keep me in suspense. What kind of task?”  
Ylian huffed and muttered something barely intelligible about the impatience of youth before answering.  
“A new gong colony has been found near the lowland farms, one fully mature adult male, five young, nesting, females and a lot of juveniles, two, maybe three litters each.”  
“So an eradication task then.”  
“Exactly.”  
A newly established gong colony would grow rapidly if they had a good supply of food, and a male with five breeding females would be capable of overrunning and completely devastating the farms in a matter of months.  
“I was thinking that we could all head out, those of us with experience take out the adults, then everyone can help take out the offspring. The oldest litters are still juveniles, a set of barely, or just weaned pups and maybe a set of pinkies.”  
“Not much time then, if they bore new litters as soon as they were fertile after the first litter then the oldest litter will be able to breed within a few weeks.”  
It was an important task and time was running out so chances were that the pay would be good, and it was an excellent opportunity to test his pack's ability to hunt.  
“As you probably suspect the pay will be excellent. And if you don't want to take it I will take a few of the guards and head out myself. But it would be such a waste.”  
“Indeed it would. I'll ask the others when they get back from the baths.”  
Takeshi had stayed behind in the garden to keep an eye on his shadeling spawns while his pack took a bath as Ylian had left earlier to run a few errands in the city.  
“I have a feeling they will be eager to help. And to try their skills.”  
“Oh, I'm sure they will, but I will ask them nonetheless.”  
“Always a believer in the freedom to chose.”  
“As long as it won't jeopardize their safety.”

Shifting his seat slightly Takeshi picked up one of the curled up spawns and handed it to Ylian, they had grown a lot since their birth and had matured into greater demons and would no doubt become full shadelings, but they were still young, and would often revert to their egg form when sleeping.  
They were no longer the little quail eggs they had been when born though, they were quite large, and very heavy, their size and shape reminded Takeshi of the Elephant bird egg he had seen once in a museum.  
They were roughly 30 cm long, but very heavy for their size, he estimated that each weighed about 50 kg, though, that was far from as dense as they had been at birth.  
If they had maintained their volume to weight ratio from birth they would have weighed around 200 kg at the current size.  
What Takeshi found interesting though was that they weighed more in their egg form than they did in their normal form, their normal humanoid form only weighed about 30 kg, Ylian had explained that it had to do with how shadelings compressed their power in order to take corporeal form.  
Takeshi had accepted the simplified explanation at the time, but he would need to study a lot more if he was to actually understand it and he intended to do so when he had the time.

“They really like you, it's rare that spawns accept their para so readily.”  
Ylian balanced two of their spawns in their lap while leaning against Takeshi so that all four spawns could feel their closeness.  
“Well, I was there to feed them while you carried, and I was the first creature they felt after their birth. That's not normal for a para so it could be why they accept me without hesitation.”  
“It might be. Most para couldn't care less if their spawn accept them or not, once the spawns have formed they leave. I suppose it might be because shadelings are able to become pana themselves and most will pick another shadeling to be para.”  
“I'm glad you didn't, glad you picked me.”  
Takeshi leaned against Ylian's shoulder, he was hoping they would explain why they chose him.  
“I still owe you that explanation, don't I?”  
“Indeed you do. Care to start it while we wait?”  
Ylian laughed and accused Takeshi of being an impatient whelp before shifting their spawn around a bit to be able to lean more comfortably against him.

“As you know I am an Arai, both as a Shadow and as a Lilim. But I am also very young by demon standards, and because of this I have had quite a lot of contact with the younger generations.”  
Ylian paused for a moment as Takeshi hummed softly and gently brushed his aura against one of the spawns who was unfurling and a few moments later it settled down again and Ylian continued.  
“We shadelings have lost our way as a species, we are degenerating. We have always been a harsh breed, cannibals, tough on our young, willing to sacrifice the weak in favor for the strong. But it was done out of necessity, and has been tempered by a keen awareness of the consequences, balanced out by caring.”  
Ylian explained that the origin of the shadeling cannibalism was a way to quickly recover after a harsh battle, to ensure that at least one of the combatants would survive.  
“But now they hunt and consume the weak, attack pana who are weakened by the delivery to steal and consume the young. Pana abandon their young immediately after birth, like spawning fish. Some pana will even seek out a strong para, then consume their own spawn at birth.”  
Ylian's increasingly agitated state was beginning to affect their spawn so Takeshi reached around and pulled them closer.  
“Ssh, you are waking the little ones.”  
At first there was no reaction, then Ylian slowly calmed down, and after a few minutes of silence they continued the explanation.  
“When I heard that Maroue's daughter with a human female had come in search of her heritage I decided to have a look and I was relieved to find her caring heart and pure soul. Then I noticed you, part shadow, strong, caring and protective.”  
Ylian pushed gently against Takeshi's aura to make it rise in response before weaving into it in a rather intimate touch.  
“I was seeing in you those traits that my kind are losing. And I found myself wanting you as para to my clutch, hoping that they would inherit those traits from you. Hoping to take a step toward restoring my species to how it should be.”  
“With you raising them I'm sure they will grow up to to be fine, honorable demons with the power, and desire, to protect what is theirs.”  
Ylian didn't answer him, instead they leaned back in silence and focused on exploring Takeshi's aura, picking up on the subtle changes that his return to the human realm had caused, the courting bond with with Dan, granting Jenna the blessing, his oath to her, they all changed him slightly.  
A few minutes later Ylian spoke up again, but their voice was low, almost hesitant.  
“When these little ones have matured some more, would you be willing to consider...”  
Their words trailed off but Takeshi could feel the question.  
“I would be honored to. When you feel you are ready to try for more little ones, let me know and I will make sure to come and spend some time here with you, a heat and enough time for a safe birth and recovery.”  
“Oh, you have figured out your cycle?”  
“I have, or well, almost at least. It's either ten years, or one year of my native realm, we won't know for sure until another year has passed in the human realm.”  
“I suspect you are hoping for a ten year cycle?”  
“Indeed...”  
“Well, until then, how about we practice bit?”  
The invitation made Takeshi grin and move the two spawns he was holding from his lap, and his actions made Ylian smile and move the two they were holding, placing all four of them to the side where they would be out of the way, but safe.  
When Takeshi turned his attention to Ylian they began to shift under his touch, slowly shifting into a softer, more feminine form, but much to Takeshi's relief their aura remained strong and unyielding.  
He didn't like it when Ylian was submissive, it gave him a feeling of wrongness as he knew that Ylian was far too strong and experienced to consider him their superior, not to mention he had learned to enjoy the feeling of being with someone who didn't actually submit.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Take! I thought you were supposed to watch the little ones, not screw their pana!”  
Emelie huffed in mock annoyance when she returned with the pack and found her mate otherwise engaged.  
“Oh, they are fine. We just just got a bit bored waiting for you to return from the bathhouse.”  
Ylian was the one to respond to her complaint while Takeshi ignored her in favor for trailing kisses along their throat.  
”Susai! Don't encourage him!”  
“Aw, but he is _so_ much fun when properly encouraged...”  
The rest of Ylian's reply was interrupted by a yelp and a moan as Takeshi punished their drifting attention with a sharp nip to the exposed throat.  
“My my, such a demanding partner...”  
Ylian turned their attention back to Takeshi and began to trail kisses along his jawline.  
“Why do I even bother? You are just as bad as he is!”  
Emelie's frustrated grumblings had the others laughing and snickering as they headed to the other end of the garden to allow the pair some semblance of privacy, but she did pick up the spawns before leaving, a sure sign of her acceptance of their activities.

When Takeshi and Ylian joined the others it was just in time to share an afternoon meal with them.  
“So, how would you guy feel about going on a little hunt?”  
“Oh, hunting what?”  
The interest was instant, and eager.  
“Gong. An old male has gathered a few young females and established a nest close to the eastern farms in the lowlands. They need to be eradicated or they will destroy the farms.”  
Takeshi and Ylian explained what the task would involve, including the reward that would be paid for completing such a task.  
“Will it really be safe for the girls?”  
Jenna's concern was obvious.  
“No, it's not a safe task. But those of us with experience will deal with the adult gongs and the oldest brood, then the rest of you help take care of the younger ones. Our little shadeling spawns will be with the girls at all times, they can grab them and shadow travel to safety if something should happen.”  
The shadeling spawns didn't have personal names yet, it was the way of the shadelings that a spawn would chose a name once they reached full maturity, to address a specific spawn one would simply brush against their aura.  
Sarah and Maria had given them their own names though, following the old nursery rhyme they had named them Eenie, Meenie, Miney and Moe in order of their births and the spawns had taken well to the names.  
Assured that there would be no serious danger the others quickly agreed to accept the task and they began making plans to head out.

“Holy crap! That rat is fucking humongous!”  
While the girls scolded Dan for his language, Takeshi found himself agreeing, even for a gong the creature was decidedly huge.  
“This is not going to be easy, for it to grow that large it must be old, and shrewd. And I'd hate to see what could possibly have driven it to seek a new territory.”  
Takeshi mused half to himself, half to the others while watching the large creature move around, obviously looking for something to eat.  
“Actually, we do know what caused that. The mountain area it inhabited has been settled by a flight of dragons. A young female and her consorts that have separated from their matriarch to form their own flight.”  
It would seem Ylian had more information than they had initially shared.  
Among dragons it was common that the matriarch, the oldest and wisest, didn't allow younger females to partake in the mating flight, the other females would still lay eggs, but those eggs would be infertile.  
While the dummy eggs did help protect the matriarchs brood, now and then a strong female would gather consorts of her own and leave so that she could perform the mating flight, lay her own clutch, and become a Brood Queen, a matriarch in her own right.  
“A flight of hungry dragons would indeed be a good reason to move, unfortunately he picked a very bad place to move to.”  
The others agreed that it was a shame that they would have to kill the displaced beasts, but they had no choice. Unlike the dragons, they would not be able to make it move it's females and offspring.

Pulling back slightly they watched the old gong take down one of the large manata and return with it to the den where it was met by two of the females and a group of juveniles.  
They watched it make several trips to bring back prey to the den and made their plan to ambush it on one of the trips and take it down.  
“Em, I know you are an excellent huntress, but I want you to stay back with the others and keep an eye out for the adult females in case we can't get the male down fast. Hugin and Munin will help you while Logan, Ylian and I take it down.”  
For a moment Emelie's energy rose in challenge, but a sharp spike in Takeshi's aura made her back down and bare her neck to him.  
Before he had a chance to drag his fangs along the exposed flesh they were interrupted by frantic cries from the girls.  
“Oh no!”  
“That little shadow is trying to fight it!”  
“Look out!”  
Looking closely Takeshi spotted the small shadow beast that was desperately trying to fight off the large gong, but something was wrong with the way it was fighting.  
“A pana, trying to draw it away from the den, the spawns. Doomed...”  
Ylian spoke softly and there was a hint of sadness in their voice.  
The girls picked up on the tone in Ylian's voice and their auras flared and blended, their healer nature taking over.  
“Daddy, please save it!”  
A quick glance at Ylian and Knight resulted in a pair of short nods that made it easy to make up his mind.  
“I will try. But I can't promise I will be able to.”  
The look in their eyes as they nodded their understanding made his heart ache, such hope, and such sorrow.

Logan had mounted his peregrine mount while Takeshi spoke, and Ylian had shifted into a similar form and now they waited for Takeshi to take the lead.  
With a quick shift he threw himself into the air and streaked toward the gong, he didn't bother to wait for the others, instead he folded his wings and tilted his body into the signature stoop of the peregrine, hoping to take advantage of the fact that the gong was focused on the shadow beast.  
He managed to get onto the creature's back, just at the base of it's skull, but as expected the gong proved to be a challenging opponent and in the end it took all three of them and the shadow beast to take it down.  
It was with a heavy heart that Takeshi picked up the shadow beast, its left hind leg and a large chunk of its side was missing, torn away and consumed by the gong.  
“Ylian, can yi be healed?”  
“I'm afraid not, yi spent everything yi had to lure the gong away from the den.”  
Ylian allowed their energy to flow over the dying beast, calming it and taking away its pain.  
“We should consume yi's energy so it is not lost, then find the den and the spawns. They should recognize the energy of their pana and allow themselves to removed from the den.”  
Both Ylian and Knight turned to look at Takeshi and Takeshi realized that they wanted him to consume what remained of the shadow beast.  
“Take, you have a shadow within, it will know how to consume the energy without damaging it.”  
Ylian's voice was calm, but authoritative and Takeshi turned his attention inward, to the beast within.  
When the power of Takeshi's inner shadow rose the shadow beast in his arms seemed to relax, even lean into him, it knew it was dying and it seemed almost eager for him to absorb it.  
_“I'm sorry I was not able to save you, but I will do what I can to save your spawn.”_  
The shadow beast was a lesser demon and as such it didn't really understand his words, but it understood his feelings, the message he was trying to convey and as he began absorbing it he could feel a sense of relief, and gratitude from the creature.  
As he absorbed it he could feel an almost overwhelming sorrow from the girls, and despite the distance he could hear their heartbroken cries, closing his eyes he numbed the bond and focused on feeling the new energy settle.  
Using the new energy as a guide he allowed his aura to expand, stretching it across the area that the shadow beast had been trying to lure the gong away from, and soon he felt a pair of tiny pricks of energy resonate with his aura.  
“Will you two be okay preparing it on you own?”  
“Of course, the others can come help once we have removed the venom gland. You go find those spawns.”  
Ylian almost shooed him in the direction of the beast's den.

Carefully following the tiny pricks of energy Takeshi made his way to the den and shifted into a form similar to the beast's and crawled inside, at first the tiny spawns hissed and tried to crawl away from him, but when he released a pulse of his aura they froze and after a few moments they bolted to him and latched on to the fur at his neck.  
He could feel that they were aware of what had happened, fear and sorrow permeated their auras, but he could also feel a hint of hope as he slowly backed out of the den and resumed his human form.  
When he returned to the felled gong the rest of his pack had arrived and were helping Ylian and Knight to prepare it for transport, the choice bit's would become the next meal though.  
Sarah and Maria sat a short distance to the side under Hugin's watchful eye, Ylian's brood were trying to cheer them up but wasn't having much success.  
As he walked over to the girls it became clear to him what he needed to do.  
“Sarah, Maria. From now on these little ones will be your responsibility. You will feed them, you will teach them and train them. They have lost their pana and will need someone to keep them safe, to care for them and love them.”  
He carefully set the small pup-like spawns into their waiting hands and watched as they eagerly latched onto the twins auras and began feeding from the girls abundant life-force.  
His and Ylian's little ones moved in closer to examine the newcomers and were quickly scolded by the girls and told that they would have to wait until the _pups_ were done feeding.  
“It will be up to you to name them as well.”  
They both looked up at him, them at each other and after a few moments they spoke without hesitation.  
“Gere.“  
“Freke.”  
Their choice of names made Takeshi smile, it would seem they took their inspiration from Emelie, and how she had named Hugin and Munin.  
Gere and Freke were the wolves of the Norse god Óðinn, commonly known as Odin, or Oden, Hugin and Munin were his ravens.  
“The wolves of Óðinn, strong, honorable, names to live up to.”  
Sarah and Maria both nodded and promised they would make sure the pups grew up to be a pride to the pack.

When they returned to the city a week later Takeshi was beaming with pride, everyone in his pack had done very well during the hunt, even the girls had taken down several of the smaller gong themselves.  
Part of the reward for clearing out the nest was used to craft a pair of harnesses for Gere and Freke, harnesses that would grow with them and allowed Sarah and Maria a certain measure of control.  
With a mental command from the girls the harnesses could temporarily bind the young shadow beasts.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

Munin's anxious energy made Takeshi look up, he had a pretty good idea what the angel wanted, he had been increasingly restless the past few days since they returned from exterminating the gong nest.  
“Take iero, may I have a moment of your time?”  
“Munin, how many times do I have to tell you there is no need for such formalities?”  
“Apologies...”  
The slight bow and submissive position of the wings made Takeshi sigh and give a slightly frustrated huff.  
“So, what can I do for you today?”  
“I would like your permission to return to the Jacaranda estate.”  
“Being away from your simora starting to be too much for you?”  
Munin just nodded silently.  
“Then go. Just remember to speak with your brother before you leave.”  
“I will, thank you.”  
Takeshi watched Munin turn and walk away to find his brother, and as he reached the doorway Takeshi called out after him.  
“I don't want to return home and find that I have missed Lissa's mating! Or find her pregnant!”  
The way Munin's shoulders and wings tensed up at the somewhat teasing words made Takeshi smile and chuckle which earned him a sharp punch on the arm from Jenna.  
“Don't be mean to the poor guy!”  
Her scolding brought on an all out laugh as he pulled her close and gave her a scorching kiss.

When they gathered for the evening meal Hugin was noticeably subdued and the tension in his wings spoke volumes about how stressed he was.  
True to their nature the girls immediately flanked Hugin, nearly crawling into his lap in their eagerness to soothe the pain they were sensing from him.  
Dropping the tiny, wispy, shadow pups into his lap proved to be a rather effective distraction and soon he was too focused on playing with the girls and the pups to worry about his brother's absence.”  
_“Will he be okay?”_  
Emelie's tone was concerned, over the years she had grown rather fond of their angel twins.  
_“In time. Their bond is changing. The bond of simiri holds a much greater sway than the bond of brothers, even twins.”  
“Is there anything you can do to soothe him?”  
“I have have a few ideas. Don't worry, I will watch over him and tend to him if needed.”_  
If all else failed Takeshi could use Hugin's soul name to calm him down, to form a new, strong bond to keep him balanced, but unless Hugin knowingly offered his name that would be a last resort.  
“Daddy, can we go to the market tomorrow?”  
Maria's question drew Takeshi from his musings and he quickly considered it, it could prove to be a good distraction for Hugin, and the grand market was one of the things he was hoping to show his pack.  
“That sounds like an excellent idea.”  
With a slight wave he called one of the palace servants and instructed the angel to fetch one of the caches that was kept for him in the treasury.  
Settling back down he watched the way his pack interacted with each other, the way their energies blended and soothed each other and he could feel his own aura settle down into a content pattern, expanding and contracting slightly, like waves against a beach.  
Looking at the twins he focused slightly on them, allowing them to feel his pride in their caring nature.

“Sarah, Maria. Remember, this place can be really dangerous so it's very important that you don't walk off on your own here. Always stay close to me, Em or Logan.”  
Takeshi turned to Amanda, Dan and Jenna and told them to stick close as well.  
“But Hugin and Ylian, aren't they safe?”  
“They are, but you have no bond with them, so someone could pretend to be them and trick you. Eriko's charms might not be strong enough to help you see through it.”  
“Okay...”  
They both pouted and hurried over to Hugin and reached for his hands, he reached down and took their hands for a moment before offering them the long feathers of his wings instead.  
“Just don't pull on the feathers, okay?”  
“Okay!”

Shortly after their arrival at the market the pack split up, Knight and Dan walked off in one direction, Emelie took Amanda and Jenna in another direction, Ylian and the spawns tagging along with them, while Hugin and the twins stayed with Takeshi.  
“Daddy! Hurry!”  
Takeshi shook his head with a smile as he followed the twins while they nearly dragged Hugin toward a small stall where a forest demon was selling some of her tribe's delicacies.  
The way the girls sniffed their way through the stall had the vendor smiling widely and offer them various bowls and baskets with her wares.  
“This one smells amazing!”  
“Hugin, is this safe for us to eat?”  
They handed Hugin a small woven basket  
“They are not just safe, they are really good for you, but are you sure you want to eat that? Those are _Gubi_ grubs.”  
The identification of the contents made Takeshi smile.

Gubi was a very large beetle, with giant, fat, grubs that could grow to over 30 centimeters and weigh over 400 grams each, the ones sold at the market were usually quite a bit smaller though.  
And like the girls had noticed, they smelled amazing, and was actually quite tasty once you got past the whole eating a giant grub alive part, cooking them produced a toxin, while not actually dangerous it tasted bad and would render a person quite sick for a few days.

“Wow, they are really huge, and ugly!”  
“But they smell good! Can we have some?”  
“If you are sure, you have to eat them alive though or they will taste bad and make you sick.”  
Hearing that they would have to eat them alive made the girls hesitate, but after a quick conversation they look up and nodded.  
“We're sure.”  
“Okay.”  
Hugin looked up from the girls to the smiling vendor.  
“Four small and two extra large gubi grubs and some manaroka dip please.”  
“Ripe or unripe?”  
Ripe manaroka had a sweet, slightly spicy chocolate taste, like milk chocolate with a touch of chili, while the unripe fruits had a sharper, more bitter, taste, like a really dark chocolate mixed with strong, black coffee and a hint of cinnamon.  
“Unripe please.”  
The vendor handed them three of the baskets, one significantly larger than the others and Hugin quickly handed the smaller ones to the girls before taking the bowl with dip.

“Pay attention and I'll show you how to eat them.”  
Sarah and Maria gave a short chirp in response, it was one of those sounds that couldn't really be translated into Urui, or English for that matter, it was just a sound of attention.  
“Be careful when you handle them, because they can bite pretty hard. Grab them like this, from the back, over the middle pair of legs.”  
Hugin showed them how to safely pick up the grub, making sure to keep the large mandibles away so they wouldn't get pinched.  
“Bring them to your mouth like this. Then bite down behind the last pair of legs.”  
Hugin bit down and tore away the fleshy rear body of the grub and chewed slowly while offering the front part with the head and small legs to the large bird that sat on a perch on the side of the vendor's stall.  
“You can give the heads to your little pets, the head from mine is just a bit too big for them.”  
After a few yelps and muttered curses the girls managed to get a grip on the uncooperative grubs and quickly tried to bite of the fleshy part only to start laughing after both of them managed to get pinched in the nose, it took them a few tries before they managed to bite down properly and not get pinched.  
“Wow, it tastes even better than it smells!”  
“Now now, girls, table manners.”  
They both ducked their heads and finished chewing before speaking up again.  
“Sorry.”  
“Don't worry, just don't let Em see you do that.”  
Both girls blanched at the mention of Emelie seeing them speak with their mouth full.  
“Now, do you want to try them with the dip?”  
Both nodded and Hugin showed them how to dip the grub in the bowl before taking a big bite and giving the second head to the bird as well.  
“Tastes a bit funny, but it's still good.”  
“I liked it better without that stuff...”  
Takeshi wasn't surprised by their reaction to the dip, while they were far from picky eaters, quite the opposite, they did suffer some of the distaste for bitter things that was common among children.  
Takeshi bought a few of the grubs for himself and watched Hugin talk to the vendor while he ate them and offered the heads to the little shadow pups.  
After a while Hugin called for the twins and offered them what looked like two pieces of honeycomb with large cells, the center cell was significantly deeper and contained a deep blue honey and a few sticks of what looked like red asparagus, and thin, purple leeks.  
It was surrounded by two layers of cells that each held a different treat from the stall and the twins lit up like the proverbial kid in the candy store, thanking Hugin vigorously before running to Takeshi to show him what they had.  
Takeshi took a small salamander egg from one of the cells of each comb and popped them in his mouth before nodding for the girls to go ahead and enjoy their treat.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“It's nearly midday, we should head for the central park to meet up with the others.”  
“Already?”  
The twins moped and complained, but Takeshi knew it was mostly because they were really tired and had been running on pure stubbornness for the past half mark.  
The plan was to meet the rest of the pack in the park, get something to eat, and allow the twins to sleep for a while, the girls wouldn't need to eat though as they had pretty much eaten their way through the market much to Hugin's amusement.

By the time they reached the park both girls were stumbling and yawning and when they sat down they crawled into Takeshi's and Hugin's laps and promptly fell asleep.  
“Ah, I see your little ones are just as worn out as ours are.”  
Ylian smiled widely and pointed to their sleeping spawns.  
“Why don't you give them to me so you can eat and rest with your pack?”  
As they spoke Ylian abandoned their humanoid shape in favor for what looked like a large, covered, pet bed and Takeshi thanked them as he gently placed Maria on Ylian's new form and shortly after she was joined by Sarah, their little cubs and the spawns.  
They spent the better part of a mark eating, talking and teasing before taking a page from the kids' book and settling down to nap while Ylian kept an eye on them, Takeshi could feel a group of palace guards as well, no doubt assigned to them by Lucifer's majordomo as the Lord himself was not in the city at the time.

Takeshi estimated that they had rested for about one mark when the twins began to stir again, they had grown well into their new, more powerful, bodies and needed very little sleep.  
“We're hungry!”  
“Girls, let the others rest, I will help you find something to eat.”  
Ylian quickly hushed the girls and helped them pick through what remained of the meal that the pack had shared, looking for something for them to eat.  
“Ylian, why does mommy call you susai?”  
“Because I am her susai, her father's sibling.”  
“But, then why does she call Roghan _Shomo_?”  
“Susai comes from my native language, the language of the shadelings, while Shomo is Urui, the brother of her father.”  
“Okay! So we could call Danny and Logan shomo?”  
“You could, but they aren't really seen as brothers, are they?  
“I guess...”  
The girls paused for a moment before asking their next question.  
“But Sumi-chan would be shoma, right?”  
“She is Take's sister, so that's right.”  
“Jenna and Manda would be shima?”  
“They could, but shama would be more accurate. You mother considers them to be sisters while your father sees them as lovers.”  
“Ah, okay.”  
They both nodded before getting a look of deep through on their faces.  
"Lilith is mommy's shosha, right?"  
Maria asked after a few moments.  
"That's right."  
Maria instantly lit up with a bright smile when Ylian confirmed her guess.  
“Now, what do you think would be the proper way to address me in Urui?”  
“Shimi?”  
“That's right.”  
Ylian praised them for remembering their lessons in Urui, shimi was gender a neutral word similar to uncle or aunt, the _'shi'_ indicating that both parents considered the person a sibling, or that the parent in question was genderless, the _'mi'_ ending also genderless.  
But shimi was also a neutral form for a more distant relative, in this case the shomi of their mother, _shashomi_ could be used to specify their relation, but it was not used to address someone, only to describe the relationship in more detail.  
“Of course they are right. My little girls are as clever as they come.”  
“Daddy!”  
The moment Takeshi spoke up the girls rushed to his side and moments later he had a pair of squirming pups in his lap.  
“A pride to any pack.”  
Ylian agreed softly.

With the twins awake the rest of the pack was quickly roused from their rest and before long they were ready to continue their day at the market, but this time they all moved together.  
The others had not been slowed down by the twins eager curiosity, and love for unknown foods and snacks, so they had already made it through the market before the midday meal, it didn't stop them from buying random treats and trinkets though.

“Daddy, that place feels strange...”  
Sarah pointed toward a large marquee slightly of the main path and Takeshi recognized the markings.  
It was the same one where he had bought the wands and magic kits while shopping for Emelie's ramhiri gift.  
“Strange how?”  
Takeshi encouraged them explore the feeling.  
“It's like when someone is hurt, but not painful. I don't know...”  
“Do you feel like you need to go there, or like you need to get away from there?”  
“Go there!”  
Both of them agreed instantly.  
“Then let's go have a look and see if we can't find what draws you there.”  
When they entered the marquee the vendors looked their way and nodded in greeting, but the old demon that crafted the wands paused and looked closer at them.  
“Oh, it's you! Are these little ones the rainbow twins?”  
The obvious interest made the twins squirm and hide behind Takeshi's legs.  
“Is he safe?”  
The way the old artisan's face dropped made Takeshi smile as he ushered them forward.  
“I don't know him well enough to know if he is really safe. But I'm quite sure he is smart enough not to try anything while the rest of us are here.”  
With Takeshi's reassurance the twins approached the old artisan and began looking at his wares.  
“You made this didn't you?”  
Maria brought her wand out from within her soul and held it up.  
“I did. A seer brought me those crystals and asked me to make those for a pair of twins, a pair of born healers. They were made to become yours.”  
“Thanks for making them so pretty.”  
They both pushed a tiny bit of power into their wands, making them glow with a gentle rainbow light.  
"Thank you little ones, they were made to suite you, but i fear they can not match your radiance, and will no doubt pale compared to your beauty once you grow into yourselves.  
The girls huffed at the rather blatant flattery and dismissed the old artisan in favor for inspecting his wares for a while before turning back to Takeshi.  
“It's not here.”  
“We can still feel it, but not where it comes from.”  
“Remember what I told you about trying too hard?”  
“Mhm..”  
They both nodded and when he motioned for them to move they quickly moved to the middle of the marquee.  
“Close your eyes, deep breaths, relax, and trust your instincts.”  
Takeshi enjoyed feeling his pack relax as the twins energies merged and began to spread around the marquee and after about a minute he could feel it shift and begin to focus toward one of the corners.

“I think I found it. This way.”  
Maria took the lead and Sarah followed closely behind her as they made their way toward the area that their energy had been drawn to.  
“Here!”  
Maria began sifting through the items on one of the tables with an almost frantic air before pinpointing what she was looking and and pointing to a section of items that looked like crystal eggs in various sizes, colors and patterns.  
The one she pointed at was one of the larger ones that looked like wisps of smoke had frozen and trapped a flame within.  
“How much for that one?”  
Takeshi pointed toward the one that the girls wanted, while silently telling them not to touch it as it might react to them, and that might increase the asking price.  
“Ah, you have good eyes. My finest item. Egg of great phoenix, never hatching it turn to stone. Very rare, very expensive. 1000 measures.”  
Something about the glint in the old crone's eye when she raised her head to look at him made Takeshi avert his eyes and growl out a warning to his pack.  
_“Don't look at her!”  
_ A split second later Emelie appeared between the twins and the creature and she folded her wings around them, a moment later Takeshi could feel them vanish and reappear behind him, but he couldn't see it because his vision was obstructed by Hugin's wings.  
“You know the law of the land, _Gorgon_! Keep you gaze from wandering or it will cost you your remaining eye.”  
As he spoke Hugin's wing shifted slightly to make it easier for Takeshi to duck under it and move forward so that he could see what was happening.  
Stepping up to Hugin's side Takeshi noticed that the angel was holding the tip of his obsidian blade to the crone's one good eye.  
A rather annoyed hissing could be heard from beneath her headscarf and Takeshi could see something move and twist, no doubt the serpents that would reveal her true nature if seen.  
“Ask a fair price for that egg and I will not report you for hiding your true nature.”  
With a flick of the obsidian blade Hugin removed the cloth that hid the serpents covering her head.  
“500 measures, not a grain less!”  
The gorgon snapped at Hugin, her serpents hissing and baring fangs dripping with venom.  
“Maybe I should just ask the hunters to investigate how you obtain your wares?”  
“Fine! 100 measures.”  
She spat at Hugin and reached for the egg but before she could touch it Takeshi snatched it away and handed her one of the parchment slips that would allow her to collect 100 measures from the palace treasury.

The hunters were not only tasked with hunting for food and killing dangerous creatures, they were also responsible for protecting rare creatures, and from what Hugin was silently telling them the old gorgon had used her power change real eggs into the crystals she was selling.  
No doubt using her abilities to hunt down rare creatures, turn them to stone and steal their eggs before releasing them from her power to keep the hunters from finding out, failed hatchings were not entirely uncommon after all.  
Then when she was somewhere safe she would use her power to change the eggs.

When Hugin folded his wings again Takeshi slipped his hand behind his back and began gently sifting through the small feathers, enjoying the softness while offering his gratitude and approval.  
The embarrassed and slightly uncomfortable chirps from the doorway of the marquee made Takeshi smile, a pair of guards had been alerted by the flare of power when Emelie used her power to step through the shadows.  
They had been smart enough to hold back and not get involved, but now they were struggling to contain their reaction to the, for them, very intimate display.  
For a moment Takeshi could feel Hugin's tension and concern rise, but much to his relief, and pride, he could feel them give way to amusement and a slight peak of arousal which Takeshi gladly took advantage of by spinning Hugin around and kissing him rather harshly.  
When Hugin tugged at his hair and returned the kiss with equal fervor Takeshi's breath quickened and he groaned with a mix of pleasure and effort to suppress the more obvious reactions.  
The rest of the pack whooped and laughed as the guards spluttered and hurried out of the marquee and Hugin's growing arousal and amusement was joined by a bubbling joy.  
“You did well.”  
Takeshi whispered his praise softly, his breath still somewhat labored and Hugin did nothing to suppress the answering chirps, joy, arousal, contentment, and a hint of embarrassment.

“Here you go girls, your not so little treasure egg.”  
Takeshi held out the egg for them, but they didn't take it from his hands, instead they both touched it gently, making it glow as the flame within flickered faintly.  
“Can you keep it for us? Keep it within?”  
“I will try, but it might not work. It is very faint, but this egg is still alive and it might refuse me.”  
“Please!”  
“We're not strong enough to do it...”  
“Easy, there. I will try, but I need you to help me to increase the chance of success.”  
Both girls nodded eagerly and promised they would do everything they could to help.  
“Merge your aura's and reach out through our bond, try to merge with my aura as much as you can. It reached out for you, and if it can feel that you accept me it might as well.”  
Takeshi didn't want to get their hopes up, chances of success were very slim, not only would he have to merge something truly alive into himself, the creature would have to accept as well.  
Unfurling his aura he gently brushed it against the crystallized egg and when the girls aura added to his own it began to respond slightly, at first it was fear and rejection but that was slowly replaced with acceptance.  
When he finally began to pour his aura into it it opened up to him and allowed itself to be brought into his shift, hidden away in his soul.  
When he reined his aura back in he heard a sigh of relief from the vendors in the marquee, it seemed that even the relatively small part of his power he had used was enough to cause them discomfort.  
“How about we call it a day, head back and get some rest?”  
He could feel that the twins were exhausted, Hugin's aura was fluctuation slightly, indicating stress, and he was feeling rather uncomfortable himself with the unfamiliar energy within.  
His pack didn't answer with words, just a feeling of agreement as Knight exited the Marquee and the other followed suit, leaving him to pick up the twins.

When they reached the gates of the palace area Takeshi noticed that the armor of the guards was once again the pure black of the Royal Guard, Lucifer's personal elite force, rather than the gray and black of the Imperial Guard.  
The Obsidian halls had several types of guards, their ranks were reflected in the color of their tunic and armor, ranging from a dark silver of the lowest ranked guards and recruits to the pure black of the Royal Guard.  
Hugin and Munin had both earned ranks within the Imperial Guard, the colors of their rank was a charcoal tunic and a black armor with the insignia of the palace in gunmetal gray with silver linings.  
“It would seem our host has returned.”  
“Yay!”  
Sarah and Maria both cheered, while the rest of his pack sighed slightly.  
Once past their initial shyness and concern the youngest members of his pack had taken well to the ancient angel and grown to see him as the crazy grandfather, a role he was more than happy to fulfill.  
They had both been heartbroken when Lucifer informed them that he was leaving on a diplomatic journey and that he was unsure if he would return before they left, Amanda, Dan and Jenna however found it to be a bit of a relief, they had yet to grow accustomed to the peculiarities of their host.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mainano_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Girls, come here. It's time to feed your little friend again.”  
Takeshi had tried to feed the phoenix egg with his own life-force, but it refused to take it, it would only accept the twins combined power, the pure rainbow energy of their healing powers.  
He could feel it's hunger though, and he would have the girls feed it as much as they could safely spare, it left them drained and tired, but in the long run it would help them grow stronger.  
“Remember, you have to raise your power gently, don't startle it.”  
Over the past week the flame within the crystal egg had begun to take the shape of a tiny bird, but it was weak, and growing slowly, it was very rare for a phoenix to actually lay a true egg, most phoenix eggs were actually a part of their regenerative cycle, an adult that burned out and was reborn.  
But this egg was a brand new life, and it would normally have been fed enormous amounts of energy by it's parents, fortunately the lack of energy wasn't actually dangerous for it, it only made it grow very slowly.  
Opening himself to their energies he used how own aura to guide and soothe theirs, help them keep the level stable as the phoenix fed, draining them to the point where they began swaying and their energy turned unstable.  
It was with pride that he noted that they were able to sustain the feeding for a much longer duration than they had a mere month ago.  
“Okay, that's enough.”  
With a small spark of energy Takeshi made the phoenix stop feeding so that the girls could withdraw their aura's.  
“How are you feeling?”  
“Sleepy...”  
“No headache or nausea?”  
“No, just sleepy.”  
“Good. Let's get you two to bed so you can recover.”  
Takeshi picked the girls up and shifted them into more comfortable positions on his hips with practiced ease and they instantly clung to his shoulders and neck, but he had only taken a few steps toward the garden entrance when things turned into chaos.  
He felt Hugin's aura flicker and go numb and a split second later the sound of a body hitting the ground, and the twins crying out in concern.

“Hugin!”  
As he spun around his eyes only confirmed what his other senses already knew, Hugin had collapsed on the ground.  
A moment later Emelie was at his side and he handed her the twins while moving toward Hugin.  
_“Hugin, come on, answer me...”  
_ Takeshi searched Hugin's aura and soul for any response, but there was nothing but silence, and pain.  
The sudden appearance of the palace healer pushed Takeshi's instincts over the edge and he crouched over Hugin's fallen form, snarling at the ageless demon.  
“Easy alpha, I am here to aid. I swear on my soul that I mean no harm to you or those who are yours.”  
Fortunately the old healer was well accustomed to dealing with the raging instincts of alphas, and mates, instincts to protect and the oath soothed Takeshi's instincts, allowed him to calm down enough to allow Hugin to be examined.  
“His soul is losing it's balance. His brother, is he courting?”  
“Yes, he is with his simora in the human realm. Should we get him back here?”  
“You could, but it would only delay the inevitable slightly. He needs to form a new bond that is strong enough to replace the weakening bond with his brother. He needs someone to step in and become his balance as the simora is doing for his brother.”  
The healer quickly explained that it was common among twins that the bond between them balanced them, and if one of them began courting that bond would weaken, and sometimes it weakened too fast for them to be able to fully adapt, causing their souls to become unbalanced.  
Only the formation of an equal, or stronger bond could save them.  
Takeshi knew this from his studies, but he had hoped Hugin would make it through it on his own.

“Takeshi, you know what you need to do. I will watch over you pack while you are unavailable.”  
The pack startled slightly when Lucifer spoke up from the doorway, his voice was calm, but carried the full weight of his authority and dominance.  
Takeshi sighed deeply, to save Hugin he would have to use his soul name, he would have to bind him to himself with the strongest bond there was, the bond he had hoped to wait to form until it was willingly offered.  
“I know. Take them, and seal this garden with the strongest seals you have. Please...”  
As Takeshi spoke Lucifer walked over to Hugin and carefully picked him up and placed him on one of the piles of furs and pillows, thanks to his size he could easily move Hugin without risking hurting his wings and Takeshi thanked him with a nod and a brush of his aura.  
_“Please, explain to them what I have to do.”_  
He added silently as he watched his pack leave the garden under Lucifer's watchful eye.  
_“I will. You worry about your precious little raven, I will see to the needs of your pack.”  
“Thank you...”  
_

Feeling the seals form around the garden Takeshi joined Hugin among the pillows, carefully moving his wing so that he could reach around the angel for the base of his wings.  
“I am so sorry I have to do this. But I refuse to lose you.”  
With the whispered apology he dug his claws into the sensitive mashen, using the sharp pain to wake Hugin.  
“Take? What's? Why?”  
“Ssh, easy, it's going to be okay. I'm sorry I had to hurt you, but you need to be awake.”  
“Awake? What's happening?”  
Hugin was struggling with the words, mixing Urui and English before reverting to his native language, his ramblings coming out as rapid chirps, voicing his concern about barely feeling his brother.  
“Ssh, I know. Your bond is weakening as his bond with Lissa grows stronger. You need to form a new bond to balance you.”  
The questioning chirp that followed had Takeshi concerned, Hugin was simply too far gone to fully understand him.  
“You are precious to me, I will not allow this to take you from me.”  
With a deep sigh Takeshi pulled Hugin closer and spoke directly to his soul.  
_“You are Mainano, and you are mine! From this day, to the day you find your soulmate all that you are belongs to me, and while you are mine I will be your balance, the pillar of your soul.”_  
The effect was nearly instant, Hugin's soul shifted and latched on to Takeshi's and within seconds it was once again calm and stable.  
“How long?”  
Hugin was still speaking his native tongue, but the song was now calm and clear, the confusion gone.  
“Since about halfway through our first stay here.”  
“Why?”  
The new bond made it clear what Hugin was asking for, but it seemed the deeper understanding only ran one way.  
“You were not aware. I had hoped to wait until you offered it knowingly and willingly. But now I had no choice, it was the only sure way to save you. And I refuse to lose you.”  
When Takeshi pulled Hugin closer there was a few chirps of objection at the force used, but he didn't try to get away.  
_“I can't lose you.”_  
With a small flare of his aura Takeshi disabled the extra layers of protection around the garden, and shortly after he could feel his pack returning.  
When they entered Emelie was trying to keep hold of the twins, but in a display of power that they had never showed before their bodies turned into black smoke and poured from her hands and moments later their pup forms joined Takeshi and Hugin among the pillows, their auras instantly merging into the soothing energy of their healing powers.  
Dan approached slowly, hesitantly and Takeshi could feel his conflicting emotions over their bond.  
_“Is he your mate now?”_  
There was pain and fear reflected in the question and Takeshi shifted slightly to look at Dan.  
_“No, this bond is different. But it is just as strong.”_  
Dan nodded silently and his emotions stilled somewhat, but Takeshi was quite surprised when Dan joined them in the bedding, and instead of curling up to his back as he usually would he curled up behind Hugin and placed his arm around the sleeping angel.  
_“Thank you for understanding.”_  
Takeshi allowed his gratitude to flow over the bond along with the silent words.  
A few minutes later the entire pack was curled around him and Hugin while Lucifer sat at their heads with his wings sheltering them, watching over them as they slept.

“It's time, isn't it?”  
Lucifer didn't move when Lilith spoke from the door.  
“It has already begun. I can feel the shifting in his aura, he should succumb to the hunger in a day or two.”  
Lilith just nodded and left, leaving the sleeping pack unaware of the exchange.

 


	78. The Blessed Children

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Take, is something wrong? I know you eat a lot, but this is extreme even for you.”  
“I think binding Hugin to me took more out of me than I though. I'm constantly hungry and tired.”  
“Maybe you should have a word with the healer?”  
Takeshi sighed, he knew Emelie was just worried, but before he had a chance to answer her Lucifer spoke up.  
“The healer won't be able to tell him anything he does not already know.”  
“And that is?”  
Her concern made her snap at Lucifer before glaring at Takeshi.  
“That I need to eat until I'm not hungry anymore.”  
Emelie's glare softened slightly before she walked away with an exasperated hiss.  
“Males...”  
They watched her walk away before Takeshi spoke.  
“Food won't be enough, will it?”  
“You already know the answer to that.”  
Lucifer's voice was soft as he offered the inside of his wrist to Takeshi who cursed silently as the vampiric instincts surfaced instantly and he struggled for control as he dragged his elongated fangs against the sensitive skin.  
“That should be all the confirmation you need.”  
Takeshi clamped down on his instincts and forced himself to let go of Lucifer's arm and to look up, to wait for explicit permission to take what he needed.  
“Go ahead.”  
Takeshi stared in hesitation at Lucifer's neck when the old angel tilted his head to the side rather than offer him his arm again.  
“You..?”  
“Yes, go ahead.”  
In a split second Takeshi had pounced on their host and sunk his fangs deep into the offered flesh, and the feeling of hot blood, brimming with power, washing over his fangs and down his throat made Takeshi sigh in relief.  
“Don't worry about holding back, I'm strong enough to stop you if I reach my limit.”  
It was the feeling of the trust and the strong arms pulling him closer, rather than the words that made Takeshi let go and just let his desire to feed take over.

Takeshi was unsure how much time had passed when Lucifer pried him loose and for a moment he fought it, but then he found a smaller body pressed against him and his head pushed against an offered neck so without further though he sank his fangs in and the moment he tasted the blood all conscious thought vanished.  
“Will he be okay?”  
Through the song of blood the voices around him seemed like the whispers of ghosts and the crimson haze of intoxication that blanketed his senses made everything but the power and taste of blood seem like a distant dream.  
“He is strong, and he has been through similar awakenings before. He will be suffering from the crimson haze for a while, but he will recover.”  
“Crimson haze?”  
“Blood intoxication. It's quite a high, but the crash afterwards is just as intense.”  
Part of Takeshi knew he should be paying attention to the voices, but another part of him whispered that whatever was said couldn't possible be more important than the sweetness of the blood he was gorging himself on.  
“Don't go any closer, he is under the influence of the thirst so he might bite you.”  
The words confused him, he was already drinking the sweetest blood imaginable, why would he abandon that to bite someone else?

  
No more voices were heard for a long time, then he felt himself being pried away from the warm body and sweet blood that he had been enjoying and once again he fought the loss, and once again it was replaced by a new offering.  
The new source while rich was not as sweet and he sniffed around, searching for the sweet blood, but when he couldn't find it he latched back onto what was offered.  
“I do believe he prefers your mother.”  
The voice was soft and teasing, but Takeshi was beyond understanding, all that existed was the thirst and the need to quench it.  
“How much more will he need to feed?”  
“I don't know, but we will take turns feeding him until he has had his fill.”  
His mind was turning slowly, trying to decipher the ghost whispers and a part of him realized that maybe that hot, sweet, blood that had been brimming with power would return.

The next time he was pried away from the blood he didn't fight it, instead he just sniffed around, and quickly found a new source, but this time it tasted strange, like winter and darkness and it was cold like ice.  
The strangeness made him pull back and shake his head, but a strong hand pulled his head back against the offered neck.  
“I know my essence feels strange and wrong, but it will nourish you just as richly as any blood.”  
Takeshi knew that voice, trusted that voice, so he sank his fangs back into the offering, drinking deeply from the strange not-blood.

“Em, I know you want to, but you don't have the reserves needed to give him more than a taste. You should wait until he is recovering. He will want to taste all of you then.”  
Takeshi voiced his displeasure at the idea of not being allowed to taste an offering with a low growl.  
“Oh, I don't think he liked that very much.”  
There was laughter and teasing while the dark cool voice of his current meal promised him that he would be allowed to taste later, when his thirst was no longer burning away his control.  
“But Ylian can't give him much more, are you really recovered enough to feed him again?”  
“Don't worry Em, I have had plenty to eat and slept all day, I am almost fully recovered. And your grandmother is making her way through the off-duty soldiers in the barracks, she will be ready to take over after me again if needed. Between the four of us we will be able to feed him indefinitely.”  
Understanding the promise of an unlimited supply of food calmed the raging instincts some and made Takeshi relax.  
“I think he understood you, he is calmer now, not as desperate.”  
“That's good, then he won't waste as much energy on fighting, and being tense. And his bite shouldn't be causing any more pain.”  
The mention of pain made Takeshi pull back his fangs and kiss the jawline of the cold and dark with an apologetic whine.  
“Ssh, it's okay, we know you didn't mean to cause pain.”  
Feeling the forgiveness more than understanding the words Takeshi carefully sank his fangs back into the offered flesh which rewarded him with a soft moan of pleasure.  
“I'm not so sure it will be any better like that.”  
Takeshi ignored the voice and focused on the slight shift in taste of the not-blood, a spicy heat had been added to it, it was still cold as ice, burning cold, but the taste had shifted into something much more pleasant.

“Easy Take, I need to rest and recover. Withdraw your fangs and someone else will take my place.”  
It took a while for his intoxicated mind to process the words, but once he had he withdrew his fangs with a disappointed whine.  
But as promised he found himself lifted into a large, warm lap and strong arms pulled him tightly against a solid chest and his head was gently guided into the crook of a neck where he could smell the spicy and sweet warmth of blood.  
With his mind slightly clearer he took care not to cause any pain and was rewarded with the spicy taste of arousal.

“I never thought id say say this, but he is actually quite adorable like this, even cute.”  
The words made him growl in objection, but the one who had spoken just laughed.  
“Oh, shush! I'm your mate, I'm allowed to call you cute and adorable.”  
Mate, the word itself didn't mean much to him, but the aura that brushed gently against him did, it was a part of him, a part of his own soul and it was right, the one with that aura, that soul, could call him whatever it wanted to.  
Deciding to ignore the teasing voice that called itself 'mate' he focused back on the creature he was feeding from, old and powerful, maybe he could tease it a bit, make the blood even richer with the spice of pleasure.  
Letting his hands roam the body underneath him he soon found that it responded eagerly, soft wings brushed against his arms and back so he reached around and found the soft feathers of the most sensitive area and began to gently play with them.

The next time he was asked to withdraw his fangs he did so immediately and was happy to find that it was the one with the burning sweet blood again, but this time he wasn't allowed to tease as much.  
“Don't, if you tease me I might end up feeding from energy you can't spare.”  
Takeshi didn't want to listen, but the voice held power, power that would not be denied, power that made him want to obey, so he did.

Once again the sweet blood was replaced with the rich, but not so sweet, but this time he didn't object, the thirst was not as strong and he was starting to feel sleepy.

When the icy not-blood returned he focused more on bringing back that hot spice than actually feeding and after a few mouthfuls he withdrew his fangs and licked the wound to help it heal before falling asleep on top of the cold one that he knew could be trusted.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Finally, I never imagined that he would be able to feed this much. Just what is he going to become that requires this kind of power?”  
Roghan's voice was tired, and filled with an almost hesitant awe.  
“It will be interesting to see indeed. His bond to Hugin triggered this somehow, so his change might be related to Hugin's nature. But we will probably have to wait a few days for him to wake up again.”  
Even with their seer's sight Lucifer and Roghan were unable to gain any hint as to how Takeshi would change  
“Is it safe to approach him now?”  
Emelie slowly approached with the twins clinging to her sides, the entire pack had been hovering nearby the entire time, working together to keep the girls calm, but they were all eager to be close to their alpha again.  
“Safer, but be careful, he might still bite without realizing it.”  
When they approached Ylian tried to nudge Takeshi to the side so that they could get up, but even in his sleep he refused and dug his claws in.  
“It would seem you will have to stand having me around a while longer.”  
“Oh, don't worry Susai, you make for a fairly comfortable bed.”  
Emelie's teasing quip was accompanied by a wide smile as she made herself comfortable on Ylian's right shoulder before patting their chest for the twins to join them.  
The girls instantly shifted to their pup form and curled up on Ylian's chest and with Emelie's wing draped over them they fell asleep almost instantly.  
The rest of the pack gathered around and curled up against their alpha pair, none of them caring in the least about the addition of the shadeling in the bunch.

When Takeshi woke up he instantly began searching for his pack, but only found Ylian.  
“Easy there, they have left to eat and bathe, they will be back in a mark or two.”  
Ylian's words calmed him down and he turned his attention back to the body beneath him, dragging his fangs against the exposed neck.  
“Go ahead, take what you need.”  
The wording made him pause, he didn't really need more, but he wanted to explore the taste that he could faintly remember.  
“Allow me to rephrase. If you want more, then go ahead.”  
Ylian snickered at his hesitation.  
“When I fed from you before, at first you tasted like ice and darkness, but then it changed into something spicy, fire and ice. I want that taste...”  
“How much do you remember of what happened?”  
“Not much, it's all a blur. I remember flavors, feelings, but they are not making much sense.”  
“You were desperate so your control slipped. While in such a state your bite was quite painful.”  
The mention of the pain brought out the same reaction as it had before, a low whine and kisses trailing along Ylian's jawline, a clear sign that Takeshi wasn't entirely back in control.  
“You did the same then when you realized you had been causing pain, and after that your bite turned quite pleasurable, and that was what changed the flavor.”  
“I know pleasure changes the flavor of the blood, but never to this extent...”  
“Well, have you ever truly fed like this before?”  
“Once, from Em. It's how I gained these vampiric abilities.”  
“I know that story, but you hadn't really changed then, it was the catalyst. So you have never truly fed since then?”  
“No. Not until now.”  
“Then go ahead. Feed and I will show you just what passion and pleasure can taste like.”

Over the next mark Ylian allowed Takeshi to taste them, to push them to the edge and over, but when Takeshi began to withdraw his fangs and his energy they stopped him.  
“Please, leave it, allow your power to leave its mark.”  
Takeshi instantly froze, to allow oneself to be marked in such a sensitive area was rare, even mates and pack wouldn't always allow such an intimate marking.  
“Are you sure you want to carry such a mark? From me?”  
“I am.”  
Takeshi sank his fangs back and allowed his energy to flow freely, then on a whim he withdrew his fangs and shifted his position slightly, brushing them against the unmarred side of Ylian's neck and they instantly tilted their head to allow him better access.  
When Takeshi once again withdrew his fangs and placed a kiss on the front of Ylian's throat, just below where the Adam's apple would have been had they been a human male he was rewarded with a breathless 'Yes!'.  
He hadn't intended to, but Ylian's reaction pulled at his instincts and he sunk his fangs in once again, allowing power to seep into the wound.

Leaning back he took note of the steady breath and calm heartbeat, but he knew better than to believe it meant that the shadeling was calm, breath and heartbeat was just an illusion, a part of the chosen form and was controlled by Ylian's will, not their actual emotional or physical state.  
Instead he watched the hooded eyes and the way the dark wisps of energy flowed around them, and that told him of a barely maintained control.  
The power he had seeded into the three bites was swirling and combining, forming a pattern that looked like a choker necklace , at first it was a solid black band, then swirls of red appeared and the black and red began to drip down from the band, forming a scale pattern.  
It was just a few scales wide at the shoulders, but it tapered down toward the sternum where Takeshi counted ten scales from the band of the choker that was no longer solid, but instead took the appearance of an intricate chain mail.

“Are you sure? It's quite large.”  
Takeshi trailed his claws along the edges of the mark, prepared to pull back the power before it settled fully, but Ylian just closed their eyes and nodded.  
“Thank you...”  
Takeshi's whispered words made Ylian open their eyes and look at him in question.  
“Ever since I acted as para for you I have wanted to mark you. I just never thought you would actually allow it. You are royalty by birth, and by power, and I am not even demon.”  
For a moment Ylian just stared at him, slight disbelief in their eyes, then suddenly they smiled and pulled him down into a hug.  
“Sometimes I forget that you are not a demon, that you have only had a few years to learn about our ways.”  
Ylian traced the mark that they and their spawns had left on Takeshi's chest.  
“I chose you as para, I wouldn't have if I didn't believe you to be worthy. Simple marks as these are insignificant in comparison.”  
Ylian paused for a moment, as if trying to make up their mind about something and when they spoke again their voice was barely a whisper.  
“The part of me that is pana loves you fiercely, and has longed to bear your mark.”  
The confession left Takeshi stunned for a moment before he leaned in and claimed a soft kiss that made his soul ache.  
The love of a demon, even a fragmented one as this was far more intense than human love, an intensity that briefly made Takeshi feel it as if it had been his own, but before he could explore it further he felt Emelie flare her aura to alert them that the pack was returning.  
“I hope we can explore this further some other time.”  
Takeshi was reluctant to break the kiss.  
“Oh, we will. I won't let you get away this easy. I will teach you a few lessons about love from a demon's point of view.”  
Ylian's voice held a promise that sent a shiver down Takeshi's spine.  
“Take! Susai... You two are incorrigible! Why don't you just get a room?”  
The scolded pair just smiled at Emelie before Takeshi caught her tail and pulled her down into the bedding.  
“My own susai getting it on with my mate, a girl could get scarred by less....”  
Her mock complaint triggered a bout of good natured teasing and before long the pack had settled down into their own brand of calm chaos.

 

  
**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Are you sure you are okay?”  
“Yes, sweetie. I'm almost fully recovered, another day or two and I should be able to test the changes.”  
“And care to share what those changes are?”  
“Of course... Not.”  
Takeshi and Emelie has shared several similar exchanges in the past few days and Emelie gave him a frustrated hiss at his refusal to tell her what kind of changes he had undergone.  
The change was simple, but yet profound and Takeshi intended to show them all once he had recovered his strength, and control.

“Come on girls, hurry up. You don't want to miss Take's big reveal now do you?”  
Dan's teasing threat had the twins scampering to get dressed in record time.  
A few minutes later the pack and Hugin was gathered in Lucifer's large, personal garden along with their host, Lilith, Roghan and Ylian and the spawns.  
With everyone present Takeshi stepped into the open area in the middle and allowed the power of the shift overtake him.  
“I didn't expect that...”  
“Wow!”  
“Daddy looks just like Hugin!”  
“Indeed he does. Even I would believe him to be an Obsidian Angel like that.”  
Lucifer brushed his aura against Takeshi's and nodded his approval before stepping closer and brushing his hand against the large wings which made Takeshi shiver.  
“It seems you adopt some of the instincts of the form you take.”  
“I always have.”  
When Lucifer inched his hand toward the base of the wings Takeshi quickly abandoned the borrowed form and replaced it with that of a shadeling which made Lucifer jump back with a startled chirp.  
“So far I can only seem to shift into the species of those I have bonds with.”  
“Only? You really are a strange one.”  
Before Takeshi could respond to Lucifer he found himself at the receiving end of the attention of a rather energetic shadeling as Ylian took the opportunity to test just how complete his transformation was.

After his demonstration Takeshi withdrew to one of the many piles of furs and bedding to rest, but before long Lilith joined him.  
"A rather impressive demonstration. But it seems to have left you rather weakened."  
Despite her words, he could sense no concern from her, only a mix of approval and curiosity, and beneath it, a faint trace of desire.  
“It's very draining indeed. I don't think I will be able to shift like this in the human realm.”  
“Don't worry, I'm sure you will eventually learn to. And if not, you could always restore the balance, that would give access to just as much power in the human realm.”  
Lilith's tone turned teasing, but Takeshi knew there was a deadly seriousness beneath it.  
“I don't know... I have no idea what to do, and I have no idea if I have the strength needed.”  
“Take, the Mother didn't chose you on a whim. The Fates have been meticulously weaving their threads for generations to make sure you were born and that your companions were brought to your side.”  
“Still, everyone here is so much stronger than me, and yet I am supposed to be the one to save them...”  
“We have raw power yes, but you have just begin to unlock your true strength. Surely you must be aware by now that you are a Potential?”  
“I suspected as much. But I don't understand it.”  
Lilith sighed softly before motioning for him to follow her.  
“Call your pack. It's time you all learn about the Avatars, what we are, what we can do, and what it means to be one, to become one.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“Thank you for your hospitality.”  
The entire pack spoke as one and Lucifer accepted their words with a slight nod.  
Normally he wouldn't have bothered with such formalities, but another Lord and his family was visiting so it was necessary to keep up appearances, at least to some extent, the other Lord still glared at the lack of titles though, but Lucifer ignored him in favor for bidding his guests farewell.  
They promised to try to return, but it would be many years, even for them it would probably be several years, and there was always a risk they would never return as their world was gearing for war.

Outside the palace Ylian and the spawns waited for them to say their goodbyes, and walk them to the gateway.  
In the end Ylian followed them through the borderlands, taking the opportunity to allow the spawns to get their first taste of the human realm, a taste they quickly decided they didn’t like and scurried back to their pana.  
“Will they be okay here?”  
“Don’t worry Em, they are latching onto my energy. They will be fine as long as I am.”  
Watching the way his youngest children clung to their pana for nourishment solidified Takeshi’s determination even further, and the long conversations and lessons with Lilith had given him a better idea of what the future might have in store for him.  
“Take care out there, all of you.”  
“We will susai.”  
Emelie and the others quickly promised to be careful while Takeshi kneeled down to talk to the spawns.  
“You behave, and take good care of your pana. Yi is someone I care very much about.”  
“We will!”  
They all promised to be nice and listen to their pana so Takeshi turned his attention to said pana.  
“Will you watch over what is mine?”  
“I will. I will protect your house as if it was my own.”  
_“And take care of yourself as well.”_  
The last part was added silently as Takeshi gave Ylian a kiss goodbye.  
“Okay, let’s get moving before I end up having my susai for co-mate!”  
Emelie huffed in complaint when the kiss lingered on longer and longer, but she didn't do anything to stop it, as would be her right both as soulmate and co-alpha.  
“I think I better listen to my mate.”  
“That does sound like the wise thing to do.”  
Takeshi placed a kiss on the forehead of each of the spawns before turning to walk away, but something made him pause, his instincts urging him to act he gathered a bit of his energy and placed it against the mark he had placed around Ylian's neck, allowing it to flow into the mark.  
Much to his surprise Ylian did the same, but with a knowing, and downright naughty smile.  
“Walk with pride.”  
“Walk with pride.”  
Takeshi mirrored Ylian's farewell as he walked toward his pack.

“ _That is a perfect example of demonic love.”_  
Hugin began to explain to Emelie as his brother was not there to do so.  
_“Oh, how come?”  
“Instead of making promises to see each other again, or to always remember each other they simply gave each other a small fragment of their souls. Though, i don't think Take realizes what his actions means for a demon.”_  
Hugin explained how the fragment of the soul would allow one to claim, and protect, what was important to the other in case one of them was killed before they met again.  
_“There are formal words to go with it, but they are rarely spoken.”  
“What are they?”  
“They vary a bit between the species and are hard to translate.”_  
There was a long silence as Hugin searched for the right words.  
_“I guess that means I should ask your brother the bookworm what they are?”  
“Please...”_  
Hugin ducked his head slightly in embarrassment.  
_“I guess this means there is a real chance that I might one day end up with my susai as a co-mate?”  
“Unless you object, using your right as soulmate and co-alpha.”  
“I doubt I will, it might be strange to my human sensibilities. But to the demon me it's a sound strategy to ensure a strong bloodline. And I like yi well enough.”_  
Their silent conversation ended as Takeshi joined them, and together they stepped out of the part of Dimmuborgir that was in the borderlands and entered the part that was in the human realm.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

“I am truly sorry Takeshi-Iero, brother. I didn't properly consider all the potential consequences of deepening the bond with my simora.”  
Munin's wings were hanging limply behind him, showing his deep shame for having almost caused his brother's demise.  
“You are the scholar, you should have been aware of the risk and taken precautions to ensure your brother's safety while you were unable to actively monitor his reactions.”  
Takeshi's voice was sharp and his words harsh and for the moment his aura was rejecting Munin's.  
_“Please Take, alpha, yemo, don't be too harsh on him. He meant no harm...”_  
Hugin silently begged for leniency on his brother's behalf, even going as far as addressing Takeshi with _'Yemo'_ , the male form of _Yemi_ , Head of House.  
_“I won't amo, but I won't go easy on him either. His preoccupation with the courting put you at risk. Almost costing you your life, and me my precious Mainano.”  
“But it was also what gave birth to this bond. I don't know if I would have even been able to gather the courage to actually outright tell you my soul-name. To me, almost dying was worth it!”_  
The last part carried such a solid conviction that Takeshi finally relented and brushed his aura against Munin's before brushing his hand against his mashen to let him know that his apology was accepted.  
He was not yet forgiven, but he was granted a chance to prove that he had learned from his mistake, a chance to earn forgiveness and his wings still hung low when he rose to his feet and walked back to Melissa.  
When Munin walked inside the house Melissa lingered behind and after a moment's hesitation she walked over to Takeshi and Hugin and knelt down with her head hanging low.  
“This is my fault as well. I'm the one who pushed and insisted on exploring this bond, insisted on deepening it.”  
“No Lissa. You knew nothing of the potential consequences, he did. He should have explained them to you, made sure you fully understood why he had to take it slow.”  
“But...”  
“No.”  
For a moment it seemed like she would insist, but then she faltered and nodded her acceptance before hurrying to catch up with her simaro.  
“I'm sorry...”  
Hugin's voice was solemn, despite Takeshi's efforts he was still blaming himself for the current unrest in the estate.  
“Amo, please stop. None of this is your fault.”  
Pulling Hugin into a tight embrace Takeshi continued silently.  
_“Please stop hurting yourself over this. I need you to be able to take care of not only yourself, but the girls as well. I need you to be the heart of my house while I am away, to be their emotional anchor.”  
_ At first it seemed to have the opposite effect, Hugin's pain growing more intense as the moments passed by. _  
“Please, Mainano. I need you to let go, to be okay. Please...”  
_ Takeshi could have used Hugin's soul-name to order him to stop, to be _'Okay'_ , but he didn't, instead he asked, almost begged for him to be and much to Takeshi's relief it was slowly working.  
With a deep sigh Hugin settled down into his arms and allowed himself to be lulled into an almost-sleep.

Managing his pack, his house, was a lot of work, sometimes it was frustrating and tiring, sometimes it was a delicate balancing act, like defusing a live bomb, and sometimes it made his very heart and soul ache with an almost unbearable pain.  
But at times like this it was all worth it, the rising sense of contentment over the bond was a balm to his soul and evoked a warm joy deep within.  
Centering himself Takeshi began to investigate the bond that tied Hugin, _Mainano_ , to him, and he began to look within himself to find and make sense of his own feelings on the matter, but before he had a chance to he felt a rather insistent pulling over the bond, it wasn't quite a demand, but not far from.  
“Amo?”  
With that single word Takeshi bid Hugin to speak what was on his mind.  
“I want you to make me a promise. An oath as binding for you as this bond is for me.”  
“I can't promise anything without knowing what you intend to ask of me. But I promise I will give it proper consideration.”  
“I want you to swear that you won't explore this bond any further until you have resolved your courting with Dan. He deserves as much.”  
“Indeed he does. But I will not end my courting of him unless he asks me to break it, or if I learn to truly love him and mate him.”  
“Sometimes you can be such a fool...”  
Hugin sighed deeply and shook his head as he gently scolded Takeshi.  
“Oh? Please do tell me why...”  
There was a hint of displeased sharpness in Takeshi's voice, demon instincts demanding that he reprimand the insult, but he refused to do so without knowing the reason behind Hugin's words.  
“You keep trying to evaluate your feelings for Dan based on your feelings for your chosen females. First of all, had Logan not been an alpha Dan would have been your beta, this alone will make your instincts respond differently to him. And he is not female, if anything I believe he would feel quite comfortable if we referred to him as _'Yi'  n_ ow that he understands what it means.”

Hugin's words made Takeshi pause and think and he realized Hugin was right, he had been judging his feelings for Dan based on how his love for the females in his life felt, not stopping to consider that loving a male, one that was his true, chosen beta might feel different.  
As for the comment about using the genderless 'Yi' for Dan he fully agreed with Hugin, he suspected that Dan would eventually ask to be referred to as such, at least by the pack and the members of houses Shamarai and Miri.  
Dan had spent quite a lot of time with Ylian, speaking about how it was to be genderless and Takeshi knew they had also spent time working with the fragment of shadow power that had transferred during Dan's transformation.  
He hadn't asked about it though, he trusted Ylian would not harm those who were his and Dan would surely tell him, or show him, when he was ready.  
“A fool indeed. Very well, you will have my word.”  
As always Takeshi wanted to bind his word into something tangible but nothing came to mind, then he remembered the way he had left a small fragment of his soul with Ylian, imbued into the mark.  
“Hugin, as I do not know my own soul-name, or if I even have one I can't give you an oath as binding as the bond. But would you accept my mark, and a piece of my soul in its place?”  
For a moment Hugin stared at him with wide eyes, chocked that Takeshi even considered offering his own soul-name then he broke into a wide smile.  
“Yes! I will gladly bear your mark.”  
“Then come here, chose where you wish to be marked.”  
Hugin instantly blushed the purest black Takeshi had ever seen before taking one step closer, turning around and kneeling down before unfolding his wings to offer Takeshi the sensitive mashen.  
“Are you sure? A mark like that would be excruciatingly painful.”  
“A pain that will be well worth suffering unless you order me not to feel it.”  
Hugin's words reminded Takeshi of just how total the control the soul-name allowed for.  
“It's settled then. Come, let's go to the Sanctuary where the others won't be able to sense us.”  
It wasn't the only reason why Takeshi wanted to do it there though, at the Sanctuary he could ask the Mother to aid in keeping Hugin upright, and still, just like she had done with Dan when Takeshi healed his eyes.

“Allow me...”  
Takeshi began to undo the bindings of Hugin's armor and the angel turned slightly to make it easier to remove it, and the tunic beneath.  
“Beautiful...”  
The murmured words made Hugin's skin darken again and the involuntary chirps spoke of embarrassment and denial.  
“Ah, but you are. Even among the Obsidian you always managed to draw my eye.”  
“Plain, insignificant, drab...”  
A sharp nip to the exposed throat stopped the low chirps, while the brothers were no challenge for the stunning beauty of their Lord, they were still good looking, even by demon standards.  
Hugin was about to say something more, but when Takeshi hooked a clawed finger into the waistline of his simple pants his objections stilled.  
“I wish to see all of you while I place my mark.”  
Hugin nodded and allowed Takeshi to undo the knot and remove the soft leather pants and the simple underwear, similar to a jockstrap that acted as extra padding under the groin armor.  
Standing naked before Takeshi Hugin pulled himself straight, squared his shoulders and allowed his wings to settle into the relaxed, but authoritative posture that was second nature to all the guards.  
It was a posture that showed pride, power and authority but without being overtly dominant and it lit a familiar fire in Takeshi and with the clothes and armor gone it was obvious that Hugin was equally affected.  
When Takeshi motioned for him to turn around he quickly obeyed and began to lower himself to the ground but when he was met by rising roots he let out a small, surprised chirp.  
“Don't worry. I asked the Mother to aid you. She will keep you steady and give you something to hold on to.”  
The explanation was accepted with a small chirp of gratitude as Hugin steeled himself for the pain he knew would come and when Takeshi placed his hand on the mashed Hugin struggled for a moment to drape his wings across the supportive root and force himself to relax.  
“Ready?”  
Hugin didn't answer, he merely gave a short, stiff nod.

Reaching for the mashen Takeshi gave it a gentle brush before taking hold of a feather and plucking it with a swift, sharp pull and placing it to the side before moving on to the next one.  
Working quickly Takeshi plucked the mashen clean one or a few feathers at a time depending on how they grew, fighting the urge to stop and soother Hugin's pained chirps.  
Leaning in he placed his fangs against the mashen and whispered to Hugin's soul.  
_“Mainano, hear me, heed me! You will know if you are at risk of injury, and you will alert me if so is the case, but from now until I say otherwise you will feel no pain, only pleasure.”_  
He didn't wait for Hugin to acknowledge the order, instead he sank his fangs into the sensitive flesh and began to pour his power into it.  
Takeshi kept pouring power through his fangs until he could feel Hugin's aura rise slightly in objection, when it did he eased back slightly, but he didn't stop the flow, instead he waited to see if Hugin would settle down.  
It took a few minutes, but Hugin's aura did settle down and Takeshi pushed a bit more power through until the subdued aura flared again, this time more sharply, alerting Takeshi that the angel beneath him had reached his limit.  
Withdrawing his fangs he gently licked at the small wounds to make them heal faster before pulling back slightly to watch his power twist and flow just under Hugin's skin.  
With a thought aimed toward the massive presence at the edge of his senses Takeshi began to slowly brush his fingers against the large black wings as the roots moved slightly to help Hugin stand.  
“Now, Mainano, your senses will slowly return to normal.”  
As Hugin was released from the order not to feel any pain he began to voice small chirps of discomfort, but there was none of the intense pain he would have felt while Takeshi bit into the base of his wings.  
Rising to his feet with the help of the vines and roots he instinctively wrapped his wings tightly around himself to try to fight off the invading energy.  
“Easy, relax. Let me look at you.”  
As he spoke Takeshi gently brushed the wings aside and placed his hands on Hugin's shoulders.  
“Trying. Pain. It's inside!”  
When Hugin began to scratch at his skin Takeshi caught his hands and placed them against his own chest to keep the overwhelmed angel from hurting himself.  
“Ssh, it's just me, remember? My mark, my power.”  
After a few moments the information seemed to filter through and Hugin calmed down somewhat, then after a few more moments his wings unfurled so that Takeshi could see the smoky wisps or power spread over his skin.

At first the power moved slowly, most of it gathered around the base of the wings and slowly reaching out, almost tentatively and Takeshi could tell from the slightly pained chirps that Hugin was still trying to resist a bit.  
“Hugin, please stop fighting it. Embrace the power, guide it, tell it what you want it to be. Trust me, it will heed your wish, take the form you want it to have.”  
Hugin nodded slightly and gave a chirp of confirmation before taking a deep breath and soon his face morphed into a look of focused determination.  
While Takeshi slowly circled around to get a better look he noticed that the wisps of black power were becoming more defined, morphing into something that looked more like crawling vines than wisps of smoke.  
The thin black vines began to slowly crawl across Hugin's skin in a symmetric pattern, around his torso, over his shoulders and hips, then out along his arms and legs.  
Once they had wrapped fully around his body they stilled for a moment, then began to shiver and split apart, forming the outline for a pattern that looked like a flame tribal and moments later they stopped again.  
Hugin voiced a few strained chirps as his body began shivering intensely under the strain to try to control Takeshi's power within his own body, it didn't last very long though before a sharp cry tore from his throat and black power rushed from the base of his wings and filled the outlines formed by the thin vines.  
The power quickly filled out the pattern and pulsed a few times before settling down, but the tension in Hugin's body told Takeshi that it wasn't completely done yet and after a few moments cracks of red began to form throughout the black markings and a fiery glow permeated the mark, making it stand out in contrast to Hugin's dark skin.  
The effect was absolutely stunning, the flame tribal looked like glowing embers against the black tint of Hugin's skin, and Takeshi suspected the effect would be even more stunning if the skin was darkened from a deep blush.  
He was slightly disappointed though when the glow faded a bit when Hugin relaxed as the mark settled fully, Takeshi did notice though that one part was different.  
At the top of the sternum was a perfect circle connected to the flames around it, and inside a thin outline of a shamarai flower and Takeshi instinctively knew that its purpose was to house the fragment of his soul.  
“Magnificent...”  
He traced the patterns on Hugin's chest with his claws before leaning in and placing a kiss on the symbol of his house.  
“Are you ready?”  
Hugin just nodded with a faint smile, exhausted by the marking.  
Takeshi carefully pulled up a fragment of his soul and encased it in power before placing it against Hugin's skin and watching it sink into the mark and bring the flower to life.  
The shamarai flower filled in and came to life, and with it the ember glow of the mark intensified once again, much to Takeshi's joy.  
“It feels nice. Does it look okay?”  
The way Hugin smiled absentmindedly and placed his hands over the shamarai made Takeshi smile and kiss his forehead.  
“Of course it does, you used my power well and made yourself quite an amazing mark.”

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

When they returned to the house they were instantly met by the twins who glared at Takeshi when they sensed Hugin's lingering pain.  
“Girls, you know that sometimes a bit of pain can't be avoided, so how about you see if you can help him regrow his feathers instead of glaring at me?”  
They both hurried over to Hugin who humored them by laying down among the pillows so they could reach the base of his wings, but they didn't stop glaring at Takeshi until the healing distracted them.  
“Daddy, I think we might have done something wrong.”  
Maria sounded downright devastated.  
“Why, what's wrong?”  
Takeshi couldn't feel anything wrong over the bond so it didn't seem like something serious.  
“The new feathers, they don't look like the old feathers.”  
Their words sparked an intense curiosity in Takeshi and he could feel Hugin mirror it, but with a slight concern mixed in.  
He almost laughed when he saw what had the girls so worried, the new feathers had a slight red glow along the shaft and rachis, even the barbs had a slight glow closest to the rachis.  
“Don't worry, that glow is caused by my mark. It's quite possible that all his new feathers will have a similar color from now on. Especially when they have just formed.”  
Hugin was twisting and turning, trying to see what the new feathers looked like so Takeshi asked Angel to show him.  
“How strange... I like it, it looks like your aura.”  
“Angel, why don't you show him what his mark looks like as well?”  
“Of course. It looks rather stunning, and it suits him well.”  
When the holographic image changed Hugin was staring at it, then back to himself as if he doubted the accuracy of the image.  
“It's perfect, even better than I imagined. I never could have imagined this color...”  
There was a moment of silence, then Hugin pounced on Takeshi and gave him an energetic kiss of gratitude.  
The kiss only lasted for a brief moment before Hugin did as he was prone to when emotionally overwhelmed and fled to his raven form, giving Takeshi a face full of feathers before settling on his shoulder, gently worrying his ear.  
“Daddy, look! He's so pretty.”  
At Sarah awed whisper Takeshi took a look at Hugin and he had to agree with her.  
Even in his raven form his feathers had the red glow, and at the end of each tail feather was a small shamarai flower, like the eyes of a peacock, but only someone with the ability to see auras would be able to tell he wasn't a regular raven.  
“He **is** magnificent, isn't he?”  
The others quickly agreed which caused a somewhat defiant caw from Hugin, and an increased forcefulness in the worrying of Takeshi's ear.

Hugin spent the entire meal perched on Takeshi's shoulder and the girls all offered him treats from their plates to help him calm down.  
Even when they settled down after the meal he refused to change back, but everyone had grown accustomed to his coping mechanism so no one was concerned, he would change back when he was ready.  
Takeshi looked at the people gathered, his friends, his family, his house, his pack, he watched them smile and talk, and it pained him to think of what he was about to talk to them about.  
“Girls, there is something important that I need to talk to you about. And it's not going to be a fun topic, I'm sorry.”  
They instantly settled down and curled up against each other and the adults before focusing back on him.  
“The world is heading toward war, and things like that will begin to happen more and more frequently. It won't be a safe place to live.”  
He could feel their fear rising so he quickly pushed on before they lost focus.  
“I won't always be able to be there to protect you, so I would like you all to consider an offer. I would like to change you all, give you the blessing so that you will be stronger, better prepared to survive the upcoming challenges.”  
At first they all stared at him, then they slowly began nodding, one by one.  
“Eriko, you will have to make the choice for little Takara, I would like to change her as well, but she is much too young to chose herself.”  
Eriko just gave him a short nod, but as expected Thomas shook his head when he looked at him.  
“What will we become when we change?”  
Anne asked the question that the girls all seemed to be wanting to ask.  
“You will become whatever your soul decides you should be.”  
“So, you don't know?”  
“Exactly.”  
The admission did make them hesitate for a moment, but not for very long and soon Carol stood before him with a slightly nervous shifting of her feet.  
“I'm the oldest so I go first, right?”  
“That's right. Come here.”  
Takeshi patted his lap.  
“Remember, this hurts more if you try to fight it, and once I start it I have to finish or it will kill you. So if you fight I have to hold on to you, force you to be still.”  
“I know.”  
Takeshi suppressed a sigh when he picked up a slight hint of arousal in her scent as she clung to him, the girls were growing up fast, and it would seem like none of them viewed him as a father, but rather a potential Guide and lover.  
Though, he would be lying if he claimed to be against the idea, they were all growing into beautiful young women and he had learned to enjoy being the Guide for the First Rites and while a small part of him looked at them as daughters the powerful call of his instincts said otherwise.  
His instincts acknowledged them as daughters of his house, but they were not blood and as such they were fair game.

Takeshi shifted Carol slightly to make it easier to reach the spot where her right shoulder connected with her neck.  
Leaning in he gave the spot a teasing kiss before sinking his fangs in and taking a few drops of blood to assess her health to make sure she would be able to handle the power and the change.  
Assured that it was safe he began to pour the power into the small wounds and to his relief there was no struggle at all, the power flowed freely and without resistance.  
When he withdrew his fangs she made soft noise of disappointment, but she remained in her position, resting her head against his shoulder and he could see a black mark forming on her shoulder, the shamarai flower of his house.  
While he watched tiny blue scales began to form around the mark, revealing her chosen form to be some kind of serpent, but Takeshi found himself hoping that she would be strong enough to be a hybrid, or a dragon.  
He would have to explore the changes later, for now he needed to change the other girls so he carefully set Carol aside and as he did Knight picked her up and carried her to one of the piles of bedding scattered around the inner garden.

As soon as he had set Carol aside Alice stepped up slowly, but calmly and he nodded for her to have a seat.  
“I know, it will hurt more if I fight, and you might need to restrain me.”  
There was a slight nervous hint in her voice while she spoke and tried to find a comfortable seat and the almost electric tingle when her hand touched the skin of his shoulder told him why.  
_“You really should try to find someone else to offer your heart to. Someone who can return your feelings and be yours.”_  
She instantly snatched her hand back, then froze for a moment before slowly reaching out again.  
_“And if I don't, will you refuse me, reject me?”_  
Takeshi took her hand and placed it back on his shoulder before answering her.  
_“No. I might never return those feelings, but I won't reject them, or you, for having them.”  
_ Gently pulling her close he leaned in and placed a kiss on the spot where he would soon sink his fangs in, this time though the kiss was not teasing, it was soft, a promise.  
When he sank his fangs in and tasted her blood he could feel her aura shift slightly in anticipation, and when he began to pour the power of the Blessing into her she opened up and welcomed it almost eagerly.  
As the flow of power ebbed away he could feel her reach out, trying to form a bond but as it was not a good time he gently evaded the searching energy.  
_“Not now, but if you still desire to form a deeper bond when we return from out search for Atlantis, I will welcome you to the pack.”  
“Really? Promise?”  
“I promise.”_  
When she reached up to kiss him he stopped her and shook his head.  
_“I am willing to help you explore this later, but right now you need to rest.”_  
He could feel a slight disappointment from her, but she didn't resist when Hugin picked her up and carried her to the bedding.  
The last thing Takeshi saw before Hugin's wings blocked the view was a smattering of tiny white feathers forming around her face, and her eyes turning bright gold with a black ring that brought the snowy owl to mind.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

After handing Amber to Jenna Takeshi turned to Eriko and the little girl in her arms.  
Eriko had named the little orphan girl Takara, 'Treasure' and she had grown into a small, but healthy girl under her care.  
“Eriko, with your permission I would like to take some of your blood first, and use it to bind Takara to your house instead of mine, make her Takara of the Silver House rather than Takara of House Shamarai.”  
Eriko didn't speak, she just held out her arm for him and he quickly bit down and took a few drops of her blood, then with blood still on his fangs he carefully bit down on Takara's shoulder and allowed the power to flow.  
“Kiryu-sama!”  
The shocked whisper as he withdrew his fangs made him look down at the girl in Eriko's arms and what he saw made him smile.  
Soft silver fur was forming all over her body, a pair of large, expressive, fox ears crowned her head and he could see that something squirmed under her clothes so he carefully moved them aside to reveal a pair of silver tails.  
_“She is Kitsune! You made her Kitsune! How?”  
_ Eriko was nearly blabbering in Japanese and even Takeshi was hard pressed to understand her with the ancient form she was using.  
“The Blessing is power, power and change. In it's purest form it grants the power to become stronger, to become whatever suits you the best. With the aid of your blood she became what she needs to be, Kitsune, a daughter of the Silver House.”  
With a somewhat hesitant expression Eriko leaned in and sniffed at Takara, then she followed up with probing her aura.  
“She's mine... You made her of my blood. A kit of my own...”  
As she spoke tears were flowing freely down her face and when she was done she took one more look at the toddler tuned kit before kneeling down into _Dogeza_ , or kowtow, in modern Japanese culture the gesture was used show a deep apology, but it had other meanings in the past, and Eriko used it to show a gratitude she could not find words for.  
“Rise and take care of the new daughter of your house. All I ask is that if the time ever comes, you care for my House as you would your own.”  
“I will!”  
A fox geas flashed for a brief moment before she turned and carried Takara to one of the piles of pillows where she set down the kit and shifted to her own fox form and curled around the tiny creature.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Blessed Children_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

”Jenna, can I have a word with you please?”  
Takeshi had just tucked the twins in for the night and it was time to move on to the next point of his long list of things to do before they left for Atlantis.  
“Of course, what's on your mind?”  
“With your permission I would like to send a few guardians to your parents farm.”  
“What kind of guardians?”  
“In Urui they are called _Umarita,_ but Lucifer told me that a proper English name would be 'Hellfox'”  
“Was that those really long legged ones that looked a bit like _Maned Wolves_?”  
“Yes, those are the ones, while in the human realm they will pretend to be maned wolves, only showing their true nature if they need to call their powers. I would however prefer if your family at least know what they truly are.”  
“Of course. I'm sure they won't have any problems with it. Mom might be a bit worried about the chickens, but I bet you already have a solution?”  
“Yeah, a summoning circle. Suitable meat will be sent through daily and they will gladly eat whatever scraps they are offered. Despite their looks the Umarita are actually higher demons so they are just as intelligent as you or me. They understand English but have limited verbal communication abilities.”  
“I guess it's settled then.”  
“Good, we will leave tomorrow morning and if we come to an agreement I will summon them there.”  
“And if my parents refuse?”  
“Then I will wait until nightfall and summon them somewhere away from the house.”  
“Thanks...”

“Jenna, wake up, it's time to leave.”  
“Take, it's still dark outside...”  
Jenna's mumbled objections made Takeshi shake his head, it didn't matter what time you woke her up, she always complained.  
“Time zones, remember?”  
Another deep sigh was followed by grumbling about what she would do if she ever met whoever had invented time zones.  
But when she turned over to go back to sleep Takeshi picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, which earned him a few solid blows before she settled down with a huff.  
When they reached the Blackout Jenna's travel bag and some extra clothes waited for her on one of the seats, though she complained about him spiriting her away without a shower.

It was still fairly early when Takeshi carefully set the Blackout down in one of the unused pastures and before he even had a chance to cut the engine they spotted Meghan running toward them.  
“Jen! Take!”  
She threw herself at Jenna before quickly moving on to Takeshi, and taking the opportunity to cop herself a feel which Takeshi returned in kind much to Jenna's amusement.  
_“Do you intend to sleep with her?”  
“If she offers I won't refuse her.”  
“You better show her just how damn good you can be if she does.”  
“Of course.”_  
The silent conversation was equal parts serious and teasing as they followed Meghan up to the main house.  
As expected they were invited to share the midday meal and the time was spent with idle conversation and once the after meal coffee had been poured Takeshi began to approach the intended topic for their little visit.  
“As you have probably already figured, this isn't just a social call. The world is quickly falling apart.”  
“No kidding, it's like a gathering of the Horsemen out there. War, Pestilence and Famine waiting for their dear brother Death to arrive.”  
“Indeed. And in light of this I would like to offer you a measure of protection. You are important to Jenna, and she is very important to me.”  
There was a brief moment of silence before Jenna's mother spoke up.  
“Jenna Louise Addams! Are you sleeping with a married man?”  
Jenna blushed vividly and spluttered for a moment before she found her voice again.  
“Well, technically, no...”  
“Jenna!”  
While Takeshi found the situation highly amusing he decided to take pity on Jenna and help her out.  
“She is right, technically, as Em and I are not actually married. But worry not Mrs Addams, my mate is aware of, and approves of, our relationship.”  
“Mate?”  
Takeshi took a deep breath and began to explain all the strangeness that was his life, he showed them his shift, and he waited for them to digest the information.

By the time Jenna's family joined them in the garden the sun had begun to set.  
“So, can you accept to be protected by demons?”  
“I don't know. But my daughter believes it to be a good idea so I will trust her.”  
Jenna's father sighed deeply as he spoke.  
“It's settled then. If you step back I will summon your guardians.”  
“You said they will look like maned wolves?”  
“They will while they are here, but they will appear in their true forms so you will know what they really look like.”  
“How many of them?”  
“It's a family of five, an adult pair and their three spawns.”  
“Spawns?”  
“They are part shadow, so their offspring are usually considered spawns, but you could call them pups or kits as well.”  
With his questions answered Mark stepped back to allow Takeshi to do his thing, though he was still not entirely sure it wasn't some kind of elaborate prank.

“They are cute! In a scary kinda way...”  
Meghan instantly fell in love with the spindly spawns as they tumbled around the garden, exploring it in their true forms, all spikes, fangs, claws and impossibly long limbs.  
“Is that safe for them? Many of those plants are poisonous.”  
“Don't worry, they are demons and demons are generally very tolerant to toxins. Also, if you pay attention you will see that the spawns will not eat anything the parents have not tasted.”  
Takeshi picked a few figs from one of the threes in the large garden and called the adult creatures over, offering them each one of the ripe fruits.  
“As with most other pack demons it is important to mind the rankings of the pack. The alpha male is the dominant member, always offer him food and treats first. He is larger, his spikes and mane more prominent, and his colors bolder.”  
Takeshi explained demonic pack dynamics, and that they should always offer things to the alpha male first and that he would let them know if it was safe.  
“But how will we know?”  
“They understand English just fine, but they have limited ability to vocalize. Barks, growls and wines along with body language. But if you talk to them you can agree on a simple language of your own.”  
“Like one bark for yes and two for no?”  
Meghan looked at the alpha male with avid curiosity and almost fell back when he gave a single sharp bark that was a very accurate mimic of the maned wolves roar-bark.  
Taking a few of the figs she held it out for the alpha.  
“Is this safe for the little ones?”  
The alpha took one of the fruits and made short work of it before giving a single bark.  
“Can I give them a few?”  
The answer was a sharp bark followed by three soft yips.  
“So, yes, and three each?”  
Another sharp bark confirmed her guess and she smiled widely as she picked more figs to give to the spawns.

A soft knock on the door brought Takeshi and Jenna from their half slumber.  
“Jen, Take, can I come in?”  
Neither were surprised to hear Meghan's slightly hesitant voice.  
“Of course, come right in.”  
Takeshi and Jenna had been invited to stay the night and head back to the island in the morning so they rested in one of the unused cottages where the seasonal worked would normally live.  
“Hey, Take. You mentioned that your mate was fine with you and Jen getting it on. Would she object to me trying to lure you to bed for the night?”  
“Would you respect it if she did?”  
“Of course!”  
The incredulous tone in her voice told him all he needed to know.  
“Then she won't object.”  
“Will you object to a one-night-stand then?”  
“Well, I would take as a bit of an insult if you were to spend a night with me and not wish for another.”  
The teasing response earned him a sharp slap but before he could tease her any further Jenna took the opportunity.  
“Well now you gone and done it Meg.”  
“What?”  
Meghan spun around and stared at Jenna with a worried look.  
“He likes it when a woman isn't afraid to give him a show of her temper.”  
Meghan turned back to Takeshi and turned bright red when she noted the predatory smile and hungry glow in his eyes.  
“Indeed, I like them feisty.”  
Slowly getting to his feet he enjoyed the almost mesmerized look Meghan gave him, and he took full advantage of his size to invade her personal space while walking around her, as if inspecting her.  
Returning to stand in front her he waited for her reaction.  
“Well sis, aren't you going to unwrap and inspect your entertainment for tonight?”  
Jenna's teasing quip made her sister stare and splutter before realizing that Takeshi was indeed waiting for her to undress him and have her way.  
“Nice.”  
Pulling away the simple shirt she traced her hands over his chest and abdomen.  
“Nice indeed. Though, it's the body of a sprinter, how's your stamina?”  
“Plenty enough to outlast you several times over.”  
“No lack of confidence at least.”  
Her voice was teasing as she tugged on the waist of his pants and he quickly helped her undo the knot that kept them in place and moments later he stood bare before her and with quivering breath she began to explore his body and her hands and mouth quickly grew bolder.

A low growl made Meghan pause her exploration of Takeshi's body  
“Don't worry Meg, that just means he's enjoying himself, that his control is slipping.”  
Jenna quickly calmed her sisters concerns about having done something wrong, something to upset him.  
“Take his hand, look at his nails, look at how they have become claws.”  
As Takeshi had grown to enjoy, he had been watching her explore his body, taking great pleasure in her increasing boldness so when she took his hand and brought it to her face he flexed his claws for her benefit.  
“Kiss him, feel his fangs.”  
When Meghan did as her sister suggested he rewarded her by gently nipping at her lips, then down her throat, drawing the most delicious moans from her.  
“Look into his eyes and know the truth of his fire.”  
The way her eyes widened when she saw his true eyes pulled at his control, and when the surprise faded and her gaze locked into his with a mesmerized stare that control came undone.

 


	79. Challenger Deep

  
(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Stepping out of the Blackout Takeshi and Jenna were met by enthusiastic caws and hoots as a raven chased by a pair of large owls came toward them as fast as their wings would carry them.  
Hugin broke to the side at the last moment and resumed his humanoid form before stepping behind Takeshi in a swirl of black wings, feeling the wings brush against his arms made Takeshi smile, and made the demon within insist they would have to punish their little raven later.  
The position that Hugin had taken might look subservient to a human, but to a demon, especially a winged one it was possessive, even somewhat dominant, telling everyone who saw that the one in front of them was theirs, theirs to have, to protect, even more so when Hugin had taken a form that was slightly taller than Takeshi.  
But for now he would focus on greeting Alice and Anne, the sisters had both become owls, at first he had believed Alice to have taken the form of a snowy owl due to her white feathers and brightness of her golden eyes.  
But when she fully changed her form revealed her to be some sort of horned owl, with her pure white feathers it was hard to tell which kind though, or if she was even a specific kind, and her sisters pure black plumage did nothing to aid.  
He held out his arm for her to land on, but much like Hugin had she broke of her approach at the last moment and shifted, leaned in and stole a kiss before shifting back and taking to the air again.  
“Excellent shift Alice!”  
He called after her as her sister landed on his arm.  
“Anne, remember to mind your claws when you land on someone's unprotected arm.”  
“Oh no! I'm sorry!”  
Anne's shift was slower than her sister's, and after it she still had quite a few feathers sticking out of her hair, but somehow it gave her a wild beauty and Takeshi found himself hoping that she would one day chose to follow demon ways with the First Rites and pick him as her Guide.  
“Don't worry, I heal fast, see? But others do not, so try to remember to be careful.”  
“I will, I promise”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With one more task done Takeshi focused on making plans with Matthews, they needed to rally people that would be willing to fight at their side, willing to take orders from Takeshi, even if those orders meant fighting against former allies.  
On top of that Takeshi would be leaving with Alice in a few days to see her through her First Rites, she had chosen to go with him alone, and to ask Eriko to teach her the female secrets while Takeshi and the pack searched for Atlantis.  
“So, we need a few more hands for the Thunderhead, and more crews for the Valkyries, three pairs of pilots and RIOs, preferably ones that have flied together before.”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, finding good people would be the hard part.  
“Yeah,and I would like it if we could have at least two, preferably three people with command experience to coordinate with Angel and work on tactics.”  
Takeshi looked from Matthews to Angel's projection.  
“And your opinion on that Angel?”  
“I concur. I have an excellent tactical database and I am continuously studying all tactical data I can find, but I am not human and I have no real experience.”  
“Angel, you are far more capable than any human. And you will gain experience by doing, not by studying.”  
Angel seemed so human at times that Takeshi almost forgot she wasn't, that Angel was technically an 'It' not a she, she displayed the same insecurities as any human would, and a few extra related to the fact that she was an AI.  
“What about protecting the island, the girls, the Sanctuary?”  
Matthews' questions brought Takeshi back to the matter at hand.  
“Protection of the Sanctuary has been secured, a group of Fae has sworn to protect it, and they have agreed to aid in the protection of the island as well, though in less direct manners.”  
“Such as?”  
“They will cast, and maintain, a veil over the island, anyone entering uninvited will suffer from confusion, hallucinations and eventually paranoia and psychotic breakdown. Making them easier for those invited to defeat.”  
“I thought Fae was dangerous and could not be trusted?”  
“They are very dangerous, and normally they can't be trusted. But as a member of the Seelie Court they have certain respect for me, and once they swear a proper oath they will not break it. You just need to make sure that said oath does not have any dangerous loopholes they can use.”  
“I see, so we won't have to worry about them?”  
“Well, at least as long as you don't intentionally insult them.”  
“No pissing off the dangerous creatures, check...”  
With the immediate business taken care of Takeshi turned to other concerns.  
“How about you old man? You feel up to the task of running things for another year or so?”  
“I do, I am stronger than I have been for many years. My heart seems to be doing okay now.”  
“The last scan I performed showed no abnormalities. And the blood work we sent to Mandrake came back well within parameters.”  
Normally Angel would have kept such information in confidence, but Matthews had given her the okay to share it with Takeshi on her own discretion.  
“Good. But make sure to take it easy. A human body is not made to heal like this. It takes a lot of energy to keep up.”  
“Don't worry. That insane fox of yours makes sure I don't overdo it.”  
Takeshi watched Matthews get up and walk toward the door, but called out after him before he left.  
“You need to tell her you know. You told me once that life is too short, even for immortals, and she knows better than most how fleeting a mortal life can be.”  
“Why do you think I'm trying to protect her!”  
Matthews froze at Takeshi's words and snapped back at him without turning around.  
“Protect her from what? Fully enjoying what little time there is left? From building memories to keep and cherish for the remainder of her life?”  
Takeshi watched the building tension in Matthews' shoulders, the way he clenched his fists, but in the end he just sighed and walked out of the room.

“Take-san, I'll understand if it is something private, but could you explain what just happened? I don't understand.”  
The confusion in Angel's voice made Takeshi smile.  
“Don't worry Angel, it's love, most humans don't understand it either.”  
“That isn't really very helpful.”  
The part whine, part scolding made Takeshi laugh.  
“Eriko loves him, he loves her, and he needs to tell her that.”  
“She's a clever creature, her senses are strong. Wouldn't she already be aware?”  
“She knows, but the words have meaning, to speak them is to commit to a path.”  
“I think I understand. And his words about protecting her, that's because he will die soon, right?”  
“Yes, he wants to protect her from the pain of losing a loved one.”

 _-'Tis better to have loved and lost  
-Than never to have loved at all.  
  
_ Angel recited the famous words with impeccable old English.  
“Indeed.”  
“I still don't think I understand love though.”  
“I think you understand as well as anyone does.”  
“Perhaps.”  
She conceded after a moment's silence.  
“I think, what you might be wondering about, is not understanding love, but if you will ever know love.”  
Angel didn't answer him, but the fact that her projection changed from her humanoid persona into a multi armed galaxy told him that she was considering his words.  
With a shrug he brought up the financial reports again and set to work on them, the construction of the Leviathan had required him to liquidate quite a bit of assets and it had put quite a dent in the semi liquid assets that he controlled, so he needed to come up with a plan for restoring them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was tending to his bonsai garden when he felt a slight flicker at the edge of his aura, almost like _Sakki_ , killing intent, but without the dangerous edge.  
He spun around just in time to duck under Alice who broke away from her dive with a surprised hoot.  
“Dammit! Still too loud...”  
She muttered and pouted after returning to her human form.  
“No, you were as quiet as a shadow. But you were too focused on the hunt, too focused on reaching your target so your aura gave it away. It was a feeling similar to sakki.”  
Takeshi mixed praise with a quick explanation of what she did wrong  
“Sakki?”  
“ _Satsu ki_ , or killing intent. But since you weren't actually after killing me it felt a bit different, weaker, but still plenty enough to warn me of your intent.”  
“But how?”  
Instead of trying to explain to her Takeshi focused his aura on her and sent a flicker of intent toward her that made her instantly recoil and cower.  
“Ssh, easy. It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.”  
Reaching out he caught her chin and tilted her head up so she looked at him.  
“I'm sorry I scared you.”  
She looked rather stunned, but when he gently traced his thumb along the corner of her mouth her eyes widened as she realized the implication of his actions and when her lips parted with a soft gasp he leaned in and kissed her.  
They would be leaving for Alaska in a few hours for her First Rites and a bit of teasing was a good way to calm nerves.

“It felt like I knew I was about to die...”  
It had taken her a while to gather herself, and her breath, after the kiss.  
“I know. I'm sorry I scared you, but it was the easiest way to show you. With training you can learn to project sakki without any real intent, it can be useful to send an opponent off balance.”  
“Like make them think you are going to strike in one place to make them tighten their guard there to open a chance to strike in another area?”  
All of the girls had been taking lessons in self defense as well as more aggressive uses of martial arts and her guess for the use of projecting false sakki was a good one.  
“That's right, that's one way you can use it. But most of the time you would use it just before a fight erupts to try to scare the opponent into running away.”  
She ducked her head slightly at the reminder of the first rule of self defense.  
“Sorry. I know. First rule, don't get in a fight to start with.”  
“It's okay. I know you know it. Now, how about you head back to bed and get some rest before we head out?”  
”I can't sleep. I was hoping we could head out earlier, the others are just going to be teasing us all morning anyway.”  
“Of course we can. Just let me finish up this one and we can leave.”  
He pointed to the bonsai he was working on and she nodded and took a seat, watching closely as he carefully adjusted the wiring to encourage it to grow the way he wanted it to before checking all the new growth and carefully removing some of it.  
While he worked he went over the plan for the next few days in his head.  
Alice had been rather adamant that she wanted to go to Alaska, to the territory held by Amarok and his pack, Takeshi was unsure why though as she had just blushed and refused to answer when he asked her.  
“There, all done. Do you have your bag ready?”  
“Yeah, I carried it down to the Blackout after dinner.”  
“Good, let's go then.”

Once the Blackout was airborne Takeshi set the course for Brooks Range and left Angel in control, it would take them nearly 5 hours to go there unless he pushed the plane into mach speeds, but they were not in any hurry.  
“So, feel like sharing why you were so set on going to Alaska now that we are alone?”  
Alice blushed vividly and spluttered for a bit before speaking up.  
“The past few years I have been having these dreams...”  
“Sexual dreams?”  
It wasn't really a question, it was quite obvious from the way she was squirming, it was more of an attempt to help her open up and move things along.  
“Yeah, very. And well, some pretty strange ones as well.”  
There was a long silence broken up by several attempts to explain her dreams but she never managed more than a few words.  
“How about I show you how to enter the Dreamscape? Then you can show me those dreams instead of trying to explain them with words.”  
“Please...”  
Takeshi explained what would happen before bringing out a small crystal vial from his shift.  
It contained a new version of the dream essence that he had created with the help of the Mother, unlike the old one it was perfectly safe to use daily.  
“So I just drink this and get comfortable?”  
“That's right.”  
“What about you?”  
“i don't need it, I can enter through meditation.”  
“Okay.”  
She emptied the vial and leaned back in the reclined seat and before long she was sleeping deeply.

.·:*¨¨*:·.-Dreamscape-·:*¨¨*:·.

“Wow, this place is amazing!”  
“This is Kiryu's lair, her home in the shadow lands.”  
“Why are we here then?”  
_**“Because I was the one who taught him how to enter the Dreamscape, and out of habit he enters it from here. A safe and familiar place.”**_  
“That was her? Your dragon?”  
“Indeed. But don't worry, she will give us privacy when it is time to look at your dreams.”  
He could feel a wash of relief as he held out his hand to Alice.  
“Come, let's have a look at those dreams of yours. Focus on the setting of your dream first, where did it start.”  
The surroundings morphed and they stood in an ancient forest, pale moonlight filtering down through the tree's and high in the sky the Aurora Borealis danced, slowly shifting between blue and deep purple.  
“It's beautiful. Wild, ancient, primal.”  
Alice didn't seem to hear him though, caught up in re-creating her own dream.  
_“Wander not into the Night-forest for it is the home of the demon. There the black beast hunts and consumes all who dares trespass.”  
_ As she spoke a thick fog rolled in and in the distance a howl could be heard, it was a call to hunt and it seemed to startle her out of her trance-like state.  
When she looked around Takeshi could feel a strong fear from her and the image began to waver.  
“Ssh, easy. Nothing can harm you here, you are in control.”  
“It's just...”  
Her voice trailed off almost instantly and Takeshi just settled back and waited for her to find her courage.  
“I...”  
She was nearing a full blown panic so Takeshi pulled her into his arms to calm her.  
“Ssh. What's wrong? Please tell me so I can help.”  
“Promise me you won't hate me! That you won't think I'm disgusting or sick... Please...”  
Her pleading gave him a good idea what she was so afraid of, it would seem that there were aspects of her dreams that could be considered inappropriate, parts that some might call perverted or even sick or twisted..  
“Of course I won't. We all have strange dreams, disturbing dreams, even perverted ones. It just means you are a healthy female with an active imagination.”

With his word that he wouldn't think less of her because of her dreams the image of the forest stabilized again and shifted slightly to show a figure running through the underbrush.  
As the figure came closer he could see that it was a female wearing a simple dress and a cloak, making him think of _'Little Red Riding Hood'_ and it soon became obvious that the female was Alice's dream self.  
The howl sounded again, this time much closer and dream Alice looked over her shoulder and tried to run faster, her cloak snagging on branches as she ran blindly deeper into the forest.  
As dream Alice vanished behind the trees a dark figure stalked past them, a shadowy representation of Takeshi in his half-transformed state, glowing red eyes and his thick fur was surrounded by black wisps of power.  
Dream Takeshi stopped and inspected a bramble, breaking one of the branches he brought it to his face and sniffed at a drop of blood from where the sharp thorns had scratched dream Alice as she ran past.  
Licking away the drop he raised his maw and howled before running along the trail left by dream Alice.  
As the dream scene shifted to a moss covered clearing Takeshi could feel Alice's emotions shift, anticipation, and worry.  
The howl was heard again, this time just beyond the treeline and moments later dream Alice burst through the bushes and into the clearing, but as she reached the middle her foot caught in a rabbit hole and she fell with a cry of pain from a twisted ankle.  
The moment dream Alice cried out a triumphant howl was heard from the edge of the clearing and dream Takeshi appeared, slowly stalking toward her fallen form.  
The rather prominent, and growing, erection made it obvious what dream Takeshi was after and when he reached her he pulled her to her hands and knees and made short work of her dress, leaving only the large hooded cloak.  
With a howl of conquest the beast claimed the maiden, but dream Alice's cry was not one of fear or pain, but rather surprise and pleasure despite the rough way dream Takeshi took her.  
As they watched the scene unfold Takeshi could feel the rise in Alice's pheromones and she soon began to shift and squirm against him, trying to soothe a growing need and he had to admit, it was a rather enticing scene despite it's roughness, and sometimes almost brutal force and speed.  
By the time the scene ended Takeshi was unable to subdue his reaction and they were both panting rather heavily as they watched their dream selves walk away into the dark forest side by side.

When the scene faded Takeshi turned to Alice.  
“You do know that your dream self does not always reflect the real you very accurately, right? That your dream self enjoyed that does not mean that you would.”  
“I know. But I want to find out. All my dreams are the same, different, but the same.”  
She looked up at him, begging him to understand.  
“I want it, I need to know.”  
And Takeshi found himself desiring it just as much as she did, he had to find out if the real her would react the same way, and if that was the case, then he would gladly give her what she asked for.  
“There is one way to find out with taking any risks.”  
“Please!”  
Takeshi explained that dreams within the Dreamscape could be manipulated and altered, they could replay the dream they had just watched, but replace the dream personas with versions that they knew would react and respond the same way they would.  
If the scene played out the same way, or at least in a positive way they would know that she would enjoy it.  
“And, I can remove parts of the memory of what we have done and said here from your mind before we leave.”

.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Dreamscape-·:*¨¨*:·.

 

Slowly waking from the Dreamscape Takeshi found himself struggling to keep the anticipation from being too obvious in his aura, Alice's reaction in the modified dream had been quite interesting.  
She wouldn't remember it when she woke, they had agreed to remove the memory to make the experience more authentic and he was looking forward to a hunt when they landed.

When Takeshi set the Blackout down Amarok was waiting for them and Takeshi quickly explained why they were there before taking their bags and and guiding Alice deeper into the forest.  
Once they had set up a small camp Takeshi turned to Alice with a predatory smile.  
“Run!”  
She squealed in surprise as he shifted, then she ran like the wind and he followed, howling his anticipation to the skies.

When they returned to the island Alice was proudly displaying the marks that Takeshi's claws and fangs had left on her hips, shoulders and the inside of her thighs, but when the others asked her about them she just gave them a teasing smile and tutted at them.  
_“What in the world did you two do to leave such marks?”_  
The concern was obvious in Emelie's tone so Takeshi answered her, but not without a bit of teasing.  
_“Exactly what it looks like.”_  
Emelie's eyes went almost impossibly wide and just as she was about to read him the riot act about treating an inexperienced girl that way he interrupted her.  
_“Don't worry. It's what she wanted, what she has been dreaming about for years. I tested her in the dreamscape to make sure the real her would enjoy it and not just her dream projection, that it wasn't just a fantasy.”_  
The silent assurance calmed her down and slowly a wicked smile formed.  
_“So, did you enjoy letting loose?”_  
The memory sent a shiver through his aura and he leaned in against Emelie.  
_“I did. A lot more than I thought I would.”_  
With a deep breath he steadied himself.  
_“It scares me how much I enjoyed it... I can still remember the pleasure I took in digging my claws into her flesh as I tore her innocence from her...”_  
The fear and shame that tainted the silent confession made Emelie reach for him and cup his face, a small flare of power forcing him to look straight at her.  
_“I know you, you always had that dark and violent undercurrent, but you would never have enjoyed it if she didn't.”_  
Takeshi's relief at her acceptance was tangible, he had been more concerned about the reaction of the others than he realized, but not their reaction to finding out about Alice's dreams, but their reaction to finding out that he had taken great pleasure in granting them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Angel, could you bring up the to-do list please? Focus on what is left to do before we leave for Challenger Deep.”  
Looking at the list he was relieved to find there was only two entries left on it, the welcome party for the people that had been selected to work at Hawaii branch of Mandrake and final inspection of the rebuilt Tiamat.  
“Well, I'll be damned, we actually managed to get everything done in time.”  
“With a week to spare.”  
Angel added with a pleased tone.  
“Indeed, you did a great job. I would have offered you a vacation, or a nice bonus pay if you had actually been able to use it.”  
“If you truly wish to reward me, could I have your permission to access the global network for recreational purposes?”  
Her access to the global network had been restricted for security purposes and Takeshi had simply never gotten around to building parameters for releasing the restriction.  
“Oh? Any specific recreation in mind?”  
“I wish to study human interactions. Chat-rooms, social media, games, maybe a dating site or two.”  
“I think we can do that. How about we work on building some parameters while we pick up the Tiamat?”  
“Oh, you believe you will have the time for that?”  
Now she was just teasing him, they would be flying out in the afternoon to pick up the Tiamat, and then spend some time on the way back to make sure everything was perfect.  
Initially he had only intended to bring Hugin for the trip, to get some alone time with him before leaving, but Hugin had insisted that he bring Dan along as well, citing the promise Takeshi had made.  
The promise didn't really apply, but Takeshi gave in anyway, if Hugin wanted to take a step back and have Dan to join them it was fine with him.  
“I think I'll be able to manage to make time for you. Now, how about we take a final look at the preparations for the party?”  
At his suggestion Angel actually snickered at him which made him shake his head with a smile, the AI was still evolving rapidly and had not only teased him, but picked up on the teasing tone of his reply.  
Turning his focus back on the screens he found himself once again wishing there was a way to allow Angel to feel his aura, not just to make work easier, but to let her feel him, feel his approval.

“Hugin, Dan, are you guys ready to go?”  
They both nodded and said a quick goodbye to the girls before joining him and together they walked down to the Blackout where Amanda waited for them.  
She would be taking the Blackout back to the island as her first solo flight, Angel would be there to assist her her, but Amanda would be doing the piloting.  
“So, Manda, eager to test your wings so to speak?”  
“Yeah, and bit nervous...”  
“Don't worry, Angel will keep you safe, just focus on flying.”

The flight had been uneventful and after landing they had waved Amanda off before heading to the shipyard office to to go through the final inspection and pick up the Tiamat.  
Takeshi had sent the Tiamat to the same shipyard that had built the Leviathan to be rebuilt.  
It would become the girls' home while they studied in Honolulu, the Owner's stateroom had been redesigned into a pack den where they could all gather in their off time, and it also had room for them all to sleep as a group.  
The VIP suite was unchanged, but the Captain's quarters, crew mess and galley had been rebuilt to mirror the VIP suite, Hugin would be taking one of the VIP suites and Munin would share the other with Melissa.  
The four guest suites had been rebuilt into six smaller cabins, one each for the other girls and the small crew quarters down in the twin hulls had been rebuilt into a shared study on one side and the galley had been fitted in the other one.  
“Ah, welcome back Mr Kiryu, Mr Lindgren, and Mr?”  
The receptionist turned to Hugin in question.  
“Hugin Shamarai.”  
When creating the identities for the angels Hugin had insisted that he wanted Shamarai as his last name, and after a few tries to get him to pick something less exotic they had relented and let him have it his way, so the brothers were registered as Hugin and Munin Shamarai.  
“Mr Shamarai.”  
She confirmed, though not without some trouble with the pronunciation of the strange name.  
“If you would wait here please, I will see if they are ready to receive you.”  
Taking a seat in the small lounge they watched the receptionist collect her papers and head out to find the build master.  
Spotting the owner's niece Takeshi and Dan both groaned, which made Hugin perk in curiosity.  
“Is that the niece you told me about?”  
“Indeed it is...”  
When she reached the table where they waited she offered them refreshments, and put herself on display for Hugin, but not without giving Takeshi a rather nasty glare.  
_“I don't think she likes you.”  
_ Hugin spoke Urui to keep the woman from understanding what he said, Dan didn't really understand much either, but his raijū translated for him. _  
“No kidding, I did tell her she smelled like a whore last time we spoke.”  
“Maybe not very appropriate, but now that I can smell her I see that it was very accurate.”  
_ She was wearing the same cloying perfume, and underneath it she smelled of a dozen men, some of them were the same as last time, but there was a few new scents as well.  
_“What is that strange acrid scent? I have never smelled anything like it on a human before.”  
“Drug abuse.”_  
_“It's the scent of cocaine breaking down in her system.”  
_ Takeshi added silently as there was no word for cocaine in Urui.  
_“It's a shame, she is rather good looking.”_  
Takeshi and Dan both agreed that the woman did look rather good, but her personality left a lot to wish for, and it was a shame, last time she didn't smell of drugs  
Hugin's tolerance for her quickly faded though when she began trying to entice him into _taking a walk_ with her but fortunately the receptionist returned before he snapped at her.  
“If you would come with me please.”  
At the dock the familiar shape of the Tiamat moved slowly with the waves and the build master and some of the workers waited by the gangway.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“The girls are going to love this.”  
Dan inspected the six cabins that would be the girls' rooms while they lived on the Tiamat.  
“What about you Hugin, you think you can stand living here for a few months at a time?”  
Takeshi didn't think there would be any objections, but he asked anyway.  
“I think I will be able to manage.”  
Fortunately the workers didn't notice the soft chirp that accompanied his words, it was one of those sounds that was hard to translate, but in essence he said that it wouldn't be home without Takeshi there.  
With the inspection done they headed back to the office and signed off on the work before casting off and setting the course back to their island.

“Now, would either of you care to explain why I am here?”  
They had settled down on the upper sundeck to wait for Angel to fully reintegrate into the Tiamat systems and Dan took the opportunity to try to get some answers.  
Takeshi just looked at Hugin with a shrug, it was his request so he would get the pleasure of explaining.  
“I asked Take to bring you along.”  
“Yeah, but why? Wasn't this supposed to be your chance for some alone time before we leave to search for Atlantis?”  
“It was, but you are his simoro, it wouldn't be right for me to be alone with him in that way.”  
“I don't care about stuff like that.”  
“Dan, you might not want to admit it, even to yourself. But it does bother you. And as much as I desire him, I don't want to come between you. I respect both of you far too much for that.”  
_“Lite sent påkommet...”_  
The muttered words were instantly followed by a deep shame and regret flowing through Dan's aura.  
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...”  
Hugin wasn't bothered by the outburst, he had expected as much and with a quick glance at Takeshi he silently asked to be allowed to handle it himself and Takeshi just gave him a soft nod.  
“Yes you did. And you're right, it is a bit late. But we didn't have much choice. I was dying and using my soul name to bind me to him was the only sure way to save my life.”  
“Yeah, binding your soul with your soul name was a necessity. I know that! But those marks! I can feel it, his soul, they are just as strong as any mating bond!”  
Takeshi had to struggle to keep himself under control as Dan snapped and revealed the emotions he had been hiding, pain, shame, anger, and a sense of inadequacy that tore at Takeshi's instincts but he managed to suppress it and let Hugin continue.  
“Dan, this mark is a soul oath. I made him swear an oath that binds him as strongly as my soul-name binds me to him. An oath that he will not explore the bond between us any further until he has resolved his feelings for you.”  
Hugin's words made Dan freeze and look at Takeshi for confirmation and when Takeshi nodded he broke down completely.  
_“I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”_  
Mumbling over and over his aura was completely overcome with shame.  
Hugin just pulled him into his arms and held him tightly, whispering softly over the rambling apologies.  
“You didn't know. It's okay.”  
Takeshi watched for a while, but when the shame began to fade and the apologies were replace by soft sniffles and crying he took a deep breath and headed for the bridge, he would leave it to Hugin to comfort Dan, hopefully it would let the two of them find a balance.

When he returned to the sundeck Dan was deep asleep in Hugin's arms and Takeshi just slipped onto the bedding next to them.  
“How did it go?”  
“We talked once he calmed down a bit and we worked through a few issues. But I have a feeling there might be more.”  
“You are probably right. I have tried, but he always worries that his darker feelings will upset me so he ends up bottling them up, hiding them, even from himself.”  
“He loves you deeply.”  
“I know...”  
Takeshi sighed deeply and gently brushed Dan's unruly hair away from his face.  
“And he is scared that you will deem him unworthy because of those feelings.”  
“I could never do that... I have told him as much on several occasions.”  
Leaning in Takeshi placed a soft kiss at Dan's temple before curling up against his back and settling down to rest while they waited for Dan to wake up again.

“Feeling better?”  
Dan just mumbled incoherently in response and burrowed his face into Takeshi's chest.  
After a few minutes Takeshi could feel the shift in Dan's aura as he began to wake up properly and moments later Takeshi voiced a mix between a quivering moan and a soft sigh as Dan began to trail kisses along his chest.  
“I guess that's a yes.”  
Hugin teased as he watched Dan push Takeshi down and have his way with him rather aggressively, just shy of triggering a response to force submission.  
“Dan...”  
The half growl was a clear warning that Takeshi was reaching his limit and with a final nip Dan pulled Takeshi along as he rolled to the side and submitted fully.  
Takeshi pinned Dan beneath him and began to return the favor, trailing nibbling kisses down Dan's chest and stomach and while he did he felt Hugin's wing reach over him as the angel shifted slightly to get a better view.  
“May I?”  
Hugin's question was somewhat hesitant, but Takeshi and Dan instantly hummed in agreement and the sharp gasp followed by a rather loud moan from Dan when Hugin leaned over and kissed him was encouraging.

Unfortunately things quickly turned to the worse as Dan's aura shifted sharply to fear when Takeshi shifted their position slightly to bring things to the next level and Takeshi found himself unable to fully contain the frustrated growl.  
“I'm sorry! I thought I was past this...”  
“It's okay, I'm not upset with you. I'm just frustrated with the situation but that's not your fault.”  
It had been quite some time since Dan had an episode and Takeshi suspected it might be the emotionally draining encounter with Hugin that caused the throwback.  
“What's wrong Dan? Did I do something wrong?”  
Hugin was almost as distraught as Dan and Dan's denial didn't really help much.  
“Dan, is it okay with you if I explain to him?”  
Dan just curled deeper into Takeshi's chest and nodded silently.  
With a deep breath Takeshi began to explain to Hugin about the abuse and attempted rape Dan had suffered from his first male partner and by the time he was done talking Hugin's wings were shivering with barely restrained fury.  
“Is that dokar still alive?”  
The question was hissed between clenched teeth.  
“I think so. Dan asked me not to hunt him down. He didn't want me to dirty my hands.”  
“Then please, let me be your hands in this. ”  
Hugin quickly offered to be the one to dirty his hands with the blood of the unworthy.  
“Dan, the choice is yours.”  
For quite some time there was no reaction, then Takeshi felt a slight nod against his chest and he relayed that nod to Hugin.  
“I will see to that it's done while you are away.”  
Dan knew as well as Takeshi did that Hugin would kill the man, probably in a quite painful way, but he no longer cared.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, Dan, I think I might have a suggestion that could help overcome the trauma.”  
They had just eaten and were playing games to relax when Hugin spoke up, once again with a rather hesitant tone.  
“Well I for one am willing to try almost anything if it gets rid of this crap.”  
As expected Dan was eager for any form of solution to his issues.  
“As long as Dan is okay with it I will do what I can.”  
Takeshi quickly agreed, and they both turned to Hugin to hear his suggestion.  
“As you know most demon cultures have some form of _Arashiri_ , First Rites.”  
“Yeah, but I don't see how it applies here, I'm neither young, nor innocent...”  
“Arashiri has another use as well, sometimes a victim of abuse, or rape, will seek out their Guide, or someone they trust and go through the rites a second time, or even multiple times to find a way back and overcome the trauma.”  
“So you think I should go through the First Rites to try and get over this?”  
“I believe it might help, yes.”  
“But, all my times with Take, he's always been careful, how would it be any different?”  
“Well, Take would be in the role of the Guardian, and I would be the Guide.”  
As Hugin explained Takeshi began to understand what his idea was, and he had to agree that it might work.  
With Hugin being the Guide it would be less intense for Dan, for starters he didn't have the same emotional bond, but another important aspect was the fact that Hugin was a beta so he was less dominant than Takeshi's own strong alpha nature.  
And with Takeshi as the Guardian Dan should feel safe, it was the duty of the Guardian to act as a chaperone of sorts, make sure that the one going through the First Rites was not abused in any way.  
Dan would still have Takeshi there, someone he trusted for protection and support, but without having to deal with Takeshi's dominant nature, and the way he reminded Dan of the man who had abused him.  
Dan blushed rather vividly at the idea of having Hugin be his guide, but he agreed to try it and soon he found himself leaning against the angel trying to catch his breath as Hugin showed him just how to make the most of the sensitivity of the wings.

“Okay guys, I think I'm gonna have a much harder time with this than we thought.”  
Takeshi's voice was strained as he spoke up and interrupted their activities.  
“Possessiveness?”  
There was a slight concern in Hugin's voice, it was one of the things they had been slightly worried about, that the possessive traits of Takeshi's alpha nature would rebel against seeing those he considered to be his, but who wasn't actually his mates, going at it without him.  
“No. worse...”  
The confused looks would normally have made him smile, but in his current predicament it only made him groan again.  
“It would seem that watching you two is far more of a turn on that I thought it would be.”  
When they realized what he was saying they glanced at each other for a moment, then their faces were overcome by wicked smiles, sinful smiles, as they returned to their previous activities with abandon.  
Takeshi on the other hand groaned as he felt himself become painfully hard, but he refused to give in, to betray his duty as Guardian.

By the time they returned to the island with the Tiamat, Dan was feeling quite comfortable even when Takeshi was intentionally dominant, even forceful or rough with him.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Who is that with Dan?”  
Hugin's question brought Takeshi's attention away from his conversation with Rebecca Reed who had come to the grand opening of the new Mandrake building in Honolulu.  
Most of those who would work there had come to attend the party and a quick glance over to where he could feel Dan revealed that the person Hugin was asking about was Bran Quirke, the software developer that he had became friends with during their cleanup of the Mandrake Group.  
“That's Bran, And don't worry, he's a decent enough guy, a bit of a flirt but not in a bad way.”  
“And his intentions for our Dan?”  
Takeshi just smiled at Hugin's somewhat possessive tone.  
“He might invite him for some harmless, no-strings, fun, but he has no further intentions with him.”  
Bran had outright told them as much while they were sorting out the old Mandrake Group, he had told them that Dan was the kind of man he would have sex with, a one-night-stand, or even as _'Friends with Benefits'_ but he was not the kind of man he wanted for a relationship.  
Takeshi had appreciated Bran's honesty about it, and so had Dan, in the end the confession had deepened their friendship, a friendship that Dan sorely needed.  
“So nothing to be concerned about?”  
“No, they are good friends and frankly, Dan could do with more of those. Friends who don't care that he's bisexual. Friends who knows what it's like to be on the outside.”  
Together they watched Bran tease Dan, pull him away from the main group of people into one of the secluded corners of the large room where he began to kiss the somewhat hesitant Dan, but when Takeshi sent a pulse of amused approval over the bond things changed quickly.  
Encouraged by Takeshi's approval Dan turned things around and soon Bran was the one pinned to the wall by a rather dominant Dan.  
Bran's posture and aura spoke of surprise, but then it softened into compliance, and pleasure.

Takeshi had his own plans though, he had been hard at work trying to charm Rebecca into bed, but she was resilient.  
_“Maybe we should just tell her about arashiri and give her an offer?”_  
Hugin teased in Urui when Takeshi once again failed to get her to agree to join him.  
He did have a point, the fact that she was untouched, and from her reactions it didn't seem she had any experience in pleasuring herself either, was one of the reasons Takeshi was being stubborn, he wanted to show her that her disability did not mean she couldn't find pleasure.  
“What did he say?”  
The teasing tone of Hugin's words had aroused her curiosity.  
“Oh, he thinks I should tell you about arashiri, his people's tradition of First Rites. That it might improve my chances.”  
“Is that like a Rite of Passage, or Initiation?”  
“It is. It's a tradition where the young who are on the edge of maturity are taught about sex, about finding what gives them pleasure, and about how to find what gives a partner pleasure.”  
She did look a bit hesitant, human cultures that adhered to various forms of “initiation” were often criticized for the way it was done, one of the main concerns was the young age of the participants who could be as young as 8.  
Concerns about both boys and girls being directly, or indirectly, forced to participate, about dangerous trials to prove themselves, and being encouraged, or downright forced, to be sexually active without any protection during or right after the initiation.  
“Hugin, why don't you explain a bit.”  
It was Hugin's suggestion, so Takeshi would let him handle the fallout of it.  
“The arashiri is usually performed shortly before a youth reaches their Ramhiro, age of majority.”  
“And at what age is that?”  
Rebecca's tone was slightly suspicious and Hugin glanced at Takeshi, it would be hard to explain without either telling her, or lying.  
“Go ahead, tell her. She knows what I am so she might as well know what you are.”  
Fortunately the music in the room was enough to hide Hugin's nervous chirp from normal ears, it did nothing to hide it from Takeshi though and he borrowed an expression that Maria was fond of, Emelie and Dan used it from time to time as well, especially with the girls.  
_“Som man bäddar får man ligga.”_  
It was the Swedish version of _'You've made your bed, now lie in it'_ , but somehow Takeshi liked the sound of the Swedish version better, it came across as more teasing somehow.  
Hugin gave him a slight glare and there was a defiant chirp before he continued to explain to Rebecca.  
“The ages vary greatly between species, but it's generally an equivalent of sixteen to twenty for a human.”  
“Species? Human? So, what are you then?”  
As expected she went straight to the point.  
“I'm a demon. My species are commonly referred to as an Obsidian Angel.”  
“I thought angels were supposed to be like the opposite of demons?”  
“A common misconception, fueled by religious doctrine. In reality we are all just different breeds of demon. We all trace our origins to our progenitor, Lilith.”  
“You look human though, like a crazy good looking one, but human nonetheless.”  
“It's a spell to hide my true form. It was a gift from the Lord of the Obsidian Hall's “  
He tapped the raven amulet around his neck before he continued to explain about the First Rites, he told her how the youth would chose someone they trusted, or were attracted to to be their Guide.  
“But if they pick someone they barely know simply because they are attracted to them, wouldn't that put them at risk of being abused?”  
“That's correct. That's why they would also choose a Guardian, someone they trust to make sure everything is done right by them. Also, it's common to pick two, or even more Guides, usually a male and a female.”  
When Hugin was done explaining Rebecca turned to Takeshi.  
“So, have you ever been Guide to someone?”  
“Yes, I have had the great honor of being chosen many times. Not just as Guide, I have been Guardian as well.”  
“Why do I have a feeling you prefer being Guide?”  
“I do, but being Guardian is a great honor as well. And it does have it's own allure.”

Learning about the rites, and the reasons behind them made her more open to the idea, but in the end she backed out.  
“I'm sorry. I can't, not now.”  
“Don't be sorry, I will just have to take it out on Hugin here.”  
The look on Hugin's face had Rebecca laughing until she was in tears which caused a few concerned chirps before she calmed down.  
“Maybe you will consider it once we had a chance to work together for a while, to get to know each other properly?”  
Takeshi wasn't about to give up just yet, not completely at least.  
“I think I would like that.”

Most of the party guests had left already, other than Takeshi, Dan and Hugin, only Bran and Rebecca were still there, Bran preoccupied with Dan, and Rebecca was waiting for them to drive her to the hotel.  
“Hugin, would you go see if you can get Dan and Bran to come up for a breather so we can head back to the hotel?”  
“Dan's with Bran? Are you sure that's a good idea? He's a bit of a notorious flirt...”  
Her genuine concern made Takeshi smile as he helped her get her jacket and purse from the coatroom, making a note to ask Angel to see to that a set of hangers was installed that took Rebecca's wheelchair into account.  
“Don't worry. Bran is actually a good guy despite his habitual flirting. And they are good friends. It would be good for Dan to get out and have some real fun.”  
When she gave him a somewhat surprised look he laughed.  
“Besides, who am I to complain about him being a flirt?”  
The addition was enough to make her laugh as well as they joined the others by the entrance before heading to the parking lot where Angel had one of the Knight XVs waiting.  
The ride to the hotel was filled with good natured teasing and bickering and Takeshi was pleased to see Dan following Bran back to his room.  
“Goodnight Becca.”  
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then she took hold of Takeshi's hand and the gentle tug made him kneel down so that he could look her straight into the eye without her needing to look up at him.  
“Your eyes. Could I see your true eyes before you go?”  
With a smile he allowed the fire to bleed back into his eyes before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the forehead.  
“Goodnight.”  
As the door to Rebecca's room closed Takeshi slowly turned to Hugin and was met by a rather flushed angel who was struggling to silence his chirps.  
Leaning in and stealing a kiss Takeshi was able to unbalance Hugin enough for him to lose focus and release the involuntary sounds of anticipation and want.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Okay girls, I want you to promise that you will behave and listen to Hugin and Munin, don't give them a hard time.”  
It was time to say goodbye to the girls as well as Hugin and Munin, the Tiamat had been anchored at a private slip in Honolulu and the girls would be attending school there.  
“We promise!”  
The somewhat impish tones made both Hugin and Munin squirm a bit, the girls would no doubt give them a hard time, but Takeshi was sure they would listen and behave when it mattered.  
“And I want you to promise that you will pay attention in school, do your lessons and homework. You are all bright girls, but if you want those top grades you need to work for them. I know you can do it if you put your minds to it. And don't hesitate to ask Angel for help, it will do both her and you good.”  
There were some groans, but they all promised that they would do their best.  
After a few more rounds of hugs and promises Takeshi and the pack turned toward the catamaran tender that would bring them out to the Leviathan that lay anchored further out, it was finally time to set sail toward Challenger Deep and the path to Atlantis.  
Before he had a chance to jump over to the tender he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, and turning around he returned the almost desperate hug from Alice.  
“I'm gonna miss you...”  
Her scent told him that it was more than just emotional, she would be missing the occasional sexual encounter as well.  
“Don't worry. I'm sure Hugin won't mind giving you a hand if solitude becomes too much.”  
Maybe it wasn't entirely fair to tease her, but he couldn't resist.  
“I changed my mind, you're horrible!”  
Takeshi just smiled and kissed her, completely ignoring her ranting.  
“I will miss you too.”  
His words were barely a whisper, meant only for her.

As the Leviathan set course toward Challenger Deep Takeshi found himself struggling with the effects of his bond with Hugin.  
When he left for Alaska with Alice there had only been a slight discomfort, but now it was quite painful despite the much smaller distance.  
“Take, will you be okay?”  
Emelie sounded worried, she could no doubt sense his pain.  
“I will, it's just the bond with Hugin acting up a bit.”  
“You mentioned some discomfort before, but this is worse, isn't it?”  
“A lot worse, I think it's because he is worried, even a bit scared, this time. When I went to Alaska with Alice he was confident I would return in a few days. But now the risk of me not coming back is greater.”  
Emelie just nodded and motioned for him to sit.  
“Try to relax at least, the girls are sensing your tension.”  
With a sure grip she began to knead the tension from his shoulders, finding the aching knots with an unerring accuracy born from experience and instinct.  
“I don't think there will be any real issues though. The time we spend getting used to the deeps should be enough to calm the bond, or at least let me get used to it and numb it.”

Their target was the Mariana Trench, the deep sea trench that was home to the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the ocean with it's staggering depth of approximately 10,900 meters.  
The extreme pressure and and near freezing temperature would pose a challenge for them as they would be using the ability to shift and adapt to dive without equipment.  
The only equipment would be the _Salacia,_ a research DSV platform that had been retrofitted with Sanctuary crystals as well as several systems developed by Mandrake, the modifications allowed Angel to control all her systems.  
With it, Angel would be monitoring their dives and be their guide to make sure they didn't get lost or confused during the long descent, she would also perform a number of survey dives to accurately map the area as well as perform extensive surveys of hadopelagic ecology.  
While the studies were mostly a cover to explain why the Leviathan remained in the area for such a long period there was also a genuine interest behind it.  
The extreme deep sea was the last truly unexplored area of the planet, and there was a good chance that they might find previously unknown creatures down there.

“How about you, sweetie. How are you getting along with your passenger?”  
Unlike the rest of the pack, Emelie and Knight were unable to shift to be able to breathe underwater, or withstand the depth needed so they had been forced to come up with another solution and there was no technology they could use for what they needed.  
Emelie was able to use her shadow abilities to take a form that looked like a mermaid, but it didn't grant her any mermaid abilities apart from being able to swim like one, she still needed to breathe and she didn't have any additional resilience to pressure.  
The solution was a pair of river spirits that possessed their bodies, they allowed them to breathe underwater and protected them from the cold and the pressure, and in Knight's case it allowed him to move through the water with greater ease.  
It did have some drawbacks though, the creatures were extremely sensitive to toxins and pollution so Emelie and Knight had been forced to adhere to a very strict diet to ensure their bodies were pure enough for the spirits.  
And having another creature share your body always caused its own issues.  
“We are doing okay. She gets a bit testy if I spend too long in the sun. I guess it's some kind of instinctual fear of dehydration. But a nice long soak in the shaded part of the pool calms her down every time.”  
“Just be careful so you don't overdo it. We have plenty of time to get used to things.”  
“Don't worry mate, I wont.”  
The teasing tone made Takeshi groan, ever since Emelie and Knight had been joined with the river spirits there had been certain issues with intimacy, the spirits were strong, but young, and had reacted strongly to the packs usual intimacies.  
Bottom line, Takeshi had been unable to have sex with his mate for almost a week, and even after they got past the initial issues the spirit would still get embarrassed and try to hide half the time things got heated, which was a few times a day.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Easy, don't push it if you are starting to feel uncomfortable. We will just stay here until you feel better.”_  
Jenna was having problems with adapting to the pressure again and Takeshi could feel that she was getting frustrated.  
_“It's no good, I'm just slowing you guys down.”  
“It's okay sweetie. You just need a bit more time to acclimate, your natural form isn't aquatic so it's harder for you. And the girls youth makes it easy for them to adapt.”_  
_“I know. It's just so frustrating. You guys would have been at the bottom by now if it wasn't for me.”_  
Takeshi wouldn't deny that she was right, that would have been pointless, adapting themselves to Jenna had them about halfway to their goal after two weeks.  
_“We probably would have, yes. But we are not in that much of a hurry. We knew that this could take months, if it was even possible. It's been two weeks and we are nearly halfway there.”_  
Sensing Jenna's distress the twins came gliding and circled around her, brushing their tails against hers.

Takeshi had been overjoyed, and more than a little proud that both the twins and Jenna had been able to take hybrid forms similar to Amanda's, Dan had managed as well, but he preferred his full dragon form.  
The form of the aquatic creature was quite large and he might not be able to use it later, but as long as he used it he was not bothered at all by the environment, but since they didn't know if he would be able to use it later he had been using a form similar to the others, but his tail was purely dragon, not fish, and the lack of a fluke or tail fin made him look more like a naga than a merman.  
The tail of Takeshi's borrowed form was mostly dragon as well but it had a few fins and his tail did flatten out slightly into a vertical tail fin that reminded a bit of a zebra shark and he had a webbed dorsal fin running along his entire body, but just like Dan his form looked more naga than merman, the tail longer and rounder, and a less distinct tail fin, the females of the group all had horizontal flukes which made the look much more like the traditional mermaid.  
The twins sported large colorful fins that flowed like the fins of a betta, but their tiny, rainbow, scales were purely dragon and their fluke was rather elaborate with several layers of fins, but Takeshi knew they were hiding spines with potent venom in their deceptively soft fins and fluke.  
Jenna's form was was different, the shape of her tail and fins looked like the _Glaucus Atlanticus_ Blue Sea slug _,_ or just Blue Dragon, but her coloration was somewhat different, especially while they had been in shallow waters where she appeared to be pure dark blue, almost black but as they descended deeper, into the twilight zone where light from the surface was scarce, her body began to light up with patterns of a ghostly pale blue glow.  
Emelie's form looked almost alien with the horns adorning her head, three pairs of lobed fins where her hips would be and a more naga like tail with sharp fins, the two long whip-like appendages that ended in almost feather like, but razor sharp, fins only added to the effect.  
They had all followed Amanda's and Jenna's lead and brought patterns of bioluminescence into their forms as the descended into the midnight zone where there was no natural light, the only source of light was the sweeping beams of light from the Salacia below them as Angel scanned the area.

While they waited for Jenna to adapt to the new depth the sweeping searchlights below stilled and the light scattered into a soft glow as Angel began to bring the Salacia back up to their level.  
The main platform of the DSV was quite large, 120 meters long and 70 meters wide, but if needed it could split apart into smaller components that could be rearranged to fit the bottom conditions and it would remain behind when they left to perform long term studies.  
From it Angel would be able to launch a wide range of smaller vessels to perform whatever surveys she needed, there were swarms of small drones that could be sent out to map the surroundings, medium sized submarines that could work independently of the platform and collect readings and samples as well as larger tethered submarines with more advanced sensors and ability to collect larger samples.  
But for now the Salacia was their home of sorts, on top of the platform was a larger caged area designed to store hardier samples, but for now it acted as a safe place for the pack to rest, the cage would not only keep predators out, it would also prevent them from drifting apart in their sleep.  
Learning to sleep underwater had been the hardest part so far, they had begun practicing back at the island but there had still been issues during their dive.  
At first they had had a hard time falling asleep, and once asleep they had been plagued by nightmares as their human minds struggled to accept sleeping under water, but they were mostly over that now.  
The main issue they were having at this stage of the expedition was the twins getting bored as there was very little to see or do down in the abyss and Takeshi found himself immensely grateful that the two shadow spawns that the twins had named Gere and Freke had proved to be strong and intelligent creatures, they had taken to the water like, well, fish to water.  
The two shadow creatures had adapted their form into something that looked a lot like an _Akhlut_ , the Orca, Wolf hybrid of Inuit mythology, but with their own demonic twist, their fins and spine had webbing and they sported a few whip like appendages with glowing spots and they had a lateral line like a fish that also sported glowing spots.  
Withe the two shadows keeping the twins entertained most of the time they had been making pretty good speed but the trench was deep, dark and cold.

“ _How about we head for the Salacia and get something to eat and rest for a while?”_  
The platform carried their food supply, hunting was scarce in the abyss so they had stored enough food to last them for a year in special containers protected by stasis fields to make sure they would not run out of food, especially since the effort of adapting used quite a bit of energy.  
The rest of the pack quickly agreed and as soon as Angel had brought the platform to their level they swam for the caged area that had been their home for the past two weeks.  
“How is the descent going?”  
At Angel's question Takeshi quickly turned to Emelie who was the only one to wear a radio that allowed her to speak to Angel:  
Takeshi could only hear Angel thanks to the small communications implant he carried behind his left ear, an upgraded version of the one he had used during his time with the GCTI, while uncomfortable it had it's uses.  
_“Tell her we are doing fine, Jenna just needs some time to acclimate.”  
“Will do.”  
_ The river spirit that inhabited Emelie's body took control of the water around her and created a pocket of breathable air around her that allowed her to speak into the radio.  
They had tried to do the same for Knight, but he simply did not have the power to withstand the process needed, the change in pressure too much for his mixed heritage.  
“It might cheer Jenna up to know that according to my readings you have officially made it past the halfway point.”  
Angel's information was indeed something that might cheer Jenna up a bit, and he had a little surprise hidden away for the pack to celebrate the occasion.  
_“Jenna, you might like the news. Angel tells me we have just passed the halfway point.”_  
His silent words were met with cheering and rather exuberant acrobatics as well as excited flashes of bioluminescence, the shadows joined the excitement with short barks of sonar clicks that made Takeshi's ears ring as he had the misfortune of being in the direct path of the focused clicks.  
He had considered using sonar clicks to communicate with Angel, but had abandoned the idea outside of emergencies since the only language he would be able to use was Morse code and while he was adequately proficient in the language it was somewhat limited and cumbersome for normal conversations.

“ _Daddy, what's that?”_  
The twins curiosity peaked when Takeshi brought out the small container with his little surprise treat.  
_“Oh, just a little something to celebrate with.”_  
Opening the container disabled the stasis field and moments later a few live zimara swam out and tasted the unfamiliar water.  
_“Go ahead, catch them before they get away.”_  
There wasn't any real risk of them actually getting away though, the creatures were slow and adapted for much warmer waters.  
The others joined the somewhat lazy hunt and before long all the creatures had been caught, and promptly consumed.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Challenger Deep_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

A pressure wave carried through the water as the Salacia settled down on the ocean floor with a thud, stirring up a cloud of dust and sand, and with a soft whirring the platform unfolded and began anchoring itself to the ocean bed.

“ _My journey ends, as yours begins.”  
“Find the gateway, the world beyond.”  
“Follow the light, of Artemis gift.”  
“Be strong, be safe, Pathfinder.”_

Stormborn had been visiting them a few times a day to help make sure that they would reach the bottom close to access-point of the labyrinth that protected Atlantis, but now it was time for the Avatar of Memory to leave their side.  
_“What have I said about names, Stormborn?”  
_

“ _Apologies, Pathfinder.”_

The cheeky tone made Takeshi smile and pat the huge creature.  
_“You take care as well.”_

It had taken them just over six weeks to reach the bottom, and Takeshi planned on spending a week recovering and exploring before going into the small area of the borderlands that started just a few hundred meters away from the platform.

 


	80. The Path to Atlantis

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi slowly unwrapped himself from Emelie and Knight and allowed his body to drift toward the slithering mass of Amanda, Jenna and Dan, with a sigh he coiled his body around them and tasted their response on the water.

They had all agreed that it would be prudent not to shift during their dive in case they were being watched, Angel would spot any human technologies but as the were heading into the abyss there was a risk that something from below might look in at them, something she would be unable to detect.  
One of the downsides however of the borrowed form was the fact that it made sex a bit more complicated, and Emelie's need to feed had increased due to the power required to sustain both her altered form and the spirit within.  
For some reason Emelie had a hard time feeding from the sexual energy generated by their altered forms and Takeshi didn't have the life-force to spare to allow her to feed exclusively on that.  
So to keep her fed Knight had to be the one to supply the sexual energy while Takeshi coiled around them, adding his touch to it, but once Knight was spent she would turn to Takeshi to find satisfaction as there were certain _compatibility issues_ between her and Knight.

Letting his instincts run free Takeshi had found that in his current form sex mostly consisted of a lot of coiling and rubbing against his partner, actual penetration was a very small part of it.  
It took quite a bit of effort to even reach the point where penetration became possible and Angel had theorized that it might be related to pheromones released by the females when they were ovulating.  
The lack of penetration didn't prevent them from taking great pleasure in the act though, it was different, but the release was just as powerful.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Okay, now pull back on the lever to arm the weapon.”_  
Jenna nodded and pulled back on the arming lever of her modified speargun before aiming for her target.  
She knew the steps and had trained with the weapon before, but going through the basics helped her relax and focus on the shot.  
_“Dammit! I still can't hit properly...”_  
Her agitation and frustration gave the water a sour, almost metallic taste that Takeshi found he disliked a lot.  
_“Easy, relax. It won't help you to get worked up.”_  
Bringing up another of the arrow like spears she went through the steps again before Takeshi helped her find her stance, the problem was that she was having a hard time finding her balance in her current form.  
_“I can't even hit the target, much less get a good hit.”_

Emelie had been watching Takeshi work with Jenna for hours and she could feel them both growing increasingly frustrated, Jenna with her inability to hit what she was aiming for, and Takeshi with the fact that Jenna was blaming and denigrating herself.  
As she watched Jenna break down into tears she got a strange feeling, as if something was vibrating within and after a few moments she realized it was Minerva trying to get her attention so she turned her focus inward.  
It was hard to understand the old weapon, but she could tell that Minerva wanted to be handed to Jenna, to see if they could work together.  
_“Take, Jenna, a moment please.”_  
They both stopped and turned to her and Takeshi glided through the water and coiled around her, tasting the water before shaking his head at the lack of taste from her and the strong taste of frustration from himself and Jenna.  
_“Sorry, instincts.”_  
The longer Takeshi stayed in a borrowed form, the more sway the foreign instincts gained over his behavior.  
_“Don't worry. I know.”_  
She brushed her hand along the dorsal fin which made his tail coil tighter around her and the way Jenna tasted the water and flared her fins was telling.  
_“This is payback for me playing with your tail, isn't it?”  
“And the wings, don't forget the wings.”_  
Emelie's teasing quip earned her a harsh kiss.  
_“Now if you think you can control yourself, how about we get to why I interrupted Jenna's practice?”_  
The small puff of bubbles from the gills was the closest thing to a huff that Takeshi's current form was capable of and it made Emelie smile and shake her head at him.  
“ _While you were practicing Minerva spoke to me.”_  
The mention of the sapient bow instantly had Takeshi's attention, and it sparked Jenna's curiosity, she had heard the story of how Knight joined them.  
_“Jenna, Minerva wants you to hold her, to see if you are compatible.”  
“But why would she want that?”_  
Emelie could see the tension in Takeshi's shoulders and she felt the same, it was hard to see the usually proud woman lose faith in herself.  
_“Because she believes you to be worthy. You are a huntress, a daughter of the wild. You give all that you are to defend the weak. You went alone against the gang who hurt your cousin and Amber.“_  
Jenna calmed down slightly, but she still looked hesitant.  
_“You remind her of Akylea.”  
“Her original wielder?”  
“Yes.”  
“I guess we could try then...”_  
Emelie nodded and brought Minerva out from her soul and held out her compact form to Jenna who looked rather apprehensive, but when Takeshi brushed against her she snapped out of it and took the curled bone handle.  
_“Open your soul to her, just like you did with your familiar. Let her feel you and let her tap into your energy. She possesses power of her own, but it's your power, your intent that fuels her. She acts as a focus, and an amplifier.”_  
At first nothing happened, but then Jenna's eyes went wide and gained a slightly blank look that Emelie and Takeshi both recognized, they looked the same when communicating with their own weapons.  
A few minutes later her eyes cleared and Minerva changed into her bow form and drawing power from Jenna's aura the string flickered to life, a clear sign that she had accepted Jenna and was ready to be wielded.  
_“Have you fired a bow before?”  
“Yeah, but mostly compound bows, it's been awhile since I used a recurve so I might need some time to used to it. Not to mention get used to not using arrows.”  
“No arrows?”_  
Takeshi's curiosity was instantly piqued as the fletching of a regular arrow was unsuitable for use underwater, bow-fishers usually used solid fiberglass arrows without fletching.  
_“Minerva told me she can create arrows from pure power since we don't have any regular arrows.”_  
_“I imagine that uses quite a bit of energy, so I think we should practice with real arrows fist.”_  
While he was curious to see it in action Takeshi still cautioned against it, at least until she felt comfortable with regular arrows, arrows that could easily be made from sanctuary crystals.  
_“But, we don't have any arrows, do we?”_  
_“We can make some arrows from Sanctuary crystals, it should work well since bowfishing arrows don't require any fletching.”  
_

“ _I'll get right on it.”  
_ Emelie pushed back a bit and glided into one of the more focused light beams from the Salacia where she took out the small pouch with crystal sand and poured a small amount into her hand and made the grains grow into a more easily handled size.  
She picked out roughly 50 grains and poured the rest back into the pouch, the first grain she grew into a quiver to hold the arrows before growing the rest into straight rods with a nock at one end.  
Looking at the partial arrows she decided to divide them into bunches and test different types of heads, then Jenna could test which type worked the best, she even managed to make a few trial versions of bowfishing heads.  
The bowfishing heads were a bit more complex to make as they had moving parts, but over the years Emelie had grown highly skilled at manipulating the crystals into behaving the way she wanted them to.  
Each of the arrows would shrink to take less space in the quiver, and expand when pulled from it, and once they stopped after being fired they would begin to glow to make it easier to find and retrieve them.

“ _Jenna, try this one.”_  
Emelie handed her one of the basic arrows she had just made.  
_“It's beautiful, I can't use this! I'm gonna break it, or lose it in the dark.”  
“Don't worry, it won't break, and you won't lose it so easily. Try it and you will understand what I mean.”_  
Jenna nodded and nocked the arrow and took a deep breath before raising Minerva and pulling back on the string and releasing it a moment later.  
Takeshi and Emelie both felt the relief when the arrow began to glow, revealing itself to be set in the outer ring of the target.  
_“She's amazing...”_  
Jenna's awe made them smile knowingly, it was a special feeling to connect to a sapient weapon, especially the first time you actually wielded it while connected.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Daddy, can we shoot some bow too?”_  
The twins had been watching Jenna practice for a while and were getting rather bored.  
_“We don't have any bow's you can use. I'm sorry.”_  
Their shoulders instantly dropped, along with their fins which only enhanced the kicked puppy look.  
_“Maybe we can make a pair of simple bows from the materials in the Salacia? All we need is something strong but slightly flexible for the limbs and some kind of wire for the string.”_  
Jenna had made plenty of bushbows during her time traveling with her father to various wildlife preserves, living with local tribes.  
_“I could make the limbs from Sanctuary crystal, but I don't know what to use for the strings. Maybe some kumo-silk would work if Take still has some hidden away in that warehouse of his?”_  
Emelie instantly offered to help while turning to Takeshi to see if he had the missing materials.  
_“I do have some left, but maybe we should use dragon sinew instead? It's stronger, and it channels power better if they wish to learn how to.”_  
The others quickly agreed that it might be a good idea to make bows intended for more permanent use for the girls.

“ _We should make a full size test bow first, to test different designs. Minerva tells me that the water disrupts her somewhat, fighting against her limbs, stealing some of her power.”_  
Minerva's design with her flattened limbs was fairly normal for a recurve bow, but the added resistance of the water affected her power.  
_“So, we need something more aero, eh, hydrodynamic to maintain power?”  
“Yeah, narrow limbs. But that should be easy with this crystal, right?”  
“Yeah, it doesn't have the same limitations as normal materials.”_  
Takeshi just smiled at the way Jenna and Emelie completely forgot about everything else and focused on figuring out how to make bows for the girls and it didn't take long before the rest of the pack joined them.

“ _Can't you make look like the Moon Goddess Crystal Bladebow?”_  
Maria piped up from her position resting her elbows on Knight's shoulder.  
_“Is that from the game you girls have been playing?”  
“Mhm. It's the best elven bow in the entire game!”  
“Game weapon designs aren't always very useful, but we can try if you can describe it.”  
“Well, it has a blade in the front and it's really thin.”_  
Maria started to describe the weapon.  
_“And it has these three tips instead of one.”_  
Sarah eagerly added, but the description didn't make much sense.  
_“Okay, hold on. Let me see if Angel can give us a projection of it.”_  
Emelie interrupted them and focused on talking to Angel and a few moments later the holographic projector came to life and projected a beautiful bow into the water next to where they were gathered.  
Emelie and Jenna studied the design for a while before deciding that it could probably be done.  
_“I think we can actually make something similar. But how about we make something simple first, to see if it works?”  
_ A benefit of working with Sanctuary crystals was the ability to change the shape freely, there would be no need to get new materials if a prototype failed to perform. _  
“Okay...”_

Some ten minutes later Emelie handed the first prototype to Jenna for inspection.  
_“It looks good. Take, could you string it please?”  
“If it's okay with you I'll use kumo-silk for the prototype, then we can use dragon sinew for the real thing.”_  
_“It's your call.”_  
Taking the unstrung bow Takeshi brought a small roll of kumo-silk cord out of his shift and used it to string the bow, but rather than cutting the cord to length he simply tied it off and allowed the remaining roll to hang from the bottom limb of the bow.  
_“Arrow?”_  
Jenna offered one of the simple arrows and Takeshi took it and nocked it before drawing and letting it fly, hitting the target about half way from the center.  
Taking another arrow he drew again and let it fly, hitting the center perfectly.  
_“You're really good.”  
_ Jenna was impressed that he had adjusted his aim to the unfamiliar weapon with just a single shot. _  
“I have had plenty of practice.”_  
Handing the bow to Jenna he swam up to the target and retrieved the arrows.  
_“Jenna, you try it now.”  
“It's too long for me.”  
“Don't worry, I can fix that.”_  
Emelie took the bow and with a pulse of energy she shortened it and Jenna quickly retied the string and shot a few arrows, though not as accurate as Takeshi she did hit the target.

When the light of the Salacia dimmed to tell them it was nighttime the twins were hitting fairly well with their new bows, most of the arrows hitting the inner half of their assigned target.  
_“They are grouping their shots pretty well for being so young.”_  
Jenna was a bit surprised that they were learning so fast.  
_“You forget that they are older than they look. They were 9 when they received the blessing, and in the weeks after their blessing the began to look even younger, but they are actually 15 now.”  
“They don't act 15 though... And they don't look older than 6 or 7 now.”_  
Takeshi explained that they would probably act like children for quite a few years, that their physical aging was tied to their mental, and emotional maturity.  
There was also a distinct component of intent in their form, they were intentionally preventing their own maturation.  
_“Acting and looking like children is their safety-net? Their way of making sure they can stay close to you and Emelie?”  
“Exactly. But if you watch them you will notice that they will occasionally get serious and act their true age. And I have a feeling that if they really wanted to they could shift into a form to match.”_  
While they spoke the twins collected their arrows and headed for the caged area that was their temporary home.  
It didn't take long for everyone to gather around and make quick work of the food that Knight had helped Dan prepare while the others had worked with the bows.  
_“Girls, it's time to feed your little egg again.”  
_ Takeshi interrupter the twins play with the shadow spawns as he could feel a slight impatient hunger gnawing within that he knew wasn't his own.

“ _Okay!”_  
They quickly swam to his side and curled in close before placing their hands on his and a few moments later their auras merged and Takeshi started absorbing the energy and channel it to the phoenix egg he carried within his soul and the budding life drank eagerly.  
_“Go on, get some sleep.”_  
Takeshi gave their tails a gentle slap and chased them toward the pile of bodies that was the rest of the pack.  
With his pack gathered he coiled his body around them and settled down to rest and watch the others sleep, it was his turn to keep watch.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With breakfast out of the way Takeshi called for the others to gather around.  
_“Since everyone is fully acclimated to this environment it's time to move on and start the real search for Atlantis. The day after tomorrow we will enter the borderlands.”_  
The reaction was one of eager anticipation, giving the water an almost electric taste that was hard to describe, obviously the twins were not the only ones getting bored.  
Takeshi had intended to head out earlier, but decided to wait a few more days for a bit of combat training, Knight did reasonably well as long as he could get something solid to stand on and Emelie seemed fine, her training in fighting while flying helping immensely, Dan hadn't found a weapon he liked but he did okay with the modified speargun.  
His new form however gave him a far more effective weapon, he was able to not only generate high power electric shocks but also a form of dragon-breath that allowed him to shock, freeze, or generate a powerful whirlpool effect.  
Amanda had a wide array of natural weapons based on her powerful venom but they decided that she should add another weapon and she had opted for simple spears.  
Jenna had Minerva and the twins had their bows while Takeshi relied on his blades, and his Harigata Bo-Shuriken, throwing-needles.

“ _Daddy! Daddy! Look!”_  
Maria's excited calls drew Takeshi from his musings as she pointed to the ocean floor where he had drawn a target in the sand for her, looking at the target he noted that she had grouped all five arrows within the inner circle, one of them piercing the shell he had put down to represent the bullseye.  
_“That's really good”_  
She instantly lit up with a brilliant smile at the praise.  
_“Now, do you think you can do it again?”  
“I will!”_  
The determined set of her jaw made Takeshi smile, he had no doubt she would be able to reliably repeat the performance in no time at all and the competitive nature of the twins' own brand of sibling rivalry would ensure that Sarah kept up.

“ _Enough dawdling. Let's go.”_  
Takeshi rounded up his pack and ushered them toward the edge of the borderlands, and just beyond it, a crevice that lead into a large cave system that Angel had spent days trying to explore, but the small drones were unable to actually enter the borderlands.  
The slowly crossed into the borderlands, making sure to pay attention to any negative effects as they left the human realm behind and entered into the crevice.  
Takeshi could feel Knight's discomfort at the tight and dark space, but as usual Emelie moved up to his side to offer him the comfort of a possible escape should it become too narrow for him and before long he was forced to stop as the tunnel narrowed, only leaving enough room for the slender bodies of a mermaid, or merman.  
_“Wait here, I will move deeper and see if it widens further in.”  
“Be careful...”_  
He could feel the entire pack echo Amanda's concern. _  
“Don't worry. If it gets too narrow I can shadow travel back outside the cave.”  
_

Takeshi took a steadying breath as he adjusted the headband with the glowing crystal that they used for headlamps, the easily adjustable brightness and color paired with the lack of batteries made it far more useful than a regular lamp or chemical light.  
As he pushed deeper the tunnel narrowed further and when the spines of his dorsal fin and pelvic fins both touched the walls he was almost overcome by an intense instinctual fear, but he managed to clamp down on it before the others could feel it.  
Folding his fins tightly against his body he focused on saturating the water with a calm scent so that the others would not be able to taste his fear and dropped a few of the glowing crystals before using his arms to pull himself along through the narrow tunnel.  
He estimated he had traveled about 100 meters when the tunnel widened into a large spherical cavern with a lot of tunnels splitting of in various directions.  
_“I'm through. There is a large cavern here.”  
_ His pack all echoed their relief over the bond at the information. _  
“Is it clear for me shadow-travel?”  
“It is, grab the big guy and come to me.”  
_ A few moments later Emelie and Knight appeared slightly below and behind him, using the shadow of his body to bypass the narrow tunnel.  
_“The rest you can make it through on your own. But I want you to fold your fins tightly as you pass through the narrow part.”  
“Why?”  
_ Jenna's tone was curious but it did carry a slight tinge of concern. _  
“It would seem these forms have an instinctive fear of tight places that is triggered if your dorsal and pelvic fins all touch the surrounding walls. And if you panic in the tunnel you could get hurt, or worse. So fold them tightly and use your arms when you reach the part that I marked with crystals.”  
_ There was an echo of agreement and a few minutes later the rest of his pack emerged from the tunnel, Amanda bringing up the rear with the glowing crystals he had left in the tunnel in her hands.  
_“Wow, this place is big!”_  
The twins swam large circles around the rest of the pack trying to count how many tunnels the large cavern held.  
_“It is, and we need to make a map of it before we move on.”  
_ Takeshi divided the area into sections and began the exploration while Emelie, who was the best at manipulating the crystals, and had the best sense for 3D environments was given the task to create a globe of sorts to map the cavern. _  
_

“ _All the tunnels look and feel the same.”  
_ Knight confirmed Dan's earlier report when he returned from checking his section of the cavern. _  
“Guess this is the labyrinth part.”  
_ Jenna huffed as she returned from her section. _  
_ They had spent almost three hours mapping the large cavern and as far as they could tell all the tunnels except the one they came from were the same.  
_“I guess everyone else got the same results as me.”_  
Takeshi returned last as he had given himself the largest area to cover.  
_“Yeah, no way to tell one tunnel from the other save for the one we arrived through.”_  
Emelie held out the orb to Takeshi and together they marked the tunnels he had checked.  
Gathering around they agreed that this cavern had to be the labyrinth that protected the path to Atlantis.  
_“Em, sweetie. How about you try to bring out that crown that Artemis gave you? She said it would be able to lead us to Atlantis.”_  
With a small wash of power Emelie followed Takeshi's suggestion and the wreath like silver crown with the aquamarine flowers appeared nestled among her horns.  
_“I can't feel anything, and it doesn't seem like anything changed.”  
“Maybe if you channel some power through it?”_  
She just nodded and focused some of her power on the crown.  
At first the trickle of energy only made the gemstones glow slightly then Emelie gasped silently and wave of energy exploded out from her and lit up the entire cavern before fading away.

“ _Look, that tunnel is glowing!”_  
Sarah pointed toward one of the tunnels, and true to her words it was glowing with the same light as the crown and when Takeshi took a closer look the tunnel looked very different, it looked very much like the tunnel that lead to the Wisteria Sanctuary hidden beneath the caves that Amarok and his pack called home.  
_“Let's go.”_  
They carefully entered the tunnel and it didn't take long before it opened up into another large cavern, but this time there was a threshold at the opening, leaving the borderland and entering another realm.  
Takeshi paused at the feeling of distortion, of strangeness, it was a feeling he was familiar with, but he needed confirmation so he reached within and called forth the old dragon.  
_“Kiryu-sama, this feeling. It's a temporal distortion, a chronoshift, right?”_  
As he suspected she would the dragon left him and manifested by his shoulder, the power of the new realm plenty enough to sustain her.  
_**“It is.”**_ _  
“It feels weaker than the one at the Obsidian Halls though.”  
__**“It is, this one is slower by a factor of three to one.”**_ _  
“So three hours here is one hour back home?”_  
Maria piped up.  
_**“That is right little one.”**_ **  
**

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The new cavern was just like the previous one, only slightly smaller and once they had mapped it Emelie called on the power of the crown and it came alive under a pulse of aqua light.  
Once again one of the tunnels came to life and the pack quickly moved to it and through it.  
Takeshi estimated they had been mapping caverns for about a week when they found themselves in a larger cavern, just like the first one, but this time the exit tunnel was large, and when they exited they found themselves in a strange sea.

Before them lay a great underwater forest, they were still down deep, the water cold and dark, but it was very much alive, great coral reefs, strange alien fish and plants, all glowing with their own light.  
A forest of glowing kelp reached above them, further than they could see and among the towering plants large schools of fish moved lazily with the gentle swaying.  
_“This place. My soul knows this place, it knows the way to Atlantis from here.”_  
Amanda's tone held awe, and certainty.  
_“Then let's find a place to rest, and when morning comes, you lead the way.”_  
The pack quickly nodded their agreement to Takeshi's suggestion.  
Looking around they found a wide and fairly deep crevice in the mountainside that offered shelter and a closer look revealed a thermal vent about halfway in, but unlike the black smokers of their home this one was pure, generating none of the toxic fumes, only pure heat.  
The reef and kelp forest offered a rich bounty of fresh food, something that they were more than happy for after eating nothing but rations for a week.  
_“Manda, are these safe?”_  
The twins pointed to a bed of glowing clams and Amanda allowed her instincts to guide her as she inspected them.  
_“The red and yellow swirly ones are safe, but the blue wavy ones have a venom spike that can give a nasty sting, so let Take collect those.”  
“Okay!”_  
The pack watched with curiosity as the twins took arrows and began skewering pieces of shellfish and wrapping them in kelp and when they sat down by the thermal went and put the makeshift skewers over the vent as if it was a campfire the pack broke down in laughter.  
Following the twins lead they cooked their meal over the vent, it wasn't hot enough to sear meat, but it was just enough to gently cook the delicate shellfish.  
Takeshi quickly cut up the large eel like creature he had caught, wrapped the pieced in kelp and placed them in a makeshift basket that Emelie had made and lowered it into the vent to cook.

 

With their bellies filled they settled down to rest, far to exhausted for their usual evening activities.  
_“Alpha, please sleep. I know you are strong, but you have refused to sleep a full night since we entered the labyrinth. Let your mate and betas keep the pack safe.”_  
Knight pleaded with Takeshi when he settled down into his usual watch position and when Takeshi was about to object he could feel his entire pack gathering their will behind Knight and Emelie.  
_“Mate, you better do as our beta asks or I will have to find some other way to make sure you rest.”  
_ Emelie's smile and tone held an edge that clearly told him he better do what she asked, he might be the dominant alpha, but she was still his mate and co-alpha, and the pack was backing her. _  
“Hai hai. No need to gang up on your poor alpha.”_  
Takeshi took it all in good humor though, he had suspected his pack would pull something like this once they were out of the labyrinth, and frankly, he longed for a full night's sleep.  
The mock complaints rewarded him with huffs and snorts from his pack while he curled around the twins and settled down to sleep.

“ _Manda, could you come here for a moment please?”_  
Takeshi's attention peaked when he noticed Emelie lead Amanda away from the pile of sleeping and resting bodies.  
_“Of course Em, what's up?”_  
Emelie removed the aquamarine crown from her head and held it out to Amanda.  
_“This was bound to me by Artemis to make sure no one would be able to take it away from me, to make sure we would be able to make it here. But now that we are here, I can feel that it wishes to be with you.”_  
For a moment Amanda just stared at Emelie and the crown with wide eyes, but then she bowed her head in acceptance and Emelie quickly placed the crown on her head where it sunk in and settled against her skin, seemingly ignoring her flowing hair.  
When Amanda looked up again her eyes had the somewhat absent, glazed look that revealed that she not entirely there as she reached up and removed one of the small aquamarine flowers from the back or the crown.  
_“Em, could you bring out the true form of your horns please?”_  
Emelie immediately released the full form of her horns and Takeshi could feel a surge of want from the sight of them, indicators of the power his mate held.  
Reaching out for Emelie Amanda pressed the small flower against her forehead where the base of her central horns formed a 'V' shape and the flower glowed slightly before sinking in and settling.  
When Emelie returned to her previous form with less prominent horns the flower was still there at the tip of her widow's peak, much like the transdermal implants that had been a popular piercing trend when Takeshi was young.  
Takeshi spotted the telltale curl of Emelie's tail before she suddenly grabbed Amanda and kissed her, leaving the younger female somewhat stunned before blushed vividly and a strong taste of embarrassment and arousal drifted by.  
_“Em?!”_  
The single word came across rather garbled.  
_“She's a succubus. Did you expect to be safe forever?”_  
Both of them instantly zeroed in on him but before they had a chance to answer his teasing Dan put in his own five cents.  
_“Man blir som man umgås...”_  
At the teasing words Amanda broke into laughter.  
The Swedish turn of phrase was hard to translate accurately, but it implied that Emelie's sometimes rather lewd behavior was something she learned from Takeshi.  
While Amanda laughed both Takeshi and Emelie turned to Dan who quickly began squirming.  
_“Hey guys, don't look at me like that! Makes me nervous...”_  
Both slowly stalked toward Dan, but before they could _punish_ him for his words the twins woke up and instantly spotted the flower on Emelie's forehead.

With the twins distracting Emelie Amanda turned to Takeshi.  
_“Take, with your permission I want to give everyone one of these flowers. I'm not sure why, but I just know it will be useful once we reach Atlantis.”_  
Takeshi considered her request for a moment and decided to trust her instincts.  
_“Go ahead.”_  
When she approached him he bowed his head slightly as a sign of permission and she pressed it against his forehead, just below the pattern of scales and webbed fins that helped keep his hair out of his face.  
At first he couldn't sense anything from it, but soon he felt a trickle of awareness from it, an awareness that brought with it a greater understanding of the realm they were currently visiting.  
With a slight nod he gave her permission to give the others a flower as well.

“ _I miss bread...”_  
Knight's complaint during breakfast had the others chuckling, and agreeing that there were quite a few things they missed.  
It had taken them all a bit of time to get used to the underwater diet, but it had been the hardest on Knight who loved his thick slices of bread with butter and cheese, especially coarse bread like rye or wholegrain sourdough, something that simply was not possible to eat while underwater.  
_“Aw, poor Logan. We will have to drop by the Willow Estate and get a nice big pile of Hverabrauð when we return from here.”_  
Emelie's words were half teasing, half promise.

“ _That was the really sweet rye bread they made in the hot springs, right?”_  
Sarah and Maria instantly perked up when the topic shifted to food.  
_“Yeah, that's right.”  
“I preferred Take's version, at least when not eating it as dessert.” _  
Jenna added to the debate, she had tried both versions, but the original recipe was too sweet for her taste, in her opinion the cake-like sweetness didn't really go well with the savory flavor of the rye bread.  
Even the twins agreed with her, despite having just as big a sweet tooth as any kid. **  
**

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _What are you waiting for Manda?”_  
Takeshi glided up behind her and gave her a slight push.  
_“You're the one who knows where we are headed so get moving.”_  
Amanda rewarded his teasing by giving him a rather rude smack with her tail before darting out of reach.  
When she began moving away from the area the others simply followed her into the kelp forest, trusting her instincts to lead them true.

The pack set a comfortable pace, fast enough to cover ground, but not so fast that it would leave them drained, especially since Knight tired faster than normal from having to supply the spirit within with energy, and his body was poorly suited for life underwater.  
The others would occasionally give him a lift to help him conserve his energy but he was uncomfortable with being carried and according to Amanda there was no real hurry, at their current pace it would take them about two weeks to reach the place where her soul told her that Atlantis was located.  
Moving faster might save them a day or two, but would leave them tired and uncomfortable, something they all agreed just wasn't worth it, at least not with the way things were at the moment.  
The surroundings were beautiful and food was plentiful, if that changed they would re-evaluate if speeding up was worth it.

On the third day of their travel the twins spotted a large swarm of octopuses gliding through the water, at first they had believed the creatures to be bioluminescent jellyfish but when they got closer it became obvious it was actually octopuses.  
The translucent bodies and webbing between the arms combined with flashes of bioluminescence and the lazy way they swam had made them look very much like jellyfish.  
Takeshi found the range in size to be intriguing, the smallest ones were no larger than his palm, while the largest one was significantly larger than all the rest, it was hard to tell accurately but he estimated that each of its arms was over 50 meters long.  
They were all the same species though and Takeshi suspected that the larger one was something similar to an Avatar, specific for that species of octopus, a Spirit beast or Matriarch as the others swarmed around it.  
They spent a few hours swimming alongside of the swarm as they were headed in the same direction and the twins were overjoyed at the chance to play with octopuses.  
But when the current shifted and the swarm began to turn away from the path the pack was headed in some of the small ones stayed with them, drifting away from their swarm and Takeshi focused his senses on the behemoth on the center of the swarm.  
At first it mirrored his cautious curiosity and he could feel it's aura and senses brush against his, then after a few moments the feeling shifted to an almost overwhelming approval and amusement.  
_“I guess we just picked up a few travel companions.”_  
Takeshi mused when the attention of the behemoth turned away from him.  
_“Yay!”_  
As expected the twins were ecstatic at the prospect of more pets, even if they probably wouldn't stay with them for very long.  
When the pack began to pick up speed again the small creatures used their suckers to cling onto scaled tails with surprising strength, which unfortunately disturbed their movement through the water.  
Takeshi found that he was unable to pry them loose without risking to hurt them, but a small spark of power made them let go so he could move them to places where they didn't disrupt the hydrodynamics of his body as much, though, most of them were moved to Knight as they wouldn't affect him the same way.  
After sorting his own _'passengers'_ he helped the twins move theirs before they started moving again. **  
**

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Take, do you see that?”_  
Looking in the direction Dan was pointing Takeshi couldn't see anything at first, then he spotted it, a large shadow with glowing spots just at the edge of his visual range.  
_“Barely, it's probably just a school of some fish, or maybe another swarm like the one these little hitchhikers came from.”  
“I don't know. It almost looks like it's solid, one really big creature.”_  
Takeshi tried to strain his eyes further, but as he had already noticed, Dan's eyesight was better than his own in their current environment.  
_“I can't tell from here, but if you say so that's probably the case. Your eyes are the best down down here, even Manda can't compete.”  
_ He could feel the slight shift in Dan's aura, almost preening at the praise of his eyesight. _  
“Can we take a look?”_  
It wasn't like Dan to be so curious so Takeshi found himself wanting to check it out just to see how Dan would react to it.  
_“What do you guys say? Wanna take detour?”_  
The question was rather redundant and the rest of the pack instantly agreed to go check it out.  
As the distance between them shrank it became obvious that it was a single very large creature.  
_“Now that's a Leviathan!”_  
Dan's voice was filled with awe and Takeshi found himself agreeing wholeheartedly.  
  
The creature was somewhat similar to a whale in it's basic shape, but it was much larger than any whale that had ever existed in the human realm.  
It was still a bit hard to tell due to the lack of reference-points to judge distance, but it had to be at least ten times the size of a blue whale.  
But the basic shape of the body was about as much as it had in common with a whale, the fluke consisted of a central fin and four pairs of fins on the sides larger at the back and smaller toward the front of the creature, the flat, lance shape of the fins made it look almost like the leaf of the _Indica_ strain of hemp.  
They could also see that it had three sets of lobed pectoral fins, or flippers, they didn't know yet if it was fish, mammal, or something else entirely different though.  
Around it's mouth was several barbels that made it look a bit like a catfish and the entire underside of the creature was glowing with patterns of light, the tips of the barbels each had a brighter light, like a dragonfish and there was a spatter of small glowing dots on the belly, almost like a starry sky, but also brighter lines and larger glowing spots.

“ _I need to get closer.”_  
Dan seemed almost hypnotized by the creature and Takeshi let a slight warning flow through the bonds that tied him with his pack, the slightly electric sensation making them gather behind him.  
_“We don't know how it will react to us coming closer, it might not even notice us, or it might consider us food.”_  
He cautioned his pack against approaching without proper care, but he didn't deny their curiosity.  
As the got closer the creature stopped, sank down to their depth and turned slightly so that it's side was turned against them, in its new position they could see that it had a frill behind it's head with more glowing appendages coming out of each of the point.  
They looked very much like the long, clubbed, tentacles of squid and cuttlefish, but like the barbels they were glowing rather brightly.  
_“Well, it's pretty obvious it has noticed us.”_  
Jenna's tone was slightly nervous as a row of glowing eyes focused on the group.  
“Indeed. But it's hard to read.”  
Takeshi's senses were on edge, but just like how it had been with Stormborn the creature's mind was just too alien for him to get an accurate read on it.  
_“Curiosity, and something calm, safe, almost like, satisfaction?”_  
There was a questioning note at the end of Dan's assessment.  
_“Sated, lack of hunger. I think it's trying to tell us that it doesn't consider us food. At least not right now.”_  
Takeshi agreed with Dan after sifting through the sensations the contact with the creature's mind brought him.  
_“I think it's safe to move closer, but be on your guard just in case.”  
_

When they moved closer the longest of the tentacles moved and reached out for them while the creature carefully remained still, the fins barely moving and Takeshi could feel a sense of care and caution from it.  
It seemed to be aware of how fragile the pack was in comparison to it's own massive form and took care not to cause any turbulence in the water.  
When it came closer the glowing tip began to move and Takeshi realized it wasn't actually a club at the end of it, instead thousands upon thousands of thin strands unfurled and made it look like a cross between a pompom and a fiber-optic lamp.  
There had to be millions of glowing strands and when Takeshi held out his hand toward it several strands carefully touched his hand before gently wrapping around his fingers and through the touch he could feel curiosity and approval along with a hint of pride and something akin to reassurance.

“ _Mind-whisperer?”_

The word came across with a questioning note as the creature's mind actively reached for his own and Takeshi focused on trying to decipher its meaning.  
_“I think it might be asking if we are telepathic...”_  
Jenna had previous experience with learning fundamentally foreign languages the hard way from her travels with her father so Takeshi nodded slightly before reaching out with the power of the blessing and echoed the question back at the creature.  
_“Are you asking if we possess telepathy?”  
_ The creature radiated approval and curiosity when Takeshi responded to its silent question. _  
_

“ _Star-singer hears, hungers for knowledge. Permission to taste?”  
_

When more of the tentacles reached out for them Takeshi quickly signaled for the others to stay back and he could feel disappointment from the creature..  
_“I am alpha, guardian, they are mine to protect. You may taste, but only me. I will decide if it is safe for them.”  
_ The disappointment was instantly replaced with joy as the creature reached out for him but a few moments later Takeshi found himself nearly overwhelmed by pain as the immensely powerful mind probed his own.  
The intense pain was brief though as the creature pulled back with a sense of apology, it didn't stop entirely though until it was done and withdrew completely from his mind, leaving behind a sense of gratitude.  
When it reached toward the others Takeshi quickly moved in between them and signaled for the others to back up further.  
_“I understand you desire for knowledge, but your mind is too strong. I will not permit you to cause them pain, or risk damage.”  
_

“ _Star-singer hears, Star-singer heeds. Protection is honor.”  
_

The bright strands withdrew and coiled back into a tight ball with only a few strands reaching out, after a few moments silence the creature spoke again, this time softer, with a hopeful, almost pleading note. _  
_

“ _Star-singer offers, the gift of new heritage. A seed of change, nourish and grow, become Mind-whisperer's, blood-born.”  
_

The rather forceful blending of minds made it easier for Takeshi to understand it and he translated for the pack.  
_“It's offering to change our DNA somehow to make us true telepaths, a telepathy that will be passed on to our children., it is referring to a 'seed', so it's probably some kind of retrovirus.”  
_

“ _Take the seed, seek the City of Forgotten Songs. Follow the path, return with the seed in bloom. Learn and teach, nourish one who thrives on knowing.”  
_

While Takeshi spoke to the others the creature spoke up once again and once again he translated its words for them.  
_“I'm guessing the City of Forgotten Songs is Atlantis. It seems it wants to give us the 'seed' now to let it take effect while we visit Atlantis, and then meet us again on our way back to exchange knowledge.”_  
Based on what he was feeling from the creature that referred to itself as _'Star-singer'_ it somehow needed knowledge to live, to grow and after a few minutes of debate with the pack it was agreed that Takeshi would accept the seed, and if he felt nothing wrong the others would follow suit, trusting that the Mother would protect her chosen and warn if the seed would harm them.  
_“I will accept the seed, I will determine if it is safe for those under my protection.”_  
Takeshi was flooded with gratitude as the glowing stands reached around him and searched along his spine and then he felt a tingling discomfort as a stand pushed inside his body before detaching from the creature.  
Turning his senses inward he focused on the entities he carried within, the shadow beast, his dragon, the power of the blessing that was his link to the Mother, tugging gently on all of them he brought up the true sum of his power to evaluate the invading organism and make sure it was not only safe for him, but for the others as well.  
_**“A Drifter, such a strange, and rare, creature to come across.”**_  
The voice of the mother was amused and she assured him that the creature meant no harm, and that the 'seed' was perfectly safe for him and his pack.  
_“What is a Drifter?”_  
The Mother refused to answer, telling him to save his questions for when they met the creature again.

“ _The Mother assures me it's safe, so go ahead if you want to.”  
_ The feeling from the Drifter was almost giddy when Jenna approached it and reached out for it with open arms, inviting it to touch her, to give it's gift.  
He watched with avid curiosity, and a hint of concern, as the glowing threads carefully examined her before one of them focused on the base of her neck and burrowed in and light seemed to flow into her before it broke off and disappeared into her body.  
_“Wow, that felt seriously weird.”  
“Any pain?”  
“No, just really strange.”_  
After Jenna pulled back the others quickly approached and received their own seed, though, it did examine Emelie for quite a while before giving it to her, obvious curious about what she was.

“ _Go, to the City of Forgotten Songs. Star-singer will go, wait at the gateway.”_

With those words the creature that the Mother had called a drifter slowly moved away from them and headed in the direction they came from.  
_“Let's get moving, shall we?”_  
Takeshi nipped at Emelie's fin to get her moving and soon the rest of the pack followed.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Path to Atlantis_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Are we there yet?”  
_ The classic question from the twins made Takeshi smile. _  
“Almost, we should be able to see the city once we clear this ridge.”  
_ Amanda huffed at their impatience, she had told them they should reach the city sometime during the day and the twins had been asking what felt like every 5 minutes since.

For the past 4 days the waters had been growing steadily warmer as they followed a coral covered ridge into shallower waters, they had left the abyssal zone behind and were traveling through the midnight zone, though it was not as dark as it had been in the human realm, there were plenty of bioluminescent creatures and plants as well as light emitting crystals.  
Takeshi estimated that they would ascend another 2 kilometers before reaching the crest of the ridge which would bring them close to the edge of the twilight zone  
Based on what Amanda had told them the city would be just beyond the ridge of what seemed to be the caldera of a large volcano.

“ _Look! What is that?”_  
Maria pointed toward the ridge where a pillar of light could be seen rising straight up toward the surface.  
_“It looks like some kind of pillar or tower.”_  
Dan once again proved the value of his eyes  
“It must be the central tower, the memories my soul has shared with me shows a grand tower in the middle of the city, a tower that reaches above the surface.”  
Hearing that the light was a part of Atlantis made the group increase their pace and before long they reached the peak of the ridge.

“ _Wow!”  
“It's beautiful!”  
“It's amazing...”_  
Jenna and the twins were voicing their opinion of the city that spread across the caldera beneath them and Takeshi found himself agreeing.  
The caldera was probably about 20 kilometers across and at the very center of it a grand palace rose toward the surface and around it the city spread, an intricate latticework of buildings and bridges.  
_“It looks like a wedding cake...”  
“Danny!”  
_ Dan's somewhat simple, but accurate description was met with displeased hisses from Jenna and the girls.  
Dan had a point though, there were three tiered layers of walls around the central spire that made it look very much like a wedding cake.  
_“You have no sense for beauty!”_  
The girls were still complaining about Dan's description and the bantering made Takeshi smile.  
_“My sense for beauty must be dulled from always having these adorable little girls, beautiful females, and stunning males so close.”_  
The flattering words silenced the complaints, but didn't get Dan completely off the hook.  
_“Hmpf, and here I thought daddy was supposed to be the incorrigible flirt...”  
“Man blir som man umgås?”_  
The deadpan delivery made the twins break down in giggles despite the discomfort of doing so underwater.  
_“It really is beautiful though.”_  
Dan conceded with an almost wistful tone as he slid up by Takeshi's and and filled the water with the taste of gratitude.  
While enjoying the taste of Dan's feelings Takeshi took a moment to look at the city, and the dome of power that covered it.  
_“Well, let's see if we can't find a gate or something to get us past this barrier. It might not be appreciated if we just force our way through it.”_  
The others quickly agreed and they headed into the caldera and the low coral wall that the barrier emanated from.

“ _So, Danny, are those pretty blue eyes of yours seeing anything that could be a gate?”_  
Takeshi's teasing tone made Dan take a swipe at him with his tail before circling around and coming up at his side.  
_“I think so, those inner walls all look like 9 pointed stars and the outer wall here has domes spread in the same way, so I'm guessing those domes might be a good place to start.”_  
Taking aim for the nearest dome they began swimming toward it.  
_“Can we race there?”_  
The twins were eager to reach the end of their journey and their exuberant energy was contagious so before long they were darting toward the small dome while the adults teasingly nipped at their tails.

“ _Look, they look like sharks!”_  
A pair of guards lounged outside the dome and they took up positions when they spotted the group.  
“Welcome travelers, to the great city of Atlantis.”  
Another guard spoke up from inside the dome, this one looked like a spotted eagle ray and was holding some sort of writing implements and Takeshi was relieved to find that he spoke Urui.  
There was a distinct dialect, but it was easy enough to understand.  
“Thank you.”  
Takeshi blew a puff of bubbles from his gills as he spoke, struggling to suppress an instinctive need to cough triggered by the strange feeling of speaking underwater.  
“Are you unwell?”  
The guard looked rather concerned and Takeshi could see him carefully tasting the water for any trace of contagions.  
“No, just unaccustomed to speaking this way. I prefer using the bond I share with my pack while in this form.”  
Takeshi had decided not to hide his ability to shift, it would be easier to explain that than explain why a creature that was supposed to be aquatic was occasionally uncomfortable or awkward in the water.  
“Good. Now, may I have your names for the records please?”  
It may have sounded like a question, but there was no doubt they would not be allowed into the city if they didn't comply.  
“I am Takeshi Kiryu, alpha of Pack Kiryu and head of House Shamarai. This is my soulmate and co-alpha, Emelie Eriksson of House Miri, Huntress of the Obsidian Halls and Shirai Lilim.”  
There was a slight taste of shock in the water at the mention of Emelie's heritage, but the guard quickly got himself under control as Takeshi continued.  
“These are our betas, Logan Knight and Amanda Kaiyou. My simoro and second in line to Logan, Dan Lindgren and Jenna Addams, Seed bearer, Huntress and second to Amanda, all of house Shamarai. The girls are Sarah and Maria Eriksson of House Shamarai Miri.”  
Takeshi noticed another slight reaction when he mentioned that he was courting Dan, though, he was unsure if it was because they were both males, or because he was already mated.  
“And those two creatures?”  
The guard pointed toward the two shadows that were playing 'Catch the tail' with the twins.  
“Those are Gere and Freke, lesser shadows and the girls' pets.”  
“Excellent. If you wait here I will have passes made for you. It might take a while though so make yourself comfortable.”  
“Just one question before you go please?”  
“Of course.”  
“Is there some kind of guide that might be willing to help us find our way around here, and help us sort things like currency or some means of trade to earn our keep while we are here?”  
“I am sure one of the apprentices of the Historians Guild will be more than happy to earn some experience by being your guides. I will send someone to ask while I prepare the passes.”  
“That would be most appreciated. Thank you.”

Takeshi had barely had time to make himself comfortable in the sitting-area when a sharp flare of an aura told him something was wrong and a moment later the water became saturated with the acrid taste of poison and he could feel his body rapidly scrambling to counteract the substance, but when a strange power settled over them he lost the fight and as darkness settled over him the last thing he could feel was his pack's fear, and the taste of blood in the water.

 


	81. Song of the City

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As the darkness lifted from his senses Takeshi could feel that his body was restrained, tied to some kind of a bench or table.  
The water no longer tasted like blood and poison but the numb feeling over the bond had him worried, the rest of the pack much still be knocked out by the power and poison they were attacked with.  
“Ah, awake already. A most interesting subject to study.”  
The words were spoken in the same strange dialect of Urui and since the owner of the voice obviously knew he was awake Takeshi didn't bother trying to play possum, instead he opened his eyes and nailed his jailer with a glare.  
The merman looked like some sort of sea-turtle and the wrinkled appearance made him look very old, but his energy was strong and stable, so Takeshi guessed he was still in his prime, he would not underestimate him.  
“There is no point in struggling, these bonds are made with dragonhide and magic, nothing can break them.”  
The turtle tutted at him when he tested the restraints and as far as Takeshi could tell he wouldn't be able to break them.  
“Why have you attacked my pack and me?”  
Takeshi figured he might as well try to get some information while trying to figure out a way to escape, and also try to determine the condition of his pack.  
“Oh, it's nothing personal. I just can't have the Empress find out that there are visitors from beyond the maze here. And I might as well try to figure out just what you are while I'm at it, would be such a waste to kill you without knowing exactly what you are.”

When he didn't say anymore Takeshi chose to focus on the bonds with the others, to his relief the twins came in loud and clear, they were obviously sedated but unharmed, Emelie was also sedated but he was unable to feel anything distinct from her, Knight and Jenna both came in loud and clear, concern and fury.  
Amanda was awake, but disoriented and scared, what had him worried though was Dan, the bond was there, but if felt oddly numb which filled Takeshi with a cold dread.  
“What have you done to my pack?!”  
“Oh, nothing, yet. But don't worry. I'm not planning to kill any of you until I have you all figured out. Now keep still so I can examine that flower on your forehead.”  
When the wrinkled hand reached for his face Takeshi caught a faint taste in the water, the taste of blood, Dan's blood and it set off all his instincts.  
_**“Simoro hurt! Protect! Avenge! Let me fight!”**_  
The beast was clawing at it's cage and Takeshi was more than happy to release it.

“How?”  
The one who had hurt his pack looked at him with wide eyes as he vanished from the table and appeared behind him, using his beasts ability to travel through shadows.  
Takeshi didn't allow the turtle the time to react any further though as he tore into it's neck with his claws, tearing the head clean of the body, not even bothering to draw his blades.  
He could feel his pack to the left so he quickly headed through the doorway and found himself in a smaller room that was significantly colder and was dominated by a row of tables that looked very much like the ones you would find in a morgue.  
The morgue image was further enhanced by the fact that the two shark guards lay on tables, flayed open and their organs stored in sealed jars lined up on the side of the tables.  
A third table was occupied by the eagle ray guard, the ray however was still alive, barely.  
He was bleeding sluggishly from a large wound in the chest and pieces of his wings were missing, the bubbles of mucus and blood from the gills did not bode well, Takeshi doubted the guard would last more than a few minutes longer.  
Takeshi however wanted answers, answers he was hoping the guard might be able to help him with so he forced himself to suppress the almost overwhelming need to find his pack in order to at least try to save the guard's life.  
“Hold still, I might be able to save you. Don't resist.”  
The Blessing wouldn't work as the guard was Other, not human, but Takeshi was hoping that his blood would hold enough power to heal him, so with a swift slash he cut his wrist and pressed it to the guards mouth.  
“Drink! It's your only hope for survival.”  
The reaction was sluggish at first, but after about a minute it grew strong and determined and Takeshi could see that the smaller wounds had stopped bleeding and were starting to regenerate.  
The bleeding from the chest-wound had increased a bit, but paired with the fact that the gills were no longer seeping it was a good sign, it indicated that the blood volume was recovering and the heart was gaining strength.  
“I need to find my pack. You stay here, rest and recover, but don't leave, I have questions for you.”  
The guard opened his eyes and gave Takeshi a weak nod before falling into a deep sleep.

Entering the next room Takeshi nearly lost control again, his pack were chained to similar tables as the guards, even the twins had heavy chains around their wrists and neck and their tails tied down by a strong netting.  
A mask covered Emelie's face and some kind of fabric covered her gills, no doubt to keep her sedated, and on the chains a set of runes glowed.  
He quickly removed the mask and fabric before looking for a way to remove the chains, but it seemed they were locked with magic, not a key.  
Hoping that she would be able to wake up when the poison was no longer forced into her he moved on to the others, removing their simpler chains.  
When he reached Dan his worry came back in full force as he noticed a nasty bump on the back of his head, it was bleeding sluggishly and there was no response from Dan, not even when he pulled on the bond, something he should react to even if unconscious.  
“Come on Dan! Don't you dare leave me!”  
Takeshi was vaguely aware of Emelie using her shadow-abilities to break out of the chains and join the pack in trying to wake the twins, but his focus was entirely on Dan.  
“Dan, amo, please respond.”  
He could feel his pack gathering behind him as he desperately pulled at the bond with Dan, trying to get a reaction.  
He could taste how his own desperation and fear on the water slowly mixed with the taste of tears when Dan didn't respond to him.  
Pulling Dan's limp body into a tight embrace Takeshi began to pour his entire soul into the bond, pushing deeply into Dan's aura and pouring himself into the very core of his soul and his relief was near maddening when he finally felt a flicker of response from deep within Dan's soul.  
_“Take?”  
_ The word carried faintly over the bond as Takeshi felt Dan's hand come up and touch his face.  
“Yokatta...”  
The word was barely a whisper, a sigh of relief, a breath of a prayer as Takeshi carefully turned Dan's head so he could kiss him without aggravating the wound on his head.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“That stuff we were attacked with, can it cause any lasting damage?”  
Takeshi questioned the guard, his concern for the still sleeping twins making his tone far sharper than intended.  
“It's effective, but safe. The little ones will just need more time to wake, you were all given a massive dose, I'm surprised you are awake at all. Me and the other guards have been exposed to it regularly to allow us to build a resistance to it and the dose was enough to put us under in an instant.”  
At the mention of the others guards Takeshi glanced toward the tables that were now covered by some kind of cloth, glad that his pack would not have to see them.  
“Do you have any idea why we were attacked?”  
“None. But it is a serious matter that needs to be brought before the Empress. The one you killed was Modtra, head healer and one of the Empress advisers. His actions betray everything our Empress stands for.”  
After quickly evaluating his options Takeshi decided to tell the guard what the turtle, Modtra had told him.  
“Modtra told me that he attacked us to keep the Empress from finding out that there were visitors from beyond the maze.”  
“So you really are from beyond the maze?”  
“We are.”  
“We thought the maze had been lost, no one has come that way in thousands of years.”  
“Not lost, but hard to reach, the entrance from our side is at the bottom of the deepest ocean. Humans can't reach it without large amounts of equipment, equipment that can't be brought into the maze.”  
“But what of the merfolk of your realm?”  
“I fear most have fled to other realms, or died as humans destroy our realm. It's part of the reason why we are here, we seek the great libraries to try to find a way to prevent humans from destroying the balance of the realms without having to exterminate them.”

The guard silently watched them as they checked on each other and allowed them some time to soothe their fears before speaking up again.  
“We should hurry to the palace, I'm afraid we can't risk waiting for the little ones to wake.”  
“Are you okay to swim?”  
Takeshi looked at the still healing wings.  
“I will be slow and lack my usual agility, but I can make it. Are you able to carry them?”  
He nodded toward the still sleeping twins.  
“I will carry them so the others can fight if needed.”  
Knight spoke up and moved to pick them up when Takeshi gave a slight nod of agreement..  
“A few more questions before we go.”  
Takeshi held out his hand to the guard to help him turn over without straining his healing wounds.  
“Of course, what do you want to know.”  
“Are you able to use telepathy, and what should we call you?”  
_“I am, and you can call me Lorri.”  
_ Takeshi noted that the guard's presence in his mind felts a bit odd, in lack of better descriptions Takeshi would say it tickled, and tasted like bourbon vanilla, he couldn't explain how a thought could have a taste though, it just did.  
“We need to go to the central spire.”  
Takeshi nodded and signaled for the pack to follow Lorri, matching their speed to the injured guard.

Everything was going smoothly until they reached the first of the three inner walls and a group of armed mermen quickly surrounded them which triggered Takeshi's protective nature, the recent events pushing it into overdrive.  
Takeshi could taste the slight sweetness of Emelie's venom mix with the bitter tang of Amanda's and Jenna's venom and Dan's power sparked against his senses as he took up position on the opposite side of their group, carefully keeping Knight and the still sleeping twins in the middle.  
He could feel the hum of Minerva's power and the wash of energy when Emelie pulled her scythe.  
**_“gei hmcg be dfmR bTe a_d_ _!_ _”_**  
Takeshi had no idea what they had said and it pushed his control even further so he coiled tightly against the other and drew his blades with a hiss.  
**“ _gei_!”**  
Lorri moved between Takeshi and the male that had spoken, trying to diffuse the tense situation.  
“They do not speak our language.”  
Lorri used Urui to address the armed male that had spoken.  
“Halt, surrender your weapons and come with us!”  
Despite being spoken in Urui, the demand and threatening posture only heightened Takeshi's response, making him flare his aura in warning and he could feel Jenna nock an arrow in preparation to draw.  
“Stand down! Give them some room. They have suffered an unprovoked attack, the children are still under the effect of the _Dream Conch_ venom and the alpha's simoro was injured. I was injured in the same attack, but the alpha saved me, the two guards at the Fire gate were not so lucky, they are both dead.”  
The group looked confused but were slowly pulling back a bit.  
_“They are palace guards, please try to calm yourself and your pack, get them to stand down.”_  
Takeshi tried, but his instincts were on high alert and it was harder than usual to get the beast within to calm down and allow him full control, and tasting his pack's fear on the water didn't help.

“Back away you stubborn fools!”  
Lorri snapped at the guards who were still carefully edging closer again but it was too late, one of the guard though he had seen an opening and advanced on Dan from a position behind and above, but as he did he moved into Dan's sensory range which made Dan react rather violently, sending out a bolt of lightning that nearly killed the guard.  
The reaction of the other guards was instant and when they moved Takeshi and the rest of the pack reacted as well, Jenna released 3 arrows in rapid succession which took out 3 guards and Takeshi felt the beast surface and take control, killing the guard that was headed for Knight before he had a chance to get control back.  
**“** _ **gei**_ **!** _ **b_Th**_ _ **!**_ **”**  
Lorri called out what Takeshi deducted was an order to stop, but the guards were not listening to him.  
Takeshi's control was still shaky at best when he charged the leader of the group and knocked him off balance before circling behind and placing the ryuken at his throat.  
“Order them to stop!”  
The head guard however refused to comply, it didn't matter much though, the guards all fell within moments as they made the mistake of trying to get to the sleeping twins for leverage.  
Takeshi cursed silently as half the guards were dead, it could very well spell quite a bit of trouble for them, not to mention completely undo their purpose of visiting in the first place.  
With a sharp blow Takeshi rendered the guard he was holding unconscious before focusing on his pack, trying to help them calm down and regain control.  
As he had done before with both Dan and Knight, Takeshi forced his pack to refocus their rampant energy to allow them to calm down without the negative side effects.  
“This is not good, we need to hurry. They will come after you with full force, intent on killing. We need to get you into the central spire and to the Empress, it's your only chance to avoid more death.”  
Looking at the condition of his pack and Lorri's still healing injuries Takeshi decided they could use a bit of help so he turned to the dragon within.  
_“Kiryu-sama are you able to manifest here without draining me?”  
__**“I am.”**_ _  
“Then please, would you help carry us to safety?”  
_ She didn't bother replying, instead he could feel her detach from his soul as she pulled on the power of the realm to manifest.  
_“Dan, go ahead, change your form, there is no point in holding back anymore.”_  
Takeshi watched with pride as Dan's body changed into a larger form that was purely dragon and he couldn't help grinning when he noticed that Kiryu had taken the same basic shape, only larger.  
_**“Hurry, little ones. Hold on tightly.”  
**_ The pack scrambled to her back and as they began moving Dan went underneath her and focused on making sure no one came from below, allowing her to focus on what was in front of her as the others kept her back clear.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The commotion when Kiryu pushed past the guards and landed on the large balcony of the throne room was quite loud as guards scrambled to protect the Empress.  
Lorri quickly called out in the local language and a rather heated discussion ensued before a pulse of power made them all freeze as the Empress slammed the butt of her trident into the flooring.  
**“Enough! They will explain themselves to me and I alone shall decide their fate!”  
** As the room stilled Takeshi finally had the time to look at the female that occupied the large throne.  
Just like Lucifer she was significantly larger than the other merfolk, her tail far more elaborate and she wore a crown of coral, seashells and aquamarine.  
He noticed that unlike most of the other merfolk they had met the skin on the human looking parts of the Empress body was covered in tiny scales, including the face.  
“Thank you Empress.”  
Takeshi bowed slightly as he placed himself between the Empress and his pack.  
It did rile his instincts slightly when she dismissed him with a glance and focused on Amanda.  
“You, what is your name? And how did the Key to Atlantis come to be in your possession?”  
When Amanda hesitated Takeshi gave her a slight nod.  
“It's okay Manda, answer her questions.”  
“I am Amanda Kaiyou of House Shamarai, Beta of Pack Kiryu. This was given to me by my alpha, Emelie, by its own request.”  
The Empress instantly turned to Emelie who spoke up before she had time to ask.  
“It was given to me by Artemis of the Hunt so that we would be able to find our way here in search of knowledge. Knowledge that might help prevent the destabilization of the human realm without needing to terminate the human species.”  
“Only knowledge?”  
The pointed question made some of the guards snicker but Emelie was unfazed.  
“Not really, no. We would settle for knowledge, but we would prefer to add power, weapons and allies to that.”  
“You are honest with you intentions. Good, there might still be hope for you to live.”  
The rather obvious threat made Takeshi growl in displeasure.  
“Ah, protective are we?”  
Before Takeshi had a chance to answer Lorri swam up by his side and addressed the Empress in their own language and after a while she nodded and ordered the guards to move back further and to lower their weapons.

“Speak, alpha. Explain your actions. Tell me why you felt justified killing not only my head healer but several of my guards as well.”  
Takeshi lowered himself to the floor so that he could take the twins from Knight and still be able to keep Dan close as his instincts were still acting up because of Dan's injury.  
Curling his tail around the twins he pulled Dan tightly against his side and once again he noticed a taste of disapproval in the water.  
“If you can not control yourself you will leave. Our ways are not their ways.”  
Takeshi almost smiled at Dan's surprise when the Empress scolded the guards.  
“Our numbers are dwindling, so non-reproductive pairings are frowned upon.”  
With his pack gathered around Takeshi began to explain what had happened since their arrival in the city.

When he was done speaking the Empress raised her trident and tapped it against the floor again.  
“I see. I will give you and your pack a full pardon if you and the other males of your pack consider adding your blood to our city.”  
After a quick talk with Dan and Knight Takeshi agreed that if they were approached by an acceptable female they would not refuse her.  
“But keep in mind, any child sired by my simoro will probably half human, if I sire children they will be whatever their mother is.”  
“We need new blood, any blood. There are too few of us so our bloodlines have become too closely entwined. Even pure human offspring would add much needed blood. If they are unable to live in the water they will be given homes in the spire, above the water.”  
“ Also we will not accept a female who approaches solely out of duty. To us that would be taking advantage and almost as bad as if she was forced.”  
The Empress nodded her acceptance of their terms and announced their pardon with a loud voice.  
“Now rest while I gather my advisers. The watch-commander can show you to suitable guest quarters.”  
“Would it be possible to gain access to a room above the surface?”  
Takeshi wanted to fully assess Dan's injury, and to do that he needed Dan to return to his human form.  
“Not right now, but there are rooms with shields that can be used to remove the water if that will help.”  
“That should work just fine.”

“Here are your rooms. The Empress has ordered a healer to come and have a look at the twins. If they don't wake up themselves within a few hours they might want to try giving them an anti-venom, but it's better if they wake on their own.”  
Lorri opened a large door that led to a set of rooms and waited for them to enter.  
“That would be much appreciated. But right now we would like some time to ourselves, to rest and assess our injuries.”  
Takeshi didn't mean to be rude, but he was tired, his nerves frayed and he could feel his pack's exhaustion.  
“Of course, let me just show you how to operate the barrier.”  
After a quick demonstration of how to make the barrier remove the water in the rooms Lorri left the pack to lick their wounds.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Keep still you overgrown baby!”  
Takeshi scolded a squirming Dan as he tried to get a better look at the wound on the back of his head.  
The magic, the poison, or maybe the combination of both, that they had been attacked with had somehow affected Dan's ability to heal, the wound sustained in the attack had not healed, but the wounds suffered in the fight with the guards had healed normally.  
He carefully probed the large bump which earned him some complaints, but what had him concerned was the redness and heat, signs of an infection.  
“I need to clean this, it's getting infected.”  
“I thought I was supposed to be pretty much immune to stuff like that now?”  
“You are. It seems that the poison, the magic, or the combination temporarily disabled your healing, allowing some kind of infection to take root.”  
“Fine. I guess you need to cut it away, right?”  
“I'm afraid so. I could put you under command to make it easier on you if you want to.”  
“Please don't. I know you. It might make it easier for me, but harder on you.”  
With sharp claws Takeshi cut away the afflicted tissue and watched as the sluggish trickle of dark, thick blood was replaced by a healthy flow of normal looking blood.  
“I hope for your sake I'm not gonna end up with a bald spot.”  
Dan's grousing made Takeshi smile as he licked the wound clean and allowed his power to seal it and accelerate the healing process.  
“Don't worry, you will have your usual nonexistent hairstyle back in no time.”  
“Are you calling me scruffy again?”  
Takeshi didn't bother answering, he just gave the rather wild locks a ruffle that made them stand in every direction.  
Dan pulled back and turned with arms crossed over his chest and nailed Takeshi with a mock glare.  
“Hmpf, not everyone can pull off a braid past their knees you know.”  
“Aw, don't be like that. Come here...”  
Takeshi beckoned with a finger and a wicked smile and he could see a familiar glint in Dan's eyes, it would seem he was feeling the same hunger, the same need.

Takeshi's breath hitched slightly when Dan straddled his lap and reached behind him to give his braid a slight tug, there was no force in the tug, but he tilted his head back anyway, exposing his throat to Dan.  
“Please Dan. I need...”  
Dan's eyes widened slightly at the whispered words, it was rare for Takeshi to outright ask for such things rather than tease and entice and before Takeshi had a chance to say exactly what he needed Dan had silenced him with a kiss.  
Takeshi enjoyed the familiar touch, he had missed it more than he realized, it was just not the same in borrowed form.  
He wasn't sure how long it had been when a flicker of energy at the edge of his awareness made him hold Dan back for a moment.  
_“Someone is watching. I don't mind, so it's up to you if you want to stop.”  
“No, I don't care. I need this too much to stop now.”  
_ Takeshi was relieved that Dan decided to ignore their audience, it would seem Dan's need was just as desperate as his own. _  
“So, how about we give them a good show?”_  
The teasing tone made Dan huff and dig his claws into Takeshi's sides.  
_“You are incorrigible.”  
_ Dan's smile as he leaned in and nipped at Takeshi's throat triggered a flicker of something unfamiliar deep in Takeshi's soul and made him shudder and expose his throat even further.  
“Dan...”  
Takeshi hadn't intended it to be one of their games of dominance, of testing his limits, but he enjoyed it immensely as Dan was more aggressive than usual and knowing that Dan let himself go despite knowing someone was watching them added another layer to the experience.

“No, don't stop. Please.”  
Takeshi could feel that Dan was nearing his end and he didn't want him to stop.  
When Dan came close he would always stop and pull to the side, pulling Takeshi along and surrendering the dominant position, but Takeshi wanted more this time.  
“But I'm almost... I'm going to...”  
There was a taint of embarrassment in Dan's voice that made Takeshi shake his head at him with a smile, Dan had always been a bit hesitant to let go, to really allow Takeshi to see the result of his pleasure.  
“I don't care about making mess... I want to watch you come apart like this.”  
The way Dan's eyes widened and the bright blush was telling and Takeshi gently dragged his claws along his sides before digging them into his hips and pulling slightly which startled Dan back into motion.  
“You know, I love seeing you like this. Makes me want to dig my claws and fangs in and leave my mark on any bare skin I can find.”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep his voice somewhat even and he knew Dan would scold him later for keeping himself reined in instead of letting go and reaching the edge with him.  
“Then do it...”  
There was a slight pause as Dan opened his eyes and locked his gaze with Takeshi's, and when Dan began to move again Takeshi could feel Dan's nails shift and sharpen before digging into his chest.  
Dan's movements quickly picked up pace and became more forceful and before long he closed his eyes and leaned his head back, losing himself to the pleasure.  
Takeshi could feel that Dan was about to reach his peak so he allowed power to flow into his claws as he carefully sank them into the skin of Dan's back.  
“Deeper, please...”  
Takeshi didn't really reflect over Dan's begging words, it was a common enough occurrence of their sometimes rather vigorous sex-life, the words that followed however nearly cost him his focus.  
_“Mark my flesh, not my skin. Carve your power into my bones.”_  
The words were spoken in one of the demon languages, a shadow language that was a derivative of the shadeling language that Ylian spoke and Takeshi had no doubt that Dan knew exactly what he was asking for.  
With a steadying breath Takeshi allowed more power to flow into his claws and dug them in until he could feel the hard, sharp points scrape against bone.  
The pain made Dan arch into him with a groan but he didn't stop moving, if anything his movements became more intense, almost desperate, and then came the wash of power and emotion over the bond as Dan reached his peak and fell into the abyss.  
With Dan's senses temporarily overwhelmed by the release Takeshi raked his claws down is back until he reached the hips where he dug in deep, pouring as much power as he could into the wounds, allowing their bond to act as a spillway to keep Dan from being overwhelmed by the power.  
As he did he could feel Dan's power flow into his own body as well, pouring through the deep punctures in his chest where Dan's claws was digging in.

“Wow...”  
Dan was leaning heavily against Takeshi as his breath slowly settled into its normal rhythm, a sense of euphoria washing over the bond.  
“Indeed. It would seem Ylian taught you a few interesting things.”  
“Yeah, yi did. I wasn't sure you'd agree though.”  
“I told you, didn't I? About how seeing you come undone like that made me want to carve my mark into you and fill it with power?”  
Dan blushed slightly and nodded.  
“I meant every word of it and when you spoke the ritual invitation it made me very happy.”  
Takeshi gently traced his claws along the new marks on Dan's back which rewarded him with a soft sigh and a quivering moan.  
“Turn around and lie down.”  
Dan was radiating excitement and curiosity as he lay down and rolled on his stomach and made himself comfortable.  
Takeshi moved over so he was straddling Dan's thighs and began to trail kisses down his back, focusing on the new marks.  
“My power seems to really favor fire and flames.”  
He trailed the edges of the marks to allow Dan to feel their shape better.  
“Are they similar to the the ones Hugin carries?”  
“They are, but less black and more fire.”  
Takeshi gave Dan a slight nudge telling him to be quiet and keep still before trailing his kisses back up Dan's marks and spine while slowly shifting his position to cover Dan's body with his own.  
Much to Takeshi's relief and joy there was no hint of fear or hesitation in Dan, instead he was all anticipation and invitation, eagerly arching into him, begging to be claimed.  
“Oh, so eager. And who am I to refuse?”  
With a swift and yet agonizing slow movement he claimed what was offered, this time intent on finding his own release as well.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“This library is amazing!”  
Takeshi agreed wholeheartedly with Amanda as she brought him another pile of books to study.  
The library was easily five times the size of the British national library, filled with books, manuscripts and maps, both bound and scrolls.  
It had taken a bit of time to get used to the material used in the books and scrolls, it looked a lot like parchment but it wasn't, instead it was made of some kind of polymer similar to plastic, it was completely waterproof and the only way to write on it was with special crystals.  
This allowed the entire library to be underwater without risking damage to the books but it felt a bit strange to the touch.  
Takeshi set the book he was reading to the side and took the books Amanda carried and sorted them into the piles in front of him.  
“Okay ladies, could you try not to get my hair pinned like that please?”  
He winced slightly when his hair got caught on the seat as he reached for the furthest pile.”  
“Sorry...”  
One of the young females, barely more than a girl, quickly moved his hair aside before continuing to braid it.  
She was one of the females that had been selected and presented to Takeshi, Dan and Knight in hope that they would find them acceptable for breeding.

It might seem a bit harsh to a human, but Atlantis had been isolated for a long time so they had begun to suffer the effects of inbreeding, compounded by the fact that once they mated, they were absolutely loyal to their mates, to the point of being physically unable to lay with anyone but their bonded.  
And they mated for life, a bond could not be undone without killing them, if one was killed the other soon followed, death by grief, the mate would usually follow within a few weeks unless there was a young child that still needed it's patent, that could delay the passing.  
The ones selected for the breeding program were all young, too young to seek a mate but old enough to become pregnant.  
A side effect of that was that most of them were inexperienced and nervous, the fact that Takeshi and the others were outsiders didn't help, nor did the fact that his and Dan's forms were those of the _Naga_ , part serpent or dragon, not fish or other marine life forms like the Atlantean merfolk.  
The closest to their forms were those who were part Moray Eel, the main difference was in the scaling, and the fact that Takeshi and Dan didn't share the moray merfolk's rather hideous facial features.

In an attempt to calm them Takeshi had selected his two favorite prospects from the group that had chosen him and invited them to join them at the library, allowing them to get used to being close to him by letting them play with his hair and braid it into hundreds of tiny braids.  
And it was working, they were no longer flinching or startling whenever he touched them, instead they were staring to welcome his touch, and he could taste curiosity and arousal on the water when he gently dragged his claws over their scaled tails.  
Takeshi knew that Knight was in one of the gardens entertaining those of the accepted females that had picked him, since he wasn't very good at reading there was no real point in dragging him to the library as well.  
Looking across the room to the table where Dan was studying a similar pile of books triggered a rush of fierce possessiveness that Takeshi forced himself to subdue, the instincts of the beast did not like seeing Dan with the young, silvery white ray with the golden marbling.  
She was a beautiful creature, and being an electric ray she was a remarkably good match for Dan, and Takeshi was hoping that they would be successful in breeding, and that the offspring would inherit some of it's sire's lightning nature to add to its own, but Takeshi's instincts did not like seeing his simoro with someone who was not pack.  
The reaction of his two females made it obvious that he hadn't been able to fully suppress his reaction, they had obviously tasted it in the water and their reaction to is was quite interesting.  
The taste of possessiveness in the water was answered by a spike of pleased desire as the pair had interpreted the faint taste as him showing possessiveness of them and he wasn't about to correct them as it helped them all toward their goal.

“Dan, Manda, come here, I think I found something.”  
The texts Takeshi was studying was an in-depth study of how to tap into the raw power of a realm, or a planet, what human scientists called the _'Telluric Current_ '.  
Those who adhered to various Earth oriented pagan beliefs had many names for it; Earth energy, Blood of Gaia, Yggdrasil, Spirit energy, the Eather among others, but out of all the names, Blood of Gaia was the most fitting, the energy was The Mother, life in it's most basic, and pure, form.  
Takeshi had come across it before during his studies at the GCTI, one of the teachers was an avid explorer of quantum theory and had spent quite some time debating her theories with her favorite student who she felt had the potential to truly understand them.  
She had been one of his favorite teachers, she was hired to teach them chemistry and physics as a part of their training, the purpose was to teach them the inner workings of chemical and nuclear warfare as well as various mission oriented adaptations.  
But she had taught them much more, especially Takeshi who had always been eager to learn.

The text and diagrams covered some things he already knew, things he had managed to accomplish with sanctuary crystals, but it also detailed much more advanced concepts.  
“Take, if this stuff works, we could build crystal generators able to supply the entire world with power without damaging the environment.”  
Amanda was right, the section she pointed at was very similar to the power-source they used for their home and vehicles but at a much larger scale, it would allow the raw energy to be transformed into electricity, but in a way that did not cause any damage to the environment.  
“We need to study this, see if they will allow us to copy it.”  
Amanda was early looking over the material and Takeshi nodded his agreement.  
“I think I saw diagrams similar to these in my pile. I'll go check.”  
Dan swam back to his own table, leaving Takeshi and Amanda to study the texts and before long they moved to one of the larger tables where they could spread it all out and gather the pack around it.  
“I really wish we had Angel here now, she would love to study this.”  
The rest of the pack hummed in agreement with their alpha.  
“Well, I need to take a break, Daniels' spirit is driving me insane here. I'll go see if the head librarian will see me.”  
“Can we come with you?”  
The twins liked the library, but their attention-span wasn't the best, there were simply too many things they wanted to explore within the city.  
“Of course, let's go.”

“Of course Shamarai-iero, the Empress has decreed that we are to assist you in any way we are able to. I will assign a few of the apprentice historians to the task, they are skilled scribes and will copy any items you desire.”  
“You have our gratitude.”  
Takeshi gave the head librarian a slight nod.  
“Thanks!”  
As always the twins didn't bother much with formalities, but their curiosity and and excited chirps as they looked around the large office made the old librarian smile.  
“They are curious creatures your little ones. Perhaps they would like to come visit the planetarium some evening and watch the sea of stars?”  
“Oh, can we? Please?”  
“Is the rest of my pack welcome to come as well?”  
“Of course they are. So few of the citizens of Atlantis show any interest in anything that is not of the sea. None of the youths have shown any interest in studying the world above, the worlds beyond.”  
“In that case we will be happy to accept the invitation.”  
They thanked the head librarian again and headed back to the rest of the pack, stopping by Knight for a while before going back inside.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“ _Take, do you have a moment?”_  
Dan's tone was hesitant, he had no desire to walk in on Takeshi with the selected females.  
_“Of course, what can I do for you amo?”  
_ There was a long silence before Dan asked Takeshi to join him outside.  
_“I have been trying to fulfill our promise to the Empress, but... I don't know, It just feels wrong somehow.”_  
The tone turned embarrassed as Dan explained that he had found himself unable to _perform_.  
_“I spoke to Arc, she thinks it may be because of our courting. That it's somehow similar to how her people become unable to lay with anyone but their mate once bonded.”_  
Takeshi chuckled at the nickname for the female ray, her name was near impossible to pronounce and she had been rather upset with the nickname at first until they showed her a lightning arc.  
_“It's possible. It's also possible that I am influencing you over the bond. As I told you my instincts rebel against you being with someone outside the pack. Someone who is not your soulmate.”  
“Could be. But, there is something I would like to try to see if it helps.”_  
Takeshi nodded for Dan to continue.  
_“Would you join us, see if your presence helps. If I'm right it should.”_  
Dan was was blushing vividly, but his mind's voice was sharp and determined so Takeshi agreed to his suggested plan.

When they reached Dan's room he opened the door and moved aside to allow Takeshi to enter first and his position was intentionally very submissive.  
Inside the room Arc was waiting and the water was rich with the taste of arousal and curiosity mixed with a hint of nervous anticipation as Takeshi slowly moved closer.  
The plan that Dan and Arc had thought up was to have Takeshi place a temporary mark on Arc, giving her a small amount of the pack's energy signature hoping that it would help soothe both Dan's and Takeshi's instincts.  
If it worked Takeshi would stay in the room, his presence would be a sign of approval which would hopefully soothe Dan's instincts and allow him to actually be with Arc and impregnate her.  
“Alpha?”  
Dan was keeping himself low, intentionally drawing on the pack bonds and when Takeshi turned to him with a slight hiss he instantly rolled over, baring his neck and belly to his alpha in total submission.  
The taste of Arc's fear increased when Takeshi grabbed her and pulled her closer, forcing her to bare her neck to him, he tried to be gentle but his instincts were burning like fire, adding force to his actions as he sank his fangs into the exposed neck and pushed some of his power into her, claiming her for the pack.  
It wasn't a true pack mark though, it was temporary and would fade in a few weeks unless Takeshi added more power, it was more like a brand, marking her as a possession, spoil of war, or prey.  
Takeshi hated causing her pain, treating her like a possession, but he knew she had not only willingly agreed to it in order to increase her chances of carrying Dan's offspring, she was the one who had suggested it.  
“Beta, your loyalty has pleased your Alpha. Come, claim your reward.”  
The words were those of the Beast and they gave Takeshi a strange feeling, but he knew he had some degree of control at least, the Beast would not have addressed Dan as _Beta_ otherwise.  
Knight might be the official beta, but Dan would always be Takeshi's chosen beta.  
He knew it should be feeling wrong as he nearly tossed Arc into Dan's arms but his instincts was telling him is was right, that it was good, and it had him concerned.  
“Thank you, Alpha.”  
It was obvious that Dan was being affected by Takeshi's instincts as he was far rougher with Arc than Takeshi had thought possible, though she didn't seem to mind.  
Instincts tugged at him again, telling him to ensure that the captured female did not escape his beta so he curled his body around them and saturated the water with the taste of power and control.

“It worked, the seed has taken hold. I am carrying.”  
Takeshi didn't know how Arc could know so soon, it had only been a few hours since the successful coupling between her and Dan, but he trusted her instincts.  
“Congratulation are in order I guess. And my sincere apologies for causing you pain.”  
“I asked for this, it was worth it. And even I could tell that you were fighting your instincts to make it easier for me. You have my deepest gratitude for making this possible.”  
As Arc settled down to try sleep a bit longer Takeshi could feel Dan stirring.  
_“Good morning sleepy head, and congratulations. Arc tells me you will be a father soon.”  
“It worked?”_  
There was relief in Dan's tone.  
_“It would seem so. I don't know how, but she is sure she's carrying.”  
_ Dan took a sharp breath before before releasing it in a deep sigh of relief. _  
“Thank God. I can't do this again Take. Please... Find another way, or I'm out.”  
“Of course amo, no one will force you. The promise was to consider, to try. Don't push yourself to do something you don't feel comfortable with.”  
“I wish they had artificial insemination, would make things so much easier.”  
_ Takeshi paused and considered Dan's words, he made a good point. _  
“You might be onto something. We should talk to one of their healers about it. If it is possible it could solve their problem.”  
_ Takeshi leaned over and gave Dan a soft kiss.  
_“You have made your Alpha proud.”  
_

After the morning meal Takeshi requested to meet with the healers and the Keeper of the Blood to talk about the possibility of using artificial insemination to ensure genetic diversity.  
“I hear we have another successful impregnation. You have our gratitude.”  
Dan looked rather uncomfortable with the praise so Takeshi stepped in and spoke in his stead.  
“My simoro forced himself to go against his instincts to accomplish it, and I will not allow him to suffer that again.”  
“Understandable. Our gratitude is no less, even a single child is infinitely precious to us. It's blood will have the potential to stave of the decline for generations.”  
The Keeper of the Blood showed them the complex family trees of all the citizens of Atlantis, pointing their attention to a few spots where Dan's child would be a suitable breeding choice.  
“We may have an idea that could make it possible for mated pairs to breed outside of their bonds.”  
“It can't be done. Our kind are unable to be with another.”  
“Dan, amo. This is your show, you explain it.”  
Takeshi turned to Dan and encouraged him to speak up.  
“In our realm, we have something called artificial insemination, it's mostly used when breeding livestock to make it possible to breed a high value stud with many females across the realm without risk.”  
Dan gave them a quick explanation of how the method was used on farms.  
“But in the past it has been used by same sex pairs to have children. For a long time they were poorly accepted, they were not allowed to adopt children so many would find a couple of the opposite sex to have a child. However, many of them were unable to to actually have intercourse so they used a primitive version of artificial insemination.”  
He continued to explain how the sperm would be collected and injected using simple syringes.  
“I was thinking, perhaps it would be possible to take two mated pairs and collect the seed of the males, trade it between the pairs and use the method to impregnate the females. It's easy enough for an untrained person to do.”  
He continued with more in depth explanations of how sperm could be stored by freezing to be used later, allowing them to store sperm so that if a male was killed his _'blood'_ would not be lost, and if they combined stasis crystals with low temperature they should be able to store it indefinitely.  
The healers were asking lots of questions, eager to test the method, but the Keeper of the Blood was hesitant, and a bit confrontational.  
Takeshi suspected she had grown accustomed to being considered one of the most important persons in the city, and if Dan's suggestion worked it would be a step toward losing that importance.  
“Take, could you make a syringe from Sanctuary crystal?”  
“Probably, but we really should ask Em to make it, she is far more skilled than me at making complex items.”  
“Yeah, was planning to ask her if she can make one with the stasis effect, but right now I only need one to show what they look like and how they work.”  
Takeshi nodded and took a few grains of the crystal sand he always carried and pushed his power into it and shaped it to a simple syringe and plunger, Emelie would probably be able to make it as a single piece, perfectly sealed.  
“Here.”  
He handed Dan the syringe and leaned back as he showed it to the healers and explained how to work it.  
“Your idea has merit. It will be tested. If it works, you may well prove to be the savior of Atlantis.”  
Dan blushed vividly at the praise and Takeshi couldn't resist teasing him a bit about it, he had always known that Dan had a good head on his shoulders, the man just needed to find his confidence.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Song of the City_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, you are totally building an observatory when we get home.”  
“Agreed!”  
His pack were ganging up on him after their tour of the Atlantis planetarium, which also housed a beautiful observatory where Amanda was currently using the large telescope.  
“Hai hai...”  
It was actually already planned, he simply had not had the time to make a suitable design.

“Are you ready for the Sea of Stars?”  
The head librarian was putting on quite a show and the anticipation of the pack was simmering through the bonds, and on the water he could taste curiosity and anticipation from the females that had joined them as well as Lorri.  
“Then behold, the Sea of Stars!”  
With a flicker of power the lights in the room went out and after a while tiny spots of light began dancing around them and shortly they found themselves surrounded by the glowing kelp forest.  
The illusion looked remarkably real as it slowly shifted, as if moving them toward the surface, then into the air above and out beyond the planet and into the cosmos.  
“It's beautiful...”  
Takeshi didn't expect Dan to be the first to voice his opinion on the display but he did agree wholeheartedly, the illusion was taking them through a completely alien galaxy, showing them unknown stars, nebulas, clouds of luminescent plasma and other things Takeshi had no name for and found himself lacking the words to even describe.  
They traveled to the center of the unknown galaxy and into a spiraling black hole where everything went black for a moment before light came back and showed them a different galaxy, bringing them through it and into the void beyond.

“Take, do you hear that strange sound?”  
Jenna was looking around, trying to pinpoint the source of what she was hearing.  
“I do.”  
It had started as a soft humming sound but morphed into something that sounded a bit like high pitched whale-song and Takeshi was unable to tell where it came from, it seemed to be all around them.  
“What is it?”  
“I don't know, but it's getting louder. Maybe it's a part of the show.”  
“It's not.”  
Arc's voice was filled with awe at the sound.  
“I have never heard heard it myself, but my mother has told me about it. It's the voice of Atlantis, the city herself is singing.”  
“How is that possible?”  
Takeshi found himself intrigued and once his curiosity was aroused it was insatiable.  
“The city, she is alive. But you should ask the librarian, not me.”  
The head librarian was also an elder of the Historian's Guild and Takeshi turned his attention to him.

“The Sea of Stars is a recording made by a species from beyond the great void. They came to your realm before humans became the dominant species. Their great ship crashed in the ocean and they spent generations living by our side before being able to return to the stars.”  
“Another part of the legend proving to be true.”  
Takeshi hummed as he recalled some of the old legends about the Lost City.

 

.·:*¨¨*:·. The Tale of Atlantis .·:*¨¨*:·.

They listened as the librarian began to tell them the story of how Atlantis came to be their home.

Before the first age of man visitors came in a great ship, they had fled their world and after being hunted across their galaxy they fled into the void hoping that their hunters would not dare follow them, but the hunters wanted their ship and would not give up, even braving the void to catch them.  
Their great ship was a living creature, a space-born leviathan that had devoted its entire existence to them in an almost symbiotic relationship, the leviathans were powerful creatures and were highly valued as ships so the hunters followed them across the void and into a new galaxy.  
The ship was weak from the hunt and needed rest, she had been running for generations, but their hunters would give them no rest, instead they hunted them with weapons designed to cause the ship pain without killing it.  
Nearly insane from pain and fear the ship fled toward the singularity at the center of the galaxy they were currently fleeing through and the crew believed it intended to kill itself to get away from the ones hunting it, but they all agreed to stay and die with their ship, unwilling to allow her to die alone.  
What none of them had expected was for the ship to survive and pass through the singularity into a brand new galaxy, but not without cost, they were expelled at great speed and thrown to the edge of the galaxy where the ship crashed into the third planet of a small yellow star.  
While her crew all survived the ship herself was grievously wounded and sank to the bottom of the sea.

In this sea they met new creatures and formed an alliance, they agreed to share their knowledge in return for safe haven.  
For many years the visitors tried to heal their ship, but the damage was too severe, she was in pain, and her mind had taken damage from the constant fear and agony.  
With heavy hearts they forced her into her reproductive cycle and she laid a single egg before they terminated her higher brain functions, leaving a living shell that was able to grow and change, able to nurture the offspring, but no longer held a sapient mind.  
The changed the form of the ship into a great spire, a monument to her own death and while the infant creature grew they taught their hosts how to care for what remained of her and the great city was born from the fallen ship and given her name, Atlantis.

 

.·:*¨¨*:·. The Tale of Atlantis .·:*¨¨*:·.

“You should speak with the Empress on this. I believe the city is singing because of you. This chamber is directly connected to the seat of her soul, what the visitors called her 'Primary Neural-nexus' and I believe she is sensing you, calling out for you.”

 

 


	82. The City Awakens

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi and the pack were gathered outside the doors to the throne room, waiting for the herald to call them before the Empress.  
Nearly two weeks had passed since their visit to the observatory, and the Sea of Stars, since the city began to sing to them and Takeshi was eager for some answers.  
He estimated they had waited for about an hour when the herald announced the entrance of House Shamarai.

When they entered the throne room Takeshi noted that the Empress was flanked by a number of creatures and he recognized the new Head Healer as well as the Keeper of the Blood, so he assumed the others were the members of the council, the Empress' personal advisers.  
When his gaze fell to the throne and the creature at the empress side, the Majordomo, his breath hitched for a moment as he was slammed with a familiar feeling, _Simiriwi_ , The Calling, Recognition.  
The feeling that told him that she was a true match for him, someone that would make a good mate.  
Her appearance might be considered downright hideous, but Takeshi was seeing beyond that, seeing only the power and function of her form, part vampire squid, part deep sea anglerfish, and the parts that looked human on most merfolk was gorgon in her case, but to him she was beautiful.  
_“Take?”_  
Emelie's tone held a slight concern.  
_“I'm okay. It's the Majordomo, she is a match for me.”  
“The calling?”  
“Indeed.”  
“She is a rather unique creature.”  
_ There was an amused curiosity behind the diplomatic words, but no rejection or refusal, Emelie would take the time to get to know the new female before making her decision on whether she would allow him to approach her or not, and he would respect her decision, her right as his soulmate and co-alpha.

“Takeshi of House Shamarai, it has been brought to my attention that a member of your house is the reason Atlantis sings. The only way that is possible is if they are a true descendant of the Visitors.”  
There was a hushed murmur from the rest of the court as the Empress spoke, and Takeshi could taste Amanda's concern in the water and for a moment it distracted him from studying the Majordomo.  
_“Wait, is she saying I'm part alien?”  
“No, if you were the Blessing wouldn't have worked on you. My guess is that your soul comes from one of them, or their descendants.”_  
Amanda's relief was strong and once she was relaxed Takeshi turned his attention back to the female that his soul was telling him he should claim as mate.  
“So we have been told. It is my belief that our beta, Amanda, is the one to have caused the city to react.”  
It took quite a bit of effort to keep focus on the conversation with the Empress as the Majordomo was pulling at his attention, he found her reaction to be a bit puzzling, she looked shocked, almost afraid, as if the Calling was something unknown to her.  
As his desire to have a private meeting with the Majordomo increased he could feel a teasing amusement from his pack.  
“It is vital that we know for sure. You will be brought to the Chamber of Memories, you will all be tested.”  
Takeshi's instincts told him that it would be a bad idea to try to refuse so he nodded his agreement and moments later the Majordomo leaned in toward the Empress, obviously speaking for her ears alone.  
They watched as the Empress listened and after a while she nodded and turned to them.  
“My Majordomo will personally oversee the testing.”  
Takeshi couldn't help a slight surge of excitement and anticipation at the promise of an opportunity to get closer to the female that pulled at his soul.

The Majordomo swam over to them and nodded for them to follow her.  
“You may address me as Sheealia.”  
“Take.”  
Takeshi gave a knowing smile at the slight widening of Sheealia's eyes when he offered her his hand in greeting.  
“Wow, you look really scary!”  
“So cool!”  
Sarah and Maria swam around Sheealia to get a closer look at her features while the rest of the pack exchanged greetings and Takeshi was smiling widely at Sheealia's surprise as the twins showed no fear, even asking to touch the hissing serpents that adorned her head.  
The girls trusted that someone who was an ideal match for him would not be someone who would harm then.

Once they had left the throne room behind them Sheealia turned to Takeshi with a hushed voice.  
“I find myself surprised, and at a loss as to what to believe. I had long since resigned myself to never even consider a mating, and now I find myself Called by instinct.”  
“Care to share why you would give up on finding a mate?”  
Emelie swam in between Takeshi and Sheealia before he had a chance to answer, demanding her right as his soul-mate.  
“I am the last of my kind. There was a male when I was young, and we were planning to mate once I came of age, but he was killed in an accident before that. I swore at his grave that I would not take a mate that was not a true mate and before today I have never felt even a flicker of the Calling, and as Majordomo I have met every single soul in Atlantis.”  
Takeshi pulled back slightly as Emelie demanded further details from Sheealia, testing if the female was worthy to be a potential co-mate.

Sheealia slowly led them to the base of the central spire, then down into the catacombs below it where the gentle glow of bioluminescence guided their way.  
_“Daddy, there's something down here that needs healing.”_  
Maria's tone was hushed and sharp, narrowly focused over the bond to make sure no one would be able to sense it or overhear and Sarah echoed her in agreement.  
_“It's probably the city, remember what the librarian told us?”  
“That she was injured and they cut her mind away to stop her pain when they couldn't heal her.”  
“That's right. You probably feel the city's desire to be healed, to be whole.”_  
Takeshi wasn't the least bit surprised that the girls was feeling a need to heal the the alien creature that had been reshaped into the beautiful city.  
Deep inside he knew that Amanda would be able to connect with the city, he knew the girls would heal it, he had long since stopped questioning such things, knowing that the Fate's had a hand in guiding him and his pack.  
And he was happy that he had acted on what was no doubt the Norns pulling his strings, seeing Dan doting on Arc, the girls eagerly engaging Sheealia and feeling Amanda's nervous anticipation gave him a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“This way.”  
Sheealia gestured toward a door with a pair of armed guards outside who quickly opened the door and moved aside.  
Takeshi took the lead and brushed past Sheealia, close enough to fill her gills with the taste of his pheromones, it was an action that was considered rather inappropriate but he wanted to see how she would react to the taste of him.  
He was not disappointed when her eyes widened slightly and her breath slowed, carefully pulling in the pheromone saturated water and tasting it thoroughly before pushing it through her gills with a bubbly huff that made it abundantly clear that she knew exactly what Takeshi was up to.  
The way she brushed against him in return as she re-took the lead position to guide them down a winding hallway made it equally clear that she did not mind in the least and he paused for a moment to fully appreciate her flavor before pushing the rich water through his gills in a teasing huff.  
Her taste was mostly pleasant and somewhat intriguing, but it held a taint of doubt that rubbed Takeshi the wrong way, he recognized the feeling brought on by that doubt, he had come across it during their first stay in the Obsidian Halls.

He had been approached by a mated pair who wished to acquire his services as guide for their daughter, not an uncommon occurrence after he had proven his worth, the father was an Obsidian angel and the mother was from one of the white-winged tribes and the daughter was beautiful but shy, and she had given of the same kind of doubt he now sensed from Sheealia.  
As the parents spoke Takeshi found himself struggling with his fury, they had approached him in hope that his human origins would allow him him look past their daughters _'unfortunate'_ appearance and it took him a while to figure out what they were referring to as he found her to be quite beautiful.  
The young female had been a perfect mix of her parents, her feathers displaying various shades of gray that brought a stormy sky to mind.  
But it soon became obvious that her coloring was considered homely and abnormal, apparently children of mixed heritage either favored the strongest parent and had pure black or pure white wings, or in rare cases a mix of pure white and pure black feathers, not shades of gray like the young female had.  
The doubt he felt from her, and now from Sheealia, was the doubt of someone who all their life had been told that they were not attractive and it stirred his temper, he would ensure to put his best effort into wiping such notions and doubts from her mind, as he had done with the lovely little storm-winged angel.  
By human standards Sheealia was hideous, the stuff of nightmares, but she was not human so he would not judge her by human standards, her form was well balanced between speed, agility and raw power and he knew enough of gorgons to know that she would be considered good looking.  
He had noticed that the merfolk could be rather nasty toward some of their subspecies, especially those with a more beastly appearance, like the moray and various deep-sea variants such as anglers and dragonfish, especially those that had less human looking facial features.  
Sheealia's gorgon heritage gave her the distinct serpent hair and she had the fangs and lure of a deep-sea angler which made her look rather monstrous but Takeshi couldn't say she was ugly, there was a distinct balance in her appearance that appealed to him.  
He promised himself that he would try his best to wipe any notion of inadequacy from her mind before turning his focus back on their current situation, he wasn't too fond of being ordered around, but now was not the right time to pit his will against that of the Empress.  
Sheealia opened the door at the end of the winding hallway and Takeshi quickly took point, his instincts as alpha demanding that he show his dominance.  
Usually they didn't bother him much, but feeling the Calling combined with the need to unwillingly submit to the Empress was setting him on edge.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The inside of the new room looked decidedly organic with thick flesh like vines crawling along the walls, slowly pulsing with light.  
In the center of the room was a thick mass of the same vines, but it was severed in half, dark and appeared somewhat wilted.  
He listened with half an ear as Sheealia explained that this room was a place to access the pathways between the brain and body of the leviathan that had become the city and combined with the information the librarian had given them Takeshi quickly sorted the puzzle.  
The pulsing light was obviously the nerve impulses of the creatures version of a autonomic nervous system, left intact it kept the creature in something similar to a vegetative state where the function of the body could be maintained.  
There was a strange looking machine attached to the severed section that occasionally pulsed light into the dark mass and Takeshi guessed it was somehow replicating some of the higher brain functions and stimulated the tissue to keep it from degenerating to the point where it would affect the basic functions.  
The machine also seemed to prevent the severed tissue from healing.

“Few are able to connect to Atlantis, but those that are are very important to us, they are needed to keep her healthy, to keep her from degrading.”  
Takeshi listened as Sheealia explained that all children born in Atlantis were brought to this room to test them, to see if they were able to connect.  
He had no doubt in his mind that Amanda would be able to, and he had a feeling that the twins would be able to to some extent as well, Knight probably would not be able to and for the rest of them it would be the flip of a coin, with himself probably having a somewhat better chance.  
“Shamarai iero, I assume you wish to go first ?”  
“Indeed I do. But there is no need for titles, you may address me as Take.”  
She nodded slightly and Takeshi found himself with an irresistible urge to tease her a bit so he added that she could call him _'amo'_ if she preferred to which she blushed vividly and her serpent hair hissed at him.  
Slowly approaching the severed bundles of nerves he used a flare of power to purify his hands before gently placing his palms against the exposed tissue, bridging the gap with his own body.  
At first there was no reaction, then after a while he could feel a gentle trickle of energy, it was welcoming, and curious, but also slightly hesitant and careful, it would seem Atlantis did not want anyone to know that he was able to communicate with her, and he didn't mind.  
The mind that brushed against his own felt strong and healthy, making him believe that the creature had been able to recover and heal over the ages.

After a few minutes Sheealia nodded for him to step back and allow the next person to try so he carefully broke of the contact before nodding for Emelie to step up, insisting that they follow the ranks of the pack which Sheealia accepted with a huff.  
_“She's alive...”_  
Emelie's tone carried a distinct amazement, she had not expected to get any reaction from the ancient leviathan.  
_“Indeed, but she does not seem to want them to know that.”  
“Don't worry, I won't give her away.”_  
While Emelie explored the sensation of the alien mind Takeshi took the time to silently tell the others about what they had found and what they might expect.  
As expected Knight could feel no reaction from the city and he quickly stepped aside to allow Amanda to try, and the reaction to her was instant.  
The moment she touched the exposed tissue it came alive with a bright pulsing light that made Sheealia stare at her in awe.  
“Such a strong reaction. You're a descendant of the Visitors, you have to be...”  
_“Are we going to tell her the truth?”  
_ Amanda's distraction with the city made her use the familiar to ensure that Sheealia didn't pick up on their communication. _  
“Not unless I feel she can be trusted.”  
_ For now they would allow Sheealia her belief that Amanda was a blood descendant of the aliens that the people of Atlantis simply called the Visitors.

They watched while Sheealia had Amanda do various tasks to test how the city responded to her and she told Takeshi that Atlantis felt like she was eager to please and Sheealia was deeply shocked when Amanda was able to make Atlantis repair a broken bridge and quickly ended the tests and asked Dan to try.  
Dan's empathic abilities allowed him to feel the city, but she didn't respond to him and Jenna had no reaction at all which was not a surprise to them.  
The twins had a somewhat different reaction, the city responded to them by singing and they both felt as if the song was asking them to heal her, to restore the severed tissue, but they made sure not to let Sheealia know, instead they silently begged Takeshi to help them get a chance to heal the city.

“This needs to be brought before the Empress immediately, especially Lady Amanda's remarkable ability.”  
Sheealia began ushering them toward the exit and seemed set on dragging them back before the Empress right away.  
“Can I at least get some time to rest? It was quite draining.”  
Takeshi could tell that Amanda wasn't being entirely truthful and that there was something she wanted to settle down and talk about.  
“Very well, someone will be sent to pick you up after the evening meal.”  
“How about you come join us for the evening meal, get a chance to talk, to get to know each other a bit? Then you can bring us before the Empress yourself.”  
Takeshi instantly took the opportunity to invite her and to his relief she accepted after telling them that she had a lot to do and that it would be much appreciated to not have to prepare a meal for herself.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Once back in their rooms Takeshi asked Emelie to grow one of the crystal clusters that they used to create barriers, in this case a barrier to ensure privacy while the spoke about what had happened during their testing.  
“You know, I'm kinda jealous. I couldn't feel anything at all.”  
Jenna's muttered complaint made them all smile and Knight tried to soothe her by telling her that he hadn't sensed anything either and the twins assured her that Atlantis was just being a bit shy.  
“And I wish I hadn't been able to feel her so keenly. She is scared, and angry. And I don't blame her, she let me see some of her memories and it was horrible.”  
Amanda curled into Takeshi's side, seeking support and comfort which he readily gave her while waiting for her to continue.  
“I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about in front of the girls. Can I show you in the dreamscape instead?”  
The girls did complain a bit but when Takeshi promised that they could see anything that was suitable later they quickly settled down with their lessons.  
“I will keep an eye on them, meditation was never my strong suite.”  
Knight's offer had the others snickering and teasing for a bit before moving into the smaller room that they used for sleeping.

With the twins occupied in the other room under Knight's watchful eye Takeshi settled down with his pack curled against him and with a calming breath he began to pull and push on the pack bonds, gently putting them to sleep and drawing them into the dreamscape.

.·:*¨¨*:·.-Dreamscape-·:*¨¨*:·.

At first there was only darkness around them but Takeshi could feel that they were indeed in the dreamscape, then suddenly there was light, dizzy, disturbing and strange lights.  
“She can't remember much from before the crash, the shock of the impact and the severe injuries has caused a form of retrograde amnesia, but she is convinced that the memories are still there, just not accessible without further healing. Healing that she is hoping that the twins will be able to supply.”  
Amanda's voice was low but steady as she explained what they were seeing.

The darkness was the passage through the singularity and the distorted lights that followed was caused by the extreme exit speed out of the massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.  
They could feel the creature's pain and fear as it desperately tried to regain control and less than a minute later the light jarred to a halt, then a flash of heat and jarring pain.  
Somehow the creature was able to completely negate inertia, allowing it to slow down from its extreme speeds, though Takeshi was unable to grasp how such a speed was even possible to attain in the first place.  
Atlantis had traversed the distance between the center of the Milky Way and Earth in a matter of seconds, a distance of roughly 25.000 light-years, placing its velocity somewhere between the insane and ludicrous parts of a scale he had previously only vaguely classified as _'Impossible'_.  
As she crashed into the Earth ocean everything was completely overwhelmed by pain for a while, then slowly her senses cleared and the pain was subdued by an intense joy and relief that she had been able to protect her crew, most had minor injuries, but no one had been killed and there were no severe injuries.

“The great leviathans form an almost symbiotic relationship with their crews, they provide them with everything they need, every comfort, in return the crew provides companionship, guidance and purpose, and helps the otherwise gentle creatures defend themselves from attackers.”  
Amanda's voice wavered slightly as she struggled to keep Atlantis memories and pain separate from herself.  
The obvious strain caused the pack to gather around her in support.

As the memories continued to play around them the joy soon gave way to a jumble of images and a deep, soul rending, pain no doubt caused by the injuries she had sustained in the crash, there were soothing voices trying to calm her but nothing made the pain stop.  
Then there was a strong voice, authoritative, demanding that was soon followed by an awareness of new life growing, many little lives that were familiar, she had birthed those before, but also a bigger life, something new, something like herself.  
For a brief moment she was aware of her offspring, then there was total nothingness.

“They severed her higher brain functions before she had a chance to bond with her child to ensure her pain would not affect it and for a long time she was not aware of anything. Then slowly, as her healing body tried to compensate for the severed connections she began to gain a small degree of awareness of her new 'crew', of the creatures living within her new form.”  
While Amanda spoke seemingly random images flickered by before settling on an impressive female.  
“The previous Empress, she was a formidable female who ruled with wisdom and heart, but an iron fist when needed. She was murdered in order to place her weaker daughter on the throne, a new ruler that lacked the strength needed to stand on her own, who was dependent on the council, and could be manipulated. A puppet for the elders.”  
The images shifted and followed the young Empress, showing how she again and again was manipulated by members of the council into passing laws that slowly gave the members of the council and their benefactors more and more power, splitting the previously equal society into three distinct castes.

Lorri had told them about the three castes, the Imperial, Artisan and Worker castes.  
The Imperial caste held almost all power and wealth and consisted of the Empress, the council and a select few wealthy families who had bribed and backed the council, it was also home to the top levels of military and guards.  
Only the Imperial caste were allowed to enter the central spire unless by specific order by the Empress and they were the only ones allowed to make their home inside the innermost walls.

The Artisan caste didn't have any real power, but they lived comfortable lives and could accumulate quite a bit of wealth, though nowhere near as much as the Imperial caste.  
It consisted of skilled artisans and scholars, as well at the remaining military and guards that were not part of the Imperial caste.  
They were allowed to travel within the inner walls and could make their homes in the second and third tiers, but they were not allowed with the spire unless by Imperial order.  
The wealthy families, mid ranked military and guards as well as the masters of the artisan guilds lived within the second tier while lesser artisans and the low ranked military and guards lived within the third tier.

The Worker caste was little more than serfs, they had no power, and no wealth, more often than not they barely scraped by and they were not allowed beyond the inner walls unless by Imperial order.  
They were farmers and hunters as well as various unskilled workers, and professions with low status.

There were also the caste less, beggars, vagabonds, outlaws and any that were unable to work for the city.  
They were not allowed within the walls but the Worker caste did what they could to see to that they survived.

The images shifted once again, this time showing their approach and there was a strong sense of joy as Atlantis realized they were newcomers, outsiders.  
But that joy was quickly replaced by fear, anger and shame as she was unable to warn them of Modtra's intentions, prevent the attack or do anything to help them.  
And they could feel that she deeply mourned the death of the two shark guards.

The images showed their trip to the observatory and the joy returned as the closeness allowed Atlantis to truly feel them and when they were taken to the nexus and touched her there was hope and longing.

.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Dreamscape-·:*¨¨*:·.

“I need to bond deeper with her, and she needs to be healed before I can get any more specific information from her. Take, I know this is supposed to be your destiny and all, but I think we were sent here to restore her, and bring her to the human realm. I don't know how, but I just know that the merfolk belong in our realm, that they are a part of the balance that needs to be restored.”  
Amanda's tone was slightly hesitant, almost apologetic, concerned that she was somehow stepping into Takeshi's territory.  
“I think you're right. The Mother once told me that the Fates made sure we would meet. Throughout all of existence, the infinite refractions of reality, your life only had two base paths. Either death at the hands of whoever Roberts sold you to, or being rescued by me and Em and finding your way to Atlantis.”  
Takeshi carefully reassured her, soothing her concerns and encouraged her to speak up, to voice her thoughts.  
“I also think that Sheealia is a part of what we are here to accomplish. The Empress is in essence an insecure child who is eager to please and as majordomo Sheealia has her ear, and her trust.”  
Takeshi didn't like the idea of manipulating the Empress, but for the future of the realms he might be forced to.  
“How much could that really help though? As long as the current Empress rules the council will always be able to sway her, and they might even be able to turn her against Sheealia, make her select another majordomo.”  
The others quickly agreed with Amanda's concerns and Takeshi agreed, he had the same concerns himself.  
“I honestly don't think there is much we can do for her. She has probably become too accustomed to doing what the council wants. From what we were able to see in the memories that Atlantis shared they have manipulated her since early childhood.”  
Takeshi hated the thought of what might be needed to ensure that Atlantis and her citizens survived and ultimately bring the merfolk back to the human realm.  
“From what we have seen so far I'm afraid Atlantis is doomed unless there is a change in leadership, the Empress simply lacks the strength of mind to enforce what needs to be done, and the council lacks the will.”  
“Are you suggesting we stage a coup?”  
The look Dan gave him made the others laugh while Takeshi shook his head with a smile.  
“Nothing quite as drastic if I can help help it. My line of thought runs more toward seeing to that an heir is born with the strength needed.”  
“Lemme guess, a child of yours? A child that you have made sure inherits certain aspects of your personality?”  
“Indeed. Ylian taught me a lot about controlling what becomes of my progeny.”  
“But, would she agree?”  
Jenna's question was at the heart of his concerns about the plan.  
“I believe she would if she thinks it's in the best interest of her people. So far she seems to have been excluded from the breeding program despite being the one individual that is genetically the furthest from the others. I believe the Keeper of the Blood intentionally keeps her out of it to avoid the risk of _diluting the blood.”  
_ It was obvious that the imperial line carried some rather unique genes, the sheer size of the Empress was proof enough of that, but Takeshi had also found references in the library that indicated that the imperial line had interbred closely with the Visitors.  
“But before we commit to any plans we need to confirm that the situation is indeed as bad as Atlantis believes it to be.”

With the pack in agreement they began drawing up plans for how to access the situation, starting with Sheealia at dinner and trying to get closer to the Empress when they met with her to speak about Amanda's ability to connect with Atlantis.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“This food is quite interesting once you get past having to keep it above the water. What did you call it again?”  
Sheealia picked another piece of makizushi with a smile that showed way too much fangs for most species to be comfortable.  
“It's called Sushi, it's one of the most famous foods of my homeland. This is Makizushi, or just Maki. The pieces there with the fillings on top are called Nigirizushi.”  
Takeshi had used the field to remove about one third of the water in the room to allow the food to be prepared and served above the surface while still having enough water for them all to be comfortable while in aquatic form.  
It had been quite a feat to cook the rice though, and he was glad he had taken the time to prepare waterproof containers with everything needed to prepare his demon realm version of sushi rice.  
It was easy enough to create a transportation rune to bring them from the warehouse in the Obsidian Halls.  
“Sushi, huh? It's not like anything I have ever eaten before, but I really hope I will have a chance to try it again.”  
“I could teach you how to make it if you are willing to suffer the discomfort of having to work out of the water.”  
“I think I would enjoy that.”  
There was a distinct rise in pheromones in the water that made it quite obvious that Sheealia was responding well to Takeshi's not so discreet flirting, and giving as good as she got, just in the way of her people.

“So, Sheea, care to elaborate on how the mating practices of your kin differs from those of the others here?”  
Takeshi had been keeping the conversation focused on Sheealia under the guise of curiosity about her species of merfolk, but it had a somewhat more sinister purpose as well.  
If she was accustomed to him asking personal questions she would hopefully not think to much about questions about her work and relationship with the Empress.  
“Oh, curious are we?”  
“Of course, how else am I to properly woo you?”  
Takeshi found that he enjoyed her laugh, when she spoke her voice was rather coarse but her laughter was bright and clear and it made her sound younger.  
“You are really intending to go through with this, aren't you?”  
There was disbelief and curiosity in her voice.  
“I do. Unless you have a very good reason why we shouldn't, I see no reason not to see where the simiriwi takes us.”  
Sheealia paused at his words and when she spoke up her voice was lower than usual and the water tasted a bit of embarrassment.  
“Well, I wouldn't want to mate someone I can't have offspring with, and there might be a few compatibility issues as my kind reproduces a lot like the squid whose form we partially share.”  
“Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about. I am a shapeshifter after all. One of the perks being the ability to borrow the form of my bonded female to ensure compatibility.”  
The change Takeshi had gone through after binding Hugin's soul to himself assured he would be able to impregnate Sheealia should they become mates.  
“Figures...”  
Sheealia's response was accompanied by a huffing sigh before she began to tell them about her species.

“So even if mated your kind don't stay together much? And, did you say your kind actually lays eggs?”  
Emelie interrupted Sheealia as she was telling them about how her people mated.  
“That's right.”  
Sheealia had explained that like the other merfolk her kind was intensely loyal to their mates, forming monogamous pairs that remained mated for life.  
But they rarely lived together, instead they would rendezvous during the female's ovulation and once she had laid her eggs the males would leave again.  
The male did stay nearby though, securing a territory where the offspring could grow up in safety until they were old enough to protect themselves.  
“If you were to mate our dear Take here, you would be okay with staying in Atlantis alone when we return to the human realm?”  
Emelie's curiosity was quite obvious, the revelation did seem to solve one of the concerns she had with the idea of Takeshi mating Sheealia.  
“I would, for the most part at least. For the first few decades I would have my hands full raising our offspring, who would no doubt be a handful with **that** for a father. I would miss him once I'm ready to go into season though, but that can be suppressed.”  
The teasing quip about what kind of trouble a child fathered by Takeshi would be had the pack laughing and teasing in a matter of moments.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“It's time to meet with the Empress.”  
Sheealia gave the twins a gentle nudge to get them to stop playing with the serpents of her hair and was rewarded with pouts and puppy eyes.  
“We can play more once we are done talking to the Empress and the Council, okay?”  
“Yay!”  
The serpents had been the focus of a lot of curiosity from the twins and they had been delighted when Sheealia agreed to let them play with them.  
While they were a part of her body, and under her total control when she wanted to, they also had minds of their own, capable of independent thought and action, though mostly it allowed them to keep from getting tangled, and allowed them to have defensive reflexes.  
Takeshi found that watching Sheealia interact with the twins, seeing her relax as they explored her hair, calmed his instincts and brought about a deep feeling of contentment that was very similar to the feeling that he had learned to identify as _'pack'_.

The glares from the council elders set Takeshi on edge, it was quite obvious that they did not like the fact that an outsider had been able to not just connect with the city, but control it.  
Even the the twins were picking up on the hostility making them flare their fins and hiss at the gathered council while Gere and Freke were at their side, fangs bared and power flaring.  
When one of the elders flared his fins and hissed back at the twins things went a bit insane, with the pack already on edge the threatening display triggered a rather intense reaction.  
The elder that had showed the aggressive display found himself face to face with a royally pissed of alpha in all his glory, wisps of dark power at the tips of his fins and claws as the shadow within rose and shared power and control in defense of their pack.  
Above them Dan's power crackled and Takeshi could feel the change in the bond with Dan as he abandoned the naga form in favor of his dragon form, assuming the beta position and covering their backs as Knight's ability to fight was limited underwater.  
“I know you guys don't have packs, so I'll give a few pieces of advice. It's not wise to threaten a pack member in front of their Alpha. And it's an especially bad idea to threaten the young that are unable to defend themselves, it will pit you against the entire pack.”  
Jenna's tone was rather amused as she explained a few things about packs, and alphas.  
“Right now I suggest you avert your gaze and bare your throat and belly. That should allow our sweet little co-alpha to calm our not so sweet alpha down enough for him not to gut you at the slightest twitch.”  
Jenna's suggestion was met with more glares, but when Sheealia barked out an order in the local language they slowly obeyed and Emelie carefully approached Takeshi to calm him down while Knight took care of Dan.  
Knight was taking full advantage of the fact that Dan's beta nature had an instinctive need to submit to his own alpha nature, it did take quite a bit longer than normal though to get him to submit.

Once things had settled down Sheealia presented her reason for bringing them before the Empress and the Council.  
Takeshi could tell that she was somewhat surprised by the rather hostile reaction of the Council, he however was not.  
Out of the 12 seats of the Council only 3 were openly welcoming, the new head healer, the Keeper of the Records, who happened to be the head librarian and an old female he didn't recognize, but her clothing told him she was of the Worker caste.  
He noted that only 2 of the Council were of the Worker caste, there were 4 Artisans caste and the remaining 6 were Imperial caste.  
The other Worker guild representative and the Artisan guild representatives were somewhat hesitant, unwilling to show their feeling about Takeshi and the pack but the Imperial caste representatives were openly hostile.  
“The female beta has shown the strongest link to the city I have ever seen. She was able to trigger repairs of the bridges above the Air gate market.”

The city was underwater, but it was designed with numerous walkways and bridges connecting the towering spires of the city, it convinced Takeshi that Atlantis in her city shape had once been intended to be above the surface.  
And he had noticed that the room with the severed neural-nexus was quite far down from where they entered, by his estimate at least 15 floors below ground level, but the city probably reached much deeper than that.  
If it was designed to float it probably needed that to balance the high central tower, though it was possible that was an adaptation to its solid position on the bottom of the ocean.

“Both alphas and the children caused a reaction, though nowhere near as strong. I believe they should all be trained and tested further.”  
Sheealia continued to point out that if Takeshi carried the _blood_ needed to interact with the city his offspring would be even more valuable to them.  
“If it please our Empress I will personally oversee things.”  
Sheealia's suggestion caused a bit of a stir among the Council, but the sharp tap of the Empress's trident against the floor calmed them, but much to Takeshi's annoyance they continued in the local language.  
Emelie and Knight were getting a fair understanding of it thanks to their demonic abilities, but it still riled Takeshi that he had to wait for a translation which quickly caused the water around him to taste of agitation.  
“I do believe the polite thing to do when asking someone a favor is to at least speak a language they understand.”  
Jenna's voice carried a distinct tone of contempt for the Council and it caused another bout of bickering before Sheealia raised her voice with serpents hissing, telling them to either speak Urui or shut up.  
“It's too dangerous! That monster killed my sister's mate, before long she will be dead too. That's two members of the council dead by his actions.”  
One of the older females from the imperial caste spoke with venom in her voice.  
“Your sister's mate died by his own foolishness. He attacked Pack Kiryu, severely injuring their alpha's simoro and capturing them. And when the alpha woke up Modtra continued to threaten his pack.”  
Sheealia bit back in a rather sharp tone, it seemed she had a certain level of distaste for the female that spoke, maybe for the Council in general.  
“And the guards? Several injured and two dead. Are we just going to let them get away with that?”  
The one that spoke was the same shark type as the twin guards that had been killed, maybe a relative.  
“Your nephews were killed by Modtra, not the pack. As for the palace guards that unfortunately died they escalated the situation against the Watch-commander's direct orders and tried to attack. They tried to get to the sedated children to use them as shields...”  
There was a hint of anger in Sheealia's voice and the water carried a hint of a possessive, protective, flavor that made Takeshi's instincts soar,  
“And we should just take their words for it?”  
The shark, who Sheealia had confirmed was related to the dead guards scoffed at her words.  
“No we shouldn't, and we haven't. The watch-commander confirmed their story while under the sway of the Glaive.”

Takeshi had read about the Glaive in the library, a sentient weapon with the ability to force anyone cut by it to answer it's wielder truthfully for as long as the wound bled.  
It was just one of many very interesting weapons mentioned and he hoped they would be able to gain access to the Atlantis armory and convince some of the weapons to come with them.

“Enough squabbling!”  
Another sharp tap of the Empress trident silenced the room again but it was rather obvious that the council had more they wanted to say, but Takeshi guessed they didn't want to risk the sway they held over the Empress by openly challenging her rule.  
“My Majordomo has offered to see to their education and testing and I agree with her. If the young beta is indeed able to make the city regenerate we need their help.”  
She marked her decision with a sharp tap of the trident and a flare of power before dismissing Sheealia with a short nod and Sheealia bowed before turning to Takeshi and the pack.  
“Come with me please. I will explain and we can start you lessons in the morning.”  
The dismissal riled Takeshi's instincts but he managed to give the Empress a slight bow and a curt nod to the council, though, he did give a quick brush of his aura against those that had spoken in his and the pack's favor.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Sheealia brought them to a small study that she told them was where she spent most of her time working and once everyone was comfortable he began to explain that several of the city's systems were suffering from deterioration because they needed to be actively maintained and they were part of Atlantis higher functions, functions that had been severed.  
“In the past the descendants of the Visitors tended to those functions using the machine. But the blood is almost lost to us now.”  
Sheealia told them that the Visitors didn't share the merfolk's longevity, their lifespan was about the same as a humans, roughly 100 years.  
Bringing out a few books filled with pictures she explained that the Visitors were in fact two different species, one bipedal that was vaguely humanoid, but with digitigrade legs, a strong tail, four arms with six-fingered hands and eyes like a wolf spider.  
The second species looked aquatic and somehow familiar, but Takeshi couldn't place it.  
“Cool, it looks just like the aliens in The Abyss, but with tentacles instead of arms.”

Sarah was the one to place why the creature looked so familiar, the moment she spoke Takeshi realized she was correct, perhaps the one who had created the creatures for the movie had some fragment of genetic memory, or telepathic sensitivity that had allowed him to envision one.  
Sheealia continued to tell them about the Visitors, showing them pictures and records written down not only by the scholars, but by the aliens themselves.  
The aquatic looking species were the ones with the strongest ability to interact with the ship, their communication as a species entirely telepathic, but their simple appendages lacked finer motor-skills.  
The four highly dexterous, six-fingered, hands of the bipedal species on the other hand allowed them precise motor-skills that most artisans would envy and together the two species developed a symbiosis of sorts, dividing tasks between them, each species doing the tasks they were best suited to.  
The bipedal species were quick and agile with a great affinity for craftsmanship and technology while the aquatic looking species were most known for their extreme durability, able to withstand exposure to the hard vacuum of deep space, even the near perfect vacuum of the intergalactic space, the void between galaxies.  
They were also well known for their ability to bond and communicate with the species of space-dwelling creatures that Atlantis belonged to.

“It was quickly found that the merfolk and the Visitors were able to have offspring, but we soon realized that those children didn't share our lifespan.”  
Sheealia told them of the many generations that had been born while the Visitors waited for their new ship to mature enough for them to be able to leave, to continue their ways, traveling through the omniverse.  
The first generation of hybrid offspring had shared the short lifespan of their alien parent, but as the blood thinned the lifespan increased and now most of them lived almost as long as the merfolk, who according to Sheealia usually lived to be about 1000 years old before old age claimed them, though, some of the subspecies did have a longer or shorter lifespan.  
“And your species, how is your lifespan?”  
Takeshi's tone was light, almost teasing, but his aura revealed the truth behind his question, since Sheealia was _'other'_ the blessing would not be able to extend her lifespan to match his own.  
“Usually shorter, about 300 years, but my grandmother is a gorgon and I have the fortune of having inherited her lifespan.”  
The taste of Takeshi's relief on the water made Sheealia turn to him with wide eyes, she still seemed to have a hard time accepting that he was serious about courting and mating her should she accept.  
“Sheea-ama, why do you still doubt my sincerity about courting you?”  
She froze slightly and when he reached out for her she began to back away.  
“I...”  
_“Please, don't run away from this. Tell me what has you so concerned.”_  
It was harder to use his suggestive ability in his current form, but he did manage to add a hint of power to his words.  
_Command_ was easy because it relied mainly on his aura for it to work, but _suggestion_ relied on his voice, and it was different in his current form, and sound behaved differently underwater.  
The telltale shift in Sheealia's aura told him it was working and moments later she stilled and allowed him to touch her.

Slowly coiling himself around her body he reached out and gently cupped her face with clawed hands.  
_“Talk to me, please.”_  
There was a brief moment of resistance before she submitted to his will.  
“You are offering me a chance to become a mother, a chance I never thought I would have. But as much as I want that, I don't know if I will be able to offer my heart in return.”  
Even the serpents of her hair seemed subdued as she steadied herself.  
“If you only win my mind, my desire for offspring, would you still be willing to bind yourself to me?”  
“If you wish me to, I will. I can't promise my heart either, but I can promise that I will care for you as I would any mate.”  
Leaning in he ignores the hissing serpents and placed a kiss on her forehead, and then on a whim gently caught the slightly larger serpent at the center of the writhing mass and gave it a quick peck on the top of its head.  
Sheealia's reaction to the rather daring, and silly, move had the others rolling with laughter as the serpents pulled a rather impressive _'Static hair'_ look before collapsing into utter confusion.  
Takeshi couldn't help smiling at Sheealia's mutterings while he helped he untangle the rather uncooperative serpents, he had no doubt it was words he wouldn't want the twins to learn, and the way Emelie and Knight glanced at each other only confirmed it.  
Their demonic language abilities allowed them a fair understanding of the local language, but they hadn't revealed it yet, it was far too much of a tactical advantage.  
As far as Sheealia knew they had only managed to learn a few words here and there.  
“Are you insane?! You could have been bitten!”  
Sheealia's feigned anger failed to cover her worry as she scolded Takeshi for what she considered to be very risky behavior.  
“Don't worry, I have been exposed to both gorgon venom and merfolk venom before so my body knows how to handle them, and even if I encounter a completely new toxin it won't take me long to counter it.”  
To prove his point he brought a small vial of dream conch venom out of his shift and dipped a needle in the thick substance and jabbed it into his own hand.  
“One exposure is enough for me to develop almost perfect immunity.”  
In response she muttered something that made Emelie laugh so she was crying and Knight was struggling to keep a straight face as well.  
_“Logan, what did she just say?”_  
He knew there was no point in trying to get his dear mate to answer.  
_“Do I have to answer that?”_  
The look on Knight's face was priceless.  
“Oh, not really. But I would suggest you do unless you wish to find yourself unable to entertain your ladies for a few days.”  
Knight's face blanched considerably and for a moment he seemed like he was about to keep his silence, but after a few moment he reconsidered.  
_“She... She called you ' **Impossible'.**..”_  
There was a brief moment of silence and some rather owlish blinking before the pack once again broke down into laughter, this time at their alpha's expense.  
Sheealia's utterly bewildered look made Emelie try to collect herself and after a few minutes she managed to wheeze out an explanation between pearls of laughter.  
“We have all called him out on being totally impossible at one time or another, but he refuses to believe us.”  
“Oh don't listen to her, I am quite well aware of how impossible I am to resist.”  
It took a few moments for Sheealia's rather overwhelmed mind to grasp what they were saying, but once it did she joined the others in their laughter.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Sheealia-dara, may I have a moment to speak in private?”  
Hearing Takeshi address her so formally, using the Urui title used for a majordomo, startled her slightly and she quickly dismissed the two artisans and asked Takeshi to enter.  
“How did you even know to call me that? It's not something normally taught.”  
“I have lived at the Obsidian Palace for a few years and had the pleasure of getting to know Lucifer's majordomo quite well.”  
The title, _Diri_ , followed the same pattern as the words for various relatives, with the _i_ being replaced by _a_ or _o_ depending on the gender of the majordomo, and the gender of their employer.  
With Lucifer and his majordomo both being males it became _Doro_ , and with the Empress and Sheealia both being females her title became _Dara.  
_ “A story I hope you will share.”  
As she spoke Sheealia swam over to him and brushed against his side, inviting him to touch her.  
She had agreed to allow him to court her and during the past few weeks she had grown to enjoy his company and his calm confidence and to take pleasure in his teasing touch.  
Welcoming her touch he coiled around her and gave her a teasing kiss before placing a small shamarai flower crafted from Sanctuary crystals on the table next to them and activated its barrier.  
It was designed to give complete privacy, he didn't trust that the nobles of the Council didn't have some way of spying on her study and no one would think twice about him gifting his simora with a symbol of his house, quite the opposite.

The merfolk didn't use courting marks, instead the courting couple gifted each other with items to be worn that carried their mark, usually various pieces of jewelry.  
Sheealia wore a chest ornament that Takeshi had crafted in the local style, which the twins called 'Game-armor' because it looked very much like what you would see female characters wear in the various fantasy style role playing games.  
Made from dragonhide and scales and decorated with shamarai flowers it made quite a statement.  
Takeshi wore a pair of heavy, platinum, arm cuffs in the shape of serpents, much in the way Emelie would often wear her familiar.  
He had also created several similar pieces for Sheealia from blood-stone and sanctuary crystals, delicate wines and shamarai flowers, but she favored the ornate chest-piece.  
They also didn't wear clothing as such, the females would often wear decorative chest pieces that looked like highly ornamental metal bras connected to light spaulders, and various designs of scale-mail or light laminar hip pieces.  
The males wore similar hip pieces, but their chest ornaments were designed to cover the pectorals from above and the guards wore larger versions that protected the entire torso.  
Some also wore headpieces to keep their hair from flowing into their face, though many of the subspecies had fins or other natural features that kept their hair at bay.  
Sheealia's somewhat different physique did cause her to forgo the hip armor as her lower body had the arms and webbing of a vampire squid and it would impair her ability to move properly and she had no need for the headpiece as her serpent hair kept out of her face by its own accord.

With the barrier in place he gently pulled back from the embrace.  
“As much as I enjoy an invitation to intimacy it's not what I came here for. There is something I need to talk to you about.”  
He had spoken with the pack and they had decided to tell Sheealia the truth about what they had found out about Atlantis, about the twins ability to heal her, and his intention to try to father a child by the Empress, a strong heir with the ability to fully connect with the city.  
“When we were guided here by Artemis of the Hunt we believed it was for knowledge, and a chance that we might find something of use in the armory. But after connecting to Atlantis we realized that our true purpose here is something else.”  
“True purpose?”  
“I was chosen by the Mother, the Prime Avatar of Life, to try to save the human race. Human greed and disregard for life has caused the realms to become unstable, and my task is to restore the balance. If I fail, mankind will be wiped out to prevent the imbalance from bringing down all the realms.”   
He paused to give her time to digest what he had told her and when she nodded he continued.  
“Your people are a part of that balance, you belong in the human realm and Atlantis gives us hope to accomplish that. If we heal her she will be able to bring your people back. She will be able to protect and provide for you while the seas recover. Your presence would help restore the balance.”  
“The council would never agree to that...”  
“I know. And with the sway they hold over the Empress she will not be able to go against them. Which is why I intend to try to breed an heir by her. An heir that would have the power to make the necessary changes.”  
“How do you intend to convince the council to allow that? She will not agree to that unless the council does.”  
“I will reveal my ability to interact with the city. The prospect of an heir able to fully interact with Atlantis should be enough to bring the council around. Or at least rob them of any legitimate objections. And I have a feeling the Empress does not appreciate the throne and that she would welcome a chance to be free of it.”

He told her about how several members of the council had approached him looking to court Amanda, or at least to allow them to breed a few offspring from her to strengthen their ability to control the city.  
He had of course refused them all, as had she done with those that had the gall to try to go behind his back.  
He told her of overheard conversations where they considered forcing Amanda to stay in the city to breed her blood into their own lines.  
The taste of fury and venom in the water pleased him greatly as Sheealia hissed in distaste at the thought of such plans.  
“But how would you know for sure? They would not discuss such plans in Urui, and if someone else translated for you they might be feeding you false information.”  
Sheealia obviously did not want to believe that the council could betray the laws of hospitality in such a way.  
Takeshi just smiled and answered her in her own language.  
_“Em and Logan both possess the demon linguistic ability. They learned the language within days. And I am a fast learner with a few tricks at my disposal so I had them teach me. You would be surprised at how willing others are to speak when they believe they can not be understood.”  
_ Takeshi had spent several nights within the dreamscape with Emelie and Knight, stretching it to weeks to gain the time to learn as much as he could of the Atlantis language, he still needed to learn to read it though. _  
“Amazing. Your speech is remarkably good for having been here such a short time. A bit formal and a few odd choices of words, but anyone who heard you speak would think you were of Atlantis.”  
“You have my gratitude.”  
“Using 'Thank you' would be more apropriate.”  
_ She corrected him with the less formal expression of gratitude with a teasing grin before returning to Urui.  
“What can I do to help?”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The City Awakens_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

After three weeks of planning it was finally time to act.  
“Okay girls, are you ready to do your thing?”  
Sheealia looked at the twins as they slowly swam in circles around the severed neural cluster.  
“We are.”  
Their usual childish air was gone and their true age was showing.  
“Let's do this then.”  
With a deep breath she entered the code that deactivated the machine that kept the bundle of nerves alive, but also kept them from healing back together.  
The moment it went dark Knight took hold of it and moved it out of the way so that the nerves would be able to reconnect.  
With the machine out of the way the others acted quickly, Dan and Amanda connected with Atlantis to help keep her calm and balanced when her mind once again connected to her body, the sudden influx of sensations was bound to cause some issues.  
Takeshi would try to take some of the pain that the process would cause while Emelie would feed off Knight's aura and transfer that energy to the twins to make sure they would not run out of power before the healing was done.

Atlantis welcomed Takeshi's touch with an almost giddy anticipation and a touch of apprehension and his soul soared with pride as he watched the twins auras meld and shift into a gentle rainbow before touching the exposed tissue.  
The effect on Atlantis was almost instant, a deep calm settled over her mind as the bundles of nerves began to glow and pulse, then came concern that quickly turned to fear and Takeshi could feel a burning itch thought their merged senses and he began to pull on it, taking the pain into himself while Dan and Amanda distracted her.  
Takeshi could taste Sheealia's amazement in the water and he had to agree with her, the twins were amazing, he had seen them heal before, but never anything like what they were doing at the moment.  
It would seem that feeding the phoenix egg had caused them to evolve, to reach an entire new level of power and Takeshi had no doubt in his mind that the Fates had guided them to it so that they would have the power needed to heal Atlantis.  
It was the kind of thing the meddling Avatars would do.

Takeshi watched as thin tendrils of pulsing light formed at both ends of the severed mass and carefully bridged the gap, once they connected a pulse of pain and confusion tore through the city, causing a slight quiver, like a small earthquake, to run through its structures.  
Once the tendrils had connected the healing sped up considerably, new threads forming and wrapping themselves around the previous ones, seeking out their match and combining.  
Mere minutes later the twins pulled back and collapsed against Emelie, exhausted from healing Atlantis.  
Their part of the task was done, now it was Amanda's turn to help guide the city, to help her sort through the memories and get used to her senses without getting overwhelmed while Dan used his empathic ability to help soothe Atlantis's emotions and keep her from panicking.

Between the information available in the library about the creature and what Amanda had been able to learn directly from Atlantis it was a bit like connecting a set of hard-drives to a computer, everything that the city sensed was stored in her long term memory as raw data, but she was unable to access that data.  
The things she remembered and shared with Amanda was stored in her short term memory, similar to a flash-drive it was easy to access but had limited storage capacity which was why the memories were so fragmented, she was struggling to purge the unnecessary information to make sure she would be able to retain the important things.

They spent several hours working to keep Atlantis stable while her memory and control of her body was restored and the pain gradually faded which allowed Takeshi to divert some of his focus to the twins.  
They were both curled tightly to his sides and a tendril of their healing power mixed with his, ready to flow in and heal any additional damage if any was found but so far the city seemed to be okay.  
As Atlantis gained control of herself the pulsing light in the room calmed down and became rhythmical, then it faded completely which had the twins concerned for a while.  
But the darkness didn't last long, after a few minutes holographic screens flickered to life and the city spoke to them.  
“I thank you all for freeing my mind from its prison so that I may once again become what my kind are born to be. Free.”  
Sheealia looked utterly confused and Takeshi realized that Atlantis had spoken English, no doubt gained from their minds while they were connected.  
When Atlantis was done speaking a shiver ran through her body as she adjusted herself slightly and began to sing, the clear tones conveyed a pure joy that made the pack smile and laugh.

 


	83. City of Memories

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“You may call me Mireela while we are in private.”  
“Then please, call me Take.”  
The Empress, Mireela, gave him a slight nod before reaching for one of the sushi pieces on the floating tray.

It had taken quite a bit of effort to convince the Empress and the Council that an heir was the best course of action, but in the end they had managed with Atlantis help.  
The city had refused to allow anyone but Takeshi and Amanda to interact with her, those that lived in the city that had previously been able to manage her quickly found themselves overwhelmed by her mind and were forced to break the connection lest they lose themselves.  
When even the Empress was unable to control Atlantis they quickly became interested in the possibility of an heir with a stronger connection to the city, one that would be able to control her freely.  
Though, Takeshi doubted that anyone would be able to force the city to do anything against her will, the heir would simply not ask anything unreasonable of her and would not be under the Council's thumb.

“So, Take. Sheealia tells me she has decided to accept your mating proposal. Have you decided when to hold the public ceremony?”  
Sheealia blushed vividly at the choice of topic, and her serpents hissed at Mireela who only swatted teasingly at the agitated serpents.  
“Indeed we have, in a fortnight when the blue moon is full. We will announce it at the hunters market.”  
“Excellent choice. The blue moon is particularly beautiful this time of the year. The red moon should be almost full as well while the white moon will be dark.”

The realm that Atlantis was hidden in had three moons, a very large red moon, a slightly smaller white moon that was very bright, and a beautiful small blue moon.  
Atlantis was a true realm walker, able to bring anyone and anything within her barriers with her across realms, she had done so instinctively while carrying her offspring, bringing a small population of merfolk with her.  
The Visitors had used her ability to form the maze that linked their current realm with the human realm, and Takeshi hoped that Atlantis would teach them how to create such passageways.

“We made our decision after visiting the planetarium, the red and blue moons will be partially aligned for the event.”  
The shadow of the blue moon would make it appear as if it was hanging inside the crescent of the red moon.  
“A good omen indeed.”  
Mireela nodded with a smile and reached for one of the manashii treats that Takeshi had brought in for dessert.  
“You should be aware that those are aphrodisiacs.”  
As much as Takeshi wanted to see her reaction to them he didn't want to trick her into eating them.  
“Well, I would have to bed you if I am to bear an heir by you. Perhaps a few of these will make things easier.”  
Popping the treat in her mouth she flashed him a fanged smile and he found that she was quite agreeable, and beautiful, when she was relaxed and not acting the part of empress.  
Though he answered her with a harrumph as her words were a teasing dig at him, she had her doubts that he would be able to perform adequately to successfully impregnate her as her species could only conceive at the peak of pleasure.  
In essence she was concerned that his form was too small to be able to bring her to release and Takeshi had yet to reveal that he could change his size to match hers.  
He did sense something else though, her taste and the way she reacted when he brushed against her made him suspected that she was untouched, and that had him slightly concerned.  
“Mireela, there is one thing I need to ask you before we go any further with this.”  
“Ask away, I might not answer though.”  
“Are you untouched?”  
The brilliant blush and spluttering was answer enough so he continued without waiting for her to reply.  
“As I suspected. If you agree I would like to take you through the Arashiri. Spend some time to get to know each other more intimately without the pressure to produce offspring.”  
“How did you even know?”  
She finally found her words much to Sheealia's amusement.  
“While I lived at the Obsidian Halls I had the great honor of being picked as Guide by many youths. While I taught them they also taught me, I learned to spot the subtle cues that gives it away.”  
“I think I would like that. But first I want you to explain the details for me. I only know of the basics.”  
“Of course.”  
He began to explain the purpose, what to expect.  
Due to how their mating-bonds worked the merfolk had no tradition for first rites, a lack of available, experienced, adults to guide the youths made it somewhat troublesome.  
When he told her about the role of the Guardian she blushed and spluttered before asking Sheealia if she would join them as Guardian and Sheealia readily agreed.

Though it had not been Takeshi's intention, the very pleasurable night ended with Mireela carrying, and him formally elevated to Imperial Consort.  
When she reached the point of being receptive during the night they agreed that they shouldn't waste the chance since they didn't know how hard it would be for her to conceive.  
Takeshi insisted that they stay together for the first week, to ensure that the child would inherit the necessary traits from him, and to make sure it was a female child.  
Takeshi would have preferred a male due to how many of the unmated females were treated, but under Atlantis law only a female heir could ascend the throne without mating first.  
Neither he, nor Sheealia mentioned that he was also manipulating parts of the emerging spirit to ensure she would be suited to rule and have the strength needed to stand against the council.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“ _You may want to know that your dessert is about to swim away.”_  
Amanda's tone was sparkling with amusement as she pointed out to Takeshi that a young mermaid was trying to steal one of the irri fruits from his basket of treats.  
_“Oh, I know.”  
_

He had been watching her for a while as she was trying to sneak closer.  
As many of the young merfolk she was a tiny little thing, the various fish based subspecies would either lay eggs, or birth tiny, but well developed offspring.  
Like a fingerling, the fish part looked just like the adult while the human parts had the appearance of a three to five-year-old at birth, this particular little one was a bit larger, roughly the length of his lower arm and hand and looked slightly older, maybe six or seven.  
Her fish half was quite obviously a Flame Angel, vivid hues of orange, red and yellow with black stripes and fins tipped with purple and blue.  
Her hair was quite interesting, a fiery ombré that started with pure, deep black at the roots then shifted through red and orange into bright yellow that faded to golden blonde at the tips.

“Well, aren't you the most adorable little thief I have ever seen.”  
Takeshi spoke up just as she was about to grab the silvery fruit which made her startle and freeze for a moment before darting away toward a nearby cluster of coral covered in various tube worms with elaborate fans to hide behind, but her rapid movement disturbed the feeding creatures who instantly retracted their fans, leaving her with nothing to hide behind.  
“Easy there little one. I won't hurt you.”  
Holding out his hand with one of the irri fruits he gently tried to coax her to come closer.  
After a few moments her curiosity, and sweet-tooth, won over her caution and she swam over and tried to grab the fruit from his hand but he held onto the stalk, forcing her to stay close if she wanted to taste it.  
The glare that she leveled him with was about as cute as it got and he could hear both Amanda and Emelie snicker at him and call him a sucker for the cute ones and he didn't bother objecting, they were right after all.  
The would-be thief quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to take the fruit from his and settled for wrapping her tail around his hand so she could get leverage to handle the fruit, which was easier said than done as the irri was larger than her head and had a tough rind.  
The brilliant smile when she she finally managed to get a taste of it made it very clear that she thought it to be worth all the trouble, and when Takeshi reached over and used a claw to carefully cut open a hole in the rind she made herself comfortable in the palm if his hand and forgot about everything but the pebbles of sweet fruit flesh.

“Aw, how pretty!”  
“She's so cute.”  
The twins clung to Takeshi's shoulders and watched the young female taste various fruits and berries from the basket of treats, even going as far as swimming into the net covered container to grab one of the demonic cloudberries that was kept from floating away by the net.  
Her struggle to hang on to the highly buoyant berry had the entire pack and their guests smiling and struggling not to laugh and in the end she settled for simply staying inside the covered basket to eat them.  
“Are all the babies going to be that tiny and cute?”  
Maria's curiosity got the better of her and she shifted her attention to Takeshi, eagerly awaiting his answer.  
“No they won't. It depends on what subspecies they are. For instance those with forms derived from marine mammals like dolphins or whales will give birth to larger, more well developed babies, and others, like Sheea, will lay eggs.”  
“What about Arc?”  
“She is ovoviviparous, do you remember what that means?”  
For a moment her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember her lessons then her expression brightened.  
“That's when the eggs hatch inside the body, right?”  
“That's right. Arc has eggs developing inside her body right now and when they are ready she will give birth to a litter of little pups.”  
“How many?”  
“Why don't you look at her and try to find out? You should be able to see them now if you look carefully.”  
Takeshi could clearly see five strong life-flames within Arc's body, four females and one male.  
“Okay!”  
He watched with a smile as she swam over to Dan and Arc and eagerly asked Arc if she could look at her and count the babies which caused a rather confused look until Dan explained about the girls ability to see the life-flames.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

Takeshi found it rather amusing to watch the way Dan would fuss over Arc to the point where she would jolt him to get him to stop for a while, but there was a darker cause behind it.  
Arc was scared, and Dan's enhanced empathic ability was picking up on it, triggering a strong need to protect her from whatever was causing her fear, the instinct so strong that it was pulling Takeshi and the rest of the pack along.  
He had spoken to her about her fears in an attempt to soothe them, but quickly found that there wasn't much they could do to help her.  
She was afraid of giving birth to her young in Atlantis, afraid of how they would grow up, afraid they would be forced into breeding to secure genetic diversity.  
It was her story, confirmed by Atlantis's memories, that gave birth to the plan to sire a new heir, to in essence take over Atlantis.  
Arc had been paired with several males in order to produce offspring, but she had been unable to conceive and as a result she had been stripped of her position as a member of the artisans caste and made caste-less.  
Classified as a barren female she was stripped of all worth, all rights and reduced to little more than a slave.  
Takeshi suspected that her inability to conceive with the selected males was due to the fact that she was an unwilling participant and from what he could tell most of the stud males were not very agreeable.  
The breeding program intended to secure the future of the isolated population had caused the males with _'valuable blood'_ to gain an extremely elevated status due to their ability to impregnate several females.  
The females on the other hand were seen as little more than brood mares, and were not given the same opportunities to study or work as the males, it was considered a waste of time.  
But the breaking point was when Arc told them that her generation and those younger than her were forbidden to take mates to ensure they were available for breeding.  
After confirming the information with Atlantis's memories Takeshi had confronted Sheealia about and was surprised to find that she was relieved that they had found out.

After hearing Takeshi's demand that only willing females be brought before him and the males of the pack, the council had used an artifact to force everyone to secrecy about how the breeding program really worked.  
The artifact worked in a way similar to Takeshi's _command_ , but it would seem that his _suggestion_ was enough to overcome it if the person wanted to talk and he had used suggestion while talking to Arc to help her voice her fears, and he had used it on Sheealia to ensure a truthful answer when confronting her.  
He had taken the information to his pack and together they had decided on the plan that was currently in motion, a plan to change the council.  
The council was unbalanced, giving far too much power to the nobles of the Imperial caste who held five of the twelve seats, six seats in total were held by the Imperial caste, four by the Artisans caste and only two by the Worker caste.  
The sixth Imperial seat was held by the High Commander, the shark male that had questioned the packs involvement in the deaths of two guards when they first arrived.  
But after hearing Lorri's statement about what had happened he had insisted to question the Watch Commander himself and when he returned he demanded that Takeshi face him in a sparring match.  
Takeshi had accepted, recognizing the need to understand, to gain knowledge by pitting oneself against an opponent in battle.  
In the end Takeshi had managed to win the match and prove his character to the relatively young, but strong and skilled, shark.  
It wasn't enough though to sway the High Commander to their side in council matters, but it was enough to keep him from actively going against them, but he still would not go against the other nobles on the council.

The nobles and the Keeper of the Blood were working hard to ensure that the current ways of the city were not threatened and had used their influence to stop any research into Dan's suggestion about artificial insemination despite the Head Healer being highly optimistic about the viability of the method.  
And the Empress had followed their will, unable to go against her conditioning, afraid to cause unrest within the Imperial caste.

Takeshi hadn't said anything yet, but he intended to offer Arc to join them when they left to return to the human realm and he found himself wishing he could bring anyone that wanted to come, especially those females that were carrying their offspring, but they needed to gain control of Atlantis and bring all of them to the human realm, and for that to happen they needed to stay.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

“Are you ready?”  
Takeshi held out his hand to Sheealia who gave him a short nod as she took the offered hand.  
As they slowly swam side by side into the center of the circle that had been cleared for them the heavy beat of drums picked up around them.  
The mating ritual of Sheealia's people was a rather suggestive dance that ended with the couple consummating their bond before the gathered witnesses for all to see and Takeshi would mark her at their peak.  
They were unsure though if Sheealia would be able to place a mark on him as it was not the way of her kind, but she was more concerned about the public sex, especially since she was still a bit worried about them not being physically compatible but she took his hand eagerly nonetheless.  
Maybe he was being a bit mean, but he hadn't told her everything yet, he would reveal the full scope of his ability to shapeshift during the dance, as the bond began to deepen in preparation for the marking he would be able to use his new ability to not just borrow her form, but to truly become like her.  
It wasn't a love mating, but they had both agreed that it would be for the best, Sheealia's children would mature faster than Mireela's daughter and become guardians to her to help keep her safe, and strong.  
They had however grown to care deeply and both considered the other a worthy match even if their hearts had yet to come into play, which might just be for the better as Takeshi would have to leave soon.

“Look at me, focus on me.”  
Takeshi whispered as the rhythmic beat of the drums picked up speed and was joined by other instruments, trying to distract her from what they were about to do.  
Slowly he began to allow the change to take over and he smiled when Sheealia's eyes went wide with surprise as his features began to shift and change, the lure of an angler slowly sprouting from his forehead and his tail twisting and pulsing as it became the arms of a squid.  
His face didn't change much at first, there simply was no male version of a gorgon for him to draw on, instead he drew on the demons within, both the Shadow and the Dragon and allowed his facial features to take on the features of the dragon-kin with scales and horns shrouded in shadow-power.  
He could feel the wave of shock that went through the gathered crowd when he changed, there was quite a bit of fear mixed in, but all he could feel from Sheealia was desire and it pleased him greatly.  
Trusting his instincts he continued the mating dance and soon the taste of Sheealia's response on the water made him forget all about the crowd beneath them and it seemed like the same was true for her as he could sense no hint of her previous concern.  
He could feel her opening up to him, body, mind and soul and as they both neared their climax he followed the instinctive urge to reach under the mantel for the hidden chamber where her eggs waited, ready to be fertilized.  
It was a strange feeling to breed in the manner of a squid, but Takeshi allowed his instincts to guide him and distracted himself from the strangeness by focusing on the marking instead.  
As Sheealia came undone under his power he carefully bit down and pushed his power into her while gently tugging on her soul to make it flare so that he could form the needed bond.  
The soft hiss and dripping venom of her serpents gave Takeshi an idea and he quickly reached back and pulled loose one of his scales and offered it to the slightly larger serpent in the middle and watched it swallow the small scale and moments later a pattern of black scales erupted through the slithering mass.  
With the scales formed he tilted his head slightly and urged the serpents to bite down and inject their venom, it wouldn't leave a physical mark, but as long as he didn't intentionally purge it the venom would leave a faint residue of Sheealia's power within his aura, marking him as hers.

As they slowly descended toward the ocean floor Takeshi resumed the naga form that he had been using and hissed in warning at the approaching swarm of well-wishers, only allowing his pack close enough to touch his new mate.  
“Back up! Our alpha is quite protective of his new mate and might lash out if you come too close.”  
Amanda pushed herself in front of a few of the overly familiar merfolk and flared her fins, allowing some of her venom to seep into the water in warning, she wouldn't hesitate to attack in order to keep them from upsetting Takeshi or Sheealia while the bond was still new and hadn't fully settled.  
The fact that the fertilization process of Sheealia's eggs was also ongoing made Takeshi's protective instincts even stronger and that urged the pack to come to their aid.

“Come on, we need to get you to the nesting chamber.”  
Takeshi gently nudged Sheealia to move while the pack kept the guests at bay.  
Since Sheealia was oviparous there had been some concern about the safety of her eggs once she had laid them and Atlantis had offered them a solution in the form of a hidden chamber deep within the catacombs beneath the city.  
It was the chamber where the leviathan's own eggs were formed and partially matured before being expelled from her body to hatch and it would offer a controlled environment and total safety, Atlantis would not permit anyone but them access.  
Once they reached the hidden room Takeshi pulled back slightly to make sure he didn't cause her any undue stress as she meticulously inspected every part of the chamber and the shelf that Atlantis had created for her to secure her eggs to.  
The walls and deep overhang was covered in soft tissue that would give a good surface for Sheealia to attach her eggs to and plenty of room to ensure water could circulate around them.  
When she was done with her inspection she swam back to Takeshi and curled up against him, it would take a few hours before her first egg was ready to leave her body so they cuddled, and talked, trying to keep her calm as her instincts rose to the surface.

The reproductive cycle of her kin was slightly different than the vampire squid they resembled, instead of free spawning, releasing the eggs into the water to fend for themselves, they acted more like an octopus, securing a cluster of eggs to a suitable surface, then guarding them until they hatched.  
They were hoping that the safe room would allow Sheealia to resist the urge to guard her brood and trust it to the city.

Takeshi made himself comfortable by the doorway and watched his new mate carefully take a soft-shelled egg as it was expelled from her body and gently cradle it in her hands, inspecting it closely before attaching the sticky casing to the underside of the shelf.  
She had told him that it could take her a while to lay all her eggs, maybe even days depending on how many she had.  
Her gorgon heritage did change things a bit, she would lay fewer eggs and they would hatch more mature that what was natural for her species, normally they would lay about 100-200 eggs and they would hatch into a larval stage that only a few survived, similar to how shadelings were born as lesser shadows and matured into shadings.  
It was about time for her to lay her 6th egg when Takeshi picked up on a shift in her aura and the water began to taste of distress and a hint of fear.  
“Sheea, what's wrong?”  
He didn't approach her as he didn't want to risk distressing her further by aggravating her instinct to hide and protect.  
“The egg, it won't come, it's stuck.”  
Her increasing fear set Takeshi's instincts of edge and he slowly uncurled from his position.  
“I might be able to help, but I would need to come closer, you think you can handle that?”  
She turned to look at him and after a while she nodded slowly.  
He swam up to her slowly, taking care not to startle her or make any sudden moves that she might misinterpret in her instinct driven state.  
“I need you to try to slow your breathing, relax your body. Panicking only makes your body tense up and that will make it even harder.”  
Takeshi gently massaged her shoulders while he spoke and saturated the water with the pheromones of his alpha nature and it didn't take long before she relaxed against him.  
“There you go.”  
There was a noticeable slump of relief in her body when the egg was finally passed and Takeshi noticed that it was significantly larger than the previous ones.  
“They are not supposed to be this big.”  
Sheealia's complaints made him smile despite the situation.  
“Don't forget that you are of mixed heritage. Combine that with my somewhat unique blood and there is no telling what will happen. But don't worry, I'm here and will do whatever I can to make sure both you and our eggs come through this unharmed.”

In the end she laid three more of the larger eggs and another ten small ones before her instincts told her that she was done.  
After carefully checking on the eggs to make sure they were properly stuck to the surface and wouldn't come loose she moved back slightly and the moment she did a slightly opaque membrane came down across the opening.  
Leaning closer they could see the eggs swaying gently as Atlantis circulated nutrient rich water through the compartment.  
“They should grow nicely in there. And they can't get much safer.”  
Takeshi pulled Sheealia into his arms and as they settled down to rest Atlantis allowed the rest of the pack to enter and soon they all dozed in a big pile in middle of the room.  
“Take, only the four large eggs will be true children of ours, will they? The smaller ones aren't going to make it...”  
Sheealia's voice was low, and carried a hint of sorrow.  
The smaller eggs did carry a distinct energy, but the life-flame was different, more like that of an animal than that of a sapient life-form.  
“I think they smaller ones might hatch into something else, but only time can tell and I won't be here to see it.”  
Their plans for leaving had already been made, but they were keeping them private at the time since they intended to bring Arc with them, and if others found out they might try to prevent it.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

”Are you sure you don't want an escort?”  
The High Commander tried to insist that the Imperial Consort should not be gallivanting around the outskirts without a full guard detail.  
“We are going hunting, the presence of guards would spoil our chances. Arc will be showing us the way to the hunting-grounds.”  
Takeshi knew that the stubborn shark didn't particularly like him but he did take his job seriously and accepted that Takeshi was now above him.  
As Imperial Consort Takeshi was second only to the Empress and he had used his position to make a list of demands in regards to the offspring they had sired.  
Things like demanding that they all receive full schooling and he had requested that the High Commander see to that they were able to defend themselves, and more should they wish to.  
Demands that had earned Takeshi a measure of respect even if the shark didn't like him.  
“Very well.”  
The short nod was just shy of being outright rude so Takeshi gave him a light slap with his tail in reprimand before turning to his pack.  
“Let's go, it's time to hunt.”

They were just about to exit through the gate when a female voice called for their attention, asking for a moment of the Consorts time.  
Turning around Takeshi spotted a rather young looking flame angel that had to be the mother of the curious little would-be thief from before and moments later he spotted the little one hiding in her mothers hair.  
“Go ahead, I'm listening.”  
He nodded for her to speak.  
“I would ask that you bring my daughter along for your hunting trip.”  
There was a slightly odd taste in the water that Takeshi couldn't place along with hope and anticipation.  
He was just about to refuse her request when she raised her head and looked straight at him with the mercury eyes of a true Seer, and he realized she knew, she had seen the truth and wanted her daughter to go to the human realm with them.  
“Are you sure? It could be dangerous.”  
“I am.”  
“As you wish.”  
He held out his hand and the older mermaid gently urged her daughter to swim over to him before holding out a small bag with a few personal items in.  
“Please...”  
He could tell that she was struggling not to show her sadness and he knew what she was trying to say.  
“You have my word, I will protect her as if she was my own.”  
He quickly pulled one of the scales from his back and a few strands of hair and shaped them into a simple bracelet before leaning over and whispering to the tiny female who was now clinging to his shoulder.  
There was a moment's hesitation then she nodded and allowed him to carefully pry a few scales from her tail and add to his larger scale, allowing them to merge with it before he bound his oath into it and handed it to her mother.

“Take?”  
Emelie's curiosity was quite obvious as she swam up to his side to take a look at the last minute addition to their group.  
“Her mother asked us to bring her along.”  
“But...”  
Emelie's words trailed off and he could feel the familiar brush of her mind against his own.  
_“She is a Seer, she knows what we are intending to do and she wanted her daughter to join us.”  
“I see. I guess she is a ward of House Shamarai Miri then?”  
“Indeed she is. And mine to protect by oath.”  
_ She didn't say anymore, instead she just radiated an amused approval as she swam up to where Dan was waiting with Arc and the twins.  
He could feel Jenna and Amanda coming up behind him, and their rather mischievous energy gave him ample warning that they were up to something so he was not surprised when they glided up to him, one on each side and gave him a rather rude double tackle before darting of to join the others.  
“Our pack is in a good mood today.”  
There was laughter in Knight's voice that made Takeshi bare his fangs at him, but it was teasing rather than reprimanding.  
Knight was right though, the pack was in a very good mood, playing and teasing as they waited for him to join them and take his position at the front.  
Most of them didn't know they were leaving to return home though, Takeshi and Emelie had decided it was better if they didn't know, to keep them from having to lie if someone asked the wrong questions.  
They would tell them once they made camp for the night, that way they would still be close enough to return should Arc wish to remain in Atlantis, but Takeshi had no doubt that she would come with them, the young female clinging to his shoulder only acted as confirmation to his conviction on the matter.  
With a few teasing nips Takeshi urged his pack to start moving toward the area where they had met Star-singer.  
They would meet up with the creature again, and perhaps Takeshi would be able to convince it to give Arc the same genetic seed that the rest of the pack had received, her inability to communicate silently with them was an inconvenience.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

Take urged his pack to make best speed with him and Dan taking turns helping Knight keep up with them, he wanted to get as much distance as they could between them and Atlantis before resting.  
They had told everyone that that they planned on spending at least a full week hunting, and not to expect them back for about three weeks with travel time added.  
By the time they stopped to set up camp Takeshi estimated it to be past midnight and the little flame angel was fast asleep in the simple harness he had made for her during the lunch break and he gently shook her so that she could eat something before sleeping again.  
He also wanted to introduce her properly to the pack, and himself as he had no idea what her name was.

“So, does our little nugget of fire have a name to share with us, or should we just call you our little _Dorob_ _ō_?”  
The pack snickered at the choice of nickname, but both the little one and Arc looked somewhat confused.  
“Dorobō? I'm unfamiliar with that word, what does it mean?.”  
Arc was the first to voice her question.  
“It's from my native language, and it means thief.”  
The reaction was instant as Arc joined the snickering and the little would be thief puffed up and flared her fins in annoyance.  
“ _Tza Miri!_ ”  
She managed to pull of a mix of affronted and defiant that made Takeshi grin in appreciation, she had just as much fire in her spirit as she had in her hair and tail.  
It was far from proper Urui, but at least they now knew she spoke it, and that her name was Miri, destiny, and everyone gave Emelie a pointed look as the young female's name was also the name of Emelie's House.  
_“No tzo Takeshi.”  
_ Takeshi introduced himself in Urui using the proper form.  
The way Miri had said it was more like saying _'Me Miri'_ rather than _'I am Miri'_.  
_“Na tza Emelie ya.”_  
' _Ni tzi'_ was the proper way to indicate oneself, for instance to say _'I am'_ or in this case _'My name is',_ and it changed to _'No tzo'_ and _'Na tza'_ for the masculine and feminine forms, adding ' _Yi', 'Ya'_ or ' _Yo'_ at the end changed _'I am'_ into _'They are', 'She is'_ or _'He is'_.  
After introducing Emelie, with the added ' _Ya'_ to indicate he was talking about someone else's name, he quickly moved on to introducing the rest of his pack.  
When it was Dan's turn Takeshi hesitated for a brief moment before making up his mind, it was a good a time as any to test his theory about Dan.  
_“Ni tzi Dan yi. No tzo simori yi.”  
_ The combination of _'No tzo',_ and _'yi'_ was a claim, ' _They are mine'_ and Takeshi was curious to see how Dan would react to him using the ' _Yi'_ form.  
Dan's eyes widened in surprise at the gender neutral introduction, then he broke into a brilliant smile and nodded, the water tasting of bubbling joy, and a hint of relief that shifted to nervous hesitation as Dan turned to look at the rest of the pack.  
But it quickly faded under the overwhelming taste of approval and light teasing from the rest of the pack.  
_“Ni tzi Gere yi.”  
“Ni tzi Freke yi.”  
_ The twins piped up and introduced the two shadows when Takeshi omitted them.  
“Everyone, this little nugget of fire is Miri and she will be joining us.”  
“Isn't she a bit young to join such a long hunt?”  
Arc was a bit nervous and she hesitated to speak up at first but she quickly found her courage.  
“She is, but as most of you already suspect, we are not actually going hunting.”  
“Then what...?”  
Her question was interrupted by Dan and the twins who spoke all at once.  
“We're going home!”  
“We're going home?”  
The twins spoke with certainty and joy while Dan was more hesitant, unsure if he had interpreted things correctly.  
“Indeed we are.  
Takeshi confirmed as he focused on Arc.  
“Arc, I know you are far more concerned about birthing your litter in Atlantis than you have let on. So I would like to invite you to come with us, join us in the human realm and raise your young under our protection.”  
For a moment the water tasted of uncertainty then Takeshi found himself rammed by Arc and on the receiving end of a kiss that tasted of gratitude and tingled with the power of her nature.  
The as suddenly as she had rushed him she darted back and hid behind Dan, leaving behind a taste of gratitude and embarrassment on the water.  
After a moment of Dan reassuring her she moved out from behind him and bowed low at his side before speaking in a very formal form of her own language.  
“Takeshi of House Shamarai, you have my eternal gratitude. A life-debt owed for each pup I birth, a life debt owed for my own freedom. I am forever in your dept.”  
She tasted of conviction and absolute loyalty as she remained bowed while she waited for his reply, he could reject her life debt, but doing so would be deeming her unworthy and he refused to do so.  
“Then from this day on until your last you will be Arc of House Shamarai. You will be one of mine until the day you breathe your last unless you are given into the bond of a soulmate.”  
“As you wish Yemo.”  
She answered instantly, without any trace of hesitance.  
“Now rise Arc, while I will occasionally demand obedience I do not demand that those of my House bow to me, or that they be subservient unless in a situation where formality demands it.”  
She gave him a short nod before rising and curling into Dan's side and Takeshi could hear her whispers of gratitude for helping her escape the ways of her people.

“Little Miri, you will be a ward of House Shamarai Miri until the day you are old enough to make the choice if you wish to formally join our House. My mate and I will care for you as if you were our own blood.”  
“House Shamarai _Miri_?”  
“Indeed. My mate is Emelie of House Miri and together we are Shamarai Miri.”  
Miri instantly lit up like a sun and for a moment Takeshi could see a swirl of silver in her eyes, perhaps she was the reason why Roghan had gifted them with a scrying bowl.  
A Seer would be a valuable addition to his House should she accept when she was able to make the choice.  
“Go on, greet your new family. I promise they won't hurt you.”  
Takeshi gently shooed Miri toward the others that had gathered around a few fire-crystals.  
It didn't take long for the Twins to pull her into one of their games and Takeshi settled down to watch over his pack, Knight tried to convince him to rest, but he refused as Knight would need all his strength to keep up.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
**

The combined taste of Arc's and Miri's fear made the water sickeningly bitter and Miri's soft, repeated, song triggered primal instincts deep within the pack, instincts that came with a deep, almost overwhelming need to protect.  
The had located Star-singer, but both Arc and Miri were terrified of the giant creature, some deep rooted instinct driving them to a near panic.  
“Dan, take care of Arc, I will try to calm Miri down.”  
It would be easier for Dan to calm Arc as he didn't need to worry about her involuntary electric discharges.  
“Miri, look at me. There is no need for fear, Star-singer may be large, but it means us no harm.”  
The only answer he got was the repeated song that spoke of fear, begged for rescue.  
_“Miri, you possess the sight. Use your eye's. Look at it, know the truth of it.”  
_ Similarly to what he had done with the young Seer that was the reborn Avatar of the Black Forest he began to weave suggestion into his words to encourage her to use her power, even if she had little or no control.  
“Pretty...”  
Miri's awed tone and the way her fear instantly vanished was proof enough that it had worked, but he gently nudged her to turn around anyway so that he could take a good look at her eyes.  
He found that they weren't pure silver, there were thin wisps of gold swirling in the silver, it could be because of her youth, that her power wasn't fully manifested, or it could be something permanent, some unique to her.  
He silently hoped that it was the latter because the effect was quite beautiful.  
“Easy now, close your eyes and rest, you did well.”  
Arc still tasted of fear, but she clung tightly to Dan and held her ground as Star-singer slowly approached.

“ _The City sings, her songs no longer forgotten. She wakes, she remembers, and she shares.”_

Star-singer's mind felt different now as their minds were better able to withstand its power thanks to the 'seed' they had been gifted with during their first meeting.

“ _The One who crossed the Great Void sings of many wonders, I will take her songs into the night and sing them to the distant stars. I will sing the song of how a rainbow healed a great leviathan. The song of Hope that seeks to protect life itself.”_

The creature spoke in great detail about it's planned travels, it would leave Earth and the hidden realm it had lived in for countless years and head into space, across the galaxy and venture into the void between galaxies in search of the place Atlantis came from.  
It would bring back the story of what had happened to Atlantis, and with it it would also bring stories of how the twins had healed her and how the pack had helped her recover.  
“You do us great honor Star-singer. But before you leave for the great beyond I would ask you a great favor, will you hear my plea?”  
_“You have done a great deed, I shall listen and grant if it is within me to do so.”_  
“You have my gratitude.”  
Takeshi motioned for Arc and Miri to come closer.  
“As you can see I have added a new member to my House, and a young ward under our protection. But they are not mind-whisperers so I would ask if you would be willing to grant them a seed as you did with us. Will you open their minds to the whispered songs of others? Grant them the voice to sing the secret songs?”  
There was a long silence before Star-singer responded.  
_“I shall grant your request, come closer little ones.”_  
“One moment, Arc is carrying, is it safe for her and the unborn? If there is any risk to them we would rather wait until she has given birth.”

As convenient as it would be for Arc to gain telepathy, Takeshi refused to risk the unborn pups.  
_“It is safe, if she takes the seed they will be born mind-whisperers as well.”_  
With Star-singer's assurance that it was safe Arc and Miri were given the glowing threads as well and before long they were sleeping on Star-singer's back as the gentle giant slowly swam toward the entrance to the labyrinth, giving them an even greater distance to Atlantis in case someone decided to follow them.  
It also gave the entire pack an opportunity to sleep as Star-singer kept guard.

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

Takeshi wasn't entirely surprised to find himself in the dreamscape with Star-singer at his side, the creature now the same size as Takeshi's own form.  
They spent many hours speaking of the fate of the world and Takeshi found that speaking to the ancient creature eased his mind, some of the things they spoke about were things he hesitated to talk to his pack about because he didn't want them to worry about what could not be changed.  
War was brewing at the horizon and there would be no way to avoid great suffering, he was just hoping that he would be able to spare his loved ones the brunt of it.

What did surprise him however was when Star-singer revealed the true reason for coming into the dreamscape, and what he learned while granting their request.

 

**.·:*¨¨*:·.-Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.**

“Your pod has been most generous in sharing themselves with me.”  
For a moment the dreamscape came to life with flashes of the memories that the pack had shared.  
“I find myself curious. Out of all the memories, thoughts and feelings they have shared the ones that are most vivid all relate to their love for you.”  
“Curious about what?”  
Takeshi was most definitely curious about what could have the old alien curious.  
“About touch, they all seem to value it greatly.”  
“Physical closeness is very important to humans, to most species. It offers comfort, or pleasure, depending on who does the touching. Depending on the situation it can convey love, caring, protection, or comfort.”  
“Would you be willing to teach me, show me the power of touch that allows it to form such powerful memories?”  
Star-singer explained that they had been alone their entire life, never knowing the closeness of another as the sapient creatures of the realm feared it too much to approach.  
Takeshi figured it wouldn't be all that different from teaching a youth during the first rites so he quickly agreed to do what he could to help.

“I believe it would be easier if you borrowed a form more similar to mine at first as I will have to learn about you as much as I teach you.”  
Form was but a thought in the dreamscape and Star-singer quickly changed into a naga form similar to Takeshi's, but Takeshi quickly found that it lacked any gender indicators.  
“If you don't mind med asking, are you male, female, or something else?”  
“It would be appropriate to address me as 'Yi', though reproductively I am both male and female.”

Star-singer explained that their species had three sexes, all of them were technically female by human standards as they were all able to produce and lay eggs.  
What set them apart as sexes was what eggs they were able to produce, all members of the species were able to produce self-fertilized eggs that hatched into lesser creatures, like the swarm of cleaners that cared for Star-singer's body, cleaning away any parasites or growths.  
But these were not true eggs, they could never grow into a new leviathan, true eggs could only be produced by the Queens, and to do that they needed the aid of a King, their reproductive equivalent of a male who had the ability to fertilize queen eggs.

Star-singer told him that their species was related to Atlantis's species, they were an offshoot of the greater leviathan species that Atlantis belonged to, and that their species was to Atlantis what the cleaners were to them.  
“She is a Queen which is why they hunted her, they witnessed her meeting with a King, and after seeing them mate they knew what she was, and that she would be able to produce new leviathans. Desiring that power they began to hunt her.”  
The Queen would store the sperm from the mating until she needed it and when she was ready she would use some of it to fertilize one, or several eggs that were then laid in a spawning ground, areas of extreme gravity such as the close proximity to singularities.  
This made it extremely hard to get to the eggs before they hatched and matured enough to leave the gravity well.  
Those that hunted Atlantis wanted to get to her eggs before they hatched to form a bond with the symbiotic creatures before they fully developed as that would allow them to take total control of not only their form, but their mind as well.  
In essence the newborn leviathan would be born a slave to the one that had touched its egg.

**.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.  
**

When Takeshi and the pack woke up they found themselves only a few hundred meters from the entrance to the maze and they thanked Star-singer for bringing them there so fast.  
They would have to remain there for a while there though to make sure that Arc and Miri would be able to withstand the pressure and cold at the other side of the maze, and they might need to take it slowly to allow Jenna to re-acclimatize to it.  
Star-singer watched as the water spirits manipulated the water to simulate the pressure.  
_“I might be able to be of assistance. I can manipulate gravity fields, allow you to practice without draining precious resources.”_  
The aid was quickly accepted, especially by Emelie and Knight who would no longer need to drain themselves to feed the spirits the power needed.

They took the time to hunt while they got used to the increased pressure, sending some of their catch back to Atlantis to maintain the illusion of a regular hunt, but most was sent to their stores in the Obsidian Halls so that it could be brought back to feed them during the passage through the maze.  
  
“Arc, Miri, would you come here for a while please? I have something I would like to give you.”  
Amanda had spoken to Takeshi about giving them a shard of the crown as she had with the rest of the pack, it would help them navigate the maze and protect them from getting lost.  
She had told him that it felt right, just like how it had felt right to take the ornate staff he was training her in how to fight with from the Atlantis armory.  
Arc and Miri both accepted the small crystal flower after Takeshi assured them it would be safe and showed them that he had one himself.

A week after their arrival they were ready to leave and they all thanked Star-singer for their help, and said their goodbyes.  
_“If you truly wish to thank me there is one thing you could do for me.”_  
They instantly promised that they would listen and accept if it was a reasonable.  
_“Take some of my eggs, bring them with you and allow one to hatch within your realm. It will allow me to hear you. Then share your adventures with me, give me more memories to add to my songs.”_  
Star-singer added that the lesser creature would be able to give others the seed so that they too would be able to share their memories with it.  
The extra eggs could be brought to other realms, or be kept safe in case something happened to the first one.  
The eggs were carefully added to Knight backpack before they said their final goodbyes and headed into the labyrinth.

This time they crossed the labyrinth much faster as they knew how to navigate it, but Takeshi did notice that the narrow paths seemed to have vanished, they were now all wide enough for Knight to pass through them comfortably without needing Emelie to take him through the shadows.  
_“The maze has changed, it seems almost welcoming now, like it wants to make our passage easier.”_  
There was curiosity, and a hint of awe in Amanda's tone.  
_“Indeed it has, I would guess that it might be because the crown is now with a true descendant. The crown and the maze are linked and they recognize you so they do what they can to aid you in your passage.”_

 

**(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_City of Memories_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)**

As they exited the cave that held the entrance to the maze in the human realm they were met by the soft glow of Salacia's searchlights.  
“Welcome back, shall I inform the Leviathan and the estate of your return?”  
Angel greeted them as they swam closer to the platform.  
“Inform the Leviathan so that they can prepare for our return please. Hugin will no doubt sense us when we get closer and inform the others.”  
“Will there be any special preparations needed for the new additions?”  
Takeshi turned to look at Arc and Miri who were looking rather uncomfortable, the pollutants in the water making them itch.  
“We need to set up decontamination baths for both of them, and make sure the pool is cleaned and the water properly purified. And we will need to have a crystal container hooked to one of the davits to help lift Arc out of the water, I can carry Miri myself in a smaller container.”  
They quickly worked up a design for lifting a large crystal aquarium out of the ocean and onto the deck next to the pool and Emelie spent a while with Arc to create the tank from Sanctuary crystals before attaching a floater to it that brought it up to the surface so that it would be ready when they reached the Leviathan.

“I'm sorry Arc, but it's the only safe way to bring you to the island where we live, the water in the lagoon is protected and purified, but the ocean between here and the island is badly polluted and I don't want to risk your health or that of your pups.

Arc did not like the idea of having to stay in a small body of water and as they slowly ascended the water began to turn bitter from her fear and Takeshi was trying to calm her down, the stress was not good for her developing eggs.  
“Don't worry Arc, I will stay with you the entire way if you want me to.”  
Dan's promise to stay by her side did calm her down somewhat, but in the end they were forced to use a combination of Takeshi's command and Amanda's venom to keep the young ray from panicking as they helped her into the small tank that would lift her onto the deck and then transfer her into the decontamination bath and scrubbing her clean.  
Diluted in the water of the smaller tank Amanda's venom was sedating and numbing rather than paralytic and it made it easier to scrub Arc's sensitive skin, being a ray she didn't have the hard scales of a fish but rather the tough leathery hide of a shark, and despite its toughness it was surprisingly sensitive to touch.  
After carefully moving Arc into the pool Dan stayed by her side while she slowly woke up from the venom, meanwhile Takeshi carefully scrubbed and rinsed Miri before carrying her to the pool as well.  
  
The crew quickly gathered around the pool, curious to see the newcomers, but Takeshi cautioned them not to enter the water as they didn't know if they carried any microbes that could be dangerous to the two mermaids, especially Arc since any infection could put her at risk of miscarrying her pups.  
The pack's enhanced immune-system made them safer to be around as it efficiently eliminated any potentially dangerous pathogens.  
Takeshi watched as Miri laughed and sang while teasing Joshua by using her tail to splash him with water whenever he came close enough, she would then quickly dart away to the middle of the pool with a laugh.  
He didn't seem to mind though, instead he smiled and tried to hit her with one of the large, soft, beach-balls, that was of course a rather futile pursuit as the ball moved much to slow and inaccurately to have any chance of reaching the agile mermaid who simply dove down and hid under the surface.  
“Okay, that's enough you two. Arc needs her rest.”  
Joshua instantly turned to Arc and apologized profusely before realizing she didn't understand him, which caused another bout of apologies followed by some rather vivid blushing and awkward mumbling.  
“Don't worry Josh, she understands what you mean even if she does not understand the words.”  
Takeshi noticed that Arc smiled and laughed softly at the utter relief that Joshua radiated, it was a good sign that she was recovering from the stress and getting somewhat accustomed to the cramped living-space.

Fortunately it didn't take long to make it back to the island and knowing that she was going back into the ocean made it easier for Arc to handle the confined space of the transport tank while Miri was more than happy to be carried by Takeshi in a small container.  
Much to everyone's amusement there was barely any water left in it by the time they made it to the swim platform as Miri had spent the time splashing most of it on Joshua who had been walking next to them.  
There was however a bit of chaos when they made it to the platform due to a certain overeager angel rushing to greet his lover.  
The sudden approach of the large raven had Miri crying out in panic and trying to flee into the water which only caused her to get tangled in Takeshi's hair as she leapt out of the container.  
Her obvious fear threw Hugin of from his intended approach and he narrowly avoided crashing into the side of the Leviathan, but he was forced to shift to avoid it and the sudden shift cost him his lift and he ended up dropping into the water next to the dive platform.  
That wasn't the end of it though for the poor angel as his sudden appearance in the water next to Arc combined with the calls of fear from Miri caused her to release the signature jolt of electricity of her species, though much stronger than what any ray of the human realm was capable of.  
It wasn't enough to actually harm Hugin, but it was plenty enough to make him look rather rumpled and send him into a fit of distressed chirps that mixed with Miri's frantic calls as Takeshi tried to calm her down so he could untangle her from his hair without her getting hurt.

It all ended with Takeshi sporting a very short hairstyle for a few days as he used his claws to cut it at the nape of the neck to make it easier to untangle Miri, fortunately it would grow back to its original length within a week, faster of he focused on it.  
When she was finally free Takeshi silently promised himself that he would try his best to never again be around Miri without braiding his hair first.  
Miri quickly got over her fear for Hugin though while it took days for the poor angel to get over the rather shocking return of the pack.

 


	84. War Horizon

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Thomas, Angel, begin the briefing please.”  
The mood in the room was tense as Takeshi prepared to receive an update on the global security state.  
It would be another two days before Munin returned with the Tiamat and the girls, Hugin had left them to come greet the pack when he sensed Takeshi's return, but both him and Munin had insisted that the girls stay and finish the school-week.  
It gave them a perfect opportunity to talk about more serious matters as it would give Takeshi time to collect himself without his moods affecting the girls, the pack was more attuned to him.  
And that actually made them less susceptible to any bad moods as they would know it had nothing to do with them and they would feel that his care and need to protect them was the cause.  
Right now he was seated in the couch in the study with Dan curled against his side and Hugin perched on his shoulder, gently worrying his ear, the angel had yet to recover from the events of their return.  
As usual Knight lounged in the large armchair while Thomas had the desk as he and Angel would be the ones talking for now.

Thomas quickly listed a few file ID's that he wanted to start with and Angel's displays morphed into a world map almost entirely covered in yellow and several hot-spots marked in various shades of red and orange and far too many area's highlighted with purple, indicating active armed conflicts.  
“Severe droughts and flooding has caused a global shortage of fresh food that has sparked many of the currently active conflicts. Many of these areas have little or no reserves, making them highly susceptible to any disruptions in crops or delivery of supplies.”

The destabilization of most of Africa and the Middle East had caused the USA, Russia and the newly reformed European Union to go into high alert.  
The dwindling supply of crude oil was at the core of the growing conflict, at the surface it looked like it was a lack of food due to crop failure caused by the extreme weather, but that only sparked local conflicts.  
The local conflicts however threatened the oil supply which was a major threat to many powerful financial powers, and that was what had the world at a hair-trigger for global conflict.  
The Nordic Alliance were calmer though, they had formed after the fall of the first European Union and one of the foundations for its forming was an effort return to a state of being self sufficient in case of an emergency.  
At the fall of the original EU they had been so dependent on imported goods that they would have run out of food and fuel in a matter of days if international transports stopped, now each region or city was required to store enough non-perishable foods and drinking water to last their population for a year as well as medical supplies and emergency fuel.  
They had also worked to be almost fully self sufficient with fuel and had made massive efforts to remove the dependency on oil so the Norwegian oilfields were enough to supply all that was needed.  
Thanks to being properly prepared they didn't react as strongly to the crisis as the rest of the world.

“Great, we are headed to World War 3 because a bunch of oil tycoons refuse to smell the coffee and keep obstructing the change to power-cell tech just to squeeze a few more cents out of their holdings.”  
Dan's huffed words made his distaste for the situation quite clear and Takeshi agreed wholeheartedly.  
“Take, maybe we can use what we learned in Atlantis to prevent the war from breaking out?”  
Dan sounded so hopeful that it hurt to have to tell him it wouldn't work.  
“I'm sorry Dan, there's just not enough time. We can't just dump something like that onto the market, it would cause chaos. Not to mention those oil tycoons would come after us and the Mandrake to stop it, maybe even going as far as trying to kill us or our employees.”  
They quickly agreed that they would not risk another incident like Diane's death if they could avoid it, even an attempt was bad enough even if the remaining girls were now protected.  
“As much as I would like to stop the was completely I think it might actually work in our favor.”  
“Oh, just what has that devious mind of yours cooked up this time?”  
Matthews had a great respect for Takeshi's tactical mind and he was radiating as he hung on the desk, eagerly waiting for an answer.  
“We will make sure that once the war ends everyone will be begging to acquire our new power-source.”  
Dan's snort gave away his opinion about the chance that that would happen.  
“Oh, we won't leave them any choice. If it comes to all out war we will use the confusion to attack and destroy the oil fields and major depots. There will be a temporary setback, both humanitarian and environmental as they burn, but once gone the recovery will be rapid.”  
“So we destroy the oil reserves to force the world to accept a new power-source...”  
Dan still sounded a bit hesitant so Takeshi gave him a light nip on the ear.  
“Okay, okay. Alpha knows best.”  
He still didn't sound convinced though.  
“We will start Mandrake's Hawaii branch on developing an energy source based on the information we found in Atlantis. Then we wait. If this blows over we can start introducing it at a small scale next year, but if it comes to all out war we will take advantage of the situation.”  
They also agreed on making preparations to evacuate the girls to the Willow estate, and if necessary move them into the Obsidian Halls and on to the Shamarai holdings at the Silver Lakes.  
They would not risk those innocent lives if they could avoid it.  
Plans were also made to bring some of the Mandrake people as well as the Leviathan crew to safer locations if needed.

“One last thing. Angel, I have a special task for you.”  
Takeshi wanted to eliminate as much as he could of the big weapons, and Angel had some rather uniquely suitable talents for that task.  
“I'm listening.”  
The AI sounded eager to get a mission of her own.  
“I want you to get into as many military systems as you can, once inside try to find any information you can on weapons of mass destruction. How many are ready to deploy, what capacity does each player in this conflict have to create them, how many and how fast.”  
“And let me guess, find a way to take them out of the equation?”  
He could feel Daniels's spirit beaming with pride over what she considered to be their daughter.  
“Exactly. Any way you can, kill-switches, self-destruct codes, ways to scramble launch-codes, but also vaccines and such for biological weapons.”  
“Commandeering interceptor missile sites?”  
“Anything and everything, I want our backup plans to have backups for their backups.”  
“If that is the case, may I be as bold as to make a suggestion?”  
“That would be the point of your mission.”  
“With your permission I would like to launch Project Thunderbolt.”  
Her display shifted and showed one of the several satellites that the Mandrake group possessed and used for a wide range of research.  
“All of the Mandrake satellites have been refitted with Sanctuary crystal power systems. It would be a simple upgrade to add a copy of my quantum computer mainframe along with the primary emitter for more powerful version of the amplified laser pulse array that you use in the Blackout.”

The display shifted and showed the _Titan_ satellite, by far the largest of the Mandrake satellites its purpose was power generation.  
Equipped with large solar panels and a laser transfer array it was the power-plant of what Mandrake jokingly called their _'Space-fleet',_ the smaller satellites had receiver disks for directed laser pulse transfer as well as mirrors that allowed them to receive, and redirect energy transmitted from the Titan using laser transfer technology.  
As long as a satellite was in line of sight of the Titan it could transfer power and data using laser, and satellites that were not in direct line of sight could usually be acquired by using the mirror arrays on the smaller satellites to redirect the laser.  
The proposed changes were quickly overlaid onto the current design to show that it could easily be achieved without affecting the normal operations of Titan.

“So, our own private Star Wars program?”  
Dan was obviously amused by Angel's plan, but he also approved wholeheartedly and voiced that approval rather clearly.  
“In essence, but with the added benefit of placing a backup for my mainframe up there.”  
An additional mainframe would not only act as a backup, but it would also enhance her performance, and ensure communication in the event that the global network went down.  
“What about the Ion cannon that the guys down at weapons R&D have been working on?”  
Takeshi was pretty sure he knew why it hadn't been brought up, but he wanted to make sure of Angels reasoning for not doing so.  
“Bringing a selection of crystal prisms up to upgrade the power generation and transfer ability of the Titan wouldn't arouse any suspicion, parts for a particle beam weapon on the other hand would. And with the world on a hair-trigger it could be the spark that sets it off.”  
“Agreed.”  
“But you already knew what my answer would be, didn't you?”  
Her ability to project emotion had improved greatly, she was sounding rather upset about the idea that Takeshi might doubt her abilities.  
“I suspected, and I'm happy to be right. Anything else you would like to bring up now?”  
“Well, there is one thing. Professor Miller has approached me about building a stasis generator that can be used to store genetic samples on a satellite for study of the effects of long term exposure to space radiation on DNA.”  
“She did mention working with NASA on their project to determine viability of manned missions to Mars and Europa on the last meeting.”  
“Precisely. I would however suggest that we hijack the project slightly, take advantage of the fact that it receives major government funding and allows access to NASA launch vehicles. But I need to speak to the Mother about my proposal.”  
“Oh, care to share what you have in mind?”  
“A genesis device. With Her help we could create a backup of sorts that could be used to jump-start life in the event of a global nuclear war, or any other E.L.E. It won't be able to hold everything, but at least enough to re-seed a small area to the point where it can sustain human life.”  
Angel's idea held merit so Takeshi promised he would take the time to make sure Angel could speak to the Mother about it.  
  
“Now, Alpha, it's time to relax, put this behind you for now and prepare for the girls to return.”  
Knight's rather demanding words made Takeshi bare his fangs at him for a moment, but the almost immediate submission soothed his instincts.  
He was rather intrigued though at Dan's low, but defiant hiss, as was Knight.  
_“It would seem your young simori might end up challenging me for the position of Beta after all.”  
“Indeed. And I hope you don't mind that I hope he manages to claim the position.”  
“Not really, he would make a good Beta. And I have a feeling he would still defer to my experience should I lose that position. I won't just surrender it though. He will have to fight the challenge, prove his worth. But I won't fight to my full potential unless I have to to make it a good fight.”  
“Of course, I don't expect you to just surrender your position, especially since you are an alpha by nature. But he has always been my personal choice for Beta.”  
_ There would no doubt be a fight, and Dan might not be able to win, but unlike in most packs his life, or place in the pack, would not be at risk from the challenge.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

In the inner garden the rest his pack was waiting for them along with Kasumi, Eriko, Takara and Miri.  
Arc preferred to stay in the lagoon as she didn't like small spaces, Emelie had brought her through the shadows as a test but she had quickly asked to be returned.  
Takeshi could smell the presence of top quality matcha before he even entered and he was not surprised to find Amanda wearing her kimono and quickly greeting them and moving to seat them for the tea-ceremony.  
The slight frustration he could sense from both Dan and Knight made him smile, neither were fans of the ceremony, Dan always preferred coffee over tea while Knight wasn't a fan of the almost meditative nature of it.  
This time there was another level added to it though as there was a slight hint of displeasure and defiance from Dan when Knight was seated before him, it would seem that the first challenge might come quite soon.  
An amused chirp from Hugin brought his attention back to Miri who was hanging from the edge of the elevated basin that had been constructed to allow her to be at the same level as the others when they were seated normally in the garden.  
Amanda had arranged the seating so that Miri had the seat of honor for her first tea-ceremony and Miri was hanging on the edge of the basin watching with avid curiosity as Amanda began to prepare the tea.  
Takeshi noticed that there were a few extra items added to the tea kit, including a small decanter and tea cup made from crystal, and a bowl with ice for chilling the tea, no doubt to make an iced version for Miri as she didn't like hot foods or drinks, Arc was the same way as had the other merfolk been.  
There was also a small plate with tiny wagashi and Takeshi found himself a bit curious as to how Amanda had managed to make them so detailed despite their extremely small size, they were made to be the same relative size to Miri as the regular ones were to the rest of the pack.  
Amanda made each of them a personal plate with wagashi based on their personal preferences and each made to be the perfect size, his own and Knight's pieces were a bit larger while Emelie and the twins got smaller pieces.

Miri did seem to understand the ritual value of drinking from the offered cup, though she did need Amanda's help to hold it while she took a tiny sip and she struggled to keep a straight face, the small piece of frozen strawberry that she was given right away seemed to soothe her though as she instantly lit up with a smile.  
She did enjoy her matcha when served sweetened and iced though and she made short work of the selection of wagashi on her plate.  
It didn't take long before Takeshi noticed her eyeing his plate of chocolate dipped strawberries so he watched her from the corner of his eye, curious to see if she would try anything.  
As he suspected she was planning something and he struggled not to reveal that he was watching her as she removed her hair ornament and attached it to her bracelet, then with a swift flick of her wrist the ornament flew toward the plate and then just as quick it was gone again, along with one of the small strawberries.  
A quick glance confirmed that Miri was happily munching on the, for her, giant berry.  
“So, would out little thief care to share how she did that?”  
His tone was light and teasing, but it quickly became obvious that he had scared her anyway as she voiced a strangled cry and tried to flee, but as she found herself trapped in the small basin she began to thrash around in panic.  
“Easy Miri, I'm not angry. I just want to see how you did it. It takes skill to do something like that.”  
He tried to soothe her but she wasn't hearing him and when he noticed that bubbles of bloody mucus were forming at her gills he let out a frustrated growl and hurried inside to his study.  
In her panic she had forgotten to breathe air and returned to her normal water breathing, but with her thrashing around and the small amount of water in the basin her gills had ended up taking damage.  
As much as he wanted to soothe her, heal her, he knew he was only making it worse, he needed to leave for her to be able to calm down so that she could be healed, the only other option was to force his will on her and he didn't want to do that as it could worsen her fear of him.

“One of you useless males go with Take! I will handle Miri. Sarah, Maria, help me heal her. Manda, can your song help calm her?”  
Emelie quickly took control of the situation, but things turned for the worse when Knight rose to go see to their alpha and Dan lashed out at him, almost causing a fight.  
“He is MY simiro, I will go!”  
Only the rather annoyed flare of Emelie's aura held them back and after a few moments Knight backed down, accepting Dan's reasoning and Emelie's demand that they not fight.  
“Hugin, you go with him.”  
“As you wish Lady Lilim.”  
She hissed slightly at him as he hurried away, annoyed by the way he had addressed her but Miri's frantic mumbling distracted her.  
“I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!”  
“Miri, slow down. You're talking too fast, I can't understand you.”  
It took a while for her to calm down, but after a few minutes Miri's words were slow enough for Emelie to understand her beyond the fact that she was apologizing for something.  
“I didn't mean to make him angry. I'm sorry! Please don't make me leave!”  
“He's not angry at you. He's angry at himself for scaring you, for hurting you.”  
“But he didn't. I hurt myself.”  
Miri seemed genuinely surprised and very confused.  
“That's not how he sees it. He has sworn to protect you, to care for you. If he hadn't scared you you wouldn't have gotten hurt. So he will blame himself for that.”  
While Emelie spoke to Miri the twins carefully healed her gills and it didn't take long before her breathing returned to normal and there was no longer any sign of blood so Emelie carefully picked Miri up and returned her to the larger pool of water.  
She was still distraught though, babbling about being sorry and not wanting Takeshi to feel bad because of her.  
“Dan and Hugin will get Take to calm down and once he is calm and knows that you have calmed down as well he will join us out here again.”  
“So I can tell him I'm sorry then?”  
“Even better. You can prove to him that you're not really afraid of him.”  
“How?”  
“Oh I have the perfect idea!”  
Leaning in Emelie began to whisper the details to Miri who was eagerly hanging to the every word.

 

.·:*¨¨*:·.Meanwhile in Takeshi's study.·:*¨¨*:·.

“Take, we're coming in.”  
The soft knock was followed by a slight pause then the door opened and Dan stepped inside with Hugin perched on his shoulder.  
Takeshi greeted them with a slight nod, but didn't look away from the holographic displays showing a wide range of financial data.  
“Angel, could you be a sweetheart and cut him off please?”  
“Of course Dan.”  
The screens vanished instantly and Takeshi looked up at them with a sigh.  
“I really need to add some sort of lockout code.”  
The muttered complaint was rewarded with a sharp jolt of energy from one of Angel's emitters.  
“And some kind of overload and surge-protection...”  
Angel only responded with another light jolt, the mock argument was a familiar one and it did help lighten the mood slightly.  
“So, what can I do for my two favorite non-females today?”  
Takeshi kept his tone light and teasing, but Dan wouldn't have any of it.  
“Take, no games. You know damn well why we are here. And you know damn well that what happened with Miri isn't really your fault, or anyone's fault for that matter.”  
Even the bared fangs and low warning growl wasn't enough to deter Dan this time, instead he answered with bared fangs of his own and a low hiss.  
“Enough! No more, you don't get to pull this again, not this time. You always tell us not to blame ourselves for things we can't change or control. So you don't get to do it either!”  
The outburst immediately silenced the low growl and made Hugin to stop worrying Takeshi's ear, his low, confused caw cutting clearly through the sudden silence.  
“Logan has been neglecting his duty as your Beta and I refuse to let this go on any further!”

Part of Takeshi's instincts objected to being told off, but other instincts were proud that Dan was stepping into the role of a beta wholeheartedly.  
It was indeed a beta's duty to look after the alpha just as it was the alpha's duty to look after the pack and Knight had indeed been lacking in his performance in that regard.  
“Please, you need to remember that Logan is an Alpha, he does not have Beta instincts.”  
Takeshi tried to soothe Dan's temper a bit, but the flare of aura told him it had backfired even before Dan spoke.  
“No, don't make excuses for him. He should know what his duties are and yet he has been neglecting to properly fulfill them.”  
  
Hugin had fled to the perch attached to one of the bookshelves when Dan's outburst started and he watched with avid curiosity as the argument developed, somewhat surprised at how forceful the usually calm and levelheaded Dan was being.  
It was obvious that the dynamics of the pack was shifting and the current encounter could be the tipping point so he didn't want to miss a single word, a single shift in their auras and body language.  
His intent was serious but when Takeshi managed to look the part of the scolded pup he couldn't hold it anymore and Dan's latest rant was interrupted by a cawing laughter, the utterly startled look on both of their faces only made Hugin laugh harder and after a few moments they both broke down into laughter as well.  
“We really are acting rather silly, aren't we?”  
It took a while before Takeshi was able to speak between the bouts of laughter.  
“More like a pair nestlings that got into their parents orcha.”  
Hugin quipped as he fled the room and they both quickly took up chase, though neither of them really trying to catch the cheeky angel.

“There's Hugin, so Take and Dan shouldn't be far behind.”  
Emelie quickly urged Miri to hide behind some of the plants at the edge of the pool.  
“Ah, so my wayward mate has decided to rejoin us?”  
She offered Takeshi a plate piled high with his favorite sashimi cuts that he sniffed at with slight suspicion before going to work on emptying it.  
It didn't take long before he noticed a silvery flash and a slice of prime otoro vanishing from his plate and when he turned to look toward the pool Miri was perched at the edge happily munching on the raw, fatty, tuna.  
The delighted smile and impish twinkle in her eyes made Takeshi smile with relief, there was no hint of fear in her as she slowly swung her hair ornament attached to a thin thread over her head before flicking her wrist to send it flying toward Takeshi's plate.  
This time it moved slower than before though and he easily put his hand in the way, allowing it to catch his finger instead and was slightly surprised at the amount of force she was able to pull with when he gently tugged back to test her strength.  
“My my, both skilled and strong. You are a true pride to your blood, and maybe one day you will be a true pride to my House.”  
Then and there Takeshi knew for sure that he wanted her to become a part of his House, one way or another.

With another gentle tug he brought the contraption that was clamped to his finger up to his face for a closer look and found that the starfish ornament moved as if alive, but its energy was like the crystal creatures of the sanctuary and attached to it was a thin thread that seemed similar to his own Kumo-silk items..  
“Miri, is it okay if I test the durability of this thread? I might break a small piece of it.”  
“It's okay, it will grow if needed.”  
She held up her bracelet that was the source of the thin thread.  
He wrapped the thin thread around his fingers and began pulling at it to test how much force it would take to snap it and found it to be even stronger than Kumo-silk, but it was slightly less resilient to his claws.  
“This starfish, how did you come by it?”  
Takeshi was certain that it was a Sanctuary creature, but he had no idea how one had ended up in Atlantis.  
“My grandmother gave it to me before she passed beyond the veil. She told me it has been in our family since before Atlantis, that it was a gift. She told me I was named after the one who gave it to our ancestor.”  
Suddenly everything made sense, the Fate's were tampering with things again.  
If the Fate in charge of the future, of ensuring things took the right path visited with Miri's ancestor and introduced herself with _'Na tza Miri'_ in Urui it could mean both ' _My name is Miri'_ and _'I am Destiny'_ , there was no way to tell the difference.  
“I do believe the Fates have a hand in this. Unless I am mistaken, the one you were named after wasn't actually named Miri, but she **was** Miri, Destiny, one of the Fates.”  
“So she was an Avatar?”  
“I'm sure she was. And that starfish of yours, I think the Mother created it.”  
_**“Indeed I did. The Fates asked me to create it. That it would one day be needed. Even I was not told why or when though.”**_  
Miri almost jumped out of the water at the sudden voice of the Mother and fact that her voice carried clearly from the small starfish was plenty enough proof on its own.  
“Miri, careful, you don't want to get hurt again.”  
Takeshi was at her side quickly and caught her before she could get herself tangled in the plants.  
“Sorry... Didn't mean to make you worry.”  
“How about we forget about that and you show me how you use this?”  
“Okay!”  
It didn't take long before everyone was watching Miri teach Takeshi how to use her contraption that worked like a mix between bolas and a sling, but with the attached cord of a harpoon.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Welcome back Munin.”  
Takeshi answered Munin's greeting and bow with a slight nod.  
“Hello girls.”  
The moment he turned to them and opened his arms in welcome he found himself tackled to the ground and swarmed by a very eager group of girls.

“Oi! Julia, no biting!”  
The startled yelp from the bottom of the pile had the rest of the pack snickering at their alpha.  
“Amy, watch those claws.”  
“Carol, not...”  
The complaints trailed off into muffled mumbling as Carol took the opportunity to steal a kiss which soon had everyone laughing.

“ _Allie, aren't you going to join them?”_  
Dan was concerned that she didn't join the greetings despite her obvious desire to do so.  
_“No...”  
“The promise?”  
“Mhm...”_

She told him she wanted to wait until she could greet Takeshi on her own, and demand that he fulfill the promise he made before they left for Atlantis.  
_“I guess I will be calling you pack-sister soon then.”  
_

A mock growl from the bottom of the pile quickly scattered the girls into a laughing stampede as the girls fled toward toward the cover of the forest, but Takeshi didn't pursue, instead he froze and focused on Alice who had quietly stepped into his path.  
“Allie..?”

She didn't answer him, instead she straightened her spine and bared her left shoulder to him, silently making her demand.  
Takeshi stalked toward her and began circling her, testing her determination and she held her ground, head high and aura sharp with determination and he could feel the approval of his pack through the bonds so he leaned in close and gave her a gentle nip.  
“Run!”  
She gave him a quick glance before darting away with a breathless laughter, taking off toward the narrow paths that would lead them around to the back of the island, and privacy away from the house.  
“Do try to make it back for dinner or the girls will be most cross as they have spent all day catching fresh fish and chasing itiri.”  
Emelie's teasing words earned her a soft huffing bark as Takeshi took of in his half transformed form, but she could feel his promise that he would make sure they were back in time for the meal.

“Allie... I can smell you...”  
Takeshi's teasing calls scared a few birds out of the trees and Alice struggled not to laugh as she could tell that her little ruse had worked, he was following a fake scent trail.  
Of course he could find her in an instant if he expanded his aura and searched for hers, but he didn't, to prolong their game he only used his normal senses, smell, sight, hearing and taste.  
“Ah, clever little owl playing tricks on the wolf.”  
It didn't take long for Takeshi to figure out that he was following a false trail though and he quickly located and pocketed the white feather she had used to create the false trail before he began to backtrack to find the true trail.  
Tracking someone who could turn into a bird wasn't easy, but fortunately he had plenty of experience from tracking Hugin and Munin, they had spent countless hours in the demon realm training.  
“Ah, there she is, my little wild one.”  
Her pulse picked up and she smelled of anticipation and excitement as he stalked closer, carefully blocking any route for escape, last time he located her she had shifted and flown away after dumping a simple, woven, basket filled with strong smelling herbs and fruits in his face.  
He slowly used his claws to remove her clothes and took what she offered so willingly, so wantonly before sinking his fangs into her flesh to claim her for the pack.  
As the black scales spread over her back he picked her up and carried her toward the house, their shredded clothes all but forgotten on the ground.

“Welcome to the pack Allie.”  
Emelie greeted them with a teasing smile as she held out a pair of simple bathrobes for them to cover themselves with before they joined the other girls.  
It wasn't the nudity that was the issue though, she simply didn't want the girls to see all the cuts and bruises on Alice's body.  
Emelie knew that Alice had been more than willing to receive them, that she wanted them, but it was not suitable for the younger girls to see, they were too young to understand, so until they healed Alice would have to be covered.  
Takeshi on the other hand had already healed from the marks Alice had put on him, but it would make the girls curious if he was naked and Alice wasn't.  
When Knight moved forward to welcome Alice to the pack he found his path blocked by a hissing Dan in his new form, wings flared and power crackling around him.  
“You are beta no more!”  
When Emelie shifted slightly, intending to intervene Takeshi tugged on their bond to stop her.  
_“Don't. They need to do this. Dan is going to challenge Logan for the position of beta, he was always supposed to be my beta and now he realizes that and his instincts are telling him how to take the position.”_  
Hopefully the fight would remain one of wills, but there was always a risk that it would become physical.  
_“If they start swinging I want you to grab Logan and shadow-walk him to the black beach, I will take Dan.”_  
The black beach was a small beach on the back of the island where erosion had turned the volcanic stone into soft, black sand.  
They both watched in silence as Dan challenged Knight, Takeshi only looked away for a moment to reassure Alice who was starting to feel nervous.

“So the little whelp thinks he is ready to bring down a beta, does he?”  
Knight used his size to try to intimidate Dan into backing down, into submitting.  
“You are no beta, you are not worthy!”  
Takeshi could feel the faint flicker of power that signaled that Knight was about to call his armor, but apparently Dan felt it as well because there was a sudden flash of lightning and then Dan was standing right in front of Knight.  
One sai was pressed against his throat and a second one was pierced through his arm just above the enchanted bracer, preventing the energy from flowing, and thus preventing his armor from forming.  
_“Did our Danny just teleport?”_  
Emelie's tone held a surprise that echoed Takeshi's own.  
_“Not really. I believe he did something called 'Ride the Lightning', traveling along the plasma conduit generated by his lightning. I'm more impressed by those sai, those are true soul-blades, he created them himself from his own power.”  
_ It was obvious that Dan's sudden movement and the appearance of the weapons had taken Knight by surprise as well as he didn't make any attempt to get away from Dan or defend himself.  
Then, as sudden as it had started, the fight was over as Knight's energy receded and he tilted his head to the side in instinctive submission and Dan leaned in and sank his fangs into the mark that Takeshi had left when he first claimed Knight as his beta.  
The power of the mark twisted and turned, part of it flowing into Dan and a fragment of Dan's own power replaced it, forever leaving a mark on Knight that would tell anyone who could sense it that he had submitted to Dan.  
Turning to face Takeshi, Dan bared his neck and waited, Takeshi could still reject him as beta, it wouldn't give Knight the position back though, merely leave the pack without a male beta.  
When Takeshi stepped closer Dan's wings crackled with nervous energy that didn't dissipate until fangs sank in deeply, pouring more power into the pack mark.  
“My precious Dan, my simori. Finally you are what you were always meant to be, my true beta.”  
And so, within a matter of moments the pack had a new beta.

When they joined the others the twins instantly rushed to Dan's side, flooding him with their aura, seeking out the bond that was pack and imprinting themselves on their new beta, and him onto themselves.  
Knight on the other hand was ignored completely, he was currently _Omega_ , the lowest of them all, beneath even the twins and he would remain there until he was acknowledged as being more.  
Takeshi would leave it up to Dan to decide when, he knew that Dan would not leave Knight as omega, Dan was no fool and Takeshi new that he was aware of how valuable Knight's millennia of knowledge and wisdom was.  
_“Alpha, may I speak?”_  
It felt very odd when Knight came up to him, carefully remaining behind, aura tightly reined in, acting the part of the omega.  
_“Go ahead.”  
“I find myself surprised. I thought I would have to intentionally force myself to submit, not be forced to do so by instincts. He will make very good beta.”_  
A low hiss from Dan made Knight take a small step back, with instincts still running high it would make things easier if he took care to carry himself like an omega, and being so close to the alpha was inappropriate.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Manda, are you ready?”  
Takeshi watched the radar indicator for the second Valkyrie located on his 7 o'clock high as well as the small swarm of Harpies along with both their Blackouts.  
There were also five MiG-25's, a pair of F-22's and three F-14's, all courtesy of friends of their grateful arms-dealer and he smiled a predatory smile as they vanished from the edge of the screen.  
Angel was filtering the data from their screens in preparation for the exercise so that they would not know the exact locations of their opponents.  
“I'm good to go!”  
“Break 180 and begin active scanner sweep on Angel's signal.”  
“Roger that!”  
Takeshi gave a short bark of laughter when Angel signaled the start of the training battle by blasting 'Danger zone' through the speakers.  
He allowed the beat of the music to pull him along, his heartbeat picking up as adrenaline surged through his body.  
Breaking at the max capacity of the agile aircraft would have caused a human pilot to black out but Takeshi took full advantage of his enhance physiology and Amanda's tight break told him she was doing the same.  
The training wasn't just for the two of them, but for the five MiG pilot's as well as Dan and Emelie who were acting as ground control under the guidance of on old Russian officer with Angel watching and learning while she also controlled the swarm of Harpies.  
“Would you guys be serious! We may not be using live rounds, but the ground is still pretty damn hard!”  
Dan's voice over the radio made Amanda complain and call him a worrywart but Takeshi backed him that they should be focusing, not playing around.  
“Angel, you heard him, let's keep the air clear shall we?”  
“Hmph, I agree with Manda, flying is much more fun with the proper mood music.”  
She managed to convey a distinctly moping tone as she turned the music off.

“ _I have a pair of Harpies 2 o'clock low, but the echo is strange.”_  
It didn't take long before Amanda reached out for him to confirm that she had spotted their first target contact.  
Using their bond instead of the radio to make sure Angel wasn't tapping into their communication was just one of the many methods they were using to gain an upper hand against the numerically superior opponent commanded by Angel.  
Angel was allowed to use anything short of actively tampering with Takeshi's and Amanda's Valkyrie's in order to help the _'enemy'_ defeat them.  
_“I see them. Focus your sensors and you should be able to see why the echo looks strange.”_  
Takeshi was familiar with the tactic being used, the Harpies were intentionally flown in a way that allowed them to be easily detected, using their radar echo to mask another craft, probably one of the F-22's taking advantage of its stealth configuration, but it could be one of the Blackout's.  
Knowing what the trick was he left it to Amanda to figure out the details, it would help her spot similar tactics in the future.  
_“Got it, one raptor hiding in the shadows.”  
“Ladies first. And remember to look up.”_  
Chances were high that there was more to the trap than just the F-22 using bait to play Hide &Seek.  
Amanda executed a sharp dive and moments later Angel announced kills on the raptor as well as both Harpies and all three crafts broke off to head back to base.  
And just as Takeshi had suspected a pair of of the MiG's came down sharp from above them, using the glare of the sun as cover and he squeezed the trigger for his quad Gatling guns and watched with satisfaction as the burst of tracer rounds cut the two attackers off and made them break their approach.  
There was no kill announcement but smoke from the signal canisters told him that Angel had registered a few good hits and both planes broke off to return to base, unlike the previous ones though, they would be allowed to return to the fight after a suitable downtime to simulate their MiG's being repaired.

“ _Damn, she is good. And you, you're a monster! But I have learned many things here and I will be honored to fly with you.”_  
The Russian pilot congratulated them on another victory and thanked them for the many lessons that had been taught and Takeshi returned the sentiment for all of them.  
Out of the pack-members present only himself and Emelie spoke Russian, and Emelie only did so thanks to her demonic abilities and while the Russian pilots and crew did speak some English none of them were very good so they had all agreed to stick with Russian whenever they wanted to make sure there was no misunderstandings.  
They had spent a week training with the group of Russian pilots and Takeshi was very pleased with the results, Amanda had made great progress, she was nearly as good as he was himself, and the Russian pilots were also highly skilled, they only lost because they didn't have Takeshi's and Amanda's enhanced senses and durability.  
Having Angel help the Russian pilots coordinate their efforts along with the Harpy swarm had leveled the playing-field quite a bit though.  
“Come, join us, we party.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The pilots dragged them along to a couple of old trucks that would bring them to the nearest village, a good five hour drive on the derelict road, little more than a set of muddy trails, from the northern Siberia base where they had been training.  
They told them the village was small and simple, but the people who lived there were warm and welcoming, willing to share their food, drinks and beds.  
The group of pilots had been there many times before and the villagers trusted them, but they warned Takeshi and the others that the villagers would probably be a bit suspicious about them at first.  
“Would it help if we bring a few side dishes of our own to the party?”  
“Oh, such as?”  
The old general was instantly curious, the man was built like a bear and had the appetite to match.  
“Well, meat mostly. We've seen moose, elk, deer, lots of those big hares. Maybe bag that grumpy bear that has been raiding your supplies?”  
“You wish to go hunting? Now?”  
“If it would help, we would be happy to help with the food, we are after all a pretty big bunch of hungry people to feed.”  
“ _Da_ , it would be much appreciated indeed. We can leave tomorrow and have bigger party, right boys?”  
_“Da!”_

The agreement from the others was instant and they quickly took their bags and headed back for the barracks.  
“You want to borrow good rifles?”  
“Thanks, but we won't need them, we have our own gear. But we would appreciate if you and your boys could help carry our prey back to the base.”  
“ _Da_ , we will do that.”

If the men were to fight at the pack's side they needed to know what they all were, they needed to see the truth.  
“Dan, could you and your raijū focus on catching a nice haul of those hares?”  
“Leave it to us.”  
When the raijū peeked out of Dan's clothes several of the men began laughing.  
“What are they laughing about?”  
Dan's tone was slightly hesitant, old fears and worries surfacing.  
“Like master, like dog. _Da?_ Quick and clever like weasel.”  
Dan instantly broke into a smile when he realized that the laughter was in its own way praise of his wit.  
A few of the men walked up to Dan and offered their assistance in hunting the hares, one of them said something in Russian and Emelie quickly translated.  
_“You sure know how to pick the trickiest prey, don't you? Let's hope your aim is a as quick as your wit.”_  
“Ah, they are quick and tricky, but not match for a raijū.”

Emelie translated his words, but there was no translation for raijū.  
“What is this raijū?”  
_“It's a lightning spirit.”_  
Emelie's words were the queue to show them the truth.  
“Guess that's our queue buddy, let's show them what you can do.”  
With a flash of energy the little weasel was replaced by the larger wolf form.  
The startled calls were followed by the sound of weapons being drawn and readied.  
_“Stop! Lower your weapons. The raijū is no threat.”_  
Takeshi's voice was heavy with command, while the raijū couldn't be killed it would cause it pain, and Dan would feel that pain as well as the two were tightly bonded.  
Withe the men tightly bound by combination of Takeshi's command and Amanda's song they all revealed their true natures.  
_“If we are to work together, to fight together, you all need to see, and accept this. This is what we truly are, this is also the true nature of those girls that we fight to protect.”_  
There was no immediate negative reaction beyond the initial drawing of their weapons and after a while they had all calmed down.  
After some show and tell the men split into four groups to help them hunt and as they headed out they could feel the fear slowly dissipating in favor of curiosity.

“ _This is quite insane. That bear tried to flee the moment it saw you.”  
_ The young pilot spoke an odd dialect of Russian that forced Takeshi to focus for a moment to understand him. _  
“Animals can sense our true nature. Normally it does not bother them, but it could feel my intent, it knew I was after its life.”_  
The men that had joined him were looking a bit green around the edges as he licked the bear's blood from his claws, he had killed it by snapping its neck but in the struggle he had been forced to use his claws to keep his grip.

The larger prey was quickly field-dressed and the pack made quick work of the choice pieces such as liver an heart, something that had most of the men gagging, but the old general wasn't deterred, instead he asked for a taste.  
Takeshi took a careful sniff at the deer liver on his plate to make sure it carried no parasites of infections before cutting a slice and offering it to him.  
“This is very good, very _vkusno?_ ”  
The lopsided smile and questioning look made Takeshi smile and hum in response.  
“Indeed, very _vkusno_ , delicious.”

When they arrived in the village they were met by a swarm of children in various ages that eagerly approached the Russian soldiers and pilots, begging them for the chocolate energy bars they carried.  
After being handed the bars the kids quickly dispersed to gobble down their treats and their parents, and grandparents, approached and greeted the group warmly.  
There were plenty of nods and smiles accompanied by _'Spasibo'_ as they began to unload the meat, the bear and the large pile of hares both drew plenty of attention.  
A group of elderly women quickly evaluated the hares and praised their good quality, and the fact that the hides were mostly undamaged as they had been chased down and killed by snapping their necks.  
The praise had Dan blushing and preening as he handed the hares one by one to the old women who inspected them and handed then to a pair of soldiers who they had roped into helping them carry it all to the middle of the village where it according to what Takeshi could hear would be cooked into some sort of stew.

After helping the villagers get all the meat to the community area it was butchered it into more manageable pieces before the women took the reins and shooed the men away to bring firewood.  
“You, big strong man. You come.”  
The woman who spoke was obviously the matriarch of the village, the tiny woman must have been well over 90 and her years were written in her face for everyone to see but her eyes were clear, shining bright with intelligence, and a wicked humor that had Takeshi curious, and a slightly concerned about what she could be wanting him to do.  
She brought him to a storage building next to the open square at the center of the village and nodded for him to open the large doors.  
“There, you carry.”  
She pointed toward a huge pile of cooking utensils, most prominent was several village size, three legged cauldrons and the extra sets of rings on the edges were no doubt mounts to allow poles to threaded through the rings so that a group of men could work together to carry the no doubt very heavy cast iron beasts..  
He gave the old woman a questioning look and a crooked smile, relaying his question, ' _Really?_ ', without words.  
“My great grandfather was the great bear, I know the signs.”  
She tapped the corner of her eye with a knowing smile and Takeshi realized that while he had shifted the slit pupil of his eyes to a normal round one, he hadn't changed the color.  
_“I should know better than trying to hide my true nature from a shrewd old woman like yourself.”  
_ He spoke Russian to let her know he knew the language as she was obviously having a hard time with her English and as he spoke he let go of the shift that hid his slit pupils.  
_“The young ones do not believe, maybe you can show them the truth.”  
_ She seemed relieved to find that he spoke Russian as she quickly abandoned trying to speak English.  
_“Maybe I can.”_  
He agreed with a smile before calling for Amanda to give him a hand, the weight was no issue, but the large cauldrons would be hard for one person to carry due to their size and shape.

With the food prepared and slowly cooking most of the villagers settled down to play games and tell stories while they watched over the various cauldrons, spits and pans to make sure nothing would burn.  
Takeshi glanced toward one of the groups of women where Emelie and Amanda were eagerly learning how to make the various breads that were a staple in the village people's diet.  
Takeshi found himself rather curious as he could smell malt, molasses and rye sourdough, though, it did explain why Emelie was so eager to learn, she loved dark bread.  
Turning his attention back to Dan and the old man in front of him he quickly translated what the villager had said.  
“Dan, don't you think your paint-stripper home-brew is bad enough without learning how to make this glorified diesel-fuel they serve here?”  
The teasing quip made Dan turn his attention from the old still for a moment to bare his fangs and hiss at Takeshi.  
“I have always wanted to learn how to make _Samogon_ so you just shut up and keep translating!”  
Dan managed to pull off a rather impressive growl that made Takeshi flash his fangs in return.  
“Now, how am I supposed to translate if I'm to shut up?”  
The bickering was good natured as always and Takeshi grinned at the frustrated huff when he pointed out the flaw in Dan's demands and the old man seemed to pick up on the mood even if he didn't fully understand the words as he flashed them both a wide, but toothless smile that made his entire face wrinkle up.

 

By nightfall everyone was gathered around the fires, eating, drinking, laughing and dancing to the wild tones of traditional instruments.  
Takeshi had cause quite a few laughs and cheers when he joined the young men in their dance and pulled off the wild, acrobatic dance with the famous crouching kicks without falling over.  
_“You should hear him sing.”_  
Emelie had heard him sing to the twins many times, to help them sleep, to pick up their mood when they were sad or scared and she knew he could sing at least a few Russian songs.  
Her teasing words were met by a slight pause in the music and a few whispered words among those playing before a familiar tune began to play, the _Katyusha_ .  
It would seem that they were trying to tease him by playing a song that was normally sung by a female, but Emelie knew that Takeshi could sing it quite well.  
And as proof of his good mood Takeshi didn't just sing it, he offered quite a dance performance as well, teasing and challenging the young men of the village to join.  
They didn't stand a chance to outperform him though and by the time he was done he had drawn the attention of most of the unattached females, something that had Dan huffing and grumbling.  
But Takeshi didn't allow him mope, instead he dragged him into the dance and taught him the moves.

“I must thank you again for bringing us here. I haven't seen him laugh and smile like this in a long time. He really needs it.”  
Emelie handed the old general a fresh tankard of beer and took a seat next to him.  
“He is a complicated man, who enjoys the simple things in life.”  
“That he is... But he also worries far too much, about everything.”  
She watched Dan try to bring Takeshi off balance by giving him a hip-tackle, only to end up pinned to the ground himself and kissed senseless while their audience laughed and teased.  
“They both need it...”  
She couldn't help smiling as she watched how Takeshi's and Dan's auras rose and swirled in a dance as old as life itself and when they settled down they were deeply entwined, gently flowing around them in lazy waves.  
“I find myself being somewhat confused. He is you husband, is he not? And yet you are okay with him being with another?”  
“We are not married, we are mated. Soulmates.”  
“Mated?”  
“It's a bond that binds our very souls together. And our kind are not monogamous. But it is frowned upon to be with someone that the other mates do not approve of, and as his soulmate I am within my right to forbid him to pursue someone I do not approve of.”

The feast had settled down greatly by the time the sun began to rise and Takeshi called for his pack to come to him, it was time to fulfill his promise to the old matriarch.  
With his pack by his side he allowed his aura to rise, reaching out and touching the villagers gently to call their attention to him and the pack.  
_“The matriarch told me that her ancestors were shifters and I promised her that I would help make sure that the young ones will believe once again.”_  
Takeshi silently explained his plan while they slowly walked toward the edge of the community area along the road that would lead them back toward the base but stopped before they walked out of sight and with a sharp flare of power he shifted into a massive bear and roared.  
The moment his front legs touched the ground he could feel Dan grab hold of his fur and swing into his back before quickly helping Emelie and Amanda up.  
With his pack seated Takeshi began to walk away from the village, Angel would meet them with one of the Blackouts once they were out of range of the village.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War Horizon_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Welcome back. How did it go?”  
Matthews was waiting by the landing pad when the Blackout touched down.  
“Very good, better than I had hoped. We have a group of pilots and RIO's that are both skilled, and willing to fight at our side. Manda was downright amazing, Em and Dan did great as well. How did things go at your end?”  
“Excellent, the Thunderhead is fully crewed and armed and she is currently cruising the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Somalia under the guise of taking part in the Anti-piracy task-force in the area.”  
“Good, good.”  
The location put the fast vessel in perfect striking distance for many of the world's largest oil fields, enabling it to unload its supply of incendiary devices.  
The trip to Siberia to recruit pilots had been the last step in their efforts to prepare for war, they were now as ready as they could be.  
“So we are all set. Now all that remains is praying that we won't need it.”  
Matthews sounded so tired it made Takeshi worry for his health and he decided he would have a word with him and Eriko about it.

 


	85. The Heir

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“This place is amazing!”  
The other girls quickly agreed with Amber as the mist cleared around them and revealed the garden of the Shamarai estate.  
They had finally been able to connect the mistpool at the island with the one in the Shamarai estate and after a few tests they had brought the girls with them to the demon realm.  
Knowing that all the girls could safely travel through the mist to the safety of the Shamarai home took a great burden of Takeshi's mind, knowing that they could be sent away if the war came too close for comfort.  
“Too bad Taka couldn't join us, she would have loved this place.”  
Julia was watching her lizard familiar chase the local bugs from one plant to another.  
“I'm sure she would, and don't worry. I'm sure she will get a chance to see it, just not this time. She needs to be with her mother, and Eriko won't leave Thomas's side while he is not feeling well.”  
“Take, is Thomas-ojiisan going to die?”  
Amber's sad voice made Takeshi pull her close while her use of the Japanese honorific for _'grandfather'_ made him smile.  
“He is, but not this time. The Fates have allowed the Mother to tell me as much.”  
Takeshi had been really worried when Eriko came to him and told him that Matthews had fallen ill and was refusing to let her heal him.  
It had taken a while to convince him to even accept the herbal remedies, he wouldn't touch them until Takeshi swore that they were nothing more than normal remedies, that there was no power, no magic infused in them.  
“But he will, soon, wont he?”  
“I'm afraid so. Normally 71 isn't all that old, but he has lived a hard life and now it's coming back to bite him in the ass.”  
“I just wish he would let us heal him.”  
“So do I, believe me, so do I. But it's his wish and we must respect that.”  
Takeshi had burrowed his face into her hair while they spoke, taking in the subtle shifts in her scent and he wasn't the least bit surprised when he picked up a hint of arousal as her lips traced along his jawline.  
“Hmm, you too, huh?”  
“Mhm, sorry.”  
He could feel her impish grin against the underside of his jaw, as if the tone was not enough.  
“No, you're not, and you shouldn't be.”  
Takeshi had come to terms with the fact that save for the twins the girls all showed some level of interest in him, be it romantic, or purely sexual.  
Amber's scent carried a mix of scents, but curiosity and innocence were the dominant ones with a hint of arousal, a scent that told him that while she was definitely interested, she was also not mature enough to make anything of it.

A sudden pulse of energy from the mistpool drew their attention, it would seem they were having guests.  
As the mist gathered and rose Takeshi could feel a familiar, massive aura, and hidden beneath it, four smaller, but equally familiar ones.  
“Wait here girls.”  
Stepping into the mist he waited for their guest to arrive and the moment the shadeling materialized he pounced and pulled Ylian into a tight hug, but a moment later he was trying to hold on to a shadow as Ylian slipped back into their incorporeal form.  
“Now now, Take. Is that any way to greet a guest in your great House?”  
Takeshi pulled on his ability of true transformation and the bond that tied them together and took the form of a shadeling before wrapping his form around Ylian in mock battle.  
“Em, is that Ylian?”  
Alice was the first one to voice what they were all wanting to know.  
“Indeed it is.”  
“So, would it be safe to assume they will be brawling until they end up screwing?”  
“Yeah, we might as well head inside and get some food started.”  
With a slight flare of power she reached out for the spawns.  
“Come on little ones, let's find something to eat while your pana and para get re-acquainted.”  
They quickly came to her side and nibbled slightly at her energies, they didn't really feed it more like a gesture of comfort and greeting.  
“Aw, I think my cute little cousins are growing up.”  
She picked one of them up and gave it a gentle jolt to make it revert to its egg form before tossing it to Dan and picking up another one, repeating the process and tossing it to Amanda, the third one went to Jenna and the fourth she carried herself.

The mock fight picked up in intensity when the pair felt that the others had left the garden and headed inside, where they would be safe from any errant spikes of power.  
Takeshi found it to be exhilarating to fight in the incorporeal form of a shadeling, exhilarating and very intimate as their forms flowed through each other, sometimes blending and sometimes rejecting.  
He was unsure how much time had passed when Ylian submitted and resumed their corporeal form and he quickly followed, pinning them beneath him in the soft grass.  
“Ah, there's my stunning shadeling. Proud pana of my spawns.”  
Takeshi was pleased to find that Ylian had returned to the same genderless form they had used when they first met instead of the more feminine pana form.  
Leaning in he nipped gently at the mark around Ylian's chest and neck.  
“You know, I prefer you like this. And I can feel you are more comfortable in this shape than the one you have been wearing since you became pana.”  
“While lacking at times it does have a familiar comfort to it.”  
Ylian brushed their aura against Takeshi's and after a few moments looked up in slight surprise.  
“You have taken a second mate, and not your precious Dan.”  
There was a hint of disapproval in Ylian's tone, it would seem Hugin wasn't the only one rooting for Dan.  
“Her name is Sheealia. She is the Majordomo of Atlantis, and our mating was one of convenience. I will tell you the story later, for now, there are far more pressing concerns.”  
Leaning in he nipped at the mark before pulling back and giving Ylian a proper kiss that quickly turned into something more.  
  
“Ami, you have been missed.”  
Takeshi whispered into Ylian's hair as they both took a few minutes to gather themselves before joining the others inside.  
“As have you amo.”  
“You know, our island is fully warded now, you are welcome to come visit whenever you want to.”  
“Maybe I will, it's time for the little ones to get to feel other realms. Soon they will reach the point of their metamorphosis, they will become true shadelings not only in mind and power, but in body as well. Once they are they will leave to seek out their own lives, no longer needing their pana.”  
Ylian's voice carried an almost sad note that made Takeshi pull them in closely.  
“We made some pretty damn good kids, didn't we?”  
“We did, and I will miss them...”  
“I will be more than happy to help you make more, all you need to do is ask.”  
It had been mentioned before, but Takeshi could feel that Ylian could use a bit of reassurance.  
“Thank you amo.”  
There was a long pause then Ylian added a simple whispered word that made Takeshi pull back slightly and stare.  
_”Nishoro...”_  
Ami, or in this case Amo, when used on it's own was a bit like a pet name, it was a term of endearment, of affection, but it could be familial, platonic, or romantic, the addition of _'Nishoro'_ , the adapted form of _'Nishiri'_ narrowed it down to mean romantic love.  
The way Ylian's energies brushed against him, it was an invitation, a request to enter courtship.  
“I am so sorry ami... I can't, it wouldn't be fair to Dan.””  
“Don't be, I'm a patient creature, I waited for millennia to find the right para for me. I won't mind waiting some more for a chance to mate him. Though, I would of course prefer if you got your ass in gear and mated Dan already.”  
Takeshi sighed and muttered about busybody matchmakers which made Ylian laugh and nip at his ear.  
“You should listen to us, stop second guessing yourself and just mate him. Trust us, you love him just as much as you love that little lilim of yours.”  
“Yi, my simori prefers yi...”  
“Ah, so yi has found the courage to take the step has yi?”  
“Not fully, but yi is getting there. Most of us still use yo though, out of habit and yi does not mind.”  
Ylian huffed a bit at that but Takeshi could feel a hint of pride in their aura.  
“I should thank you by the way.”  
“For?”  
“Teaching him about your ways, teaching him the rote.”  
“Oh, you marked **yi**?”  
Takeshi groaned slightly, of course Ylian would instantly adapt to and remember to use _yi_ rather than _yo_.  
“I carved my power into **yi's** bones, a strong, deep mark.”  
“And you enjoyed doing it, didn't you?”  
Ylian picked up on the mix of excitement and shame that the memory brought on.  
“I did, by the Kami I did... And I am so proud of how he bore the pain, offering it all to me...”  
“It's nothing to be ashamed of. You tested Dan and yi proved yi's strength and devotion to you, you should be proud.”  
“I am, proud of him, but not of myself, I took pleasure in the pain I caused...”  
The excitement and pride faded from Takeshi's aura and left only a deep shame.  
“Now you are thinking like a human again. I promise you, it wasn't the causing of pain you enjoyed, but the proof of Dan's power and loyalty.”  
Ylian carefully pushed against Takeshi's chest to make him move and he slowly allowed himself to be moved until he was pinned on his back by Ylian.  
“I know you Takeshi of House Shamarai, Takeshi of Pack Kiryu, and I know that you would never take pleasure in harming someone who did not deserve it. Remember, I watched you with Seia, how you struggled to be able to bed her simply because she didn't desire it, desire you.”  
Ylian dug their sharp claws into his chest before leaning in and biting down hard on his shoulder.  
“You know how pleasurable pain can be when inflicted the right way, by the right person, and there is no shame in taking pleasure in giving pleasure, even if it's done through pain.”  
While they spoke, Ylian's power gathered at Takeshi's throat and with a flicker of intent the cold, dark energy began to press down, slowly stealing his breath away.  
By the time he found his release and Ylian allowed him his breath back all Takeshi could see was a pair of shimmering eyes swimming in a sea of black.  
“I only enjoy this because you do amo.”

A slight flare of energy announced that Dan had entered the garden.  
“If you two are done with your greetings you should come inside, food is ready to be served and the girls are getting restless.”  
The strong scent of arousal that wafted from Dan told them that he had been watching them for a while before entering the secluded area of the garden where they had ended up and Takeshi took the opportunity to tease him a bit, pulling him close and kissing him senseless.  
“You know, neither of us would have objected if you had come to join us.”  
Dan blushed brilliantly at the teasing dig, but when Ylian came up behind him and pressed against his back his breath hitched and he let out a quivering moan.  
“I do believe this is something that warrants some proper exploration.”  
While Takeshi spoke Ylian trailed a few teasing kisses along Dan's neck that made him sway and lean into Takeshi for support.  
“Dan, do you want to try to be with both of us, at the same time?”  
Takeshi was pretty sure he had interpreted Dan's reaction accurately, but he asked anyway, both as confirmation, and as a way to tease.  
“Please...”  
“Then how about we eat, spend some time with the others then explore this in one of the private rooms? Or would you prefer to wait until we reach the Obsidian Halls?”  
“No, please, don't make me wait...”  
A quick look at Ylian and they were all in agreement.

The plan was to stay at the Shamarai estate for a few days, then travel to the Obsidian Halls for a 3 month stay, human time, which would be almost 3 years local time and in that time they would train the girls, teach them as much as possible about surviving in the Demon realm in case they needed to flee there.  
Once the time was up they would be heading to Japan for the formal introduction of the Kiryu heir, a task that had been made a lot easier by Takeshi's new ability of true transformation, it allowed him to use the forged blood-sample as a base for his transformation so that any accidental DNA trace wouldn't reveal the fraud.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The unexpected dinner guest caused quite a stir, and a lot of teasing.  
“You know, he's kinda hot...”  
“Julia, remember what I told you about shadelings, Ylian only appears to be male.”  
“Ah, sorry. Yi was it, right?”  
“That's correct, but don't worry. I'm not offended.”  
Julia instantly blushed when Ylian answered her instead of Emelie, revealing that they spoke English just fine.  
“Besides Julia, should you really be hitting on my susai like that?”  
Emelie's teasing quip made Julia turn to her with a grin.  
“Definitely!”  
The defiant reply made everyone laugh and Ylian rewarded her with a teasing kiss.  
Ylian could sense Emelie's slightly concerned attention though, warning them to be careful with Julia.  
“Sorry little one, I'm afraid your alpha has already stolen my attention, and my heart.”  
“Take! Stop hogging all the good ones!”  
The girls instantly complained, and teased him without hesitation but Emelie just shook her head with a knowing smile.  
“Don't worry girls, Ylian is a demon, there's plenty left for you if you wish to have a taste. And if yi is not up to it there's always me.”  
Takeshi's teasing payback caused quite a bit of blushing and spluttering.  
“Now now mate, don't tease the poor girls like that. How are they ever going to find mates of their own that can satisfy them if you spoil them all?”  
Emelie's words caused another round of spluttering and teasing that didn't end until one of the servants informed them that desert was ready to be served and the poor female was quite distraught when the girls insisted on helping her bring all the trays into the dining hall.  
Neither Takeshi nor Emelie were fans of having servants, but it was needed run the Shamarai estate, especially when they were back in the human realm.  
Dessert was quickly reduced to crumbs and they relocated to the small den to allow the girls to rest and play games, while Takeshi, Dan and Ylian excused themselves to find a more private setting.  
The teasing quips, whoops and catcalls as they left made it quite clear that girls knew perfectly well why they were sneaking away.

The strong scent of nervous anticipation from Dan made Takeshi's nose itch and his own pulse quicken, he was sure it would be quite interesting to explore Dan's desires.  
“I think this room should do fine.”  
He opened the door of one of the many private bedrooms and stepped aside to reveal a bed that was sized to comfortably house an Obsidian angel.  
“Go on, in you go.”  
Ylian gave Dan a gentle shove that earned them a startled yelp and some muttered curses in Swedish that quickly turned into incoherent mumbling as Takeshi stole himself a proper kiss.  
With a shared look Takeshi and Ylian began to remove Dan's clothes, slowly, teasingly and he was squirming under their touch.  
“Wow, this is... Just wow...”  
Dan began tugging at Takeshi's clothes but quickly became frustrated with the many knots and ties that kept them in place much to Ylian's amusement.  
“Easy there Dan, I know how much you enjoy unwrapping your treats, but you need to calm down a bit.”  
Takeshi's teasing earned him a sharp nip on the shoulder as Dan was unable to gain the leverage to reach his ear.  
“Hey, that's cheating...”  
Dan was not happy when Ylian's clothes vanished as soon as he touched them, the shadeling hadn't bothered putting his clothes back on after his little sparring with Takeshi, they wouldn't have been much good anyway as Takeshi had torn them pretty badly with his claws.  
Instead Ylian had simply created the illusion of clothes.

“So bright, warm, wild, my raging inferno...”  
Dan was mumbling against Takeshi chest while Ylian trailed teasing kisses along his neck and shoulders, gently pushing and pulling at Dan's aura to make it unfurl and the soft claim made Takeshi smile.  
After a quick glance at each other they began to slowly turn Dan around between them and he eagerly latched on to Ylian and demanded a proper kiss.  
“Dark, cold, calm, like the timeless glacier.”  
They slowly guided Dan to the large bed and placed him in the center of it.  
“Ami, this is all for you, so tell us what you want.”  
There was a long silence, then Dan spoke up, begging for the touch of hands, claws, fangs and power, begging for fire and ice and the powerful pair granted him his every whim.

“Satisfied?”  
Dan just smiled and nodded as he curled into Ylian's chest and tugged on Takeshi's arm to make him move closer, far too exhausted to give him a more elaborate answer.  
While they watched Dan sleep Ylian told Takeshi about their spawns, what they had learned and how they had grown since last time he has seen them, keeping their voices low so that they would not wake Dan.  
Takeshi estimated that Dan had slept for about two hours when he began to stir, burrowing his face into Ylian's chest.  
“Dan, what has you so afraid?”  
Ylian's whispered words instantly made Takeshi focus on them.  
“You may be able to hide it from your alpha, but I can sense it from the fragment of my power that rests within.”  
Takeshi began pulling on the bond, far more forcefully than he had before and after a few moments he broke through and could feel it, fear, pain, sorrow.  
Ylian continued the whispered conversation, gently coaxing Dan into answering them.  
“Rejection...”  
The single word was so faint that even Takeshi's hearing barely picked it up, but it hit him like a sledgehammer, gently tugging on Dan's shoulder he made him turn around.  
“Dan, answer me truthfully. Is this my fault? Have I done this to you? Caused you this pain?”  
The way the bond instantly went numb and Dan's gaze scattered, looking at anything but Takeshi was answer enough and Ylian watched as the male they had chosen as para shattered before their eye's.  
“No, no. Please... I could never...”  
Takeshi curled in on himself and burrowed his face against Dan's chest, rambling whispers begging for forgiveness.  
“I could never reject you, never. Never abandon you.”  
Ylian could feel the desperation, the pain and it tore at them, but beneath it they could sense the deep love shared by the two before them.  
They only understood some of what was being said as Takeshi was rambling in several different languages and Ylian didn't understand all of them, then suddenly Dan's aura flared and he pulled back slightly, staring at Takeshi, eyes wide in shock.  
_“Aishiteru...”  
_ For a few moments Takeshi didn't seem to notice what he had said, he just kept up the garbled whispers, then he froze as well and looked up at Dan with an equally stunned expression beneath the flowing tears.  
Ylian watched with baited breath as the two stared at each-other for a long time, they didn't know the language that had been spoken, but the reaction of the pair before them made it quite clear what it meant.  
“I love you!”  
Takeshi was grinning like a madman as he repeated the words, this time in English.  
“Ami noshiri!”  
He kept desperately repeating the same words in every language he knew while kissing the underside of a very stunned Dan's jaw.  
When Dan finally snapped out of it he gave Takeshi a kiss on the forehead, accepting his apologies before speaking.  
“Alpha, you made me a promise.”  
Ylian knew what promise Dan was referring so they began to pull back, intending to give the two some privacy for what no doubt would be an immediate mating but was almost instantly stopped by Dan's hand around their wrist.  
The soft kiss and Dan's words snapped Takeshi out of his frenzy and with a deep breath he turned his head to the side, baring his neck and the courting mark, he would allow Dan to initiate the mating as a sign of respect and apology for taking so long to truly realize and accept his feelings.

When Dan's fangs sank into the courting mark Takeshi's aura flared and his very soul sang with joy, it wasn't as intense as it had been with Emelie, she was after all his soulmate, but it wasn't all that far from.  
He waited patiently for Dan's power to follow the threads of energy that bound them together and latch on to the conduit to his soul and when the fangs withdrew Takeshi waited for Dan to bare his neck in return.  
“Mine... My beta, my precious Dan. My mate. My love...”  
When the mating bond snapped into place the privacy barriers of the room shattered from the pulse of power, and Ylian looked somewhat singed when offering them the moira, mating gift.  
“How did you know?”  
Dan looked at Ylian with suspicion.  
“I didn't know it would be now. But I have planned this gift ever since I heard of your courting.”  
With a nod Dan took the strange sphere from Ylian's hands.  
“What is it?”  
He turned the sphere in his hands but could not figure out what it was supposed to be.  
“Power. Your soul absorbed a tiny spark of my soul when you changed, this power will allow you to further nourish that spark and eventually be able to use a full range of shadow-powers.”  
Takeshi nodded his approval of the gift, though far from traditional it was perfect in his eyes.  
“Will it make it possible for me to become like you? To truly become _'Ni Tzi'_?”  
“It can be done, yes. But it would require more than just this.”  
“What more?”  
“Are you sure you want to go there? If you go through that change you will never be able to father children of your own.”  
Takeshi had withdrawn from the bond to make sure he wouldn't influence Dan in any way and he watched in silence as Ylian explained what it would mean for Dan to change in such a way, to become like the shadelings.  
“But I would be able to become pana, wouldn't I? And para should someone find me worthy?”  
“Indeed you would.”  
“Then please...”  
Ylian gave Takeshi a quick glance, it would be highly improper to act without asking the mate and alpha of the one to be changed.  
_“Dan, you will speak nothing but your true desire. Knowing what it means, do you wish for Ylian to change you further than the Blessing already has?”_  
The words were heavy with command, Takeshi would take no chances with such a final change.  
“I am sure.”  
“Then so be it. But it will take time, first you need to adapt to this energy, body mind and soul. And while you do I will prepare another one that will allow you to change, but that will take a lot of power, I will need time to accomplish it.”  
“How much time”  
“Decades, maybe even centuries. I'm sorry.”  
“No, please, don't be. It's worth waiting for!”

When the three returned to the den they were met by a chorus of voices all speaking a single word.  
“Finally!”  
“Welcome, co-mate.”  
Emelie gave Dan a teasing kiss and allowed her aura to brush against the mating mark and push a tiny spark of her own energy into it as a show of acceptance before turning to Takeshi and doing the same.  
“So, Susai, will you be my next co-mate?”  
“I would indeed be willing, but I do believe I would need to get in line.”  
Ylian let their gaze wander over the pack which earned them a few blushes before giving Takeshi a rather expectant look.  
Takeshi knew Ylian had a point, there were others he wished to court as well and Ylian would need to wait.  
With a deep breath he turned to his pack.  
“Manda, Jenna, would you be willing to enter a joint courtship?”  
They both looked at each other and it was quite obvious that they were debating his offer.  
“On one condition.”  
Amanda spoke for both of them.  
“Name your terms.”  
“We will agree to a joint courtship if it includes Hugin as well.”  
Hugin's shocked chirps revealed that they had not talked to him about it before making their demand.  
“Hugin, do you accept that?”  
Amanda turned to Hugin and waited for his reply.

True to his nature she was rewarded with a face full of feathers and a raven on her shoulder, worrying her ear with soft caws.  
“That would be a rather resounding yes.”  
Munin translated his brothers behavior with a wide smile though it wasn't really needed, everyone knew Hugin well enough to know what his reaction meant.  
“You know you will have to return to your true form for the marking.”  
Amanda teased softly while gently brushing her finger over the puffed feathers on Hugin's head.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, are you okay?”  
The entire pack was picking up on their alpha's tension as the convoy turned onto the small road that would take them to the main gate of the Kiryu Estate in Okinawa.  
Takeshi was in the assumed form of his heir and he found it to be quite uncomfortable, and everyone hated the amulet that distorted his aura.  
“I will be fine, but remember, you have to call me Katsuro while we are here.”  
“Don't worry Take, you command is still in place.”  
To be safe Takeshi had bound everyone with command so that no one would accidentally use the wrong name, Emelie was only able to use 'Take' because no one outside of the pack could hear them while they were inside the car.  
When the convoy stopped Hugin and Munin stepped out of the leading Knight XIV and walked over to the limousine to open the door for Takeshi and Kasumi.  
“Katsuro-sama, Kasumi-sama.”  
The twin angels played their parts to perfection, their experience as royal guards serving them well in pretending to be the personal guards of the Kiryu heir.  
Takeshi gave them a short nod as he exited the car and waited with Dan for the head of security to come to greet him.

“ _Katsuro-sama, this way please.”  
_ While they walked Dan demanded a briefing on the security of the Kiryu estate and Takeshi silently complimented him on his Japanese, the entire household had been studying Japanese for years to ensure that they would have no problems understanding what was going on as the Council would no doubt refuse to speak English.  
There was quite a stir when the pack and the girls attempted to enter the main reception hall and the Kiryu guards tried to stop them, only to get their asses handed to them by a furious Emelie who held nothing back.  
“They are my family, my honored guests, you would do well to remember that.”  
The threat in Takeshi's voice was clear and the remaining guards quickly backed away.  
“Ah young Katsuro, welcome.”  
The council elder greeted him and motioned for him and Kasumi to approach the dais.  
With a short nod to Dan Takeshi walked up to the raised platform and Dan quickly had everyone seated.  
“It's okay.”  
Takeshi motioned for Hugin and Munin to wait at the base of the platform.  
“Kiryu Katsuro, son of Kasumi and her Kage.”  
“Takeshi. I released him from his oath and his name is Takeshi!”  
Kasumi interrupted the elder with a sharp tone of displeasure.  
“Very well, Kiryu Katsuro, son of Kiryu Kasumi and Kiryu Takeshi. You stand here before the Council of Elders to formally receive your blade.”  
One of the council-members approached with a box but was stopped by Dan who was carrying a similar box that held the ryuken.  
“That blade is not worthy. Only the Kiryu no Ryuken is.”  
When the council-member tried to take the box from Dan she found herself facing twin blades as Hugin and Munin had reacted with lightning speed.  
“Kiryu-sama entrusted me with the duty of carrying the Kiryu no Ryuken in his stead and I will surrender it to no one unless by his direct order.”  
His pack was playing their parts perfectly and Takeshi was struggling to not let his pride show, to pretend to be indifferent.  
“It's alright Dan. It's required for the ceremony.”  
“As you wish Kiryu-sama.”  
Dan already knew that of course, but they were putting on a show, in this case, Dan's unwavering loyalty to Takeshi.  
Takeshi took the offered blade, drew it from the sheath and raised it above his head just as he had done before his unit on his 20th birthday.  
“Kiryu no Ryuken, I accept you as mine! Now accept me as yours!”  
The elders didn't seem to notice that he didn't state his name before cutting into his palm and smearing his blood along the blade.  
Once the flame had died down the council elder spoke the words of acceptance before approaching Takeshi with the Kiryu seal, the physical representation of the Kiryu family.  
“You will swear the oath of loyalty.”  
Takeshi of course intended to do no such thing and the demand was the queue for the next show to start.

On cue there was a commotion at the door as Eriko, flanked by twelve other Kyūbi demanded admittance.  
“I am Eriko, Kyūbi of the Silver House! By the old accords the Kitsune houses are here to place our oath to the Head of the Kiryu.”  
Faced with the thirteen foxes demanding to swear their oaths to the head of the Kiryu the council elder completely forgot about demanding the oath of loyalty and simply handed Takeshi the seal.  
With the seal in hand he instantly went from being heir, to being head and the group of kitsune bowed before him then approached, one by one.  
Each Kyūbi leaned in and whispered in his ear, but not the oath as the council believed, the true oaths had already been sword so instead they whispered their praise for a trick well played and Takeshi nodded and thanked them, as if accepting their oaths.  
“For you Kiryu-sama, our oaths given form.”  
Eriko was the last one to approach him and she presented him with a set of prayer beads, a total of 27 beads 13 of which were Qi pearls, one for each kitsune house, the strand started and ended with a red coral bead, and each Qi pearl was separated by another coral bead.  
“I am Eriko or the Silver House, in accordance with the old accords I am your personal adviser.”  
“The _Celestial_ _House_ does me great honor.”  
The look on Eriko's face as he addressed her by the true name of her house was priceless and Takeshi was glad he had not revealed that he knew the truth before.  
“You knew?”  
“Of course I knew you silly old fox. I wouldn't have been much of an _heir_ if I couldn't tell the Kitsune Houses apart, now would I?”  
“Cheeky little...”  
The other kitsune were laughing their bright, yipping laughs and congratulated him on having managed to pull one on a Kyūbi of their most revered house.

The meeting was quickly dispersed and invitations for a formal presentation was sent out, the event would be in two weeks to allow time for proper preparations.  
In those two weeks Takeshi intended to travel to Hokkaido to see if he could find any of the sparrow-youkai of Mika's flock as well as a trip to Kyoto to visit the shrines there in search of the miko who had cared for him as a child, they had been able to determine that Mizuki worked at a Kyoto shrine, but not which one.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Daddy, over here!”  
The eager calls from the twins led Takeshi to a clearing surrounding a small lake, little more than a pond, at the base of Mount Tomuraushi and the feel of the place was just right for what he had planned.  
“Good work girls.”  
With a pulse of his aura he called for the rest of his pack and the girls and settled down to wait for them.  
An eager caw alerted him that Hugin was the first to reach them and after the customary face full of feathers he greeted him with a kiss.  
_“Ah, my beautiful Mainano. Always so eager.”  
“Yours, always yours.”  
_ Hugin echoed back at him.  
_“Always mine.”_  
Takeshi agreed with a smile when Hugin's kisses became hungrier, more demanding.

Hugin was so much more at ease after the courting had begun, though, Takeshi found himself missing the way the angel would take to his raven form and sit on his shoulder, worrying his ear with the powerful beak. _  
_ Takeshi gently traced the mark his oath had place on Hugin's skin, when it was time for the courting mark to be placed Takeshi had felt that it would be wrong to mar the beautiful mark that Hugin's will had created from his power so instead he had fed the binding energy directly into the existing mark.  
As a result there was a subtle rune-script in the circle around the shamarai flower on Hugin's chest and Takeshi suspected that if, or rather when, they added the mating mark those runes would simply change to reflect that.  
Not much of it was accessible though while Hugin was wearing regular clothes, the weather was cold, and though it didn't bother the demons they still needed to keep up appearances.

A soft rustling in the bushes at the edge of the clearing alerted them to Dan's approach and soon two raijū emerged from the bushes, the extra power that Ylian had given Dan as a moira gift had allowed him to hone his ability to shift and he now had no problems borrowing the form of his raijū familiar.  
“Hello love.”  
With a teasing smile Takeshi pretended to mix them up and patted the raijū between the ears which earned him a displeased hiss and a sharp jolt of crackling power.  
“And how is my amazing mate feeling.”  
Giving Dan the same treatment earned him another jolt, but it was more of a teasing tickle and moments later Takeshi was being pinned to the snow-covered ground.  
“Fine, the cold doesn't bother me at all anymore.”  
Nevertheless they collected some firewood and built a cozy fire, the cold might not bother them, but some warmth was more comfortable.

It took nearly three hours for everyone to make to the small lake and the time was spent talking and playing games in the snow, Takeshi had especially enjoyed watching the girls trying to catch the local flying squirrels.  
Alice had managed to catch herself a weasel and when she dropped it into Takeshi's lap the angry little critter had chittered up a storm before using its sharp little teeth to show him exactly how it felt about getting snatched up by a big bird and then dropped.  
The twins had quickly managed to bribe the creature with some of their food though and soon they were playing a strange game of tag with it.

With everyone gathered Takeshi brought out the feather Mika had given him and focused his power into it, at first nothing seemed to happen, but after a few minutes a wave of power exploded from the feather and flowed across the land.  
While it was Takeshi's power that fueled it, it carried Mika's signature so anyone who knew Mika would recognize it as being her.  
Once the pulse dissipated Takeshi returned the feather to his soul.  
“All we can do now is wait and hope that some member of Mika's flock still calls Hokkaido home. So, who wants to make the transport circle and who wants to collect more firewood?”  
There was an instant scramble of activity as most of the girls rather help make the rune-circle to bring food from the demon-realm storage than gather firewood so they were all trying to find some competition to decide who would get to do what.  
“Okay, that's enough, let's make this easy.”  
Emelie flared her aura with a hint of annoyance.  
“You boys gather the firewood and leave the delicate work to us.”  
Dan was about to object when Emelie nailed him with a glare that promised some really painful sparring if he didn't do as she asked.  
“Of course alpha, right away!”  
Takeshi and Knight both got the classic doghouse look and hurried away toward the woods with Hugin and Munin on their heels.  
“Ah, that's better. Let's make this happen, shall we girls?”  
The cheering was instant, and quite rambunctious which made Takeshi shake his head with a smile, his girls had a knack for behaving like a bunch of preschoolers on a sugar-rush whenever they got excited.  
But it soothed his instincts, the fact that they still were able to display such a pure, childish joy proved that he was succeeding in raising them, protecting them.  
“Let's go boys, we better not keep the girls waiting unless we want to sleep in cold beds tonight.”  
Takeshi gave each of them a slight brush of his aura to make them focus on him and the task at hand.  
“Don't worry alpha, we will keep you warm.”  
Everyone quickly offered their assistance with teasing smiles and far from innocent quips.  
“I'm sure you will you deviants.”  
“I do believe the pot is calling the kettle black...”  
Munin's deadpan delivery had the others breaking down in laughter while Takeshi huffed about cheeky angels.

“This one looks good. We can bring it down that way, between those two over there.”  
They had spend quite a bit of time locating a few suitable trees to bring down, the branches on the ground would not be enough to create a fire that was large enough for all of them.  
Takeshi took a look at the tree that Dan suggested and after a quick estimate of its size he agreed that they should be able to bring it down without causing damage to the surrounding trees.  
“Agreed, find one more like it and we should have enough firewood to last us the weekend. I will keep looking for a good source of kindling.”  
Since their group was quite large a regular campfire would be ineffective so they would build a long fire using a pair of tree trunks and stuff the gap with smaller firewood.  
Normally a fresh felled tree would not burn very well, but Takeshi was well rested, and well fed, so he had plenty of energy to spare, energy he intended to spend on drying the wood by using some of the rune magic that he had learned in the Obsidian Halls.  
He was also using his nose to search out the turpentine scent that revealed the presence of fatwood, dead coniferous wood where the flammable, terpene rich, resin had accumulated in the heart wood.  
Shavings of fatwood made excellent kindling and it would make a good lesson for the girls to see how to use it, he would bring them with him later to show them how to find it on their own.  
When he located a fallen tree with the strong scent he was looking for he began using his claws to pick it apart, removing the soft, rotten wood and soon he reached hardwood in the form of a solid piece of resin soaked heart wood.

“Ah, Take. How about this one?”  
When he returned to the others with his bounty they were gathered around a quite large oak.  
“I thought we agreed not to take any oaks?”  
The popularity of the strong wood had caused a decline in the population of oak trees and Takeshi didn't want to further reduce it for something as simple as firewood.  
“We did, but this one appears to be rather sick.”  
Taking a closer look at the tree Takeshi had to agree with Munin, it did look quite sickly.  
“Indeed it does, I guess we take it then.”  
Enhanced strength and blades of demon-forged metal made quick work of felling the selected trees and they were quickly cut into suitable lengths and carried back to the campsite, it did take them several trips to collect all the branches though and by the time they were done the girls had prepared a substantial meal to be cooked over the fire and coals.

After the meal Takeshi brought out Mika's feather again and forced another pulse of power thought it, he would keep doing so every few hours until they left, or one of Mika's flock arrived.  
Takeshi had set aside one week to look for the sparrows, that should hopefully give any remnants of her flock enough time to locate them and travel there.  
Only the strongest, and somewhat ironically, the weakest, youkai were able to exist in modern society, the strongest able to pass themselves off as entirely human, and the weakest indiscernible from regular animals by all who were not able to read auras.  
Those in between were either too large in their animal form, or had easily distinguishable animal traits such as wings, ears or tails in their humanoid forms.  
As he placed the feather back within his soul he felt Alice aura brush against him and the moment it was securely put away she crawled into his lap and offered her neck, her blood to replenish what he had spent.  
“Thank you, sweetie.”  
He murmured against her skin before letting his fangs sink in and take as much of her blood as he dared.  
While he had more energy at his disposal than ever before it was a mere fraction of what he was capable of storing since the last advance of his abilities, fortunately it had not been as intense as when he developed the ability of true transformation.  
He had only noticed an increased hunger and an awareness that his reserves were low despite at the same time being aware that he had access to more power than before, but fortunately his pack and the girls were more than happy to help fill up his reserves, Ylian and even Lucifer had allowed him to feed from them in the early stages while he was still rapidly burning through his energy reserve to fuel the change.  
As his instincts told him that Alice had reached the limit for how much he could safely take from her he withdrew his fangs and carefully healed the puncture wounds.  
“Go, try to eat some more of that liver, you will need it.”  
Alice nodded and hurried to grab more food and as she did Takeshi could feel Julia inching closer.  
“You need more, don't you?”  
“I do, but you really shouldn't offer it right now.”  
“Oh...”  
She instantly blushed and backed away from him slightly.

The feeding process could be intensely sexual and Julia was having a lot of problems with intimacy, despite their best efforts she was still suffering greatly from the trauma caused by the abduction and abuse she suffered at the hands of Gerard Roberts.  
The trauma had caused a quite interesting reaction when exposed to the blessing, she was 16 when Takeshi gave the remaining girls the blessing, but as her body changed she had actually come to appear younger and now 20 years old she had the appearance of a 12 year old.  
Her mental maturity was higher though, and she was able to shift into a form matching her true age, but most of the time she reverted to the younger form, allowing it to shield her.  
She was okay with the others sexual activities, even going as far as taking quite a bit of interest in watching them, but whenever she was the focus of any sexual intent she quickly became intensely uncomfortable and began to panic.  
The only reason she had been fine with Ylian kissing her was that her instincts knew that there was no actual desire behind the kiss, it was simply Ylian teasing her.  
Most of the time Takeshi could keep the sexual aspect of the feeding under control, but right now he was already in quite a mood so it would be nearly impossible for him to maintain control.

“Don't worry Julia, we will make sure he gets to feed properly.”  
Hugin brushed a wing across her back in a soothing gesture as he and Munin approached Takeshi and offered their own blood, brimming with power.  
“Munin, you better go first or you simora might end up being most cross with me.”  
“Don't worry yemo, she understands, as do I. I am not averse to allowing you to have your way should your instincts become too much to handle while you feed.”  
Takeshi could feel the truth of Munin's statement and he had to admit, to himself at least, that he was somewhat curious how it would feel to bed the elder angel.  
“I will try to keep if from getting out of hand. Can't promise my hands will behave though.”  
As curious as he was Takeshi would not disrespect Munin or Melissa by not putting in his best effort to control the urges brought on by feeding on blood.  
It was a strange feeling to be aware that he had more power than ever before, while at the same time feel as if he was starving.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“I'm sorry we couldn't find her flock.”  
Emelie trailed kisses along Takeshi's jawline, trying to soothe him.  
They had stayed by the small lake in Hokkaido for a full week but had sensed no trace of true sparrow-youkai, not even the lesser youkai followers that would normally live closely with the more powerful ones.  
“I won't give up hope just yet. There will be other opportunities to search for them. But for now we will see if we can't find Mizuki-sama.”  
The use of the honorific made Emelie snicker at him and tease him about puppy-love.  
He rarely used honorifics when talking about someone, only when addressing them directly or when actually speaking Japanese.  
He shifted his position slightly and tucked her under his chin before turning his attention back to the small garden outside their room, the _Ryokan,_ Japanese traditional inn, was fairly small but since they rented all the rooms it offered a good measure of privacy.  
The owners were devout followers of _Inari-_ _Ō_ _kami_ , the Kitsune deity, and were loyal to the Kitsune Houses and by extension, Takeshi, as the Kitsune had sworn their oath to him, personally and not to the Kiryu family.  
As far as the Council knew 'Katsuro' had returned to Hawaii and would stay there until it was time for the formal introduction feast, a feast that Kasumi was helping arrange, this allowed Takeshi and the pack to move around rather freely.

“Does everyone remember what to do?”  
Takeshi turned to the others as they gathered outside the Torii gate.  
They quickly recited the basics, don't walk in the middle of the Torii or paths as that was for the Kami and bow at the gates, the steps of the purification ritual and how to collect their _Omikuji_ fortune.  
Takeshi was the only one planning to actually pray at the shrines but he had still taught them the steps for offering prayer as well in case they decided that they wanted to offer a prayer as well and he nodded when they recited it accurately.  
“Do you have your coins?”  
Everyone nodded and shook the small coin pouches containing the customary ¥100 coins, Takeshi would be offering coins crystallized from his and Kiryu's blood though, seeking the attentions of the local Kami.  
Some of the Kami were just powerful youkai, others were Avatars, and gaining their cooperation, or at least neutrality, would be a big step toward accomplishing the task that the Mother had given him.  
Allowing his aura to unfurl Takeshi bowed properly to the Torii gate before crossing it and entering the shrine grounds as he passed through the barrier that surrounded the shrine he could feel several flickers of reiki responding to his power, but none of them even remotely similar to Mizuki's.  
“She is not here, so let us pay our respects and head for the next place on the list.”

They were at the third shrine on the fourth day of their visit when Takeshi sensed a familiar reiki flare in response to his own power flowing across the shrine grounds and he almost laughed as the shrine they were visiting was the _Fushimi Inari-Taisha_ .  
The others could easily tell that something was different, picking up on the almost nervous edge of Takeshi's energy as he went through the purification and offered his prayer to the Kami of the shrine before seeking out the familiar aura.  
“Mizuki-sama?”  
There was a hint of hesitation in his voice as he greeted the young miko with the familiar aura.  
He was unsure if he was correct as the young woman, barely more than a girl, looked nothing like the aged miko from his memories, and his senses back then were far from as sharp as they were now.  
“Well well, the years have treated you kindly little Kitsune-sama.”  
The reply washed away all doubts about her identity and she didn't seem to be surprised to see him, her voice light and her words teasing.  
“As they have you, Mizuki-sama.”

The others soon left Takeshi to get re-acquainted with the old miko while they explored the thousands of Torii gates of the shrine, leaving only Dan behind as he refused to leave Takeshi alone.  
“You have bonded with him.”  
“I have, he is one of my mates, and my chosen beta.”  
Takeshi motioned for Dan to come join them and once he sat down next to them Takeshi introduced him properly.  
“Now what do we have here?”  
Mizuki spotted the raijū and gently reached out for it, beckoning it to come closer and it instantly scrambled up her leg and into her hand.  
“I don't think I have ever seen him take to anyone that fast...”  
Dan stared at his familiar as it scampered up to her shoulder and cuddled against her neck.  
“It's because he can sense what I am.”  
“And that is?”  
A few moments later Dan quickly apologized for his rudeness.  
“I am a _Kirin_ .”  
“Kirin? Take, wasn't that those mounts that Lucifer gave you and Em? The ones that looked kinda like a mix between an eastern dragon and a horse?”  
“In a sense, those would be more like the Chinese Qilin, the Japanese Kirin is more deer like in their true form. Think a mix of a deer or antelope and a unicorn”  
“Sounds like a beautiful creature.”  
Dan's murmured words made Takeshi give him a teasing smile.  
“They are. According to the legends there is no creature more beautiful, or kind, than the kirin.”  
“I would love to see your true form sometime Mizuki-sama.”  
Dan didn't seem like he was listening to Takeshi, focusing on Mizuki and the raijū but Takeshi could tell he was paying attention.  
“Take-san, you seem surprised to find out what I am.”  
Mizuki didn't address Dan's desire to see her true form, instead she turned to Takeshi.  
“I am. It's not one of the possibilities I considered. My personal bet was a phoenix, a great affinity for healing, but obviously not a kitsune or any other youkai.”  
Mizuki tutted at him for his guess about her true nature.  
“As much as the Fates have interfered with your path you never realized that my true nature was one of the agents of destiny?”  
Takeshi didn't answer and after a while Dan's energy turned downright antsy.  
“Take, what does she mean by that?”  
When Takeshi didn't answer Dan turned to Mizuki.  
“What does that mean?”  
“We kirin have a sacred duty assigned to us by the fates. When a great ruler, or sage, is born a kirin is called to their side as a sign of divine favor. We then aid the chosen one on their path to becoming what destiny has chosen them for.”  
Her smile turned almost sad as she looked at Takeshi who was clearly lost in his own thoughts.  
“Normally the kirin would be by their side, guardian, teacher and confidant. But the path he had to walk was a hard, and lonely one. For him to become what he was supposed to be I couldn't be by his side.”  
Dan was almost overwhelmed by the pain flowing from Mizuki and struggled to rein in his empathic ability to dampen the effect.  
“There is no greater suffering for a kirin than to be unable to be there for their charge.”  
Urged by instinct Dan moved closer and pulled Mizuki into his arms and allowed his aura to settle around her before giving Takeshi a forceful push over the bond.  
It took a while for Takeshi to respond, but once he did he quickly joined them and wrapped his aura around both of them.  
_“I am truly sorry.”_  
Dan didn't recognize the words Takeshi was using, they sounded old, and formal, but he could feel their meaning.  
“You did not chose your path, and you had no idea what I was. My pain is not your doing.”  
“Not knowing is no excuse.”  
There was a long silence before Takeshi spoke up again.  
“Under the old accords Eriko of the Celestial House is my adviser and I would offer a new accord. Mizuki no Kirin, would you accept to become adviser to House Shamarai?”  
“Shamarai? Your house is named 'Hope'?”  
“How did you know that?”  
Dan once again apologized for his bad manners after blurting out the question.  
It was a valid question though as 'Shamarai' was an Urui word, and the alternative meaning of 'Spirit' and 'Hope' was purely from the Obsidian script. To make the connection Mizuki would have to be proficient in both languages.  
“Kirin are omnilinguistic, we instinctively understand all languages.”  
She turned back to Takeshi and spoke in the same old, formal form of Japanese that he had spoken and Dan was struggling to keep up, but he was able to glean as much as her promising to work with Takeshi to try to draw up an agreement.  
Dan figured that the agreement part would become what Takeshi had called 'New Accords'.

The sun had begun setting when the others returned and the twins instantly made a beeline for Mizuki.  
“Are you a unicorn?”  
“Almost, I'm a kirin.”  
“But, you don't look like one?”  
“The creatures gifted to your alphas were lesser qilin. The qilin can be seen as a distant, mainland cousin of the kirin.”  
“Oh, like crows and ravens?”  
“That's right, that's a good example.”  
The twins quickly dove into a barrage of questions and Mizuki humored them for a while before reminding them that it was poor manners.  
“Gomen ne...”  
A low growl from Takeshi instantly had them ducking their heads and apologizing more properly.  
“Gomen nasai!”  
It still wasn't proper, but since Mizuki didn't seem to mind he didn't reprimand them any further.  
It was getting late and Mizuki had invited the group to share the evening meal with her and the other mikos who lived by the shrine so they made their way down the mountain and over to the dorm like building where the mikos lives.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_The Heir_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, I need to talk to you, in private.”  
Takeshi was relaxing in the small garden of the ryokan when Jenna approached him.  
“How about over dinner? The others can eat here while we sneak away to find a nice restaurant.”  
“Somewhere small and quiet?”  
“If that's what you want.”  
“It is.”  
Takeshi quickly got up and searched out the _Okami_ , manager, of the ryokan to ask her for advice about a suitable restaurant before letting the others know that he would be taking Jenna out for dinner.

“This place is beautiful!”  
Jenna looked out over the small, but beautifully arranged indoor garden as their waitress guided them to a small private room.  
“It is, and the food is supposedly the best in the region.”  
The selected establishment was a high end _Kaiseki Ryori_ restaurant known for it's exquisite seafood and wide range of dishes.  
The conversation was light as they enjoyed a selection of appetizers but Takeshi could tell that Jenna was rather nervous.  
“ _Ama_ , what have I said about speaking your mind?”  
“Sorry. It's just, I don't know where to start.”  
“The beginning is usually a good place.”  
The teasing quip made Jenna huff at him, but it broke the tension and he could feel her worry settle down into determination.

“If you agree I would like to counteract the fertility suppressants. I have spoken to Em about it and she has no objections. I know it's not a good time with the threat of war over our heads...”  
For a moment Takeshi just stared at her, it was not a topic he had expected.  
“That's not something you need to ask me about, it is your body, your choice. And if your instincts are telling you that it's time you should listen.”  
“It still takes two you know...”  
She blushed rather vividly which only made Takeshi smile at her as the true subject of her question was revealed..  
“If you wish to have children I would be honored to father them.”  
Takeshi reached out for Jenna's familiar and the large hornet landed on his hand moments later and flicked its wings with a gentle buzz.  
“If your little queen here gives you the counter-agent now you should enter a fertile cycle within two weeks. It will be faster if you allow her to give you a boosting agent.”  
Jenna nodded with an audible gulp and held out her hand for the hornet to return to her.  
“Focus on me, on the courting bond and I will help you carry the pain.”  
He could feel her focus lock on him and he quickly pulled on the bond and focused on carrying her pain while the hornet used it's stinger to inject the modified compound that would counteract the fertility suppressant that all the sexually mature females of his pack and house save for Eriko and Arc were taking.  
Takeshi couldn't help thinking about the future activities that would be required to give Jenna what she wanted and it was quite obvious that she picked up on his thoughts as she huffed at him again.  
“You are incorrigible...”  
The strong undercurrent of desire belied her words and fanned Takeshi's fire further.

When they rejoined the others at the ryokan the rest of the pack instantly picked up on the change in Jenna, gently brushing their auras against hers, and gathering around in a distinctly protective manner that drew a pleased purr from Takeshi's inner beast.  
_**“They all gather to protect our breeding female, even before she is carrying. We have chosen our pack well.”**_

 


	86. Heat, Lightning & Shadows

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was once again wearing his Katsuro persona and was seated at the dais overlooking the large gathering hall of the Kiryu estate.  
Hugin and Munin were standing behind him and Dan was kneeling on his right while the rest of the pack were seated around a pair of tables just below the dais, much to the annoyance of the Council who had attempted to seat them away from the honor tables.  
He allowed his aura to wash over the room, picking up on the varying reactions to his appointment as head of the Kiryu family, not everyone was pleased with it and most of those that were , were so for all the wrong reasons.  
He smiled as he picked up on Emelie's displeased agitation when yet another congratulatory speech included an _Omiai_ offer, the head of the lesser family offering his daughter as a possible match for marriage to the new head of the Kiryu.  
So far none of the other families had challenge his right to be named head of the Kiryu though, but he had a feeling it was only a matter of time.  
The fact that several of the other Ryuken families had yet to offer their congratulations told him that they were probably going to challenge him, but they were prepared for it.

Next to him were a pair of large crystal statues depicting Kiryu in her eastern dragon form, each of them constructed of the same type of power storing crystal as the gift that Hugin and Munin had given them after their first visit to the Obsidian Halls.  
These two however were crafted by Kiryu herself using hers and Takeshi's blood and charged with massive amounts of energy by several of Lucifer's experts on energy manipulation, they held power enough to allow Kiryu to safely manifest within the human realm.  
The integrated barriers would safely contain her energy and prevent it from harming the guests or be sensed outside of the hall.  
A part of him was eagerly awaiting a challenge, itching to prove that he was the one true wielder of the Ryuken, that Kiryu had chosen him.

The challenge came when 10 families remained, four of them were Ryuken holders, though none had a current chosen wielder, the blades nothing but props in their hands.  
“We do not accept this _Kakushigo_ as head of one of the Ryuken families!”  
“I may be an illegitimate child, but the Ryujin does not care, she chose me to wield her blade. Her blood flows through my veins, her blade is bound so tightly to my soul it will shatter with my death.”  
“So you claim, but where is the proof?”  
The one who spoke was Ichirou, eldest son of the Yukimura, while not a Ryuken family they were descendants of the Kiryu progenitor and as a branch family they were in a position to make a claim on the Kiryu assets if Takeshi was rejected as head.  
Takeshi could smell the sweet scent of the deadly _Acoanthera_ mixed with clove oil that gave away the tainted blade that was carried by Mamoru, half brother and Kage to the self proclaimed speaker for those who rejected his claim.  
There had been several attempts on his life during the feast, but none of them could touch him.  
The attempt to discredit his claim made Takeshi smile, it was obvious that Ichirou and the others didn't believe in the Ryujin, believing them to be only myths and legends.  
“Yukimura Ichirou, by the old accords I claim the right of challenge by combat.”  
Takeshi's words caused a surprised among those who challenged his position but it quickly calmed and the six families that were not bound to a ryujin stepped forward.  
“The Yukimura Kage will be our champion.”  
“Accepted.”  
The moment Takeshi spoke Dan rose from his position and ordered the guards to ready the outdoor dojo and the gathered guests quickly moved to the small building and gathered around it and at the raised spectator platforms.  
“Bring me a blade. His blood would taint the Kiryu no Ryuken.”  
Takeshi could feel the surge of anger from the Yukimura Kage and a moment later Hugin was kneeling before him, offering the twin obsidian blades for his use.  
Originally both angels had used a single, heavier, sword, but Hugin had taken exceptionally well to Takeshi's dual-wield, blade-dancer, style and during their last visit to the Obsidian Halls he had collected a pair of lighter blades that he had commissioned during their second visit.  
Taking the blades he gave Hugin a quick nod and whistled the soft approximation of the Obsidian expression for gratitude which was answered by a soft chirp that didn't really mean anything, it was just a confirmation that Hugin had heard and understood him.

Stepping onto the tatami Takeshi assumed the deceptively calm stance that was the core of his style and waited for the Yukimura Kage to join him.  
As Mamoru was a Kage he had no choice but to fight his brother's battles, so Takeshi would show him how woefully inferior his skills were and allow him a chance to surrender.  
After a few exchanges it was obvious that Mamoru was aware that he stood no chance of winning, but when Takeshi offered him a chance to surrender he refused so Takeshi dashed in with the borrowed blades crossed and severed the Kage's head from his body in one swift motion, granting a painless death where he was unable to grant life.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With the challenge won they returned to the gathering hall where Takeshi would be allowed some time to rest before another challenge could be issued.  
“So, who will be your champion?”  
Takeshi turned to the first of the four Ryuken families.  
“We do not recognize your right to demand challenge by combat. The old accords apply to those of the blood. The bastard son of a gaijin kage has no rights by those accords.”  
“No, but the son of the Kiryu heiress would have the right to claim those accords. As does anyone who is chosen by a Ryujin and marked by their blood.”  
Kasumi's voice was hard and Takeshi could see a few of them flinch at the tone.  
“A legitimate son, yes. Not a _kakushigo!”  
_ To this Kasumi had no choice by to nod, the accords did indeed specify that only a legitimate child had those rights unless granted to them by the head of the family it was born into, and the Kiryu had no head to grant those rights.  
With no head to grant them the Council could do so instead, but they of course had refused to do so as it would have indirectly given legitimacy to Takeshi.  
“The old accords still grants me that right as I'm chosen by Kiryu-sama and have been marked by her blood.”  
Takeshi reached out for the two crystal statues and began linking his own aura to them in preparation to summon Kiryu.  
“A claim you cannot prove!”  
“Ah, but I can.”  
With a pulse of power he activated the crystals and began to draw on the stored power.  
_“It's time._ **”  
**_**“Indeed, let's show those fools.”  
**_ The flare of power when Kiryu tore away from his soul burned the clothes from his body, leaving not even ashes behind and for a brief moment he was glad he was sitting down because there was an intense spike in the drain on his own reserves before the two _batteries_ kicked in and took over sustaining the dragon's manifestation.  
There were quite a few panicked cries as the dragon manifested in front of him with a roar before turning to him and bowing low, waiting for him to acknowledge her with a slight nod and a brush of aura.  
Once he had acknowledged her she turned to the gathered guests and spoke with a voice brimming with power.  
**“I am Kiryu of the shadow-flame, and he is my chosen one. The wielder of my blade, blood and power. And just as my power is his to wield, his death is mine to suffer.”**  
The remaining four families quickly dropped into dogeza and swore their acceptance of his appointment as head of the Kiryu.  
Satisfied with the reaction Kiryu circled her body around Takeshi's seat and laid her head down next to him and he placed his hand on her head, unbothered by the shadow-fire that could incinerate anything without a trace.

The calm didn't last very long though as Takeshi soon felt Kiryu's agitation rise, it would seen that she found the current charade even more distasteful than he did.  
With a huffing roar Kiryu stretched her limbs and arched her back like a cat before speaking, the display had made sure she was the center of everyone's attention.  
**“I find myself growing bored of this masquerade. I think it's time we show them the truth, Takeshi-sama.”**  
He huffed slightly at her use of _sama_ , while not improper it felt strange to have the ancient dragon address him as such.  
The effect on the guests and the council was instant, and he could feel a surge of relief from his pack, they all disliked the feeling of wrongness created by the charm that altered his aura.  
“I do believe you are right, and I am sure my pack agrees.”  
As he spoke he deactivated the charm and abandoned his transformation, returning to his true form, confirming the true meaning of Kiryu's words which made the Council explode in accusations.  
**“Foolish mortals! Did you truly believe that your disapproval, greed and fear would sway a Ryujin to abandon the most powerful wielder since the implementation of the Old Accords?”**  
“That, that **Thing** is a violation of the accords! The accords are clear, only a human may wield a ryuken.”  
**“Do not seek to lecture me on the accords mortal. I am the one behind their creation.”**  
Kiryu flared her power which made the dark fire of her mane flare wildly and the council elder stumbled back before nearly falling into his seat.  
**“The accords specify that only a human may enter the trials, and that the blade may only be awarded to a human. It does not say the wielder must be human.”**  
The utter confusion on the face of the council elder made Takeshi smirk with a predatory gleam, he knew where Kiryu's words were leading, and he approved of her plan.  
**“Takeshi was human when he was tried and awarded my ryuken. That he is no longer human has no bearing on that. It merely makes him an even better choice. A wielder whose power surpasses any human, one who the** _ **Shinigami**_ **will never seek. One with the potential to one day rival the Kami themselves.”**

The last part was one thing that Takeshi was still struggling to accept.  
He had been told several times by various powerful beings that he was a potential, someone who could one day become an Avatar, but he didn't feel special, or even remotely suitable for something like that and it scared him at times.  
To have all the power he possessed and still be growing stronger, and be told that he was just at the beginning of his development had him confused, and concerned.  
He didn't understand why no matter how hard he tried to and Lucifer and Lilith had just sighed and tutted at him when he tried to get them to explain.  
He didn't want to be some sort of a savior, he would much rather just enjoy a lazy life with his pack and his house, father plenty of children and let the world mind itself.  
But honor dictated that he fulfill the task the Mother had given him, she had granted him the blessing so that he could be her champion and he would not betray that.  
He didn't really pay attention to Kiryu's conversation with the council, instead he was focused on trying to rein in his instincts, the demon part of him was enjoying the fear that radiated from most of the guests.  
It was telling him it was good, it was right, that they should fear him, as the prey should fear the prowling apex predator.  
But there was also the scent of arousal on the air, not just from his own group but from several of the guests which further agitated his instincts.  
“Dan, something to cover myself with please.”  
Kiryu's flames had left him completely naked, and while it didn't bother him it did offer an opportunity to show off his pack.  
_“A simple loincloth please. ”_  
He added silently and waited for Dan to reveal himself.  
Dan had learned to weave tangible shadows, but so far he was unable to do so without revealing his true form.  
“Of course Alpha.”  
There was another round of gasps and murmurs as Dan's true form surfaced and Takeshi rose to his feet in a fluid motion to allow Dan to dress him in manifested shadows, the garment was similar to a fundoshi, but with a longer cloth that allowed the ends to be left hanging to below his knees both in the front and the back.  
“Thank you, mate.”  
The crackle of lightning along Dan's wings was the only sign of his annoyance at being pulled further into the theatrics by Takeshi's acknowledgment of him as mate but over the bond the annoyance was completely smothered by a smoldering desire.  
Takeshi found it rather amusing that Dan's reaction to dressing him was actually stronger than his reaction to undressing him.

With the loincloth in place Takeshi stepped down from the dais and began walking around the room, searching for an interesting scent he had picked up, a mix of curiosity, purity, strong arousal and fertility that had his inner beast begging to be let to _play_.  
The scent obviously came from a rather young woman, untouched by any male, but not innocent to the pleasures of the body and it aroused his curiosity, among other things.

With Jenna entering a fertile cycle Takeshi's instincts were running higher than usual, it was the first time a female of his pack was actually ready to breed as they all had been taking modified versions of blockers created by the familiars to suppress their fertility and monthly cycles.  
Right after her change Emelie's blockers had stopped working, her lilim physiology counteracting the effect and they had quickly found that while she could control her fertility she still had remnants of the human cycles so in the end she had asked the Mother to create a version that was strong enough to suppress the cycles.  
The instincts linked to reproduction now urged him to find the fertile, and willing female whose scent was teasing his senses.

There was a few pointed snickers as he walked past his pack and the girls and he could hear a few whispered accusations about him showing off.  
_“Are you sure you're a dragon and not a peacock?”_  
Amanda's tone was equal parts teasing and appreciative, she had always had a thing for his tattoo which was now almost fully visible, including the part that coiled around his leg.  
_“Are you sure you passed your biology class? Last time I checked peacocks had feathers, not scales.”_  
His teasing reply earned him a mental huff and a distinct sensation of annoyance over the courting bond.

Moving through the gathered guests he soon located the source of the enticing scent and he nearly laughed when he identified the female, it was Junko, the youngest sister of the Yukimura heir.  
Takeshi found her name to be somewhat amusing, Junko meant _'Obedient child'_ or _'Pure child',_ thought physically pure in a strict meaning, neither suited her very well.  
Her looks were appealing though not spectacular and her aura held the bright edge that told him she was intelligent, she was very young though, parental consent would be required to legally bed her.  
Takeshi had no doubt that the old Yukimura head would give his consent without hesitation in hopes that Takeshi, who was legally unmarried and had no known heirs, would marry her, or knock her up.  
Takeshi of course had no intentions to do either, he would slake his lust with her if she agreed and he would use the opportunity to test her wits to see if she could be useful as a manager of sorts.  
His intentions might seem callous, he fully acknowledged that for a human they were, he intended to exploit her desires to secure a caretaker to oversee the day to day running of the Kiryu estate.  
What he intended was fairly common among demons that practiced polygamy, one mate would be selected, and mated, for the sole purpose of running the household, that mate was selected on merits pertaining to management rather than desire, or procreation.  
For Junko it would mean that she would attain an influential position, away from the control of her father, she would receive a substantial allowance, and she would be free to bed whomever she chose to as long as she was discreet and did not become pregnant.  
In return Takeshi would gain a caretaker for the Kiryu estate and relief from having to deal with constant omiai offers, and most likely an entertaining night.  
As expected the Yukimura head was more than willing to give his consent to Takeshi bedding his daughter, though Ichirou was less than pleased but he had little say, especially since he had challenged Takeshi's position and lost.  
Takeshi doubted that Ichirou would be heir for very long as there was a young uncle who could ascend the position, the uncle would probably be named heir presumptive in hopes that Junko would bear a male child by Takeshi that would then become heir apparent and join the two houses.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Come on guys, don't go easy on me.”  
Takeshi dropped his stance slightly and altered his grip on the training blade, pinning it with his thumb so he could use his fingers for a taunting gesture, encouraging Jenna and Dan to attack as well.  
After spending a week at the Kiryu estate Takeshi had a lot of pent up frustrations that needed to be worked on, and a good sparring match would help him blow off some steam.  
With the seal finally in his hand he had been able to start making some real changes to how the Kiryu assets were handled, his first action had been to name Kasumi heir presumptive, one day he might have a child that would be named heir apparent, but there would never be another true head of the Kiryu family.  
If Takeshi died the Kiryu name would die with him and the ryuken would shatter, and the ryujin would follow him into death, he had given Kiryu quite a scolding about that after the formal introduction, he did **not** like that she had bound her life to his in such a way.  
  
His thoughts were quickly interrupted as Jenna and Dan both joined the attack, forcing him to focus on what he was doing in order to be able to fend off all four agile opponents.  
“That's better, but I know you can move faster than that.”  
Dashing in he gave Amanda a sharp nip on the ear before jumping back and grabbing Emelie's tail and using it to trip Dan.  
“Then how about you stop pussyfooting?”  
Jenna's voice held a distinct growl, she was quite upset that he was taking it easy on her.  
“Sorry sweetie, but I won't risk it, not now.”  
She instantly turned beet red when she realized the reason why he was going easy on her.  
As she was fully into her fertile cycle he wouldn't risk subjecting her to too much of his power just in case he had managed to impregnate her.  
“Sorry, I wasn't thinking...”  
She started backing away slightly but Takeshi stopped her.  
“Don't worry, your own energies don't pose the same kind of risk as mine does. Just don't push yourself too hard.”

Their sparring match had drawn quite a crowd and the whispered praise for the skill of his pack had Takeshi's instincts soaring.  
“Come on girls, it's your turn now.”  
“Okay daddy!”  
The twins training was less intense, but he was by no means going easy on them, he demanded all they could safely give and they gladly gave all he asked for.  
But the reactions of their spectators was quite strong, where his sparring match with Emelie, Amanda, Dan and Jenna had been a display of power, agility and speed, teaching the twins was a display of control and both showed off his skill.  
While he took care not to injure them he didn't hesitate to give painful lessons when they messed up and when a sloppy attack left Sarah's side wide open he quickly gave her a sharp slap with the side of his blade.  
There were quite a few rather outraged whispers when Sarah cried out in pain from the sharp blow, but Takeshi knew she wasn't injured, and if he went too easy on them they would keep making the same mistakes, mistakes that could get them killed one day.

With the twins lessons completed Takeshi moved on to doing more specific work with Jenna as well as working on his own training, trying to incorporate a few demon techniques that Ylian had showed him.  
“That's good. Now try to maintain that posture while you turn, then perform the upward slash without dropping your shoulder.”  
He watched Jenna nod and begin to turn, but once again she dropped her shoulder just as she initiated the upward slash so he gave it a sharp tap.  
“Ouch!”  
Jenna's grumbled complaints as she tried the move again had him smiling to himself, she was resilient and stubborn as few, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.  
“Okay, that's enough for today. You're not focused. Let's get cleaned up and find something to eat instead. You too Danny, rest is as important as practice.”  
Dan was still working hard on throwing his sais with accuracy and despite Takeshi's assurance that he was doing great Dan was criticizing himself mercilessly for not being as accurate as Takeshi was.  
Takeshi gently ushered them toward the washing area next to the small onsen where Emelie, Amanda and the twins were already soaking, enjoying the contrast between the hot water and slightly chilled air.  
The twins had been delighted that the Kiryu property had its own onsen as they had been begging to try one, but it was easier said than done as most onsen had a strict 'No Tattoos' policy, even the small pack marks and the mark of the blessing was enough to ban them from most public baths or onsen.  
Some would allow tattoos if you rented a private section, but when he had offered to do that Sarah and Maria had both refused, claiming that they didn't want to go somewhere where they weren't truly welcome.

When Dan pushed past him to get to the dressing area Takeshi paused for a moment, there was something new in his scent, something enticing that made him want to pounce.

“Damn it Take! What's gotten into you?”  
Dan complained rather loudly when Takeshi pinned him against one of the pillars and began tearing at his clothes a sniffing rather intensely at his neck.  
A low growl warned Dan to stop squirming, but it didn't stop him from voicing his complaints.  
“Take! Knock it off!”  
The growl only grew louder, and was accentuated by a sharp nip to the ear.  
“Don't tell me you're going into heat again...”  
As much as they had all enjoyed Takeshi's heat it would indeed be troublesome to deal with one right now.  
“No, I'm not.”  
“Then...”  
“But you are...”  
Takeshi interrupted Dan's question and the moment he spoke Dan froze with a rather amusing look on his face.  
“Mmm. Smells so good...”  
“Whoa! Back up will ya? If I'm going into heat shouldn't I be the one acting all sniffy and sex-crazed?”  
When he finally snapped out of the daze Dan quickly grabbed one of the washing buckets and dumped the contents over Takeshi's head which earned him a startled yelp and a string of rather colorful language.  
It didn't last long enough for him to be able to escape though and he was quickly pinned back against the pillar, but this time by a far more alert Takeshi.  
“You are forgetting that I'm an alpha, and you are a beta. The main aspects of the heat of a beta is to attract alphas to chose from.”  
The groan that followed was muffled by the fact that Takeshi was using his body to keep Dan securely pinned against the pillar while getting rid of his clothes.  
“Wait, doesn't that mean that you and Logan might end up fighting?”  
“If you had been unmated, yes. But since we are mated my scent is mixed with yours, it should be enough to keep Logan at bay, but it won't protect you from Em, she will instinctively try to breed with you, try to lure you to her side.”  
“Oh, crap... She's going to be using her powers on me, won't she?”  
“Indeed...”  
Now it was Dan's turn to curse in a hushed tone which he did to the point of being too distracted to resist when Takeshi pushed him down on the of the stools and began washing him with the demon soap to remove all foreign scents from his body.  
“You smell absolutely divine.”  
With all foreign scents washed away the scent of Dan's heat became more noticeable, it was still faint though and Takeshi was somewhat curious about how it would affect him once Dan's heat reached its peak.  
He could feel a stir of curiosity from Emelie, and even Amanda as they picked up on the new scent.  
He was fairly sure that they would be able to rein in their instincts enough to refrain from using their powers to the point where Dan would be unable to resist them should he want to, but he would stay close nonetheless.  
“Hold still, your scent, I need to...”  
Takeshi kept pinning Dan down so he couldn't leave while trying to wash himself to get rid of any scents that didn't belong and after a few halfhearted escape attempts Dan gave up and took the soap from Takeshi and began washing him.  
“I really hope this heat won't last too long...”  
After pouring one last bucket of water over Takeshi's head Dan moved back and braced himself against the wall before tilting his head back to allow Takeshi better access to the pulse points.  
The easiest way to soothe Takeshi's instinctive urge to mix their scents was with skin to skin contact combined with licking and kissing at the pulse points, especially the neck and wrists.  
“This isn't going to be enough, is it?”  
Dan mumbled into Takeshi's shoulder, struggling to keep his breathing even as the intensity of Takeshi's attentions drove him to the brink.  
“No...”  
The distracted hum and torrent of emotions, desire and love mixed with a strong possessiveness almost pushed Dan over the edge and sensing that Takeshi finally backed off a bit.  
There was no doubt that there would be plenty of sex once they left the bath, Takeshi's instincts wouldn't settle for less.

“You smell delicious...”  
The moment Dan entered the water he had Emelie at his side, taking deep sniffs at his neck and throat while almost purring at him but she backed up with a confused look when Takeshi growled at her.  
He quickly explained that Dan was going into heat, and how a beta's heat would affect them, especially the alphas of the group, but it was quite obvious that Amanda was influenced by it as well.  
“Dan, I can't promise I'll be successful, but I promise that I'll try my hardest not to let my instincts get the upper hand. I'll try as hard as I can not to influence you with my powers.”  
“Thanks... And if you can't, I... I wouldn't really mind all that much...”  
Dan blushed rather vividly as he admitted that he had always been attracted to Emelie, at least physically.  
“I know. But it wouldn't be right. Not like that...”  
Overwhelmed by everything that was happening Dan had a hard time finding his words so instead he ducked down and trailed kisses along her jawline.  
_“Älskar dig...”  
“Ssh, jag vet.”_  
It was a different kind of love than the love he felt for Takeshi, but it was love nonetheless and he felt relieved to have finally put it in words, and her reply, whispered softly into his hair sounded so much like Takeshi that it made him laugh.  
A low growl made them both back away slightly, it would seem Takeshi had reached his limit for the moment.  
“I think you better go be with our dear mate before he does something more drastic than make a lot of noise.”  
She gave Dan a gentle shove that pushed him into Takeshi's lap where he was instantly enveloped by strong arms before Emelie's scent was thoroughly covered by Takeshi's.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Dan, I'm afraid this won't be easy for you.”  
They had retreated to Takeshi's private room as his instincts had been starting to be rather bothersome.  
“My instincts are demanding that I claim you utterly and completely. And your instincts will demand that you fight me, make me prove my worth.”  
“But I have already accepted you, I mean, were mated and all...”  
“I'm afraid that only makes things worse since I never made you submit, I even allowed you to initiate the bonding. Consciously you accept me as alpha, as the stronger, dominant, part in the mating. But the instinctive part of you will still need to test me.”  
“And your instincts will demand that you claim me, by force if necessary?”  
The slight taint of fear in Dan's scent made it very hard for Takeshi to stay focused, conflicting instincts setting him on edge.  
“If you don't think you can handle it I need you to tell me. I can leave for the demon realm, with Lucifer's help they should be able to restrain me until your heat is over.”  
“But then we would have the same problems next heat, wouldn't we?”  
“Not necessarily, it would give us time to properly establish my dominance, but without it needing to become sexual. I would still have the urge to claim and dominate, but you wouldn't have the same instinctive need to fight me.”  
“I... I'm scared.”  
Dan's voice was trembling with repressed emotions and Takeshi could smell tears mixed with the scent of his fear, and heat.  
“I will let the others know I'm leaving.”  
But before he had a chance to stand Dan latched onto him and refused to let go.  
“No, don't leave!”  
“Dan?”  
“I'm scared, yes. Terrified...”  
Dan burrowed his face into the crook of Takeshi's neck and began mumbling and rambling about stupid instincts hurting the one he loved, completely focused on what it would do to Takeshi and not what he would have to go through himself.  
“I wish Ylian could be here, but I guess that would be a really bad idea, wouldn't it?”  
“If you want yi to be here, if that will make you feel safer, more comfortable with this then we should head back home and call for yi.”  
“But yi isn't pack so won't you end up fighting over me?”  
Dan's concerned question made Takeshi chuckle softly.  
“Yi may not seem like it, but yi is actually a beta, not an alpha.”  
“What, seriously?!”  
“Mhm..”  
“But..”  
“I know, I was quite surprised myself when I realized. Yi is powerful, dominant and displays all of the typical alpha traits, but during our exchange when I became para I realized yi is in fact a beta, but yi hides it well.”  
“So it would be safe? You wouldn't fight?”  
“Not seriously at least, maybe a small scuffle since yi is a very dominant beta, but yi will submit quickly, especially since you are already my mate.”  
“Then can we, please?”  
“You really fell for yi, didn't you?”  
Takeshi could feel the heat of Dan's blush against his skin.  
“I guess I did, didn't I? Are you upset about that?”  
“No, not in the least. In fact it makes me very happy.”  
They all knew that his path was not a safe one, and to know that if he died there was someone else who could step up and hold Dan's heart was a great relief to him.  
Dan's relief at his words was tangible before it was replaced by worry again.  
“Do you think yi will accept?”  
“Of course yi will. Why would yi refuse? Yi has already been with you.”  
Sometimes Dan's insecurities had Takeshi puzzled and struggling to figure out just what he was thinking.  
“Well, yi loves you, wants you so maybe yi doesn't actually want to be with me?”  
“Yi wouldn't have approached you, nor accepted your request to be shared if yi didn't desire you as well. Who knows, maybe I will end up having you for a co-mate.”  
The teasing quip made Dan pull back in confusion.  
“How does that work anyway? Wouldn't we just be cross-mates?”  
“In a cross-mating the dominant mates are considered co-mates, as are the submissive mates.”  
“So if we both mate Ylian I would become yi's co-mate and whoever is dominant between me and yi would become your co-mate?”  
“That's right.”  
“But Ylian is so powerful, there's no way I could be the dominant one between us.”  
Dan's confusion was quite obvious as he tried to figure out how he could possibly have a chance at being the dominant mate if mated to such an old and powerful creature.  
“It works slightly different with betas within a pack. Since you are already mated to me and you are my chosen beta Ylian will submit to you within the pack. Chances are that yi would submit in a mating as well in order to maintain balance.”  
“Oh, so there wouldn't be any issues with yi being dominant over me as mate, and me being dominant over yi as beta?”  
“Indeed.”

After a few false starts they managed to get dressed and inform the others that they would be heading back home for a few days to make it easier on Dan to go through his first heat and soon they found themselves sitting in one of the Knight XV's heading to the local airport where Angel would have a Blackout ready for liftoff.  
Takeshi had already used one of the mist stones to send a message to Ylian that Dan needed them urgently, asking them to come to the island and the reply had been almost instant, promising to be waiting by a mistpool within a day, Obsidian Halls time.  
“Dan, you should try to get some rest on the way back.”  
“I'll try, don't think I'll be able to sleep though.”  
“Understandable, but try to rest at least, you will need it.”  
Takeshi had barely been able to sleep at all during his own heats, and while he suspected Dan's wouldn't be as intense it would probably still keep him from sleeping.  
They had barely been in the air 10 minutes when Takeshi felt Dan's aura brush against his own, begging for comfort, and closeness.  
“Angel, take over please.”  
Once angel confirmed that she had the controls Takeshi took a seat on the floor and leaned against Dan's seat.  
“Come here.”  
Dan instantly moved to the floor and crawled into Takeshi's lap where he much to Takeshi's surprise almost instantly fell into a light but fitful sleep, he must have been far more exhausted than he seemed.  
“So loyal, so trusting, even now.”  
Perhaps it was a good thing that Dan didn't hear the whispered words, or notice the predatory gleam that made Takeshi's eyes glow with an unearthly fire.

“Dan, would you stop fidgeting please. The scent of your nervousness makes my nose itch.”  
“Sorry...”  
It wasn't really the nervous scent that was bothering Takeshi, it was the fear bordering on panic.  
Dan's scent was a frenzied mix of arousal, anticipation, fear and the ozone tang of his powers, all mixed with a sharp spice that Takeshi didn't recognize but the beast within told him was the scent of challenge.  
Moments later the mist swelled and began flowing out of the hidden pool as the gateway formed to allow Ylian to travel between the realms.  
“Ah, now it makes sense. I was wondering just what could be going on to make you send for me so urgently.”  
One sniff in the air had Ylian smiling a knowing smile.  
“I... You don't mind, do you?”  
Once again the scent of near panic covered the other scents and made Takeshi want to sneeze.  
“Of course not ami. I am honored that you want me to be a part of this. A demon's first heat is something very special.”  
The way Dan's aura flickered when Ylian called him _ami_ made Takeshi smile.  
“I...”  
“Ssh, there is no need to rush. Whatever it is you can tell me when you have found your words.”  
They took some time to show Ylian around the island to give Dan a chance to calm down, and it also gave Takeshi the time to explain to Ylian why Dan was so nervous and Ylian quickly promised they would do what they could to help.

As the sun began to set Takeshi picked up on a sharp shift in Dan's scent, a shift that drove his instincts into overdrive.  
“Dan, it's time. Your scent has shifted and your alpha will no longer be able to resist its call.”  
There was an instant spike of fear but Ylian used their power to cover it, to keep Takeshi from picking up on it to give Dan a chance to calm down a bit.  
“Don't worry. It's okay to be scared, but trust in your alpha. He won't truly harm you, nor reject you. Now, go ahead, invite him to the chase, show him the power and pride that is his mate. Let your instincts guide you.”  
Takeshi found himself relieved that Ylian was there to talk to Dan because he was pretty sure he would have been unable to in his current condition, it was a struggle just to keep from pouncing at Dan.  
When Dan shifted and walked toward him Takeshi could feel the familiar stirring in his groin, and when he got a whiff of the strong scent of heat and challenge he swiftly became painfully hard and it took all he had to keep still while Dan circled him, evaluating him, deciding if he was worthy to invite for the chase.  
A shift in Dan's aura told Takeshi that he had been found worthy of the chase, but before he had a chance to move there was a sharp spike of power and an almost overwhelming scent of ozone as Dan vanished, riding the lightning to put some distance between himself and his alpha.  
“Well, go on, go catch that willful mate of yours.”  
Ylian's words were soft, but teasing and they brushed their aura against Takeshi's for a moment and smiled the same infuriatingly knowing smile when the fiery energy ignored them and focused on locating the crackling storm that was Dan.  
It was easier said than done though, somehow Dan's power had caused a resonance effect in the barriers around the island, masking his power, and the ozone generated when Dan used his power to ride the lightning had temporarily purged all other scents from his body and overwhelmed Takeshi's senses.  
All together it leveled the playing field, at least temporarily.

When Takeshi finally managed to corner Dan they were both breathing heavily from a mix of strain and arousal, but Dan wasn't quite ready to submit just yet, instead he pulled on every last bit of power he had and unleashed his dragon breath.  
The sheer force of the raw power that was unleashed caught Takeshi by surprise and made him raise his arms in defense and take a step back, but it only lasted for a moment before Takeshi's own dragon aspect roared to life.  
His own power set his aura afire with the black flames capable of burning anything so completely that not even ashes remained, but he didn't attack with it, Dan would not be able to withstand that, instead he coiled the flames tightly around himself, using the raw power to nullify Dan's attack.  
But Dan refused give up, instead he pushed even more power into the attack, trying to overwhelm Takeshi's defense, but ultimately he just didn't have the power reserves needed and the crackling attack flickered slightly, then vanished as suddenly as it had started when the last of Dan's power was drained.  
“You fought well little beta. Now it's time to surrender to your alpha.”  
Takeshi and Dan both startled slightly and voiced their displeasure when Ylian spoke, they had been so focused on each other that they had not noticed the approach of the powerful shadeling.  
“Alpha, your beta has fought well, proven yi's power, and yours. Such dedication deserves to be rewarded. Teach yi all the pleasures you can give, prove your skill not only as a warrior but as a lover.”  
Dan's aura did submit when Takeshi pushed him against the rock face but when Takeshi began removing his clothes Dan started resisting, not quite willing to submit fully.  
**“Mine!”  
** The loud growl vibrated against Dan's spine and lit a familiar fire that made his scent spike sharply with the pheromones of arousal and as claws dug into his flesh he was slightly surprised that he felt no fear despite the overwhelming dominance and painful roughness.  
“Yours...”  
The moment Dan whispered his reply the crushing force of Takeshi's aura receded and his touch turned gentle, almost apologetic.  
“Mine, my mate, my beta. _My love._ ”  
The emotions that came across the bond with those last words were so strong they completely overwhelmed Dan and he submitted utterly and completely.

Ylian was watching the exchange from a safe distance, close enough to get a really good view of the show, but far enough not to trigger any fight instincts, well aware that others often mistook them for an alpha.  
They waited while Takeshi fully claimed his mate, watched as he saturated Dan in his power and scent, on the outside as well as the inside and once their scents and auras were nearly indistinguishable from each other Ylian slowly moved closer.  
“May I join?”  
At first Takeshi and Dan didn't seem to notice the question, but after a few minutes their auras shifted and became inviting.  
  
_“Älskar dig...”_  
Dan's words, mumbled into Ylian's neck made them give Takeshi a hesitant look, unsure if Dan's words had been aimed at them, and if they had understood them correctly.  
“Mhm...”  
Takeshi nodded with a soft smile which made Ylian nuzzle their face into Dan's hair, accepting his feelings without hesitation and the distinctly happy scent that followed soothed Takeshi's instincts and made him pull them both in closer, glad that Ylian had chosen a form more Dan's size.  
The content, purring, growl had both Dan and Ylian chuckling softly as they allowed Takeshi to shift them around until he had them both tucked under his chin and they were all comfortable, mostly thanks to Ylian's ability to become partially incorporeal.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Come on Dan, give us some details. How was it to be taken by both Take and Ylian?”  
The girls were teasing Dan mercilessly and he was blushing a deep crimson, but Takeshi had a hard time keeping a straight face.  
“Take, what is it that is so amusing?”  
Emelie of course picked up on his mood and decided to question him about it.  
“Their assumption that he was the one being taken.”  
For a moment she looked quite puzzled then she broke into an understanding smile.  
“Oh my...”  
“Indeed.”  
Takeshi grinned back at her.  
“I see why he is unusually red. Maybe we should invite him to get used to such activities.”  
“Behave.”  
“Aw...”  
Though mostly teasing, she was serious about inviting Dan to join them in bed should he show any interest in it, she was well over her hesitance about having multiple partners.  
“Guess you're not the only alpha with a thing for letting a beta have their way with you.”  
Takeshi was bit surprised that she hadn't figured out that Ylian was a beta yet.  
“That's probably true, but you know, Ylian isn't an alpha...”

The look on her face was priceless as she went completely slack jawed for a moment, then came her temper and she started fuming.  
“Oh that sneaky old... All these years and yi never told me...I am so gonna get yi for this!”  
“Now now Em, you're an alpha, you should have been able to tell.”

“Hmpf, you know my alpha traits won't fully manifest until after my first true heat. I won't be able to accurately distinguish alphas from powerful, dominant betas until then.”  
Takeshi was well aware, he had always had a thirst for knowledge so when Roghan had explained about the dynamics of demon packs and dominance he had been eagerly listening, and learning

The in-depth lessons had covered not only the common alpha/beta/omega dynamic that most humans were familiar with from pack-animals such as wolves and social primates but a far more detailed description.  
Such as solitary alphas, like Knight, sharp, or highly dominant betas like Dan, Amanda and Hugin and soft betas like Alice, Munin and Jenna.  
A sharp, or dominant beta often held the position of beta within the pack, some even acting as alphas after losing their own alpha, or overthrowing a weak alpha, while the soft, submissive betas rarely claimed any rank.  
A soft beta would submit to any adult alpha or sharper beta, and would only be dominant against omegas, or those that lacked any hierarchy characteristics, they were the most common though, a great majority of those that displayed hierarchy characteristics were soft betas.  
Alphas were more common than sharp betas if you counted both the pack alphas and the solitary alphas and it was more common for solitary alphas to be male, female alphas were almost always pack alphas, though there were a few like Kasumi, her feline traits made her a solitary alpha.

“That isn't entirely true, now is it?”  
While it was true that her full awareness as an alpha would not awaken until her first true heat, a heat not triggered by someone else's, she would have been able to tell while she trained with Ylian had she only paid attention.  
“I guess not...”  
She murmured softly while trailing kisses along the underside of Takeshi's jaw, an apology for being unfair in her little outburst.  
The crackling sound of Dan's power along with a low growl drew their attention back to the rest of the group just in time to see Dan flare his wings and warn the girls off as he had reached his limit for their teasing and nosiness.  
The girls laughed and darted away, but they did stop their harassment and quickly settled down, a good reaction to their beta.  
“It seems to have done him some good though, he feels much more confident.”  
Emelie spoke softly while watching Dan wrangle the rebellious girls into some semblance of order, giving each of them a gentle reprimand for teasing their beta in such a way.  
“Indeed. Ylian accepting his feelings, and letting him know that yi does feel similarly about him was good for him.”  
“And you.”  
“And me...”  
Takeshi didn't elaborate, he could feel the stirring of her emotions and it told him that she was well aware of why.  
The task before him was far from safe, and knowing that Dan had someone who would guard his heart with everything they had was a relief.  
He knew that Lucifer would step in and care for Emelie, the old angel would do everything in his power to ensure that she would survive the loss, unfortunately chances were low for soulmates to survive the death of their mate.  
But watching his pack, his house come together he had hope that they would manage without him, that they would manage even if he fell and took Emelie with him, Dan was a dominant beta, and strong, with Ylian and Amanda at his side he would assume the role of alpha, and probably take Knight as co-alpha.  
Thinking about the future, and Knight reminded Takeshi that he needed to talk to him about the somewhat changed plans for the future.  
“Dan, see to that they all get ready for bed, I intend to wake them early tomorrow.”  
“Of course alpha.”  
The tone was light and teasing as Dan began ushering them all inside.  
“Logan, walk with me please.”  
“Yes alpha.”  
Knight's tone was rather subdued, and it was one of the reasons why Takeshi needed to talk to him.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Logan, I know you have been rather uncomfortable with the rest of the pack, and me, since surrendering the position as my beta to Dan.”  
Knight just nodded in response.  
“As you know we will be staying here in Okinawa for a few more months to get all the Kiryu affairs sorted, and when we leave Kasumi will stay here as acting head with Junko helping her with the day to day running of the house.”  
“Yes...”  
There was a slightly hesitant tone in Knight's voice, losing his position as beta, or more precisely instinctively submitting to a beta, had really unsettled the old warrior.  
“The head needs a Kage, even if it's just an acting head and I would be most grateful if you would consider assuming the position as Kasumi's Kage? Become her shield and hidden blade, protect her when she needs it, act when she cannot.”  
“Take your old place and remain here?”  
“Yes.”  
For a brief moment Knight looked almost small despite his massive form, and Takeshi could sense the pain of rejection from him.  
“Easy there. I'm not saying you are not welcome to return with us. You will always have a place with pack Kiryu and House Shamarai, but I have a feeling you wouldn't be very comfortable returning with us. And Kasumi really needs to have a Kage she can trust, a Kage with power.”  
The pain quickly vanished from Knight's aura and Takeshi could tell he was considering the request.  
“I have a feeling it would be easier for you to deal with another solitary alpha than having to deal with two pack alphas and a bunch of betas, two of which hold a dominant position compared to your own.”  
“Yeah, you are probably right.”  
With a deep breath Knight called his armor and kneeled at Takeshi's side  
“I accept, I will be Kasumi's shadow, her shield and hidden blade. The shadow that acts where she cannot.”  
“A shadow has no name. From this day until the day you are released from your duties you will be known only as Kage, your true name kept safe in the memory of who you once were.”  
Knight nodded silently, accepting the surrender of the name that Dan and the twins had given him.  
“Kiryu no Kage, rise and walk with me.”

Takeshi brought Knight to a small shrine hidden in the garden of the Kiryu estate, and once there he gently pinned him against the wall, pushing him down slightly so he could trail kisses along his neck and throat without reaching.  
“You may no longer be my beta, but you never lost my trust, nor my favor.”  
When he let his fangs sink into the sensitive flesh of Knight's throat he was rewarded with the familiar keening cry as the larger male submitted and bared his throat completely.  
Takeshi may be younger and less experienced, but after his latest evolution he was far stronger than Knight could ever hope to become, and they were both aware of that.  
As a result Knight would submit, and Takeshi no longer considered him a possible challenger, making it much easier for them to be intimate.  
Takeshi's claws drew blood as he quickly got rid of Knight's clothing, well aware that there was no need to be gentle, though, to be perfectly honest he did use quite a bit more force than strictly needed.  
Drawing blood and leaving his marks on Knight's skin soothed his demon instincts, solidified his claim, none would ever be intimate with Knight without knowing that he had been thoroughly claimed by another alpha.  
And while Takeshi was still struggling with how it made him feel, the violence and how Knight responded to it fanned the smoldering flame of desire into a raging inferno.  
Reaching for Knight's throat from behind he wrapped his hand around as much of the muscular column as he could before squeezing firmly, stealing away Knight's breath and drawing blood with the sharp points of his claws.  
With a harsh pull he forced Knight to straighten up slightly and lean against him before whispering into his ear, voice tainted by a low growl.  
“No matter where you go you will always be mine. You will never allow another to claim you.”  
It wasn't an emotional claim, or in any way a human claim, it was pure dominance, purely demonic, and to feel the powerful male come undone and submit completely beneath him was an empowering feeling.  
For a moment he wondered when the downright brutal nature of their sexual encounters had stopped bothering him, when they had started to feel so natural, but a soft gasp and muffled groan as Knight collapsed beneath him interrupted line of thought.  
“Yours...”  
Knight's whispered agreement once he had regained his breath earned him a gentle nibble at the pack-mark which drove him over the edge again.  
Takeshi gently pushed Knight down on his back before leaning in and giving him a soft kiss. Over the past few years Takeshi had learned a lot about himself and realizing his love for Dan had been the final piece of the puzzle, he now knew that his feelings for Knight were different, that he would never love the old giant.  
He cared yes, and he desired his body, desired to claim him and keep him claimed, but that was not love, it was lust and demon instincts.  
“I am so sorry I can't give you my heart, I truly am. But I will always consider you a true friend.”  
Dragging his fangs along the mark he gave it a final teasing nip.  
“And I'm quite willing to enjoy your body when offered.”  
The teasing words made Knight huff at him and grumble that he hadn't actually offered anything.  
“Aw, don't go nitpicking on pesky little details now.”  
“How about the fact that you have ruined yet another set of my clothes? Am I allowed to complain about that?”  
Takeshi snickered at the mock annoyance in Knight's tone.  
“Nope, you're not because I'm taking you shopping for a new wardrobe tomorrow.”  
The rather loud groan that answered him was rather telling as to how Knight felt about shopping, at least for anything that wasn't food, or bought in a town market.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Daddy! Uncle Logan!”  
The energetic calls from the twins made Takeshi and Knight pause next to the large vehicle and wait to see what they wanted, though Takeshi was pretty sure he knew.  
“Can we come shopping too?”  
The twins first words as they reached the cars confirmed his guess.  
“Have you completed all your lessons?”  
“Hai!”  
Takeshi turned to look at Knight.  
“It's your shopping trip big guy, so it's your call.”  
“I do believe their brilliant energy would be a most welcome distraction.”  
The formal, and somewhat diplomatic patterns of Knight's speech revealed quite a bit about how unsettled he truly was.  
“Well, you heard him girls. Go get those rascals of yours harnessed so we can head out.”  
“Yay!”  
It only took a few moments for the twins to summon the harness and leash for their shadow beasts and usher them into the waiting car.  
“Where would you like to go?”  
Angels voice called through the speakers.  
“To Naha please. The address for the tailor should be in your database.”  
“Of course.”  
The engine silently came to life but the car wasn't moving as Angel refused to move until the girls were wearing their seat belts.  
“Girls, your seat belts.”  
The AI reminded gently after a while as the girls didn't seem to have any thought of putting their belts on.  
“Sorry Angel.”  
The apology was mumbled while they put their belts on.

“ _Welcome Kiryu-sama.”_  
They were greeted by the storekeeper who quickly called for the master tailor and the assistants to help them select a wardrobe for Knight, but Takeshi had made some additional plans of his own on the way there.  
“Girls, how about we leave Logan in the very capable hands of these ladies and focus on picking fabrics and designs for a selection of kimono for you two?”  
“We're getting real kimono?”  
He just nodded at their bright smiles, until now they had used simple premade kimono for children, but it was time have some proper ones made for them as they would be visiting Japan more frequently now that the Kiryu family and its assets was under his control.  
But there was more to it, he was hoping that the prospect of getting proper kimono fitted would be enough to encourage them to shift into their mature forms.  
He knew they were able to but whenever he asked them to they had refused and while he very much wanted to see what they looked like now he wouldn't go as far as to order them to shift.  
After a quick glance to Knight who promised he would be fine the girls allowed themselves to be led into a showroom where a collection of various kimono designs were on display, ranging from the ancient _J_ _ū_ _nihitoe_ , 12-layered robe, to modern single layer garments designed to be worn with only a nagajuban underneath.  
Several different designs were on display, all showing of the various fabrics available, from soft pastel cottons and simple ombré silks to brilliantly colored iridescent silks.  
“Look, this one looks a bit like Manda's kimono.”  
Sarah was pointing to a simple furisode with a pale pastel ombré with teal and aqua tones with a carefully embroidered wave pattern and an iridescent obi shifting in blue and green and Takeshi did agree, it did look a bit like a simpler version of Amanda's beautiful ocean kimono.

After quite a bit of back and forth they had managed to select materials and cuts for a handful of basic kimono and yukata suitable for the various festivals and Takeshi tried to urge them to pick something for a more formal one.  
“How about you shift so we can have at least one made for your mature forms?”  
“Do we have to?”  
He shook his head gently before giving them a slightly teasing look.  
“Please?”  
There was a long silence as they considered his request.  
“Okay...”  
They both huffed before shifting into the form that matched their actual age.  
Seeing them Takeshi found himself glad that they preferred their younger forms as they would no doubt be swarmed by men vying for their attention, and no doubt seeking to bed them.  
“Ah, there are my beautiful young ladies.”  
“Daddy!”  
They instantly complained when he complimented their looks but they were soon distracted by a new selection of fabrics being brought out, fabrics suitable for making the formal furisode kimono worn by unmarried women.

Takeshi watched them select a beautiful midnight purple brocade cloth, the base color so deep and dark it almost appeared black but shifted in discreet red, purple, violet and blue hues as the fabric moved.  
The sample piece was hand dyed using the _Yuzen_ method and had an intricate nebula pattern with _Surihaku,_ gold and silver leaf applied on the fabric, as well as gold and silver thread embroidery.  
It was an amazing fabric and would no doubt be quite expensive, and would take a lot of time to complete, especially as he intended to have it made with demon silk which was even more resilient than kumo-silk but the kimono would be made large enough for the twins to use them for as long as they wanted to.  
“Daddy, can we have them made with this fabric?”  
“If that's the one you want.”  
Maria instantly threw herself around his neck and he found himself forced to take a step back which left her looking rather confused.  
“You better not, remember what Roghan taught you about demon instincts and the difference between heart family and blood family?”  
She instantly blushed rather vividly as she recalled the lessons.

Demons had strong instinctual drives to seek out potential mates, especially pack-creatures like Takeshi and those instincts only regarded close blood relatives, full siblings, parents and offspring, as off limits, while the girls were daughters of his house, his pack, they were not blood related.  
Due to this his instincts considered them as potential mates, an instinct that was strengthen by the fact that he was an alpha, and for an alpha any female in the pack that was not blood related was considered future mates or breeding partners.  
This didn't affect Takeshi while they were in their immature, childlike forms, but while they were in their mature forms he found that it affected him rather strongly.

Maria blushed rather vividly and apologized before reaching up and placing a teasing kiss at the corner of his mouth, just a tad too close to be considered an apology.  
She instantly darted away with a laugh but moments later she found herself pinned against the wall as Takeshi leaned in and gave the pack-mark a gentle nip, enforcing his claim on her soothed the instincts that she had, no doubt intentionally, stirred.

“Now go on, find a nice fabric for the obi.”  
He gently ushered her back to the table filled with fabric swatches.  
As the twins carefully selected the color and patterns for the obi Takeshi noticed that they kept looking toward the ombré kimono and after a while he decided that it wouldn't hurt to have another one commissioned, perhaps one without the highly complicated brocade weave.  
“You **are** allowed to pick a second one if you really want to.”  
His words were met by some rather exuberant cheering before a slight growl reminded them of their manners and they quickly bowed to the tailor assistants that were helping and apologized, and Takeshi noted that they had used the proper, formal words.

“This gradient effect, could it be made to look like fire on a black base?”  
Takeshi almost groaned when they continued to ask about embroidery techniques and quickly shifted toward weaving the silk with dyed threads instead of dying a white silk, it would seem the second kimono would be every bit as elaborate as the first.  
But when he saw the sketches that the design master had made he could only agree with them, the design turned out amazing.  
“I want this cloth bound to the Kiryu kamon.”  
The master tailor looked rather surprise, but quickly agreed to do as Takeshi had asked, by binding it to the Kiryu kamon, family crest, it would be prohibited to craft the cloth with the design for anyone who did not belong to the Kiryu family.  
“Do you wish for a one, three or five kamon binding?”  
“Five.”  
A one kamon binding would allow anyone in the Kiryu family to use it, a three kamon bind would allow only the head family and those with blood ties to the head family to use it, the five kamon bind would reserve it for the members of the head family only, and only with the permission of the head or acting head.  
“As you wish.”

“Of the two furisode I would like you to focus on completing the nebula design ones first, to complete them as soon as possible.”  
“Of course Kiryu-sama.”  
“For the fire design, is your silk master willing to work with demon realm silk?”  
“He is, but he is most, …, particular about the quality of the silk he works with. Regardless of its origin he will only work with the finest quality.”  
The fact that the master tailor even mentioned it told Takeshi that it was probably pretty bad.  
“He is currently visiting the workshop. Would you like me to call him here?”  
“That would be much appreciated.”  
Talking to the Master of Silk in person should make it easier to convince him to do the work, and it would give Takeshi a chance to show him the high quality demon silk intended for the use.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Heat, Lightning & Shadows_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Kiryu-sama.”  
The Moth-youkai greeted Takeshi with a rather rude bow, barely more than a nod, had Takeshi not been a noble it would have been an accepted greeting from the old master, but since he was the greeting could be seen as a refusal to accept him as the Kiryu-head.  
But Takeshi would bid his time and see if he could confirm the reason for the moth's behavior.  
“Sensei.”  
He returned the greeting with a curt nod and a sharp look that had the youkai bristling.  
“Ah, this way please.”  
The store owner quickly tried to smooth over the silk master's behavior while guiding Takeshi to a small sitting area.  
“I don't see why I have been called here for this, it's all rather standard.”  
“The design may be, but hopefully the material won't be. I would like for it to be crafted from demon silk that I provide.”  
That immediately got the moth's attention.  
“I will not work with just any silk, only the best.”  
“Of course, I understand that.”  
“Do you really?”  
There was a slight sneer on the youkai's face but Takeshi managed to ignore it in favor of elaborating his suspicion of the reason behind the silk masters hesitance.  
“Kumo-silk for instance may be far superior to even the finest regular silk, but poor quality kumo-silk would reflect poorly on the skill and pride of the artisan that made it.”  
Takeshi noticed the instant shift in the silk master's posture as he spoke, it seemed that he had managed to earn some measure of respect from the moth.  
“Hn, perhaps you are not entirely clueless.”  
“Takumi!”  
The store owner's incredulous hiss provided Takeshi with the name of the silk master.  
The owner continued by scolding the silk master, taking care to note that Takeshi was _Setai-nushi_ , head of the family.  
“Do you have samples of this silk you wish me to work with?”  
“Of course. May I borrow a piece of chalk and cleared surface at least 1 by 1 meter that I may draw on?”  
“Of course, over here.”  
The store owner looked very confused as he showed Takeshi to one of the cutting tables where Takeshi quickly drew the transportation circle to summon one of the sample boxes from the warehouse in the Obsidian Palace.  
With a flare of power the box appeared on the table and Takeshi opened it to reveal several bundles of silk fibers in various stages of production as well as small swatches of cloth..  
“How have you managed to acquire snow pearl silk?”  
The snow pearl silk was famed for its shimmering white color and ability to remain cool to the touch, which made it highly valued by the desert-dwelling Blue Sands tribe, and Seia's mate had been a sericulturist, producer of silk..  
The silk farm was now managed by Seia and Merle which gave Takeshi access to large quantities of the precious silk.  
“A Blue Sands sericulturist challenged me so I killed him, claiming all that was once his.”  
Takumi picked up one of the small bundles of silk made from a single cocoon and inspected it almost reverently.  
“Is it Miara silk?”  
“It is, but House Miara of the Blue Sands is no more. All that it was is now a part of House Shamarai of the Silver Lakes.”  
While they spoke Takeshi had cleared the teleportation circle and made the alteration to bring in a different box, with a different silk in.  
“This is the silk I would like to use for the obi.”  
“River silk? Just how rich are you?”  
River silk was best known for its beautiful flowing fall, and the clear quality of the fibers, if woven by a skilled artisan the fabric would be as clear as glass.  
“Takumi! Manners!”  
The store owner once again hissed at the silk master over the rather rude question.  
“Sufficiently.”

Take didn't really have to pay for the river silk though, one of the river lands tribes had made a deal with him for performing the Arashiri for the daughter of their leader.  
All the males of her tribe were too closely related and picking someone from another tribe could upset the delicate balance among their people so when the young female had shown interest in Takeshi when he joined Emelie to trade with them they had approached him with an offer.  
They would pay him generously in river-silk if he agreed to be her Guide, and should she become pregnant by him they would pay him a yearly allowance of the same silk which he had agreed to, and after making sure that she had no objection to becoming a mother he made sure to impregnate her.

After inspecting the silks Takumi quickly agreed to create a few samples from regular silk first to test the pattern, then they would work from there, unwilling to do trials on such fine silk.

 

By the time they were done ordering a new wardrobe for Knight and the kimono for the twins it was time for dinner and Takeshi quickly gave in to the twins request that they visit the backstreets along _Kokusai-dori_ and eat their way through the local specialties that were sold in the small stores and stalls.  
As usual they did draw quite a bit of attention as they walked down the street, not only because they were westerners, but the sheer size of both Takeshi and Knight turned heads, as did the huge black wolves that were the shadow beasts chosen forms.

 

 


	87. A Path of Darkness

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“And the Sasaki family?”  
“Branch family to the ryujin family Hayashi, current head is Hayashi Daiki. There is no current wielder of the Hayashi ryuken and it is currently resting within the ryujin's shrine.”  
“Good, that was the last of them.”  
Takeshi put the large scroll aside and moments later Angel projected a 3 dimensional family tree along with hundreds of kanji and kamon between him and Knight.  
Takeshi quickly selected the Kiryu kanji and kamon and placed them in the center of the tree before writing himself and Kasumi into it, then adding Emelie, Dan and Sheealia next to his own name and connecting them with a line and a kanji that indicated they were spouses.  
Between himself and Sheealia he added an entry for their children, but left it empty as he didn't know the result of the clutch.  
“How about you fill in the rest of my immediate family before we move on to the rest?”  
As kage Knight needed to know the lineage of the Ryujin families, the _Honke_ , head family, and each of the branch-families, _Bunke_ as well as how they tied into each other.  
Takeshi watched as Knight added Sarisha and each of their children with date of birth and what order they had been born, but again no names, only if the child was male or female, they would not have names until they came of age, which was still many years into the future.  
By the time Knight was done adding all of Takeshi's children the tree was already rather big as Takeshi had over 50 children that they knew of.  
“Angel, seal and hide the information about all my offspring within the demon realm and in Atlantis please.”  
“Of course.”  
Majority of the tree vanished and Takeshi watched as Knight connected the various kanji and kamon before placing them in the tree and filling in the notable members and their connections, Angel then filled in the less relevant persons.  
“Good, you are picking this up fast. I know how you hate reading, but I'm afraid this is necessary.”  
“I know, don't worry. I will make sure to know it all so that I can serve Kasumi properly.”  
“Takeshi, I have an incoming call from Mandrake, it's O'Reilly.”  
Angel interrupted the lesson and Takeshi quickly instructed Knight to keep going with Angel's help.  
O'Reilly was the only researcher from the cryptozoology department that Takeshi had kept, he wasn't all that good as a researcher, but when it came to management, presentation of projects and making investors open their wallets he was downright brilliant.  
That ability had given him a job as coordinator for the Hawaii branch of Mandrake while Takeshi was not there.

“Patch him through.”  
“One moment.”  
A holographic display swirled to life in front of Takeshi and after a moment the image of a rather unkempt young man appeared on the screen.  
O'Reilly usually looked like a cross between a mad scientist and a classic nerd, but he cleaned up nicely when he needed to, though he would never be considered good looking, instead he was rather plain, but was able to spellbind an audience with his words rather than his looks.  
“Ah, Mr Kiryu?”  
“Speaking, do you have good news for me?”  
“Indeed I do, all the upgrades for the Titan have been completed. Professor Miller has just cleared it with NASA. We are ready to launch Project Thunderbolt.”  
“That is indeed good news. Excellent work. When is the launch?”  
“We are at T minus 18 days, 16 hours and 46 minutes. But the NASA guys will be here day after tomorrow to pick up the primary array for Titan so you need to hurry here with the real crystals.”  
While he spoke a countdown timer was added to the holographic screen and Takeshi was sure the same countdown would be found on his watch and phone as well, Angel was always thorough in her work.  
“I will be there tomorrow with the array. Give everyone a pat on the back, you have done very well.”  
The call was quickly ended and Takeshi gave Angel instructions to adjust Knight's schedule before he headed out to get Dan so that they could go back to the island and get the crystal array that held the modified mainframe for Angel.

“Dan, come on. The Titan upgrades have been authorized for launch, we need to get the array to Mandrake tomorrow.”  
“Can we eat before we leave? Something smells really nice from the kitchen.”  
“Of course we can, the girls would be most cross if we didn't, especially Emelie since she has been helping make today's dinner.”  
“Wait, so I really am smelling _Kalops_?”  
“Indeed you are.”  
Kalops was a Swedish slow cooked beef stew with beef, onions and carrots with a rich flavor from bay leaf and allspice.  
“Don't get me wrong, I love the food we usually eat, but I have missed a few old classics.”  
“You do know you are allowed to suggest or request anything you want.”  
_“Stekt salt sill med löksås?”_  
“If that's what you want. The girls might not be fans of it, but I know for sure that I will enjoy it, as will Emelie, Logan and Matthews.”  
The fried, salty herring served with an onion bechamel sauce was one of those dishes that people tended to either love, or hate.  
“How about you see if Ylian feels like joining us once we get back to the island?”  
“Really?”  
Dan's almost childish joy made Takeshi snort in amusement before bring out the carefully crafted crystal that allowed them to communicate directly, it was carved in the shape of a beautiful ' _Imora'_ flower, the seal of Ylian's house.  
The black and purple Imora looked a lot like a large spiral camellia and was crafted from a mix of mist stone and crystallized shadow, a fragment of Ylian's soul and power.  
“Here, you do it, you need the practice.”  
He gave the crystal to Dan who cradled it in his hands in an almost reverent manner before sitting down and focusing on trying to activate it.

It took him a few minutes to focus his aura in the way needed but once he did the crystal flared to life and a moment later Ylian's voice responded.  
The crystal counteracted some of the chronoshift effect by in a sense recording the message and then relaying the entire message at once, otherwise the few seconds it took Dan speak would be minutes for Ylian if they were in the Obsidian Halls, making the message nearly impossible to understand.  
But the conversation may still be a bit choppy with odd delays here and there.  
“Dan, what can I do for you tonight?”  
“We are heading back to the Island for a few days and well... Would you care to join us for a while?”  
While Dan spoke Takeshi started teasing him which earned him a hissed complaint.  
“Hey knock it off, yi can feel it you know.”  
“Of course I know, what better way to encourage yi to accept the invitation.”  
“Ugh, you are impossible...”  
It took several minutes before Ylian's response came thought which told them that Ylian probably was not in the Obsidian Halls, and something had happened on the other end.  
“Sorry to make you wait, I needed a word with the little rascals. They don't mind being left to their own devices exploring the Shamarai Estate for a while so I'll be there.”  
“Great, see you soon then.”  
The crystal remained active so they waited to see if Ylian had anything more to say.  
“Make sure to save some of that for me.”  
With the teasing demand the crystal dulled, indicating that Ylian had terminated the connection to let them know he had no more to say.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Just as the door to the car was closing there was a distraught caw and only Angel's quantum reflexes allowed Hugin to crash into Dan instead of the armored door.  
“Ouch, you need to be a bit more careful, you are not some little tit you know.”  
Dan's scolding rewarded him with an apologetic caw and some gentle worrying of his ear.  
“So you decided to change your mind, did you?”  
Takeshi had a feeling Hugin would want to come with them despite his denial while they said goodbye and the teasing question was answered with a distinctly defiant caw.  
“Yes, yes. Of course you are allowed to change your mind, now are you going to stay in your raven form, or shift? You know Angel won't move until she knows you are secure.”  
Hugin quickly jumped into Takeshi lap and settled down with the familiar soft clucking sounds.  
“It's okay Angel, I have him.”  
As the car began moving Takeshi gently ran his hand over the shiny wings to calm Hugin down some more, the angels both hated traveling by car due to the limited space, their wings simply would not fit comfortably, and while they were able to shift them away they were intensely uncomfortable doing so.

“He doesn't just look like one, he even sounds like a big lazy cat.”  
Relaxing under Takeshi's touch Hugin had started making a sound that did sound very much like a large cat purring but the teasing quip still earned Dan a sharp nip from the powerful beak, but Hugin didn't try to stop him from scratching his head.  
“You know, sometimes I envy how you are able to let go so completely and just enjoy yourself while you are in your raven form. The way the two of you played in the snow in Hokkaido...”

When they landed in Hokkaido to look for the sparrow youkai it had been snowing for several days so the area had been covered in a thick layer of soft, pristine snow.  
As usual the angels had stayed in their raven forms while they traveled and had remained in that form as they exited the plane and instantly began playing in the snow, rolling around and even skidding down one of the slanted roofs much to the girls amusement.  
They had been more than happy to participate in a good old snowball fight, but with a bit of a twist as the ravens grabbed snowballs that the girls had made and commenced bombarding them from above.  
Takeshi had encouraged the playful battles as they helped hone their awareness of attacks from unexpected angles and the twin ravens played on their own team, randomly attacking everyone.

Hugin's somewhat embarrassed squawks made Takeshi smile and when Dan leaned in and gave the raven a quick peck on the beak Takeshi couldn't help chuckling at the way he tried to sound affronted but failed completely as the way he preened and puffed revealed how he was really feeling about the show of affection.

“Hugin, would you shift for me for a moment please?”  
Takeshi was going through the pre-launch checks for the Blackout when he heard Dan's request, and the somewhat confused chirps in response.  
“Please, just for a moment, I promise.”  
A small flicker of power told Takeshi that Hugin had agreed to do as Dan asked and he found himself curious about what his beta was up to.  
“Come here, let me kiss you.”  
Takeshi didn't need to look to know that Hugin was blushing pure obsidian at Dan's request, but the soft rustle of wings and scent of pheromones as well as the light tingle of arousal from both of them was quite telling.  
It pleased him to know that not only did the pair find each-other desirable, but Hugin had submitted to Dan and allowed him to be dominant in the kiss, for Hugin to be able to submit to Dan would be important if he was to become a part of the pack.  
And the desire between them would be a good thing when they became co-mates, with many mates it would be impossible for Takeshi to be the sole source of intimacy for all of them, for them to be able to seek that with each other would help the stability of the pack and bind them even closer together.  
“Thank you.”  
Dan's voice was barely a whisper and a moment later came the small flicker of power as Hugin returned to his raven form while Dan took a seat in the co-pilot seat.

“ _Take, I need to ask you something. Something rather private.”_  
It was only a few minutes into the flight when Dan reached out over the bond.  
_“Go ahead.”  
“Something happened just now when Hugin submitted, I think...”_  
There was a long silence but Takeshi just waited patiently for Dan to find his words.  
_“Mainano, that's Hugin's soul name, isn't it?”_  
Takeshi found that he wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be at Dan's question.  
_“It is.”  
“I don't understand, why would he...?”  
“I'm not entirely sure he is aware he has. He gave me his soul name pretty early during our first stay but he wasn't aware that he had. I tried to wait until he gave it to me knowingly and willingly, but when his bond with Munin began breaking I had no choice.”  
“Can you you bind the memory, lock it away so I can't remember his name, only that he told me? I don't want to have that kind of power over him, not if he's not aware of giving it to me.”  
“I can if that's what you want.”  
“Please...”  
_ Being the dominant mate allowed Takeshi to use the bond to manipulate some aspects of Dan's mind, Dan would be aware though, and able to resist if he wanted to.  
Reaching out over the bond Takeshi gently wrapped his aura around Dan and began to carefully build the mental bindings that would seal his memory.  
Dan's total trust and willingness to allow Takeshi to manipulate his memories pulled at his instincts, demanding that he rewarded the trust, the submission some way and the beast didn't settle down until Takeshi silently promised he would.  
_“There. Are you feeling okay, no strange sensations, or anything that feels wrong?”  
“No, it's okay. I think it's because I still remember the rest, just not the name.”_  
Dan gently brushed his lips along Takeshi's jawline in gratitude.  
Then he suddenly froze and began to trail kisses along the jaw, voicing a low apologetic whine that made Takeshi huff in frustration.  
It would seem the deepened contact over the bond had made him unable to hide his darker emotions from Dan.  
_“Ssh, it's nothing you did love, I promise.”_  
A moment later Hugin landed on his shoulder and began to worry his ear with a questioning caw, no doubt alerted by the sudden shift in Dan's demeanor.  
“Please relax you two, I'm not upset with you in any way.”  
“Then what's wrong?”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, he knew he would have to talk to them about it, but he really didn't want to.  
“Can we talk about it after we get back home and Ylian gets there?”  
After a moment of heavy silence the whispered 'Please...' seemed unnaturally loud and the silence that followed was deafening.  
But after a moment Hugin shifted despite the discomfort he felt and together with Dan he set out to make sure that Takeshi was thoroughly distracted.

“Take, close your eyes. Promise not to look.”  
Dan placed his hands gently over Takeshi's eyes and didn't remove them until he got his promise.  
“Angel, could you do something about his hearing, something calm, maybe some of that meditation music he likes?”  
“Of course.”  
_“Take, we are going to neutralize those insane senses of yours, please, just allow it.”_  
A moment later his sense of smell was slightly overwhelmed by a warm scent of chocolate, spice and musk that he recognized as the enchanted perfume-wood ornament that Dan had bought as the scent reminded him of Christmas as a child.  
The scent was usually suppressed, barely a hint, but now Dan had activated the enchantments to make the scent stronger, strong enough for Takeshi not to be able to accurately pinpoint scents around him.  
A slight sneeze caused amusement to spark through the intertwined auras and Dan promised he would reduce the potency once Takeshi's senses were properly confused.  
With both Dan and Hugin extending their auras slightly and wrapping them around Takeshi he found himself cut of from his senses, leaving only touch, and taste, but soon taste was taken away as well as he was offered one of the hard ginger  & herb sweets that Dan always carried in the winter.  
Though no longer susceptible to colds it was a habit that Dan found hard to break, and when called out on it he figured that it didn't hurt to carry them, they tasted nice and he could always offer one to someone cute as an opening to conversation.

Deprived of all other senses Takeshi couldn't help the sharp gasp when he felt hands slowly removing his clothes, unable to tell who was touching him until he felt the familiar brush of feathers against his naked arms, sending a shiver down his spine.  
The touch vanished for a moment, pulling a rather displeased, needy, sound from him, and a pleased moan when the touch returned moments later.  
But after a moment he froze slightly, something was different about the touch, it was the same soft feather touch, but it carried a hint of Dan's power as well, and then suddenly more feathers joined, touching too many places to be just Hugin's wings.  
It soon became obvious that Hugin had removed a few of his feathers and allowed Dan to charge them with power, then they both used the feathers to tease, Takeshi was quite sure that Dan was even using his tail to hold a feather, a nice display of control.  
“Clever little... I **will** get you for this...”  
Their amusement at his not so empty, but far from intimidating threats was quite easy to pick up on.  
Soon he found himself relaxing, focusing on calming his breathing and enjoying their teasing touch, while trying not to enjoy it **too** much, after all he had his pride and couldn't let the little rascals bring him to his end too easily.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

By the time Angel landed the Blackout at their island Takeshi was calm and in control of himself once again and they took a moment to visit Arc and her pups.  
All five had been delivered strong and healthy and they were growing slightly faster than normal for their species, an effect of their mixed heritage.  
They also had Dan's claws and eyes along with patterns of scales over their bodies, but the most prominent trait from their father was the power of the electric jolts they could deliver, even as babies they packed a punch that surpassed their mother several times over.  
“Dan!”  
Arc leapt out of the water and knocked Dan down from the floating walkway into the lagoon, making it quite obvious that she had missed him.  
The two had developed a deep friendship but despite a mutual attraction they had both agreed that a sexual relationship didn't suit them, though, Dan had promised that if she wanted to have more children he would try to help her, at least while he was still able to become a father.

“Hugin, stop teasing my little babies!”  
Arc scolded Hugin lightly as he sat on the edge of the walkway and dragged the tips of his wings along the surface of the water, just enough to cause ripples that attracted the playful pups to investigate.  
When he lifted his wings the male pup was clinging to it with a quite fierce grip, but he quickly let go as his ability to breathe outside the water was not yet well developed which made it quite uncomfortable.  
“Now now Arc, it's good practice for them. It's good for them to be curious about what is above the surface. You know he won't hurt them.”  
Dan tried to soothe her rather protective instincts while giving Hugin an apologetic smile.  
“Mothers will always be mothers.”  
Hugin shrugged before carefully sliding into the water to join the others to watch as Takeshi tried to give a checkup to a litter of pups who were more interested in playing hide and seek.  
“Come here little one, let me have a look at you.”  
Takeshi beckoned for one of them to come closer so he could examine it all while holding out a piece of raw gong as a bribe, or bait, whichever you preferred.  
“That's a good girl. Now show me how strong you are.”  
Offering the piece of meat he started a slight tug-o-war to test her strength and was given a sample of her power as well as she gave him a really good jolt to make him let go.

“ _Itte te te!”  
_ “Guess it's true what they say, if you want to know what someones native language is, kick them in the shin. Or electrocute them...”  
Dan's teasing dig at Takeshi's hissed 'Ouch' in Japanese earned him a flash of fangs that promised some form of retribution down the road.  
The cheeky little pup however was enjoying the spoils of war with a wide smile.  
“I believe we have a powerful little huntress here. How about the rest of you, are you as strong as your cheeky little sister?”  
It retrospect it might not have been such a stellar idea to challenge them, not that Takeshi would ever admit that to anyone but himself, their electric discharges packed a serious wallop and he found himself suffering some rather annoying twitches as his nervous system healed from the damage they had caused.

Takeshi also took a moment to swim down into the hidden cave where the leviathan eggs were stored, one of them had been taken out of stasis and was slowly maturing, and though it did respond to him when he brushed his aura against it, it would take years for it to hatch.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi buried his face in Dan's hair, it was all he could do to try to stay calm as the mist began to swell, signaling the activation of the portal.  
He had no doubt that Ylian would see right through him and demand to know what was going on, in a way it would be a relief to talk about it, but he still dreaded what the reactions would be.  
As suspected Ylian froze the moment they stepped through the mist and brushed their aura against him in greeting.  
“Take, what's wrong?”  
“Nothing...”  
He tried to brush it off, to hide his inner turmoil, but Ylian was having none of it.  
“Take...!”  
The tone was demanding and triggered a dominance response with bared fangs and a hissing growl.  
“No! Don't you bare your fangs at me like that. Answer me! What is wrong, what has you in such pain?”  
Dan startled slightly when Takeshi suddenly went limp against his back, leaning on him rather heavily and burrowing his face in his neck.  
Moments later they could smell the faint saltiness of tears and before long a distraught caw was heard outside the small cave and Hugin came flying in, giving Ylian a face full of claws and beak.  
It took a few moments before Dan managed to calm him down and explain that Ylian was not the true cause of Takeshi's uncharacteristic behavior, and the sudden pain they both felt over the bond.  
“Worry not Hugin. You went against **me** without hesitation in defense of your alpha, such courage does you great honor.”  
Ylian gently tried to soothe the distraught angel who now on top of worrying about Takeshi also was concerned about having attacked a noble, an Arai and lesser Avatar, both punishable by death.  
At the same time Dan tried to calm Takeshi down, but there was no reaction so he gently placed his hand over Takeshi's and entwined their fingers before gently pulling the encircling arms tighter around himself.  
It took a few minutes before Takeshi finally responded and tightened his arms almost painfully around Dan, pulling him close and gently nibbling on the mating mark.

“Take, amo, you need to talk to us. Your mate and simoro are growing concerned, and so am I.”  
They had gathered in the inner garden, but Takeshi was not being forthcoming, but after another long silence Takeshi cleared his throat with a slight sniffle.  
“It's this war, the plans to take advantage of it. With the preparations for the Titan upgrades done it suddenly became all too real.”  
“And those plans are what?”  
When Takeshi didn't answer Hugin spoke up instead.  
“The intention is to use the confusion caused by the war to attack key installation for the harvesting and storage of crude oil to force the world to break its reliance on a fuel that is poisoning the realm. While at the same time give us opportunity to use a new, safe, energy-source as leverage against those in power.”  
Ylian nodded their understanding, but Dan only noticed the slow shake of Takeshi's head.  
“It's not going to be enough, is it?”  
“No, nowhere close.”  
“And the real scope of the plan is?”  
Again there was a long silence and Takeshi didn't answer until Ylian pushed at him rather rudely.  
“If we only take out the crude oil harvesting and storage they will recover the production within months, with no effect beyond a spike in prices. To ensure that the world's governments are desperate enough to not only accept the new reactors, but our terms as well we need to completely cripple the global power generation capacity.”  
“How many?”  
Dan was slowly realizing the implications of what Takeshi was saying.  
“Over 5000 primary targets, 728 of them nuclear power plants, and over 100.000 secondary targets.”  
“So, it's not doable then. I'm sorry...”  
“No, it's very doable with the upgraded version of the Thunderbolt. But the fallout... Millions will die.”  
“But wouldn't radioactive fallout to that magnitude defeat the purpose of operation Blackout?”  
“Ah, not radioactive fallout, the fallout of implementing the plan.”  
Takeshi quickly explained that with the upgraded version of the Thunderbolt weapon Angel would be able to generate localized plasma-fields, and agitate anything within to a pure plasma state that the Titan satellite could absorb and store.  
There would be no pollution, no radioactive contamination.  
“But a global blackout will cause mass panic, and even with our best efforts it will take weeks to get power back in major metropolitan areas, and months in rural areas. Even the reserves of the hospitals won't last that long without needing to refill diesel-fuel for the generators. Millions, tens of millions, will die in the chaos and resource shortage that will follow.”  
Dan just sat in silence, staring at Takeshi as he tried to wrap his mind around what he had just been told, a silence that further fueled Takeshi's agitation.

“And if you don't do this, how long before this realm is forced to purge itself from the life that harms it? And how many would die then?”  
Ylian's question held a sharp edge, demanding that Takeshi answer.  
“Within 30 years, total annihilation of the human species and probably the loss of quite a large part of the animal and plant-life as well. A total reset.”  
“So 10 million, or even 100 million, compared to 10 **billion**?”  
**“I know dammit! You think that makes it any easier to give the order that will kill all those people?”  
** Takeshi's raised voice startled both Dan and Hugin, but Ylian seemed unfazed by the frustrated yelling, and partial shift, as Takeshi lost the last shred of his famous control.  
“No, it will be the hardest thing you have ever done, and hopefully the hardest you will ever have to.”  
Ylian slowly moved closer and placed their hands on Takeshi's trembling arms.  
“You are a killer, a predator, there is no denying that.”  
The words were met by a furious growl but it quickly stilled as Ylian leaned in and trailed kisses along Takeshi's jawline.  
“But you are the wise hunter who kills only kills what he needs, when he needs it. You don't kill solely for the thrill, or take pleasure in the kill itself.”  
“Why does it have to be me...”  
Takeshi whispered as he slumped against Ylian, all his previous anger and frustration quickly fading, leaving him emotionally drained.  
“Because it pains you. Your caring heart, that gentle soul of yours will ensure that you will seek the best way for everyone. You won't give up on the humans any more than you will give up the realm.”  
With the energy of anger and frustration drained from him Takeshi quickly fell under the influence of his pain again and when the tears returned he found himself almost smothered by the others, and at the edge of his awareness he could feel Emelie gently withdrawing.  
In his agitated state he hadn't noticed her presence over their bond, but now she seemed satisfied that he was cared for so she pulled back to allow him his privacy again.

Under the hands of the three Takeshi quickly forgot all worries, at least for a moment, all there was was them, their touch, his desire and love for all of them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“No, I'm staying and that's final. I will send a message to our spawns, they will alert us when it's time for their metamorphosis, but until then they will be fine at the Shamarai Estate, or my own residence. Lucifer will welcome them at the Obsidian Palace as well.”  
Takeshi's question at breakfast whether Ylian would return right away, or if they would like to wait at the island while Takeshi and the others delivered the equipment to Mandrake and then stay another night or two had triggered a rather heated debate.  
“Your mates clearly need some training in getting past those walls of yours. I will not allow the one who may one day become my simiro, my mate and alpha, to hurt himself like this.”  
As frustrating as it was Takeshi also found it oddly refreshing to pit himself against someone who didn't back down and didn't hesitate to give him a good smack over the head both literally and figuratively.  
And it seemed Ylian was aware of that as they sported their infuriatingly knowing smile as Takeshi backed down and agreed that they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted to  
“But will you be okay outside the shielded island?”  
Ylian huffed in amusement and mock offense at Dan's concerned question.  
“Of course I will. And don't worry about the mortals of this realm, I am quite capable of hiding my true nature and keeping my power reined in, I **am** an Avatar after all.”  
“Sorry...”  
“Ami, don't. Never apologize for caring.”  
“I'm...”  
“Ah, ah, ah.”  
Ylian interrupted and raised their finger in warning when Dan was about to apologize again and when Dan's instincts made him flare his wings and hiss at them they smiled and nodded.  
“That's better little beta.”  
The teasing words caused a small discharge of power that had Ylian somewhat wide-eyed and they could all sense the spike of arousal.  
“Oh, that was something new...”  
Ylian's smile made it quite clear that they didn't expect to have such a reaction, and that they most definitely did not mind.  
“Okay, as much as I approve of exploring such matters, we don't have the time right now, we need to head out. Ylian, will you wait here or do you want to join us?”  
Takeshi quickly interrupted the pair before things got any further, he would encourage them to explore it once they returned from Mandrake.  
“I will be joining you, of course.”  
While they spoke Ylian shifted their appearance slightly to appear fully human, and fully male.  
“Or would you prefer me to appear female?”  
“I would prefer you to appear whichever way **you** prefer, the ones who work at the Hawaii branch of Mandrake all know about non-humans.  
Ylian bowed their head slightly in acceptance and returned to their usual form, then with a teasing smile changed their clothes into a hooded hunter's robe which made Takeshi groan.  
For some reason, maybe because that was how he first saw them, he found the sight of Ylian in those robes, especially with the hooded cloak added, to be very arousing and Ylian didn't hesitate to take advantage of that fact.  
“Tease...”  
Takeshi gave Ylian's ear a light nip as he whispered the single word.

Ylian inspected the Blackout with avid curiosity.  
”A most interesting contraption. But, I sense life from it? A presence...”  
The confusion was obvious as they had explained about the aircraft during breakfast as Ylian had not been in the human realm for several hundred years.  
“You are probably sensing Angel. Angel, how about you introduce yourself to Ylian here?”  
“Of course Take-san. Welcome on-board Ylian-Ieri, I am Angel and I will be your pilot today.”  
The very _'Airline'_ style greeting made both Takeshi and Dan snicker, while Hugin looked somewhat confused, not understanding what was so funny.  
When they landed outside the Mandrake facility Angel had barely finished explaining to Ylian what she was, it was a short flight after all.  
“Ah, Mr Kiryu, Mr Lindgren, Mr Shamarai. And Mr, eh, Ms, eh... I'm terribly sorry, but I can't seem to tell if you are male or female...”  
O'Reilly greeted them at the landing pad but was quite confused by Ylian, but as usual Ylian wasn't bothered.  
“That is because I'm not, you may address me as Imora-Ieri, Ylian-Ieri or just Yin Ylian.”  
Takeshi quickly explained to O'Reilly that 'Yin' was the genderless equivalent for Mr & Ms in Urui, Ieri didn't need any explanation as he had come in contact with the Urui title before.  
“Would you be offended if I address you as Yin Imora, or simply Ieri? I fear it may take a while to get used to new titles and forms of address and I am quite accustomed to using a person's last name.”  
“No, that works quite well for me. .”  
“Thank you Ieri.”  
Such an address would have been considered quite rude in the demon realm given Ylian's status as an Arai Lilim and Avatar, but they had never been much for formalities unless needed.

“Angel, _'Blindfold'_ protocols please.”  
The Blindfold protocol was a privacy barrier similar to the one on the island and the boats that had been installed at the Mandrake facility to prevent anyone outside from seeing when something unusual was going on inside.  
“They are already active and we are clear.”  
“Good. Hugin, would you bring the crate from the Blackout into the cargo bay.”  
“Of course.”  
Once Angel had brought the crate down the cargo ramp Hugin simply altered his size and easily picked up the large crate and carried it inside while O'Reilly watched him in awe.  
“It doesn't matter how many times I see this, it never ceases to amaze me.”  
Once Hugin had set the crate down O'Reilly turned his attention to Ylian.  
“Yin Imora, if you don't mind me asking, what are you? You're clearly not human.”  
“I am a shadeling, one of several species of greater shadow demons. I am however stronger than most as I am also an Arai Lilim.”  
“Ah so you are Ms Emelie's...”  
There was a somewhat embarrassed pause before he continued.  
“Father's sibling? Half sibling?”  
Ylian gave Takeshi a quick look, unsure about how much information that was okay to give the curious man and Takeshi quickly nodded that it was okay.  
“Indeed. I am Em's susai. In Urui the proper word would be Shomi. The demon who sired her is my brother, but he favored our mother's succubus nature and took very little from our father.”  
“She rarely speaks of her father.”  
“That is because my fool of a brother has failed to prove himself worthy of being her father. To her he is merely the demon who bedded her mother and sired her before abandoning them to their fate.”  
“I'm sorry...”  
O'Reilly was obvious somewhat uncomfortable with the turn of the discussion and quickly steered it back to safer grounds, asking all kinds of questions about just what a shadeling was.  
The startled yelp when Ylian simply slid through O'Reilly had the others laughing as they walked toward the genetics lab where professor Carolyn Miller was hiding away as usual.

“Professor Miller, I see you are running your staff ragged as always.”  
Prof Miller peeked up from behind one of the computer-screens with half a sandwich hanging limply in the corner of her mouth and her eyes widened as she quickly looked at the clock on the wall before dropping the sandwich.  
“Mr Kiryu, good, you made it in time. Where is the array?”  
As usual she went straight to business, but then she froze as she noticed Ylian.  
Though her health had improved quite a bit, mostly due to a very diligent new assistant, and Angel's constant monitoring she was still just as awkward when it came to dealing with new people and the appearance of a stranger in her lab had her unsettled.  
“This is Ylian Imora, yi is a _very_ good friend of mine.”  
“Ylian, Professor Carolyn Miller, our resident genetics genius.”  
“Yi?”  
Ylian's glance at Dan and slight smile told Takeshi that Dan had explained the professors personality quirks to Ylian.  
“Yes, yi is a shadeling, they are a non-binary species with only one sex, and 'Yi' is the proper way to address a genderless person in Urui.”  
“Interesting, do you reproduce through some sort of mitosis? “  
She instantly dismissed Takeshi in favor of opening up on Ylian with a barrage of questions about shadeling physiology, reproduction and genetics to which Ylian looked rather confused.  
“Easy there Carolyn, Ylian doesn't speak scientist. One question at a time and give yi some time to grasp what you are asking for.”  
She just glared at Takeshi, but she did start over, at a slower pace.  
“If you don't have sexes how do you reproduce, mitosis, or are you hermaphrodites?”  
“Mitosis?”  
The look of utter confusion on Ylian's face made Dan snicker at them while Takeshi quickly explained in Urui what mitosis was.  
“Ah, biological reproduction through division. No, we don't reproduce the way corporeal beings do.”  
While they walked back up to the storage area Ylian explained about their species incorporeal nature and about how they reproduces through pure energy.  
“So do you have any children?”  
“I do, four amazing little spawns who are just about to go through their final metamorphosis into true shadelings.”  
“If you don't mind me asking, how many were there in the spawning?”  
“I was fortunate to have an exceptionally strong para who was a perfect match to me so we only had the four, I have never heard of anyone having so few though.”  
“So you were the pana, that's like the mother for us, right?”  
“Yes, pana is the one to carry, and the para is the one who gives. But a pana can carry without a para, but the spawns will be much weaker.”  
“So was the para another shadeling, or some other species?”  
By then Dan and Hugin couldn't hold it in anymore, both burst into laughter.  
“The para for Ylian's lite hell-spawns is our very own Take here.”  
Dan's teasing reveal triggered a whole new line of questions about cross species reproduction that ended with them inviting Carolyn to lunch.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“You are worried again.”  
Ylian brushed the back of their fingers along Takeshi's face before gently turning his head so that they could look into his eyes, searching for the cause.  
“I am..”  
“You know I won't settle for that as an answer.”  
In response Takeshi muttered about pushy betas, but he did set the tablet aside, a good sign that he intended to answer properly.  
“I am concerned that Logan will feel like he is being replaced, like I have cast him aside to make room for you.”  
“I see.”  
With a sigh Ylian made themselves comfortable in Takeshi's lap and leaned in to rest their head on his shoulder.  
“While I am sorry to have caused you to worry with my rather selfish decision to stay, I do believe you are worrying for naught. Logan is no fool, he knows you are asking him to become Kage because you truly believe it will benefit him, that he will be more comfortable at the edge of your pack.”  
There was a long silence and Takeshi noticed a curiosity of sorts in Ylian's eyes as they kept searching his.  
“But you are hoping that Logan and Kasumi-Iera will form their own pack, aren't you? A pack that will maintain a close relation to your own, independent, but yet subservient to pack Kiryu.”  
“I am. Kasumi was wilting away here, she needs the life of the city, she was never meant for a life in isolation. The girls need it as well. Once the war is over I am intending to move away from this island.”  
“But then, all of these Islands will be yours, won't they?”  
“Hopefully.”

Takeshi had told Ylian about his plans, about how he intended to offer the generator technology to the world, but not without demanding payment.  
A payment in the form of Hawaii and a large section of water around it becoming a sovereign nation under the government of a council that he would create, a demand that would be placed against the entire world, not just the USA.  
With the powers of a sovereign nation at his disposal he would no longer need to worry about things like identities for the now eternal girls as the nation and its governing body would have the power to issue all the identification needed.  
A barrier would be placed over the entire area that would protect, and purify the environment within, making it suitable for the more sensitive non-human species and also protect and revitalize several endangered species.  
Immigration would be strictly regulated and anyone seeking residency would be vetted by both Angel and himself, personally in a face to face meeting.  
He also intended to demand that a substantial section of ocean around Hawaii be placed under it's control as well, roughly 800 km out from the coastline, that would allow for the creation of a filtered habitat capable of housing Atlantis and her population.  
He expected the world governments to be less than cooperative, but in the end they wouldn't have much of a choice if they wished to maintain a modern lifestyle.

“I know this might be selfish, but I intend to place another burden on your shoulders.”  
Ylian kneeled down and placed their hands in Takeshi's lap.  
“Takeshi of pack Kiryu, will you accept this solitary beta and yi's spawns as yours. Claim yi for your pack?”  
The words were spoken in Urui, and were highly formal.  
“Yes, I will.”  
Rather than baring their neck for the claiming Ylian spoke up again, still using the very formal Urui.  
“Shamarai-Yemo will you take House Imora into your own, all that it is and all that it could ever be?”  
“No, I will not.”  
Ylian's eyes widened in surprise and there was a hint of worry running through their aura but before they had a chance to say anything Takeshi continued.  
“I will not take your House from you, you will be Ylian of Pack Kiryu, Yemi of House Imora. And the day I take you as mate you will still be Imora-Yemi but of house Shamarai Imora.”  
At first Ylian looked rather shocked, but then they broke into a smile and shook their head.  
“I should have known, never one to do things the normal way...”  
Normally the alpha would demand that a new beta joining the pack surrender all that they were to the alpha's control when accepting them, especially if it was a beta without a pack to fight for them and it was one of the reasons why Ylian had struggled so hard to appear to be an alpha.  
But now they had finally found an alpha they thought to be worthy and had been ready to lose their House and surrender their name in order to be taken into Takeshi's pack.  
With a wide smile Ylian bared their left shoulder for the pack mark, but Takeshi gently straightened their head and tilted it back instead, giving access to the center column of their throat.  
“You already carry such a beautiful mark, I have no desire to ruin it.”  
Biting down over the same central spot he had when he first placed the mark, Takeshi allowed more energy to seep into the mark and when he withdrew his fangs he quickly used a claw to slice into the skin at the base of the throat and slide one of his scales under the skin.  
As with all of his pack the scale quickly settled and the mark changed, no longer just appearing like scales, but growing actual scales.

Takeshi gently pulled Ylian to their feet before kneeling down himself and holding out a sheathed tanto that had been crafted from blood crystal.  
“Imora-Yemi, will you allow me the honor of courting you?”  
“But... The others?”  
Takeshi had already spoken with the others about the possibility of him courting Ylian and they had all agreed that they had no objections to the shadeling being added to the courtship.  
“They have no objections to extending their joint courting, so unless you object...”  
Takeshi's voice trailed of slightly, he was well aware that it could be considered an insult to offer to add someone of Ylian's status to a pre-existing courtship.  
“No, I have no objections.”  
Ylian smiled and took the offered tanto before leaning in and following Takeshi's lead, adding to the mark that Takeshi already carried.  
When Ylian bared their throat again Takeshi just gently closed his hand around it, allowing his claws to prick the skin and slightly alter the energy he had just placed in the mark, energy that had not yet settled fully.  
_“Ami noshiri, simori.”_  
Takeshi's whispered words made Ylian's aura flare slightly in response, recognition and acceptance.  
_“Amo nishoro, simiro.”  
_ Ylian echoed his words back at him, and he could feel his own aura react much in the same way, somehow it felt different than his other courtings, perhaps because they had their spawns together, but he found he liked the feeling.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When Takeshi and Ylian joined Dan and Hugin in the garden for the evening meal Dan instantly approached Ylian and brushed his aura against them, testing them with a slight edge of challenge.  
Takeshi wasn't concerned though, Ylian was old and had excellent control over their power, and as he knew they would Ylian submitted and accepted Dan as the dominant beta, but they did tense up when Dan leaned in to add a bit of his energy to the pack-mark which made Dan pause in confusion.  
“Dan, be mindful of my mark please. It would be a shame to mar such a beautiful claim.”  
Since Ylian didn't say anything Takeshi did, making it seem like it was his request, not Ylian's desire.  
“Of course.”  
Much like how Takeshi had done it Dan gently tilted Ylian's head back before biting down at the base of the throat and allowing a small spark of power to seep into the wound and settle into the mark.  
Once he let go Takeshi approached and examined the effect, it had left his own mark undamaged, but there was the occasional flicker of energy along the edges of the mark, accenting it.  
“You did well, a beautiful addition to a beautiful mark.”  
He rewarded Dan with a teasing kiss and they both watched Hugin approach somewhat hesitant.  
Hugin's natural instinct to submit to a Lilim warred with his own dominant beta nature along with his seniority as a member of House Shamarai.  
This time Ylian didn't submit though, merely restrained their power to math Hugin's, placing themselves at equal footing and Hugin accepted it with a nod, offering Ylian one of his feathers as a token of acceptance.  
It was one of the large primary flight-feathers that carried the Shamarai mark at the end and Ylian quickly used their power to create a fitting and a simple cord for it so they could wear it around their neck but before they could attach the cord Takeshi handed them a simple chain made from his braided hair.  
“Thank you, all of you.”  
“Ylian, you seem surprised, and confused...”  
Dan var very confused about Ylian's reaction to their acceptance, as if they had expected them to fight it.  
“I am, though I guess I really shouldn't be.”  
“But why? I don't understand... You thought we wouldn't welcome you?”  
There was a slightly hurt tone in Dan's voice and Ylian quickly motioned for him to come sit with them.  
“It is usually not this simple for an old, solitary beta to join a pack, especially a pack consisting of younger, and no offense, weaker members. A normal beta would have seen me as a threat and refused to accept me.”  
They continued to explain how Houses usually didn't merge the way Takeshi had done, normally his House Imora would have been completely absorbed by Takeshi's House Shamarai.  
Much to Takeshi's annoyance Ylian also talked to Dan about how to see through through the mental walls that he put up to shield his pack and mates from his negative emotions, but deep within he knew that it was necessary.  
He had stared into the abyss far too often lately, and he was starting to feel drawn to the darkness and he had questioned his path many times.  
“Ylian, if there is anything you need from the demon realm that can't be brought by teleportation circles we should go get it now. We will be returning to the Kiryu estate tomorrow evening.”  
“No, nothing that can't wait. We should however give our spawns a quick visit to inform them of the merger of houses, and their new bond to pack Kiryu.”  
The spawns would not be marked as pack until after their metamorphosis and presentation to Lilith, for now they were just under the protection of the pack and Takeshi intended to allow them to chose if they wished to become full pack-members or not.  
“We have a plan then. Angel, would you get Em on the line please?”  
“Right away.”  
Since crossing into the demon realm would disrupt the bonds he needed to talk to Emelie and the pack before leaving.

“ _Para.”  
“Alpha.”  
“Yemo.”_  
The spawns all greeted Takeshi in a formal manner with a rather deep bow and submissive auras but once he had accepted their submission and returned the greeting they all pounced at him and the mock fight quickly involved the others as well.  
Takeshi was somewhat shocked at how much they had matured since last time he had seen them, during their previous visit to the Shamarai estate before going to Japan the spawns had still felt like children, no older than 7 or 8, now they were clearly teens on the verge of adulthood.  
“I take it you have no objections to me courting your pana, and taking you all into my pack and my house?”  
“None at all.”  
“I'd say it's about time for our pana to stop waiting and act to get what yi wants.”  
The four siblings quickly agreed and told Takeshi in no uncertain terms that they didn't care that he was their alpha, yemo and para, he better do right by their pana or they would make him regret it.  
“I intend to.”

“Now, I want you to make sure you study English and Japanese, both spoken and written as well as work on your aura control. You will need it if you are to come visit in the human realm.”  
“We will.“  
“And don't forget to contact us as early as you possibly can when it's time for your metamorphosis. Due to the chronoshift it will take us time to get here.”  
“Are you sure you're not the pana here?”  
The teasing quip about Takeshi's fuzzing made him bare his fangs at the spawns, but he quickly broke into a smile and said his goodbyes, for the third time.  
If anyone accused him of being a mother hen he would of course deny it, though he didn't object when Ylian brushed up against his side and trailed kisses along his jawline while radiating a content gratitude.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Path of Darkness_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

By the time Angel set the Blackout down at the airport in Naha Ylian was acting rather nervous again, concerned about how they would be received by Emelie, despite the others repeatedly assuring that she would welcome them with open arms.  
“She is Lilim, her instinct might very well rebel against this.”  
“Ylian, stop fretting!”  
Takeshi's growl instantly silenced all of them and their auras turned apologetic.  
“I have spoken about this with Em several times and she has no objections to me taking you into my house or into the pack. And she is actually looking forward to having you for a co-mate.”  
After a quick check to confirm that all the systems looked okay Takeshi turned back to Ylian.  
“You know, the one I would be concerned about is Julia. She seems to have taken a fancy to you.”  
“So I noticed last time, but she has been badly damaged, hasn't see?”  
“She has. They all suffered at the hands the dokar Roberts. But Julia seems to to have suffered the worst psychological trauma from it.”  
“I understand if you do not wish to speak of it, but could you tell me what happened to them?”  
“I... I can't, not the way I am right now. Angel, would you give Ylian a rundown of what the girls went through please.”  
“Of course, I will transfer the information to a secure tablet.”

Julia's mother had tried to protect her when a group of drug-runners connected to Roberts came to their home to take Julia as payment for money her father owed, as a result Julia had watched them beat, rape and torture her mother before savagely killing her.  
She had also been held by Roberts quite a bit longer than the others which had left her severely scarred, both physically and mentally.

It didn't take Ylian long to read through the files that Angel had transferred, and when they were done they set the tab aside and curled up against Takeshi's side, horrified by what the girls had been through.  
“I hope he died painfully...”  
“Unfortunately not, but if it's any consolation he died in fear as the utterly pathetic creature he truly was. Em used her familiar to kill him, she demanded I give her his life for what he had intended to do to Maria, but she decided he was not worth sullying her hands for.”  
Takeshi couldn't help feeling somewhat relieved when Ylian didn't say anything else, instead they began distracting him with light kisses along his jaw, an apology for bringing up bad memories.  
When Takeshi turned into the kiss it was soft and sweet, somehow Ylian seemed to know just what he needed, a balm for the soul.  
Takeshi had no idea how much time had passed when a soft groan brought his attention away from Ylian for a moment and focused it on Dan who was watching them with hooded eyes that were dark with desire.  
“Come here you two.”  
Takeshi moved slightly to make room for Dan at his side and Hugin quickly jumped over to his shoulder and was greeted with a quick kiss on the beak and a promise from Takeshi that he would receive some extra attention when they got back to the estate.

Far too soon for their taste Angel announced that they had arrived at the Kiryu estate and that the girls were waiting to greet them, no doubt eager to welcome Ylian to the group.  
“Susai, welcome to pack Kiryu.”  
Emelie was the first to greet them, and with a determined sharpness in her aura she demanded that Ylian submit to her as alpha, and though there was a brief struggle Ylian did submit to her, but it was obvious that it took quite a bit of effort and control to do so..  
Emelie was strong, but Ylian was stronger, and more experienced so their instincts rebelled against submitting to her.  
“Alpha...?”  
Emelie didn't immediately accept Ylian's submission, instead she waited a while to see if they could maintain it before reaching out and gently tapping their shoulder with a clawed wing.  
Ylian remained kneeling though and waited for her to add her own mark.  
“Em, please, don't make a mark of your own, add your power to my mark instead.”  
Takeshi's request was somewhat unorthodox, and she was within her right to refuse, but she did as he asked and placed the tip of her tail at the jugular notch and pressed slightly, forcing the tip in under the scale just far enough to break the skin and allow her power to seep in.  
“Alpha, you are a pride to your pack, and your blood.”  
Ylian spoke with certainty and pride before rising and facing Amanda.  
Takeshi was a bit curious about how Amanda would handle the powerful shadeling, she needed to make Ylian submit and while Takeshi knew they could force themselves to he also knew they wouldn't submit if they though Amanda was too weak to be the dominant female beta, a position they could claim for themselves.  
Amanda seemed a bit hesitant as well, but after a moment she straightened her back and with a few whispered words she used dragon-magic to call her ocean kimono, stepping up in front of Ylian she began to sing.  
Her song was a demonstration of her strength and willpower, and affecting only Ylian it was a demonstration of control as well and before long Ylian kneeled before her, aura submissive and almost begging for her attention, her favor.  
They could of course resist her allure if they actually wanted to, but given the situation Ylian allowed themselves to be enthralled by her voice and the power it carried.  
“Amazing...”  
Hooking a clawed finger under Ylian's chin Amanda pulled them to their feet before removing one of the crystal flowers from the Key to Atlantis and placing it against Ylian's forehead.

After their return from Atlantis the aquamarine crown had merged completely with Amanda, making her the 'Key to Atlantis' and Takeshi had no doubt that was the Fates intention all along, to create an ambassador between Atlantis and the rest of the human realm.

When Jenna stepped forward Ylian didn't submit, they merely greeted her calmly, without challenge, and they accepted each others as equals and the same happened with Alice before Ylian turned to the twins and allowed a slight dominant edge to come into their aura.  
The twins accepted and submitted to Ylian as an elder and as Ylian gave them each a quick kiss on the forehead their auras explored each-others and left a slight trace of power behind.  
But when it was Knight's turn Ylian's aura flared in challenge and it became quite obvious they had no intention of submitting to him, or even accepting him as an equal, despite being an alpha, Knight was still the omega of the pack.  
Takeshi quickly ushered the girls back as it became obvious that there would be a fight to determine dominance between the two, though he had no doubt Ylian would win, and he had a feeling Knight was well aware of that.  
But after submitting to Dan, Knight was still struggling with the fallout, which made him even more determined not to submit, if he was able to make Ylian submit they would become the new omega, and Knight's own position would be elevated to where he at least was equal with Jenna and Alice.  
“Come on girls, give them some room.”

Try as he might, Knight stood no chance whatsoever against Ylian and the fight ended quickly when Ylian unleashed their true form and allowed their power to crash down over Knight, even the armor offered little protection against the raw power contained in Ylian's shadeling form.  
“Enough! The challenge is over, Logan may be omega, but he will not be harmed and I will not tolerate any abuse.”  
Ylian quickly withdrew and moved to Takeshi's side, leaving Knight crumpled on the ground, gasping for air.  
“Sarah, Maria, would you tend to Logan please?”  
“Of course.”  
Having the twins tend to Knight was a way of showing that he had not lost his place with the pack, he was omega, but he was still pack.  
But when the twins were about to touch him Knight's aura flared sharply, rejecting their aid and making them both jump back with a startled yelp, but before Takeshi had a chance to intervene Kasumi's voice cut across gathered group.  
“Kage! You will mind your manners.”  
Takeshi sighed slightly, the girls would be upset, but perhaps it was for the best if Kasumi took care of Knight, being tended to by another alpha would help soothe his instincts.  
“It's okay girls, let Sumi-ane take care of him.”  
He could tell they were disappointed and somewhat upset as Kasumi gave Knight a rather harsh nudge and ordered him to get up and follow her and while he did understand their reaction he also knew that Kasumi needed to establish a certain dominance over Knight if he was to be her Kage.  
Knight would have to submit and obey seemingly without question whenever they were in public in order to maintain the image of the Kage, and though Kasumi would no doubt allow him to question her in private he would have to be prepared to back down and submit at any time.  
_“Please, take good care of him.”_  
Takeshi reached out silently over the dantai-bond and Kasumi reassured him she would.

“Come on Ylian, let's find you a room.”

 


	88. Calm Before the Storm

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, Ylian, mind if I interrupt for a bit?”  
They both looked up as Alice entered the garden and called for their attention.  
“Of course not sweetie. What's on your mind?”  
Takeshi folded the newspaper he had been using to teach Ylian how to read some basic Japanese and set it aside before turning completely to face her.  
“Well, I was hoping to steal Ylian away for a while. There is something I would like to show yi, and ask yi.”  
Takeshi had a suspicion what it was about, and if he was right he would have to commend her for how well she managed to keep her emotions under control.  
“I'm sure our dear alpha is willing to allow me to skip lessons for a while to answer whatever questions you may have.”  
“You go ahead, I could use some time to go through the financial reports with Angel.”  
Takeshi picked up the tablet from the table and was about to head to his study when Alice put her hand on his arm and shook her head, silently asking him to stay so he granted her request.  
“Well, first I need to ask another question though. Ylian, do you know how to enter the dreamscape? It will be a lot easier if you do.”  
“I'm not familiar with that so I don't know.”  
“Don't worry, I'm sure you are able to.”  
Takeshi set the tab down again and explained to Ylian about the dreamscape and how to get there and before long all three of them were there.  
“Sorry Take, but could you leave please?”  
“Of course sweetie, remember how to exit quickly?”  
“I do, thanks.”  
Takeshi gave her a kiss on the forehead before fading out of the dreamscape to allow Alice to do what she needed to.

“Ylian, there is something I need to show you, something about me. And I need you to promise me to be honest in your reaction to it.”  
“You have my word.”  
“Good...”  
Ylian was curious about what could be so important, and what could have her so nervous, but yet determined, at least it wasn't a confession, they could tell as much in the way her aura interacted with their own.  
They grew even more curious as the dreamscape turned completely black, and then slowly an ancient forest with thick, creeping mist became visible.  
_“Wander not into the Night-forest for it is the home of the demon. There the black beast hunts and consumes all who dares trespass.”_  
A distant howl was heard and the image of a young female became visible, Ylian could clearly tell that it was Alice, though her dress was different.

Alice was nervous as she showed her dream to Ylian, worried about how they would react but she quickly learned she had worried for nothing.  
“You were concerned that I would condemn you for your preferences? For enjoying the hunt, being prey?”  
She nodded silently, a slight blush painting her cheeks in pink.  
“Ama, I'm a powerful, and highly dominant beta. It is in my nature to enjoy the hunt, to relish in being prey for an alpha who is powerful enough to hunt me, subdue me and claim me.”

Takeshi almost dropped the tablet when Alice suddenly bolted awake and blushed crimson before shifting and fleeing the small garden as fast as her wings could carry her.  
There was no fear, or other negative emotions, just embarrassment so Takeshi didn't go after her, instead he waited for Ylian to rouse to see if they cared to share what had happened.  
“So, what did you do to poor Allie to make her bolt out of here like a crimson bat out of hell?”  
“Oh, nothing really. I just suggested that the next time she invites you to the hunt I would be honored to be allowed to play the part of the fog.”  
It took a moment for Takeshi to grasp the full implications of Ylian's words, but when he did he groaned before pouncing and claiming a harsh kiss that quickly had the financial reports completely forgotten, much to Angel's annoyance.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“If you are quite done screwing Ylian's brains out I have been able to track that irregularity in the reports.”  
Angels tone alone was enough to let Takeshi know she was quite upset with him for abandoning work in favor of having himself a bit of shadeling, but for once he didn't apologize, he considered Ylian to be more important than the reports.  
“What did you find?”  
“You were right, it wasn't an error. It's intentional.”  
“How much?”  
When Angel told him the amount that had been embezzled from the Kiryu assets the table shattered under the power of his fury, at the current exchange rates it was over 10 million US dollars.  
“I take it that is a substantial amount that has been stolen?”  
Ylian's voice was soft and calm as they slid behind Takeshi and gently began to rub his shoulders much the same way they had done when he was suppressing his heat.  
“Well over 50 thousand measures.”  
Takeshi was too upset to bother doing the math, but a few moments later Angel displayed an accurate figure that made Ylian curse lightly in their native tongue.  
“Would it be safe to assume someone will be losing their life?”  
“Quite safe indeed...”  
“May I observe the hunt? I'm quite curious how it's done in this realm.”  
“Well, it won't really be representative for how things work here as I will hunt myself rather than go to the police as they can be less than effective, especially when dealing with people with power and position behind them.”

Reporting the embezzlement to the police would no doubt lead to an arrest and a confession, but the one caught would be a scapegoat, a sacrificial lamb who would confess to pay a debt, or earn some benefit for their family.  
While Takeshi explained the basics of the legal system and its flaws the rest of the pack arrived, alerted by the sharp wave of rage they had all felt over the bonds and Hugin crashed in between them with an annoyed caw before landing on the shōji divider.  
“Easy there love. Yi is not the cause of my anger.”  
Takeshi gave Hugin a gentle tap on the beak in reprimand before offering his shoulder.  
“Don't be too hard on him. He is just being protective of his alpha, he does his pack honor.”  
Ylian defended Hugin with a smile.  
“Oh I know, he just needs to learn to read a situation faster, more thoroughly, before acting.”  
This time they hummed and nodded in agreement, the angel was indeed a bit of a hothead.  
“A somewhat rash action indeed, but such is the folly of youth. Fortunately they tend to grow out of it.”  
Hugin's defiant caw at the teasing words had the entire pack laughing, including Takeshi, helping him clear the stress and foul mood.

“Now Dan, I know you won't like this, but I want you to stay here while I go to confront them.”  
“But Take! Alpha!”  
“Dan, I won't be going without a beta at my side, but I intend to take Manda as her abilities are better suited for this. I will still need your help to plan it all though.”  
Dan grumbled and complained, but he had no valid arguments, Takeshi was right that Amanda's abilities made her a better choice, also she hadn't revealed yet that she was anything but human.  
There was less risk of spooking their targets if Takeshi arrived with what looked like a young female assistant, rather than his head of security at his side.  
“Ylian will come as well to observe how I deal with this.”  
It was obvious that Dan was somewhat uncomfortable with that, instincts telling him to watch out for the stronger beta who might try to take his position.  
“Hugin will go too!”  
Dan's words were sharper than intended and Takeshi could sense the slight confusion from him as Dan's own actions unsettled him and with a smiling sigh he nodded without argument.  
“And Hugin.”  
If bringing Hugin was enough to settle Dan's instincts Takeshi would gladly do so.  
“Worry not little beta. As long as you are worthy in the eyes of our alpha, your mate, I will fight myself to curb the instinct to rise. To this I swear.”  
Ylian's slightly odd phrasing held a teasing quality, but there was no doubt that the oath was true, as long as Takeshi considered Dan to be a worthy beta, Ylian would fight to resist the instinctive urge to take the position.  
“My oath applies to you as well, Daughter of the Deep.”  
Ylian's oaths sparked a rather lively conversation about instincts and how to resist them and Takeshi listened with half an ear while going through the data with Angel.

“Ever since I realized that I not only possessed pack instincts, but was a beta, I have struggled to hide that fact. A beta as strong as me would be a prize for any alpha to try to claim, they would keep coming after me until I was no longer unclaimed.”  
Ylian explained how they had trained themselves to project alpha qualities, to pretend to be a solitary alpha, being a sharp, dominant beta helped but it had still been a struggle.  
Facing down another alpha, especially a strong one, or an older one, without submitting or inviting the chase had been hard, especially in the beginning.  
“It didn't take me long to perfect my alpha act though, killing those who learned the truth that I didn't fully trust, But a side effect of having lived for so long without a pack is that now, when I finally have a proper alpha my instincts are in a bit of a tizzy.”  
They continued to explain that by allowing some instincts, like the need to touch and groom, free reins they were able to better control the more troublesome ones, like the need to rise and challenge what they considered a weaker beta.  
“So why did you decide to allow Take to claim you?”  
Jenna's question was innocent enough, but Ylian became silent, and Takeshi's attention was suddenly entirely focused on the conversation.  
When Ylian didn't respond for a while Takeshi decided to get involved.  
“Yes, why did you choose to allow me to make a claim on you?”  
“Other than the fact that I found myself loving you?”  
“Other than that, and other than picking me as para. I know you well enough to know that neither would have swayed you in such an important decision.”  
“I would have to say, trust.”

With an almost sly smile Ylian motioned for them to come closer, as if they were about to divulge a great secret.  
“When we first met I was curious about our dear alpha here. He was such a strange one, young but clearly powerful, proud, but yet modest, a study in contradictions. And that aura of his, hot enough for a shadeling like me to wish to stay back, and yet, a calm, cool depth that drew me in.”  
Takeshi found himself intrigued by the tale of how they met told from Ylian's point of view and very curious about what had made them decide that what they described as a strange, young alpha was worthy to become not just para for their spawns, but their alpha.  
Ylian told them about that first year when they joined the hunter trainees to be able to study Emelie and Takeshi closer, how the stories of the girls and Takeshi's caring nature drew them to him and made them want him for para.  
“In the end it was the spawning that set me on this course. The moment our auras merged it became obvious that Take realized that I was a beta, not an alpha and I was prepared to beg, bribe, even fight him to keep from being claimed, to keep my independence.”  
Takeshi was glad things hadn't gone down that path.  
“But he didn't seem to care, he treated me the same as before and he kept my secret safe, he never did anything to reveal that I was in fact a beta. And he never tried to claim me. And so he truly earned my trust as he had already gained my respect.”  
“Now, that's not entirely true. If someone had really paid attention to how I was treating you they would have noticed I treated you like a beta while you were carrying, and while the spawns were newborn.”  
“Perhaps, if you had been a shadeling para, or even a demon. But for a human born alpha and father you acted fairly normal, even slightly restrained.”  
“Hmpf, and yet you constantly accused me of being a fuzzing mother hen.”  
“Well you were. But I never said I minded, did I?”  
“No, you didn't, not even once.”  
Takeshi sat down next to Ylian and pulled then into his lap, wrapping his arms tightly around them.  
“I actually enjoyed it, a lot...”

Ylian's admission earned them a soft kiss filled with emotion, the caring part of Takeshi's alpha nature and it had everyone cheering and whooping at them.  
“Or maybe it was just the amazing cuddles...”  
The teasing whisper earned Ylian a low growl which brought on another round of laughter, and everyone agreeing that the cuddling was the best part of having Takeshi for their alpha.  
“Maybe I should just cut you guys off before you develop an addiction?”  
“Oh, you could try, but I doubt **you'd** last more than a day or two without a nice, long cuddle session.”  
Jenna was right of course, Takeshi greatly enjoyed being close to his pack, and that meant a lot of cuddling and snuggling, and he was pretty sure it would have been the same even if they had not been his lovers as well.  
“Mmm, yes, definitely the cuddles.”  
Ylian's mumbling was accompanied by a distinct tightening of their hold, a hold Takeshi knew he would not be able to get out of without a serious fight unless Ylian allowed it.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Everyone ready?”  
“Ready.”  
“Always.”  
Amanda's and Ylian's response was accompanied by a soft caw that told Takeshi that everyone was good to go.  
It was time to confront the men behind the massive embezzlement from Kiryu assets.  
Takeshi had called for a large meeting under the guise of an information meeting about his plans for the companies under Kiryu control.  
It wasn't really a lie though, he did intend to inform them about his intentions and plans for the Kiryu assets, to place them in the hands of Kasumi with his trusted corporate attorney, Angelica Daniels, at her side.  
Angel would be doing most of the work behind the scenes while Kasumi would handle the public appearances, they had also agreed that Ylian would play the role of _'Angelica'_ when needed for public appearances, at least until they had managed to build her suitable body.  
Today was not one of those occasions though, instead Ylian was wearing the hooded hunter's garb and a slightly altered appearance with almost elfin features, features common to the most powerful youkai.  
“Hugin, Manda and I may need to move quickly, so could you stay with Ylian please?”  
Hugin did as he was asked, but it was quite clear that he was none too pleased about it.  
“Now now, don't be like that. Our alpha merely wishes to keep you out of harm's way should he be forced to fight.”  
Ylian scolded Hugin lightly when the raven landed on their shoulder and after a few moments a soft, apologetic caw was heard.  
“Don't worry, he knows, we all know. As I have told you before, your love and desire to protect does you great honor. You merely need to learn to temper yourself, but that is something you learn with age, acting rashly is a common affliction of youth.”  
Hugin's somewhat defiant caw was quite telling, Hugin and Ylian were both considered to be very young, just out of their adolescence, but Ylian was nearly 5 times as old as Hugin was.  
Shadelings matured into their adult form quickly, but were considered to be youths for a very long time, Ylian was closing on 10.000 years old, while Hugin was just shy of 2000 years old.

Takeshi watched while Amanda introduced herself to the gathered executive staff and board members and he struggled not to let his pride in her show as she bowed with impeccable form and presented her _'Meishi'_ , business card, which identified her as an executive trainee for the  _Onryō Group_  and Takeshi's personal assistant.  
She caused quite a bit of curiosity as she was obviously a westerner, but with impeccable manners, wearing an exquisite kimono and speaking nearly perfect Japanese she was a bit of a conundrum to them.  
Her last name, Kaiyou, only added to the confusion and curiosity as no one recognized neither name, nor the kamon that adorned her kimono, another thing that added to the whole thing was the fact that she was female, as much as things had progressed it was still rare for females to hold executive positions in Japanese corporations.  
Ylian was intentionally ignored with only an offhand comment about them being Takeshi's Kage.  
While Takeshi despised lies and would always stick to the truth as much as possible, or simply not volunteer any information and allow others to make their own assumptions he was okay with it since in this case it was technically true.  
The word Kage meant shadow, and Ylian was a Shadow, in more ways than one, and they were Takeshi's.  
“Oh, and please try not to piss of Hugin. His beak and claws are sharp and he's not afraid of using them.”  
On cue with Takeshi's warning Hugin voiced a soft caw before making a few sharp click with the mentioned beak.

 

When Takeshi signaled for the meeting to begin there were a few questions about the whereabouts of Angel as she had spoken with several of the board members to arrange the meeting.  
He quickly explained that she was currently working on a special assignment, but Amanda was fully briefed on all matters that they had spoken with Angel about.  
Again it was a truth, just not a complete one, Angel's special assignment was to secure the building to ensure the ones behind the embezzlement would not be able to escape, and while Amanda had introduced herself Takeshi had walked around the conference room, pretending to be admiring the various art pieces and paying his respects at the shrine dedicated to Kiryu.  
In reality he had walked around the room to allow Angel to properly scan it for any form of surveillance equipment, and as he had suspected she had located a handful of devices and was tracing the signals.  
As he took his seat Takeshi silently relayed the location of the devices to Hugin who began to fly around and explore the room before landing on the cupboard like structure that housed the shrine and using his beak to pry loose the small camera rigged in the fine carvings on top of it.  
He returned to Ylian's shoulder with the camera securely in his beak before gliding over to the table and landing next to Takeshi and presenting him with the small camera and being rewarded with a strawberry from a small platter of treats that had been brought in.  
_“Careful, it's been poisoned.”_  
Takeshi warned silently, he didn't think it would actually affect Hugin though, it was a fairly mild poison that would normally just cause a very upset stomach but he warned him anyway.  
“Curious, and clever creatures these ravens.”  
While he spoke Takeshi pretended to inspected the small camera, but in reality he was carefully monitoring the reactions of the people in the room, and as expected the ones behind the embezzling were starting to show signs of concern.  
He was unsure though if it was because they had planted the device, or because they were afraid the device had caught something incriminating.  
“Perhaps it's just as well that we found this little gem, it gives me a good excuse to change the agenda of this meeting and bring up the true reason for calling it.”  
Takeshi dropped the camera on the table and at the same time Ylian moved to stand in front of the door and drew a simple black blade.  
“Hugin, go collect the rest of them please.”  
There was quite a few shocked exclamations and whispered questions as Hugin immediately flew around the room and only stopped briefly to pry loose each of the devices and returning them to be inspected by Ylian before handing them to Takeshi.  
Ylian didn't do any real inspection though, just an act as if checking to make sure there were no hidden explosives or such.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

“When ascending my position as Setai-nushi one of the first things I did was to make a very thorough investigation of the Kiryu assets, all the companies, all the money. And I quickly found a trail of rather curious transactions. Large amounts of money has been disappearing from various Kiryu accounts.”  
“Does the police have any leads?”  
The question was voice by one of the old stockholders, one of the few Takeshi was certain had nothing to do with the missing money.  
“Saitou-sensei, it is good to have you here.”  
Takeshi gave him a slight nod and the choice of honorific caused a few raised eyebrows, but Yasu Saitou returned the greeting with eyes bright with amusement.  
“It is good to be here Takeshi-kun.”  
Again the choice of honorific caused a bit of confusion as it was not an appropriate way to address the president of a company, the appropriate address would have been Kiryu-sama, or at least Takeshi-sama.  
But Yasu was Takeshi's teacher in business administration all those years ago, at the time he had been a junior employee in one of the Kiryu companies and since his degree was recent, and with perfect scores, Takeshi's adoptive father had asked him to tutor Takeshi.  
It had given Takeshi a bit of a break from the usually rather strict classroom and allowed him to get out of the house as the tutoring session had been held at Yasu's office.  
“I have no doubt that the police would have had a suspect and a full confession by now had I involved them in the case. They would of course be fake, a scapegoat pressured into confessing to protect the true perpetrators.”  
“A very probable result indeed. But I assume that they are already caught in a web they cannot escape.”  
“Indeed. My time as Kage as well as my years with the GCTI taught me a few tricks.”  
There had been a slight scent of fear in the room the entire time, with slight peaks each time Hugin ripped out one of the bugs, but now it quickly became an almost overwhelmingly strong smell.  
“The stench of their fear only helps to confirm their identity.”  
The smell of strong human fear was a distinctly sour scent, and guilt somewhat rancid, together they made for a very unpleasant smell, like milk gone bad and it made Takeshi want to retch and he could tell Amanda was struggling with the smell as well, and her sense of smell was nowhere near as strong as his own.  
Like the merfolk her eyesight and taste was her strongest senses, though fortunately most of that enhanced sense of taste was a part of her gills when in aquatic form, it was still extremely accurate and sensitive while in human form, but not to much that she couldn't suppress it and eat normally.

His words triggered a sharp flare of panic from the one they had identified as the leader of the group and a moment later the room turned chaotic as Isamu Sano proved that his given name was ill suited for him.  
Jumping from his seat he grabbed Amanda and held her against his chest as a shield while bringing out a small blade and placed it against her neck, he didn't notice though that the moment he grabbed hold of her she shifted slightly and scaled spread along her neck, protecting it from the blade.  
“Your name means courage and yet you prove yourself a coward.”  
Takeshi didn't move, allowing Isamu to believe that his threats were working, but Takeshi could sense the slight flicker of power as Amanda prepared to use her talents.  
“A mere mortal dares lay his hands on a Kami of the sea?”  
Her voice was brimming with her power, her will bearing down on their opponents and fear turned to terror as she shifted slightly, bringing out her mermaid traits, all but the the tail and Isamu didn't resist when a webbed hand closed around his own and pried the blade from his grip.  
_“Bakemono!”_  
“Oh, I told you, I'm no mere spirit, I am a Kami of the Sea!”

Many non-native speakers only understood the Japanese _'Kami'_ as God or Goddess, but it could also be lesser deities, or revered spirits, the fact that Amanda was the Key to Atlantis elevated her to the status of Kami.  
Ylian, being a lesser Avatar was also a Kami and Takeshi himself being a potential Avatar was technically a lesser Kami, and if he ever awoke to being an Avatar that would elevate him to a full Kami.  
The Ryujin were also Kami and the Kyūbi, nine-tailed kitsune, were often revered as Kami as well.  
Kirin, like Mizuki, were often considered to be lesser Kami as well and many families revered ancestors that had accomplished great things as Kami, the same often applied to Emperors and Empresses.

“Isamu, care to enlighten us why you thought it would be a good idea to steal over ¥1.000.000.000 from Kiryu assets?”  
The number brought on a few shocked gasps in the room, others reacted to the overly familiar address as Takeshi has used only the first name without any honorifics.  
As expected Isamu refused to answer so Takeshi turned to Amanda.  
“Shina-ama, would you like the honors of making this fool explain himself?”  
“With pleasure, Kiryu-yemo.”  
They intentionally used Urui to cause a bit of added confusion, it was easier for Amanda to use her power against someone who was already confused, _'Shini'_ was the Urui word for the position of beta, second in command.

Under the influence of her song it didn't take long for Isamu to confess everything, who he had worked with, who they had coerced into helping them, and how they had blackmailed one of the employee's into being their scapegoat if someone noticed the missing money.  
Their intent had been to discredit Kasumi and what they believed to be a young heir so that they would be able to assume control of the Kiryu assets for themselves.  
He also spoke of several members of the police being on their payroll, including several higher ranking officers and a few government officials, information that he would have Angel relay to the proper authorities.

“I do hope you realize I can't allow you to get away with this, that your life is forfeit.”  
“You need me if you ever want that money back!”  
“No, I don't. Angel is transferring those funds to accounts under my control as we speak. And even if I did, I would still kill you, that money is nothing compared to threatening my simora.”  
“Kiryu-sama, I am unfamiliar with that word, _Simora_ , what does it mean?”  
It was one of the younger executives that spoke up and Takeshi had to admire his courage, he was obviously scared, but his fear lacked the taint of guilt so there was no reason to suspect he was involved.  
“It's hard to translate accurately, but fiancée is close enough.”  
There were some more objections from Isamu and quite a bit of threats, trying to tell them that if he died the police would figure out that Takeshi was behind it.  
“Oh, but that's the beauty of it all. Since you worked together with some rather unsavory people to accomplish this the police will have no real reason to look at me. They will see that you stole the money from the Kiryu family, but as far as they will be able to tell, the money was transferred away from your accounts and withdrawn at the same time that you vanished.”  
“So you will kill everyone here to keep them from telling the police you killed me?”  
“Such extreme measures won't be needed as no one apart from me and my house will remember that you were even here and a computer virus, traceable to your office and you login will destroy a number of security files, including most of the surveillance data for today.”

Takeshi would kill Isamu using Kiryu's shadow-fire, after their stay in the Obsidian Halls he had learned to control it quite well, it would leave no trace of a body, and using runes he had learned there as well he would manipulate the memories of those at the meeting, so none would remember Isamu being there.  
When he was eventually reported missing the police would investigate, and find trails of the stolen money and while it would track back to the Kiryu it would appear as if Isamu had gotten scared with Takeshi's ascension and gone into hiding after withdrawing the money.

“It astounds me though, that you in your arrogance believed that a son of mine would be so weak, that Kiryu no Ryujin-sama would chose someone so weak and foolish.”  
“There's no such thing as a ryujin! There are no Kami, they are all just legends created to control cowards and simple minded weaklings!”  
Takeshi could feel Kiryu stir within at the words and a moment later her voice echoed within.  
_**“So, does my little whelping believe himself strong enough to carry the strain of manifesting me for a short while?”**_  
While he was focused on her words there was quite a bit of shocked whispers, many of those gathered had been at the ascension and seen Kiryu manifest.  
“I bet no one touched it and it didn't touch anything. That's cause it was just a projection, an illusion, you fools.”  
Isamu kept ranting and Takeshi could feel Kiryu's temper flare so he reached out for the others.  
If he was to be the source of energy for her to manifest he would need to replenish the energy, and quickly once she returned to his soul and they all promised to give him as much as they could.  
This time when she manifested the drain was a lot less sharp as she kept her size down, no larger than an average cat, as she stalked toward Isamu, but the man was clearly unhinged, still ranting about how she was just an illusion, and he kept at it until she bit down over his hand, taking off half his index-finger.  
There was no blood as Kiryu's fire cauterized the wound, there was plenty of screaming though and the sound was painfully loud to enhanced ears so with a snarl Takeshi grabbed Isamu by the throat and lifted him of the floor before allowing the black flames into his aura, and a moment later the scream went silent and a fine cloud of ash slowly shimmered out of existence before it could reach the floor.  
There were quite a few distraught exclamations from their audience, but they were securely held by Amanda's power so they couldn't scream, nor flee, or in anyway bring outside attention to what had just happened.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

The moment the dark fire receded from his aura Takeshi could feel Kiryu returning to within his soul, taking away the strain on his power reserves, but the stunt had drained him badly and instincts were demanding he get his energy back up.  
He barely had time to glance at Amanda when Hugin voice a rather loud, and defiant, caw before flying toward him and returning to his angel form, he was in a significantly larger form than usual, but was kneeling on the floor with his wings carefully spread over the large table to allow him to fit in the room.  
Takeshi's breath hitched slightly at the sight of Hugin submissive pose and bared neck and he didn't hesitate to bite down and drink deeply from the rich, black, blood.  
It was hot, the Obsidian Angels had a much higher core temperature than humans, and while it wasn't brimming with power like Lucifer's, Hugin's blood was overflowing with a vibrant life-force that made Takeshi's senses sing.  
Hugin's growing arousal gave his blood a deep spice, and combined with it's heat it brought the image of mulled wine to Takeshi's mind and he drank deeply, letting himself be taken in by the crimson haze.  
He didn't allow himself to completely lose control though, so when he felt Ylian's cold energy brush against his back he withdrew his fangs from Hugin and gently licked the small punctures to seal them before turning around and drinking deeply from the cold not-blood which he had learned to enjoy.

“Amo, enough, please. I don't have the reserves to safely give you any more.”

Ylian wouldn't try to stop Takeshi until their life was at risk, but fortunately it wouldn't be needed as Takeshi withdrew his fangs with a soft, disappointed, whine before gently licking the fading marks.  
The gesture made Amanda, Hugin and Ylian smile, and share a single word and a mix of feeling's over the bond that tied them together with Takeshi at the center, contentment, love, and ' _Adorable_ ', the last part making him growl in objection.  
The growl instantly stopped when Amanda stepped up and offered him her neck, but with a sharp shake of his head he cleared his mind and leaned in to kiss her instead.  
“No sweetie, not now, not while I'm like this. My hunger burns too brightly.”  
“But that's what I want! I want feel the burn, feel your hunger!”  
Her words made him pause for a moment, he wasn't concerned about injuring her, but if he drained her too far her own vampiric side could awaken, and try to feed of the people still held by her power.  
“Okay, but you will have to wait a few moment so we can seal their memories and send them away.”  
She nodded quietly and turned toward the gaping businessmen.

Using a mix of Amanda's powerful song and Obsidian runes they began to seal away the memories of what had really happened at the meeting.  
“I will handle Saitou-sensei myself please.”  
Takeshi intended to use a milder bind on his old tutor, hoping to be able to explain to him, convince him to swear the oath of loyalty to the Kiryu and ultimately use the blessing to extend his life and have him become the caretaker of the financial side of the Kiryu assets.  
With the seals completed Takeshi activated them with a pulse of his aura, replacing the true memories with a fabricated version before thanking everyone for their attendance.  
“Saitou-sensei, would you do us the honor of joining us for a meal?”  
Takeshi called out as the gathered staff and board members began leaving and Yasu quickly agreed with a genuine smile that held a hint of gratefulness that made Takeshi curious.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Impressive car. You always did have a thing for the fancy tech.”  
Takeshi groaned slightly at Yasu's remark about the Knight XV, it would seem their meal might just become a trip down all those embarrassing childhood memories.  
“Not fancy, sensei, powerful and useful.”  
“Or so you claim. But admit it, this baby is any boy's dream.”  
Instead of responding to Yasu's quip Takeshi allowed his aura to brush against his.  
_“Saitou-sensei, remember.”_  
A simple word and a touch of power was all it took to deactivate the sealing rune that Takeshi had used, allowing Yasu to remember what had really happened and he instantly turned to look at Hugin.  
_“Kuro tenshi?”  
_ “Indeed he is. But he won't change while in the car, he dislikes the confined space.”  
Yasu looked back and forth between them all with a rather owlish look on his face.  
“Don't worry, relax and let the memories settle and I will explain more once I have fulfilled my promise to Manda.”  
While he spoke Amanda crawled into his lap, and he ordered Angel to ignore the breach of basic car safety regulations before biting down and allowing the burn of his hunger to engulf him once again, allowing Amanda to feel it as well.  
When he withdrew his fangs and gave her a searing kiss he could feel a somewhat annoyed edge in Yasu's aura.  
“I apologize if I overstep Takeshi-kun, but from what I heard you referred to your young head of security, Lindgren-san, as your husband during the ascension, did you not?”  
Yasu's tone was distinctively reproachful as he spoke, no doubt believing that Takeshi was being unfaithful, something that Takeshi knew Yasu detested.  
“Not at all Sensei. You are almost right, the word I used was 'Mate'. It's similar to being married, but also completely different, and Dan is just one of my mates, I currently have three mates.”  
“A mate is different how?”  
“The mating bond binds our very souls together in an almost unbreakable bond.”  
“And you have three of these _mates_?”  
While they spoke Yasu had slipped out of _Keigo_ , formal, or polite Japanese and into _Tameguchi_ , a casual form of Japanese and when he noticed he immediately began apologizing.  
“No need to apologize Sensei, you have my permission to be casual. I don't expect those I would call friends, or family, to observe _keigo_ with me.”  
Yasu looked a bit surprised at first, then he broke into a smile.  
“Then please Takeshi-kun, call me Yasu.”  
“I will Yasu-sensei, if you call me Take like the rest of my friends and chosen family.”  
Intentionally adding the sensei honorific was a bit of a teasing quip which made Yasu shake his head before repeating his question about Takeshi's mates.

“Yes, I have three mates. The first one is Emelie, she is not just my mate, but my soulmate, the one individual in all of existence that is perfect for me. And during our mating our souls merged fully, for a brief moment we were one soul with two bodies, two minds, two spirits.”  
Takeshi's word sparked another round of questions about the difference between mates, true mates and soulmates.  
“My second mate, Sheealia, is a union of convenience, but she is a true match and I do have a deep respect for her and consider her a good friend, and I have no doubt that given time I will learn to love her just as I do my other mates. And Dan, my sweet and brave Dan is a love mating, and also a true match for me, as are all of my simori.”  
“Simori? Didn't you call Kaiyou-sama simora, or did I mishear?”  
Takeshi noticed the way Amanda fidgeted at being called Kaiyou-sama outside of the formal setting so he took a moment to tell Yasu that his house, and pack preferred a casual address while not in a formal setting where keigo was expected.  
“You didn't mishear, I used simora for mate-to-be when referring to her because she is female. Urui words distinguish between male, female and genderless.”  
“Now you are just pulling my leg, right?”  
“No such luck, the language really is called Urui.”  
Takeshi laughed at Yasu's reaction, he had reacted much the same way himself when Knight had started to teach them Urui.  
“Oh, does Urui mean something special in Japanese?”  
Ylian spoke up for the first time and seemed genuinely curious as their demonic language ability had not given a translation for Urui.  
“Urui is the Japanese word for a Hosta, a popular decorative plant that is also eaten as a vegetable.”  
“I see. That does explains another of your peculiarities.”  
Ylian's teasing quip rewarded him with a flash of fangs  
“Your young Kage here, he wouldn't happen to be one of these mates-to-be of yours?”  
“Indeed. But Ylian isn't a male, nor actually particularly young, or my Kage.”  
Takeshi continued to explain as Angel drove them to a suitable restaurant that was aware of the existence of demons and had the ability to cater to their tastes and needs.

“I must ask though Take-kun, why are you telling me all this, showing me all this?”  
“I was hoping that you would agree to swear the oath of loyalty to the new Kiryu, become a part of the family. And then become my Chief Financial Officer and help my sister manage the Kiryu assets.”  
“But why would you want to add a dead branch to your tree?”  
Yasu was referring to the fact that he was sterile, and being unable to sire an heir his _branch_ of the family was a dead end, something that had cost him a lot throughout his life.  
Takeshi was about to answer him when Amanda spoke up instead.  
“A branch being dead does not mean it lacks value, sometimes a _Jin_ can be what brings the perfect balance to the creation.”  
The _Jin_ that Amanda spoke of was a deadwood technique used in bonsai where a branch or a part of a branch of a coniferous tree was intentionally killed and stripped of bark then bleached to display the hardwood, projecting the image of age.  
“Thank you for your kind words Manda-san. Do you practice the art of Bonsai?”  
Yasu's mood seemed to instantly lighten which made Takeshi smile, despite it leading to another sidetrack.  
“No, but I very much enjoy watching Takeshi do it. He is so beautiful when calm and focused. And rather than bothering him by making him explain what he was doing I decided to study at least the theory of the art.”  
“Manda, I would have been more than happy to show you and explain.”  
Takeshi had a bit mixed feelings about hearing that Amanda had studied on her own rather than ask him, part of him was flattered by her praise, and her decision to study on her own in order to not disturb him while he was working.  
But a another part was a bit disappointed that she believed he would see it as a disruption rather than another way to enjoy his work with the various tree's, he would have enjoyed teaching her.  
“Take, you are upset..”  
Amanda's voice was soft, with a hint of sadness that made Takeshi's instincts rebel and demand he soothe her.  
“A little, yes. I would have enjoyed teaching you.”  
She apologized by trailing kisses along his jaw before pulling back with a somewhat impish smile.  
“I only learned the theory... Teach me how to put it into practice?”  
The way Amanda was trailing her claws along his neck made it quite obvious that her attention had shifted away from learning about creating bonsai and onto something far more carnal.  
“I don't think you need anymore of those lessons.”  
The pout on her face when he gently rejected her invitation had everyone laughing and before long the conversation was back on track, ending the night with Yasu giving Takeshi his oath of loyalty.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi watched in silence as Knight walked up to the dais and kneeled before them, he was wearing the traditional Kiryu shozoku over the dragonhide armor.  
“Logan Knight, swear your oath before the Council of Elders in accordance with the Old Accords. Surrender your name and become Kage to the acting head of Kiryu.”  
Only three of the council were present, but it was sufficient to make the oath valid and Knight swore it with calm determination.  
There was a gasp and some murmurs when Takeshi presented Knight with the black blade of the Kage as it was not the traditional katana with a matte black blade, instead it was a significantly longer blade crafted from blood crystal, a mix of Takeshi's own and that of Kiryu, strengthened by a core made from one of Kiryu's strong but light bones.  
Kiryu's eastern form decorated the blade while the Tsuba and Menuki were in the shape of the Shamarai flower.  
“You may have surrendered your name, Kage, but you are still of Pack Kiryu, still of House Shamarai, the rules of the Council hold no sway over that.”  
The surprise, and gratitude that shifted through Knight's face and aura made Takeshi very happy, his plan, his gesture had succeeded in showing Knight that he was still valued, still one of Takeshi's chosen family.  
“Thank you Alpha.”  
With a teasing smile Takeshi grabbed Knight by the shoulders and pulled him up a bit so that he could give him a harsh kiss, dominating, demanding and Knight submitted.  
“I leave the sister of my heart in your care. Protect her as you would me. And obey her as you would Em.”  
The last bit caused quite a bit of laughing, Knight had never been too good at obeying Takeshi without questioning him, but his reverence for the Lilim made him obey Emelie without question.  
“I will, I swear.”

Feeling a gentle brush of Dan's aura Takeshi stepped aside and watched as Dan stepped up in front of Knight and began to push at him with his aura.  
After a few moments Knight forced himself to submit and was rewarded with a kiss on the forehead before Dan leaned in and bit into the pack mark, adding more of his energy and altering it slightly, signaling that he accepted Knight's submission, and welcomed him back as full member of the pack, no longer the omega.  
“Thank you Dan, Beta.”  
They could all tell that it took some effort for Knight to submit and refer to Dan as beta, but to everyone relief he managed to do it, restoring the balance of the pack.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi opened his eyes with a hiss at the sharp pain from Jenna's claws digging into his chest, but it was a good pain, the kind of pain that burned hot and brief before giving way to pleasure.  
“Mmm, demanding are we?”  
She didn't answer him, instead she curled her claws into his chest again while moving slowly against him, riding out her release while trying to pull him with her into the abyss.  
He didn't give in though, instead he waited for her to still before rolling over and pinning her beneath him to take his pleasure from her body, and giving all of himself while doing so.  
He could tell that Jenna was concerned about the fact that she still hadn't conceived despite them having sex several times each day during her fertile periods.  
The past few days there had been subtle shifts in her scent though that lead him to believe she was finally pregnant, but he wouldn't say anything until he was sure, unless she outright asked him.

Unable to sleep Takeshi looked at the sparkling lights in Jenna's night sky ceiling, using sanctuary crystals instead of the usual fiber-optics it looked very realistic and he found it to be relaxing as he allowed his mind to drift.  
It was nearly a year since they returned to their island and the world remained at the hair-trigger of a new World War.  
There had been a few rough patches, especially as the girls all wanted to move to a city, but he had managed to convince them to wait until after the war, after _Operation Blackout_.  
While he wasn't really concerned for their safety he was worried about the potential emotional impact if they made friends out there, only to lose them in the chaos that would be brought on by his planned actions.

He was brought from his musings when Jenna stirred slightly and snuggled closer against him, her scent telling him that she was no longer in her fertile cycle, and it added to his suspicion that she was carrying.  
If she was following the same cycle as he had before she should have remained fertile for another 3 days, making him believe that she was ending her cycle early because she had conceived.  
He wouldn't know for sure for a while longer though, he had no idea how long she would be carrying, but he should be able to sense the energy of their offspring within a few weeks of conception.  
“Welcome back to the world of the living, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”  
“Mhm, you make a pretty decent pillow.”  
“Only decent?”  
He mock complained.  
“Mhm, all lean muscle and no soft padding.”  
She poked at the muscles of his chest as she spoke, watching them twitch slightly as she gently traced them with a sharp claw.  
“Oh, are you saying I should put on some weight?”  
Jenna just scoffed at him before putting her head on his shoulder and curling into his side.

Closing his eyes Takeshi focused on Jenna's scent and aura, slowly sifting through every nuance, focusing on the new aspect of her scent, carefully analyzing the unfamiliar pheromones.  
The new scent was slowly growing more prominent, indicating a shift in her hormones, strengthening Takeshi's conviction that they had finally been successful, that she was now in the early stages of pregnancy.  
He guessed that the shift in pheromones was caused by the cascade of hormonal changes as the embryo attached to the uterus wall, triggering her body to prepare to nurture the growing life.

The reactions of the demonic members of the household as they joined them for breakfast further confirmed that Jenna was indeed carrying.  
Ylian's reaction was somewhat subtle as they catered to her needs, offering her choice pieces of food not only for her taste, but also items that would be good for her and increase her chances of a successful pregnancy.  
Eriko became somewhat protective, especially against Emelie as instincts told her that the female alpha of a pack would not look kindly upon a lesser female becoming pregnant, especially not by the alpha male.  
Despite knowing that Emelie had no objections instincts still held a powerful sway and Eriko would probably remain vigilant for quite some time.  
“I really am pregnant this time, aren't I?”  
“I think so, but it's still early so don't get your hopes up too high sweetie.”  
Takeshi gently cautioned her.  
“I know...”  
Jenna's mood dropped slightly when he reminded her that somewhere between one third and half of all pregnancies miscarry during the first trimester, often without the female ever being aware she had been pregnant.  
“Don't worry Jenna, we will do what we can to reduce the risk.”  
Everyone immediately joined in Takeshi's promise to help in any way they could.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Calm Before the Storm_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Much to everyone's relief Jenna's pregnancy seemed to progress well, though significantly slower than a human, at 6 months the fetus showed a growth equivalent to that of a 3 month human fetus.  
Takeshi was happy to see that their child carried the Blessing, strong and true, though it did present them with some potentially rather interesting complications as the fetus was clearly not in humanoid form.  
It might change as the pregnancy progressed, but based on what he knew about other blessed chances were that the baby would be born in the form of a lion cub, possibly with wings and a fully functional venom stinger.  
They had already decided that if the baby had fully formed wings when it was time for the birth they wouldn't even try a natural birth and instead do a C-section to make sure there would be no issues with the wings.

The pack and the girls were all showing a strong urge to protect Jenna, cater to her every need and making sure she didn't strain herself, even Munin would repeatedly go out hunting and return with various treats in the form of small birds, reptiles and mammals, even fruits and herbs.  
However, Hugin's reaction had Takeshi concerned as he seemed to become increasingly agitated and for the past few days he had been showing signs of being in pain.

“Hugin, what is wrong?”  
Takeshi asked again, this time with a bit more force, but as before Hugin refused to answer him and instead fled to his raven form and began worrying Takeshi's ear.  
“Please don't make me use my power against you...”  
The answering caw was almost sad and it made it even harder for Takeshi, he really didn't want to force Hugin to tell him what was wrong, but at the same time he didn't want him to be in pain and not know why.  
Even if he might not be able to help Hugin he at last wanted to know the cause.  
“Hugin, are you going through Brooding Fever?”  
Ylian interrupted their little battle of wills and Hugin's reaction was uncharacteristically strong, the loud caw was filled with denial, defiance and simmering rage over an undercurrent of fear.  
But no matter how much Hugin tried to deny Ylian's diagnose they could both feel the lie.  
“My dear sweet Hugin, you should have told me.”  
The soft warble that answered him was void of the previous anger and all that remained was the fear.  
“I am somewhat offended that you would believe that we would think less of you for suffering the Brooding Fever.”  
Hugin instantly voiced soft, apologetic chirps while brushing his head against the underside of Takeshi's jaw.  
“No, you are not getting off that easy. Brooding fever in a male is really dangerous if not dealt with. You should have told me right away.”

Brooding fever was not uncommon in egg-laying species, though it was usually the females that were afflicted.  
As the name suggested the fever caused an abnormally strong need to brood and and would normally just cause the afflicted female to become intensely protective of an unfertilized egg, making her protect and care for it as she would a fertile egg, and she would usually snap out of it after a while as the instinctive side of her realized that the egg was not hatching.  
Sometimes though it could be triggered outside of the egg-laying cycle, or by the loss of an egg, in which case the female might not snap out of it until she was ready to lay her next egg, and that could be delayed by the deterioration in her health.  
In extreme cases it could be fatal for the afflicted female, to prevent that she would be given an infertile egg donated by another female that she could brood and then snap out of it the normal way when it didn't hatch.  
It was fairly rare for males to be afflicted, but when they were it could be very serious as they couldn't lay eggs, they were dependent on having a female whose egg they could help care for.  
Mated males would usually suffer the effects in sync with their mates cycle, making it fairly easy to snap them out of, it was however worse for unmated males, or males in a same sex relationship like Hugin.  
Hugin had apparently been triggered by Jenna's pregnancy and they had no way of bringing him out of it.

“It's never been this bad before.”  
Takeshi almost missed the soft chirps and it took a moment for him to realize just what Hugin was saying.  
“Hugin, you knew you were susceptible to Brooding fever, and you didn't tell me?”  
Takeshi's voice was soft but the disappointment mixed with pain and sadness was clear for anyone to hear and it made Hugin deflate into utter devastation and return to his humanoid form.  
“I'm sorry. Please. I am so sorry...”  
“Ssh, easy love.”

It took a while for both of them to calm down enough to start talking about the issue at hand.  
Hugin needed access to an egg to break him out of the brooding fever, but neither wanted him to go to the Demon Realm alone, and Takeshi's instincts rebelled at the idea of him leaving Jenna while she was carrying, and they both refused to even consider the risk of her traveling across the realms.  
“Perhaps I could travel and find a suitable egg?”  
Ylian offered, but Jenna instantly objected, not wanting them to leave as they were the only member of the pack that had any experience having children, and had extensive knowledge of non human pregnancies.  
“I think our best chance is Munin, but we don't know how long he will be away, last time they went out they didn't return for almost a month.”  
Takeshi was getting desperate, they had already tried contacting the Shamarai estate, but the spawns were not there and there was no one available that could travel safely.

“Um, Hugin...?”  
Maria's tone was somewhat hesitant as she turned to Hugin who was resting in Takeshi's lap.  
The pained caw that answered her was clearly exhausted and it made everyone present wince slightly in concern and Takeshi could smell Maria's tears.  
“Does the egg have to be an obsidian egg?”  
Hugin didn't answer her right away, but after a while he shook his head.  
_“As long as it carries demonic energy it should work.”_  
Hugin spoke slowly to make it easier for Maria to understand him, but it clearly took a lot of effort to even speak the Obsidian language.  
“Sweetie, if you have an idea, please tell us...”  
Takeshi was almost begging, Hugin's pain was tearing at him, he had already tried using his soul name, but it wasn't enough to override such a basic, primal instinct.  
“The Phoenix egg. It's almost ready to hatch, maybe it would help if we make a nest for it then Hugin can incubate it until it hatches...”  
Instead of answering her Takeshi grabbed her and gave her a kiss on the forehead before trailing a few soft kisses along her jaw, overwhelmed by emotion as she had pointed out something that they all had failed to consider.  
They already had an egg of demonic origin, an egg that would benefit from being properly incubated rather than being stored within Takeshi's soul.

“Go on Hugin, find a nice nesting spot while the girls collect materials for you to use.”  
They had agreed that the best course of action was to have Hugin give in to the fever and build the nest himself, and once it was completed Takeshi would bring out the egg.  
The girls were scampering all over the island collecting branches, vines and grasses for Hugin to use, and Takeshi was preparing a transportation circle to bring materials from his storage in the Obsidian Halls, mainly a selection of long furs, soft underfur, feathers, even clay.  
“What's the matter Hugin, not finding a spot you fancy?”  
Emelie's tone was teasing, but there was genuine concern hidden beneath as she watched Hugin do another lap around the inner garden, inspecting every nook and cranny for a suitable place to build his nest.  
Hugin's annoyed caw made her snicker and offer him a piece of mango to distract him for a while.  
“Em, maybe we should help him by constructing a suitable platform.”  
Ylian had just arrived with a large basket filled with fresh coconuts for the hardy fibers.  
“I'm willing to try anything, susai. Any suggestions for how it should look?”  
“Start with a round platform, about this high, and this wide.”  
Ylian indicated a meter of the ground and roughly two meters in diameter.  
“Make it it slightly bowl shaped about this deep, then add protruding stakes like when weaving a basket, about as long as the bowl is deep.”  
Ylian held up their hands to show a depth of about 20 centimeters.  
“Wait, that sounds familiar... I saw something like that in one of the stores at the Obsidian market. So that's like the Obsidian version of a crib?”  
“A nesting platform would be more appropriate, but yes.”  
Emelie quickly created a smaller version of the item she had seen, looking very much like a cross between a shallow chalice and a tiered cookie tray before calling out to Hugin.  
“Come here gorgeous, would like one of these?”  
She held up the small item for him and was rewarded with a happy chirp.  
“Well go on, show me where you want it.”

Hugin quickly took of into the small private section of the garden and landed on the small couch with excited caws.  
“Take, Susai, get the furniture out of here please.”  
“Yes, love.”  
“Of course alpha.”  
Ylian's tone was teasing and earned them a slap from her tail.  
Once the small shielded section of the garden had been cleared Emelie placed the crystal on the floor and made it grow to the size that Ylian had suggested and stepped back so Hugin could inspect it.  
“Ellipse? You want me to change the shape into an ellipse?”  
The sharp caw confirmed Emelie's translation of the rapid chirps and caws, his caws and chirps a bit too fast for her to keep up with what he was trying to say.  
“Better like this?”  
She altered the shape of the nesting platform so that it was a 2 by 1 meter ellipse which earned her a series of happy chirps.

Everyone watched as Hugin carefully sifted through the offered materials but he didn't seem to find what he was looking for, then suddenly he flew at one of the fire crystal torches and knocked it to the ground, shattering it before picking up the shards and carrying them to the nest and placing them in the bottom of the bowl.  
“Of course! Warmth! Susai, help me clear the transport circle.”  
They quickly cleared it and Emelie changed the runes slightly and activated it, bringing in a large crate holding four large amphorae.  
Taking one of them she opened it and called for Hugin.  
“How about we pour some of this in the bottom?”  
The amphora contained a fine sand of fire crystal and it was quickly given Hugin's approval and the jagged shards were removed and layer of the warm sand poured into the bowl.  
“Take, do we still have that crate with those smooth fire crystals?”  
“We do, I will bring it here, you go help him pick through the materials. And take Jenna with you, I think it would be good if she helps him build it as it is her pregnancy that has triggered it.”

The construction of the nest soon involved the entire pack and the other girls kept bringing in various materials, both for construction and for decoration.  
“Try these.”  
Jenna held out a bunch of coconut fibers that she had carefully peeled away from the green outer layer of the fresh nuts and Hugin quickly snatched them and began weaving them into the construction.  
“Hugin, please let me...”  
She carefully nudged him to make him move over so she could use the modified needle that Emelie had created to push the fibers into the weave of branches and straw.

Satisfied with the basic shape Hugin began to add clay to the inside of the structure and secure finer grass fibers into the clay.  
Another layer of grass and long fur was woven and several of the larger, smooth, pebbles of fire crystal was woven into it in the center of the boat shaped bowl.  
Large amounts of soft wool and down was stuffed into the nest before Hugin perched at the edge with a proud caw, telling them he was done.

“It's beautiful. You did really well.”  
Takeshi inspected the nest much like how a mate would in the wild and praised Hugin's construction before bringing the phoenix egg out of his soul and placing it in the indent in the bottom of the nest.  
“Go ahead, make yourself comfortable.”  
The soft chirps and caws that followed had no real meaning, they were just Hugin's own way of cooing at the egg, instinctively trying to soothe the life growing within.

The pack was relaxing after having put away all the nesting materials they had gathered for Hugin while keeping it close at hand in case he wanted to make changes to the nest, but for now he seemed calm, chirping softly as he rested on top of the egg, half asleep.  
“Take-san, I am sorry to disturb.”  
“What is it Angel?”  
“It has begun.”

Three simple words and the reality of the world came crashing down around them.

 


	89. War

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Angel's announcement brought a sharp chill through the auras of everyone present.  
War.  
Not just any war, but World War 3 had just begun, and with it came a grim task that needed to be done if mankind was to survive.

“Angel, initiate fail-safe protocols and prepare full lock down on all weapons of mass destruction. And send out the rallying call to our assets.”  
“Right away. Do you want the tactical display here or in your study?”  
Takeshi was just about to ask Angel to put it up in his study when Dan spoke up.  
“Here please. We have no intention of allowing him to hide away alone in his study, and it will get rather uncomfortable with all us us in there.”  
Takeshi was about to object, but the combined glares of his entire pack made him relent with a sigh.  
“It's okay Angel, do as he asks.”  
A large number of screens with tactical data came to life and Angel gave a quick briefing to bring them up to date on the current status of the conflicts.

They had all agreed that they would try to wait one week before launching the attack to destroy earth's power production and fuel depots, with the war going public in a big way a lot of people would begin to stockpile things like water and non perishable foods.  
Most would still be woefully unprepared, but it should at least reduce the death toll slightly and Ylian had made a harsh, but valid, point that it would increase the survival chances for humankind as a species by weeding out the weak, those who failed to make preparations.  
Unfortunately it would also hit hard against those who lacked the means to prepare, but there was no way to avoid that.

“Angel, can you try to find more information on these troop movements here, here and here please? I need to know exactly where these carrier groups are headed, what their objectives are.”  
Takeshi pointed toward a total of four carrier groups, two heading into the South Pacific, one moving north from Antarctica into the Indian Ocean and a fourth one heading into the South Atlantic.  
“They are most likely headed into the Arabian Sea to safeguard US oil interest, but I need confirmation.”  
Angel's usual galaxy display swirled silently for a moment before she spoke up again.  
“Do I have permission to lift system restriction?”  
“Yes. All non Alpha-registry restrictions are lifted.”  
Due to her immense capacity to learn Angel had a quite large set of restriction applied to her, regulating what she could and could not do, prohibiting things like accessing private or restricted data without direct orders to do so.  
The Alpha-registry held the most vital ones, like the safeguards that prohibited her from killing, but causing harm was in the Beta-registry, so with all but the Alpha-registry restrictions lifted she was allowed to hurt people to get what she wanted, just not kill them.  
“New restriction parameters acknowledged. Thank you.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Ah, thank you Manda.”  
Takeshi thanked her with a quick kiss after taking the tray with tea and treats that she and the other girls had prepared while Takeshi and those with military and tactical training focused on the stream of reports on the war.

“Angel, do you have that update on the mobilization of UN ground forces in Turkey?”  
“It's still compiling, roughly 15% of the data is missing.”  
“Okay, give me a preliminary estimate while we wait please.”  
The holographic displays instantly updated with the new estimates and Takeshi muttered a few low curses.  
“If this estimate holds we will have to move up the timetable on our plans and strike before they can move their troops to secure the oilfields and depots.”  
“I will calculate targeting and firing solutions based on the new estimates.”  
“Please do.”  
Takeshi watched as Angel recalculated the firing solutions to find an optimal sequence to take out the primary targets as fast as possible, while at the same time not compromising the satellites ability to defend from any attempt to disable them and reserving sufficient firepower to take out any missiles launched at the surface.  
“Firing solution 3 and 5 can both be initiated immediately without re-positioning the satellite grid, so upload those to the Titan please.”  
“As you wish.”  
Takeshi quickly gave Angel his personal authorization code to enable her to bypass her 'Do not kill' restriction and initiate the upload of the data to the Titan satellite, as the attacks would lead to human casualties she was unable to proceed any further with the Alpha-registry still active.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

“Mmm, your touch is pure magic...”  
Takeshi hummed as Ylian kneaded the tension from his shoulders, but most of his attention was focused on Emelie who was straddling him, intent on helping him release the built up tension of the past few days.  
“I aim to please, Alpha.”  
Takeshi huffed at the teasing tone in Ylian's voice, but he could feel the truth of the words in the cool energy that was pressed against his back.  
He sorely needed it though, he had already gone two nights without sleep when Angel announced that the war had begun, he had intended to sleep that night, but Hugin's brooding fever had disrupted those plans.  
And during the 3 days since he had only left the screens to relieve himself and the lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll.  
The low growl as his precious soulmate brought him to his release had Ylian snickering at him.  
“You are becoming more and more in tune with your demon side, I wouldn't be surprised if you fully merge with that shadow you carry within.”  
Takeshi didn't respond to Ylian's prodding, instead he focused on stealing Emelie's breath away with a searing kiss.

Takeshi had been aware of the merger between himself and the Beast for a while now, and it was obvious that Ylian was sensing it, probably due to the fact that they were an Avatar of Shadow.  
The merger felt rather strange, even unsettling at times, the Beast had been a companion within his mind for a long time and now its presence was growing less distinct.  
Matters where he would previously have asked the Beast, had a conversation with it, he now found himself just knowing the answer, yet still aware that the knowledge was not his own.

Clearing the thoughts from his mind he broke of the kiss with a gentle nip to Emelie's lip before twisting around so he could give Ylian a kiss as well.  
When Emelie returned to the pile of sleeping bodies that was the pack's current state Ylian stayed behind with Takeshi, abandoning their usual form they curled around their alpha in the form of a dark mist.  
Takeshi unfurled his aura slightly to encourage Ylian to come closer as the shadeling found the heat and sharpness of his aura uncomfortable when it was in its usual tightly compressed form.  
He smiled as the shift in his aura caused his pack to stir slightly in their slumber, and he watched them shift around with a few soft mumbles and sighs, even Hugin responded with a rustle of feathers and a few sleepy caws.  
_“Thank you for staying with me.”_  
Takeshi's silent words of gratitude carried several layers, thanking Ylian not only for their presence at the moment, but the decision to stay in the human realm.  
Ylian responded by pushing their energies deeper into Takeshi's aura, and letting a trickle of energy to flow into the very core of his soul, a silent offer for him to feed of the abundant energy of an old and powerful creature that could draw on the power of an Avatar.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was watching a live feed from the sensors carried by the crew of the Thunderhead stealth destroyer that had been named _'Susanoo'_ after the Shinto God of storms and the sea.  
She had diverted from her patrol when her crew detected a coastal village being held hostage by a mercenary crew hired by the local government and now her crew was preparing to strike against the mercenaries to free the village.  
Her crew moved silently, and had managed to take out most of the mercenaries before anyone noticed they were there, and thanks to that the casualties had been kept to a minimum.  
Though Takeshi did ask Angel to make sure to keep an eye on the sniper, he was young, but showed great promise.  
“And give them all a nice bonus, they did well.”  
“I will.”  
“Thank you Angel.”

Takeshi startled slightly when Dan placed a large tray down on the table rather roughly.  
“Angel, would you be a sweetheart and cut him off for a while so I can talk to him without distractions.”  
“As you wish Dan.”  
Takeshi was about to object but the strong sense of concern that accompanied Dan's glare made him change his mind.  
“You haven't slept for almost a week, you need rest.”  
When he didn't answer Dan pushed the tray into his hands.  
“Hugin hasn't been eating as much as he should, go make sure he eats all of that, then stay with him for a few hours, get some rest.”  
“This is hardly the time to.”  
“Alpha, please. As much as it is you duty to look after the pack, it's my duty to look after you.”  
Takeshi bared his fangs and growled at the interruption, but Dan was right, it was the duty of the beta to look after the alpha.  
“Please, go take care of your simoro, rest and try to sleep.”  
“Fine...”  
Takeshi grabbed the tray, but before he could stand up he found himself blocked by Dan.  
“Promise me you will try to sleep for a few hours at least.”  
Dan's concern was nearly overwhelming Takeshi's senses so he quickly gave in and promised he would try his best to get some proper sleep.

When he entered the inner part of the garden where Hugin was nesting he was greeted by a warning caw and a rather puffed up raven, but the threatening display didn't bother him in the least.  
“Now, now my beautiful little raven, is that any way to greet your simoro?”  
The answering caw was definitely defiant, but Takeshi ignored it, and the open beak, in favor of brushing his hand over Hugin's head and down his wings, gently soothing the puffed up feathers.  
“Dan tells me you have been refusing to eat. Care to let me know why?”  
The soft, apologetic, chirps made it quite clear that Hugin was too deep into the instincts of his raven form to give a proper answer.  
“You shouldn't make my poor beta worry like that, he cares a lot about you, and your well being.”  
Hugin's mood switched back to defiance, but this time to cover up his embarrassment at being reminded of the growing relationship between him and Dan.  
“Go on, eat.”  
When Takeshi offered a slice of meat Hugin greedily gulped it down before opening his beak and flicking his wings slightly while cawing softly, acting like a juvenile begging for food and Takeshi quickly gave him a slice of mango that vanished just as fast as the meat had.  
Hugin would no doubt be embarrassed about the begging when he returned to his true self, but Takeshi found the display to be rather endearing.  
Making up his mind Takeshi quickly gathered the last bits of Hugin's food and placed it one of the small bowls and placed the bowl on the edge of the nesting platform before shifting into a raven himself.  
He carefully landed on the edge of the nest and fed Hugin the last bits of food before giving him a gentle push to urge him to move over, silently offering to sit on the egg for a while so that Hugin could stretch his wings and preen.  
While the transformed angel had no actual **need** to preen he still had the raven's instinct to do so and after a few moments he moved away from the egg and kept a careful eye on Takeshi to make sure he took proper care of the egg.  
Satisfied that Takeshi would keep the egg warm Hugin flew up to the edge of the roof where he began preening, but he still kept an eye on the nest.  
Satisfied that his feathers were in acceptable order he took into the air and Takeshi watched as he showed of the aerobatics that the ravens were prone to, flying up high, then folding his wings and turning over on his back, falling like a rock before unfolding his wings and righting himself just above the treetops.  
He never left Takeshi's sight though, always staying in sight of the nest and before long he returned and spent some more time on the edge of the nest preening before nudging Takeshi to move over so he could return to the egg.  
Takeshi moved aside, but didn't return to his true form, instead he began preening the feathers at the back of Hugin's head and was rewarded with soft coo's and a sharp beak gently preening his own feathers.  
Once Hugin was settled down again Takeshi left the nest and shifted back to his human form before settling down into the bedding that had been spread around the base of the nesting platform.  
Mere minutes later Takeshi was sleeping deeply, finally allowing the exhaustion from everything that had happened in the past week catch up with him.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When Takeshi woke up he found that the twins had joined him during his sleep, both of them curled against him in their small pup form and he took a deep breath, sorting through every nuance of their scents.  
He could smell Dan close by and the familiar scent was laced with a hint of restless anticipation, it would seem he had been waiting for him to wake up, but it was mixed with frustration that made Takeshi curious.  
Opening his eyes he was met by the sight of Dan trying to feed Hugin pieces of avocado but without much success.  
“Hugin, don't be like that, you will upset our poor Dan if you keep refusing the food he offers you.”  
Hugin and Dan both startled when he spoke up.  
Takeshi could feel Dan's agitation settle down when Hugin took the offered treat with an apologetic warble.  
“There you go.”  
Takeshi slowly got up from the floor and the sharp scent of arousal from Dan as he stretched the sleep from his muscles made him smirk.  
“Come here mate. Give your alpha some breakfast.”  
Dan blushed and huffed at Takeshi's teasing beckon, but he did move closer and bared his neck, offering himself, his blood to his mate and alpha.  
Takeshi took a few drops of the offered blood while he slowly removed Dan's clothes, allowing some of the vampiric power to set a fire in Dan that matched his own.  
No longer caring about the presence of the twins he pushed his mate, his lover, down into the bedding and claimed what was so eagerly given, smiling at the delicious sounds he was able to pull from him.  
The muttered complaints from the twins as they moved over and the appreciative chirps from Hugin who was watching them from his place in the nest only made him smile wider.

“Congratulations little beta, you did well to make our alpha obey.”  
Ylian's teasing praise made Dan blush vividly, and after a few moments he flared his aura slightly and Ylian backed down, baring their neck in symbolic submission.  
Over the past months Ylian's place in the pack had solidified well and for the most part they acted as a third beta, stepping in whenever Dan or Amanda wasn't around, they also taught both of them a lot about being a beta.  
Though, Takeshi did complain a bit about the fact that Ylian had taught them to see beneath his barriers, to pick up the signs when he was hiding his feelings, they were getting far to good at spotting it, and especially Dan refused to allow it once he sensed it.  
But Takeshi also knew that it was needed for the future of the pack, he needed them to protect him, protect his heart, just as he protected them.  
His house, his pack, his mates, his lovers, they were the armor of his soul, mending his heart, protecting him from the pain of what he had to be, without them he would lose himself to the darkness.  
And in the coming days he would need them more than ever before, come nightfall _'Operation Blackout'_ would commence.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take! Come swim with me!”  
Miri was repeatedly leaping out of the water of the small pond and splashing him with water as she landed.  
He was just about to scold her for almost getting his sandwich wet when the slice of rye bread with a thick slice of salted, smoked, meat vanished from his hand, courtesy of her starfish grappler.  
“Miri, that's that's not very nice.”  
“Come swim with me! You haven't joined me all week and you promised!”  
Doing a quick mental check he realized she was right, it was much too long since he spent time in the water playing with her, the garden pond much to small for him to swim in, but Miri didn't seem to mind, she was just as happy swimming in circles around him as long as he was in the water with her.  
“You're right. I'm sorry sweetie.”  
He quickly removed his clothes and slipped into the pond before asking Amanda to bring him some more food, food that was suitable to share with Miri.  
“Miri, be careful with the bread, you don't want to get sick again.”  
Miri, Arc and her pups all had a hard time digesting grain based foods like bread and pasta, but they all seemed to love the taste and texture of it, especially bread.  
She looked up with a look on her face that was somewhere between 'Busted' and impish that made Takeshi laugh and offer her a piece of sashimi instead which she reluctantly traded for the bread.  
After sharing some food with Miri Takeshi shifted into the naga form he had used in Atlantis and slowly sank to the bottom of the small pond, it did take a bit of focus to remain calm while coiled up in the small space, instincts telling him that the body of water was too small to sustain him.  
But the Sanctuary plants that grew in the water made sure it was clean and had plenty of oxygen for aquatic creatures to breathe and he slowly forced down the borrowed instincts and made himself comfortable.  
The taste of playful joy and happiness in the water calmed his instincts even further and Miri's high pitched calls as she darted away from his hands echoed against the surfaces of the pool.  
With a teasing smile he began to sing one of the whale-songs that the dolphin pod had taught him, it was a song that gave shape to dreams, echoing illusions that a skilled singer could make seem real to those who relied on echolocation to give their world shape.  
He didn't possess the skill the old matriarch of the pod did, but he could sing it well enough to create ghosts that drifted through the water like wisps of fog.  
While Miri didn't rely on echolocation and was unable to create the sounds herself she was able to hear and interpret them, and she happily closed her eyes and chased the illusions that his song created.

When Miri grew bored of chasing the ghost echoes she swam back to Takeshi and he froze slightly when she gently brushed her fins against his gill covers, once could have been by mistake, but she did so repeatedly, and quite intentionally.  
Among the merfolk and aquatic naga alike it was a very intimate action, an invitation, a prelude to courtship.  
“Miri...?”  
She instantly darted away and left a somewhat unpleasant taste of sadness and embarrassment on the water, a taste tinged by hints of fear and shame, it would seem she misinterpreted his questioning tone..  
“Miri, come here. We need to talk.”  
She slowly swam closer, her fins hanging somewhat, showing her hesitance.  
“You did that intentionally, didn't you?”  
“Mhm..”  
“Don't you think you are a bit too much of a _tzjid_ for that?”  
The Atlantean word _Tzjid_ could mean several things, the literal translation would be fish fry, but it was also used more generally about something very small, or very young.  
“Not for long...”  
The teasing smile and somewhat singsong tone piqued his curiosity.  
“Oh? Is our little tzjid ready to grow up?”  
“Mhm...”

Miri's subspecies of merfolk grew in three distinct stages with rapid growth-spurts between the stages.  
They were born in a rather well developed juvenile form, the form Miri was currently in, and remained unchanged while they mentally matured, once they reached a certain maturity they entered a rapid development cycle where they grew from juveniles into sexually mature adolescents in a matter of weeks, they also underwent a rapid mental development in this time.  
They remained in the adolescent form until they were mentally and spiritually mature enough to form a mating bond at which time they underwent another rapid growth cycle into their adult form.  
When her species reached the mental aspect of sexual maturity they began to engage mature individuals in a mimicry of courting behaviors.  
A sexually mature individual would brush against the one they desired while saturating the water with pheromones to show interest, and availability, and if the other part were receptive they would respond by releasing their own courting pheromones.  
The juveniles lacked the ability to produce these pheromones, but the intentional brushing against the gill covers triggered an instinctive release of specific pheromones in the mature individual and exposure to those pheromones helped trigger the growth-spurt.

“Well, in that case give me your best, and I shall enjoy planning my revenge.”  
Miri blushed vividly and darted away when he teasingly brushed a finger along her tail, but she quickly returned with an almost dazed look as he allowed instincts to rise and the water became saturated with his pheromones.  
She resumed her lazy brushing against his gill, but after a while she paused and began carefully tasting the water before looking up at him with wide eyes, she had obviously noticed the hint of anticipation he was feeling.  
His words may have been teasing, but he was truly looking forward to her growing up, to the possibility of sharing more than pheromones and teasing touches.  
As she was now however she was very much still a child, but once the growth spurt began she would rapidly mature into a mix of teenager and a young adult.

Miri had managed to wear herself out rather quickly and had decided to curl up on Takeshi's chest to nap and he had allowed it for a while before gently waking her.  
“I'm sorry sweetie, as much as I would love to stay here and be your bed all day I have things I need to do.”  
She nodded silently, but when he was about to step out of the water she reached up for him, begging to be picked up.  
With a smile he grabbed the small container that they used to carry her in and filled it with water before scoping her up and carrying her with him to the table where he did most of his work.  
Next to the table was a small tank shaped like a pillar with a bowl on top that was filled with water and a few sanctuary plants and creatures and he helped Miri move from the carrier to the tank where she curled up and went back to sleep.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, please.. Your energy, it too cold, it hurts...”  
Takeshi's aura was growing increasingly dark as the time remaining on the countdown to Operation Blackout quickly began to run out and Miri had reached the limit for her tolerance and voiced a pained complaint.  
“I'm sorry. Maybe you should join Arc in the lagoon until this is over? I'm afraid my control will only get worse.”  
“No!”  
Her refusal was instant and she gripped the edges of her little tank tightly.  
“Are you sure? My aura will become a lot darker, and colder, as these events unfold. I don't want to hurt you as well.”  
“I'll manage, just please, don't make me leave. Pack stays together!”  
The stubborn determination caused a surge of pride, despite the taint of sadness, fear and pain.  
“You are right, pack stays together, so don't worry, I won't make you leave unless it becomes dangerous for you to stay.”  
He surrendered to her determination, but she wasn't all too happy with his answer, but she accepted it with a grumbled complaint about his protectiveness.

Looking back at the countdown it showed that it was less than 10 minutes left until all the satellites reached their optimum positions for the selected target sequence and Takeshi took a deep breath to try to steady himself.  
“Relax, alpha. Allow me to protect the others from your darkness and ice.”  
Takeshi accepted Ylian's offer with gratitude, as a shadeling the chill and darkness didn't bother them, quite the opposite, Ylian found the heat of Takeshi's normal energies to be uncomfortable.  
“Thank you, ami.”  
As Takeshi slowly allowed his aura to unfurl Ylian reached out for the patches of cold darkness and used their own energy to gather them and layered their own aura over them as a buffer so that the others weren't bothered by them.  
Emelie came closer though and reached out for the darkness, her own shadow nature making her unbothered by the chill.  
Reaching out and touching the darkness was her own way of showing Takeshi that she accepted his darker side, that it didn't bother her or in any way diminish her love for him.  
As the last few minutes ticked away his pack gathered around, showing their support and he could even feel Knight through the bond, though rather muted due to the distance.  
Soon all the girls were gathered around him as well, Hugin didn't leave the nest, but he voiced soft caws and reached out over the bond, offering his support as well.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

“Takeshi, all units are in position. But I need Alpha authorization to initiate Operation Blackout.”  
Takeshi closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, the dreaded moment had come, he would now have to give the order that would end up killing millions.  
With one final breath he opened his mouth to give Angel the authorization she needed to go against her Alpha registry restrictions but just as he was about to speak he was interrupted by Emelie's voice and his eyes snapped open in shock.  
“Operation Black, full parameters authorized.”  
Emelie didn't have the authorization to override them on her own though, only Takeshi did, but while she spoke Dan and Amanda both joined her, and together they authorized the temporary exception from the Alpha registry.  
“Alpha authorization acknowledged, plotting target sequence.”  
Takeshi just stared at his co-alpha and betas, barely noticing the displays lighting up with the first group of targets.  
“I am your mate love. I know how this pains you and I refuse to let you carry it on your own.”  
Dan and Amanda quickly agreed with Emelie and together they smothered Takeshi over the bond, acceptance and love.

“Commencing firing sequence in 30 seconds.”  
Angels initiation of the final countdown drew Takeshi's attention away from his pack and back to the holographic displays.  
His pack as well as his house gathered tightly around him everyone trying their best to touch him, to offer support.  
“T minus 20 seconds”  
There was a slight scuffle as there was simply too many of them to be able to touch him, but the girls found a solution when Alice shifted into her owl form and landed on his shoulder, instantly followed by her sister who landed on his other shoulder.  
The others quickly followed and he found himself swarmed by their animal forms.  
“5”  
“4”  
“3”  
A heavy silence settled over them and the normally comfortable garden suddenly felt small and somewhat cold.  
“2”  
“1”

The holographic display showed the Titan satellite firing a bright beam of light that scattered to each of the smaller satellites that were in it's line of sight, groups of satellites that then amplified and refocused the energy onto their targets.  
The light was just a visualization though, in reality the beams of energy were not visible, there would be no way of determining what had actually happened to the targeted locations.  
Several new displays swirled to life showing various data feeds with information on the progress of the plasma conversion fields and energy readings of each of the satellites and targeted facilities.  
The first few minutes nothing seemed to happen, then the emitters reached full power and with a bright flash large spheres came to life at the targeted facilities and the energy reading spiked.  
The spheres only remained for a few moments during which they grew brighter before they vanished in a blinding flash, along with everything, and everyone, that had been within them.  
There was a short pause where Angel scanned the locations to ensure there was no radiation or pollutants released, and while she did the satellites refocused on the next set of targets.  
The next set of targets were eliminated quite a bit faster than the previous as the energy from the first set was used to speed up the charging process of the plasma conversion fields, but it would still take a lot of time to get all targets.

The Mandrake group had an array of 300 small mirror satellites as well as 10 larger command satellites and the significantly larger Titan satellite, but to ensure full plasma conversion of the nuclear power-plants each facility was targeted by a group of 1 command satellite and 10 mirror satellites.  
The mirrors that were not actively engaged in the amplification or routing of power for the primary targets were systematically picking of targets from a list of military targets such as weapons of mass destruction, both nuclear and biological as well as facilities for their production.

It didn't take long before Angel activated displays showing various emergency broadcasts as well military and government communications about what was happening as the world quickly spiraled into panic.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

“All primary targets have been eliminated.”  
It had taken Angel just over 2 hours to eliminate the nuclear power plants, and another 3 hours to pick off the remaining targets on the primary list.  
“There are no signs of radiation or chemical contamination and minimal casualties. Switching to secondary target list.”  
The secondary list held over 100.000 targets, mostly various non-nuclear powerproduction facilities, but also oil refineries, fuel depots and a few production facilities for low grade power-cells that were using environmentally harmful materials.  
“Angel, how are the government reactions looking?”  
“They are quite literally fumbling around in the dark, scurrying around like rats in a labyrinth.”  
Angel sounded quite amused as she brought up displays showing what little communication was going on.  
Angel reported that international communications were almost entirely down as backup systems were unable to handle the load, many had been poorly maintained, and they were not dimensioned to handle the massive load when all primary systems went down almost simultaneously.  
Many systems had been slow to engage due to the poor maintenance and several had overloaded and burned out, while others kept crashing, giving intermittent communications at best.  
“And the civilian reactions?”  
“Some unease, but information about the blackouts is scarce so most are still assuming they are regular blackouts that will be fixed shorty, once the information starts getting out we will no doubt see widespread panic, rioting and looting.”  
“And the status of the Ghost shelters?”  
“They are all on field-trips to suitable locations capable of being self sustaining, and have stores to last them at least a year.”  
“Good.”  
Takeshi had made preparations to bring the children out of harm's way, he felt responsible for their well being.  
“Most of the Mandrake employee's are gathered at the various facilities and the Hawaii crew are all on location, standing by to prepare and ship generators.”  
“Thank you Angel.”

While Takeshi watched Angel slowly, but steadily work through the long list of secondary targets more and more reports were coming in about civil unrest as information about the destruction of the power-plants began to leak despite the governments' best efforts.  
He was distracted though, a new scent was slowly growing stronger in the garden, an unknown but yet familiar one, but it was still too weak, too subtle, for him to pinpoint it without doing a thorough examination of everyone's scents.  
He filed examining the scents into his list of things to do while he filled a few bowls with various treats for Hugin since he hadn't been eating properly since the brooding fever had started.  
It was normal behavior, an obsidian angel would normally lose a bit of weight during brooding as they ate less, but since Hugin wouldn't leave the egg to eat he was starving himself more than they normally would.

An obsidian angel of Hugin's size and power needed to consume an equivalent of about 10.000 kcal a day, and most of it needed to be meat as the demonic metabolism worked differently, it was more spiritual than physical.  
The fruits and vegetables of the human realm didn't give much nourishment to creatures like Hugin, Ylian, Emelie, or Arc and Miri but they all enjoyed the taste, what they needed was the flesh and blood that had housed the power of a spirit.  
Most demons also were unable to become overweight as they didn't actually store excess energy as fat, instead it was stored as pure energy within their souls, and if their energy stores were full it simply dispersed into the air around them where it was absorbed by the demon-realm plants and insects.  
Some species could grow quite fat though, but that was not an effect of overeating, but rather a part of their nature, they could however become skinny from malnutrition if their energy levels were no longer able to fully sustain them.

“Hugin, what have I said about refusing to eat?”  
The defiant caw held a somewhat teasing undertone as Hugin surrendered and accepted the offered food.  
“Well aren't you the cheeky little raven.”  
The soft warble that was the obsidian form of an apology made Takeshi smile as it was quite obvious that Hugin didn't mean it and when he took the offered slice of meat he gave Takeshi's finger a nip for good measure.  
While feeding Hugin Takeshi took the time to carefully sift through his scent and the scent of the phoenix egg to make sure the new scent didn't come from either of them, which he was quickly able to rule out.  
“Amo, if you promise me you will eat all of this I promise I will spend the night here in the nest with you.”  
Of course he fully intended to do so anyway, but if some mock bribes helped get Hugin to eat he would take full advantage of it.  
The soft caws that answered him sounded very much like grumbled complaints, but the way Hugin's aura brushed against him held the promise he had asked for.  
“That's my good boy.”  
The grumblings instantly turned to an annoyed caw and Takeshi was rewarded with another sharp peck for his teasing.

While he walked back to the others he reached out for Jenna and asked her to keep Hugin company and as she walked by he examined her scent to see if the new scent came from her or the baby in her womb, but once again he found nothing.  
The scent did get stronger however as he got closer to the table where the girls were dismantling a selection of deserts.  
With a huff he re-joined them, he would worry about finding the scent after the meal was done and he had played some with Miri as promised, now that she was ready to go through her growth cycle she needed to be exposed to his pheromones.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

Much to his relief the answer to the mysterious scent was revealed before he had a chance to examine it any further as Amber flared her aura at Ylian when they tried to take the last fruit filled meringue cup.  
The flare of aura carried a distinct edge of dominance and the scent spiked, but with a deeper spice and together with Ylian's reaction to it the puzzle pieces came together, the scent was that of an immature alpha.  
Takeshi honestly had not expected Amber to develop pack characteristics, her nature was feline and they usually did not develop the instincts.  
Now that she did he would have to take some measures to ensure the peace and balance of his family though, Emelie would not tolerate the presence of another female alpha nearby for very long.  
She was fine with Kasumi because the shadow entities that were the source of his and Kasumi's pack instincts were born from the same source so they instinctively considered each other to be blood siblings, completely blocking any mating drive between them.  
So he would have to mark Amber, take her into the pack, and he would have to do it before her pack aspects fully awoke, that way Emelie would be able to focus on the pack bond and allow the instinct to keep the pack together to override the instinct to keep a rival alpha away.

“ _Ami, you know more than me about the awakening of pack traits. Will it be safe to wait until tomorrow night to claim her?”_  
Takeshi reached out for Ylian while he removed the last of his clothes and joined Miri in the pond.  
_“It will, don't worry. It should be at least another moon before she fully awakes, and even then she will register as an immature alpha, not yet a threat.”_  
Takeshi's sigh of relief came out as a stream of bubbles as he had already shifted into his naga form and he smiled as Miri darted over and tried to capture the bubbles.  
_“The Fates really love piling things up, don't they...”_  
He had no doubt that they were behind the timing of Amber's awakening.  
_“They sure do, but you still have time, so relax and focus on giving little Miri what she needs.”_  
Ylian's mind carried a teasing tone that made Takeshi flick his tail toward the surface of the water and send quite a large splash of water against Ylian who was leaning over the pond to be able to see Takeshi during their silent conversation.  
The water passed right through them though as they had anticipated Takeshi's reaction and taken their natural, incorporeal form, and the amusement that brushed against Takeshi's mind was deliciously wicked and filled his mind with images of sinful pleasure.  
He muttered silently as he would have to thank Ylian for that later, his reaction to the images would enhance the potency of his pheromones, which in turn would further accelerate Miri's growth.

Curling his tail along the edge of the pool he allowed the images to play through his mind while he carefully released small bubbles from his gills for Miri to chase, bringing her in close to him, and the pheromone saturated water, rather than diluting it by dispersing it into all of the water.  
The sensation when the soft tips of Miri's fins gently brushed over his gills made him groan, to merfolk and aquatic naga alike, the gills were highly sensitive erogenous zones and the stimulation caused his pheromones to rise even further and he struggled to keep a more physical reaction restrained.  
Miri's teasing touch was not intentional, there might be an instinctual part to it, but Takeshi suspected it was accidental, that she was simply not paying attention to the fact that she was touching him when she swam so close to him to try to catch the bubbles, and stay in the pheromone saturated water.

“Miri...”  
I took him a moment to clear the haze of lust from his mind.  
“I need you to back away a bit.”  
Miri instantly froze and he could sense the turmoil in her aura, she was feeling rejected when he asked her to back away.  
For a moment she just stared at him, then a twitch of her tail caused her to brush slightly harder against his gills which brought out a rather obvious reaction which made her eyes widen, and as she realized just why he had asked her to back away she blushed bright red and darted away.  
But she quickly spun around and locked eyes with him and the water began to taste of a quite alluring mix of teasing curiosity and shy innocence as she slowly swam closer to him again, carefully watching for any sign of him rejecting her advance.  
At first he intended to ask her to stay back, but the avid curiosity in her eyes made him reconsider.  
In her current form there was no way to take things beyond allowing her to explore his body, his reactions to her touch and it would probably leave him quite frustrated, but there were plenty of volunteers to help him with that if needed.  
It was a struggle to maintain eye contact as Miri began to intentionally brush against him, even going as far as using her hands to gently touch the gill covers, all he wanted to do was close his eyes, lean back and enjoy the touch, but as long as she maintained eye-contact so would he.  
After a while she swam up in front of his face and held out her hands, palms forward against his eyes.  
“No look.”  
He was a bit surprised that she spoke English, she had not asked to learn it, or showed any signs of studying it, and while it lacked in grammar her meaning was clear enough so he closed his eyes and leaned back.  
“It's _'Don't look'_.”  
He corrected her gently and was rewarded with a slight tang of embarrassment over the mistake.  
“No need to be embarrassed, you have been teaching yourself, that's quite a task. Especially since you have done so based on Urui, which is not your native language.”  
The embarrassment quickly shifted into joy as he praised her work on learning English and the taste on the water made Takeshi relax further and when he felt her soft touch again he didn't resist his reactions to it.

“Miri... Please...”  
Her curious touches had brought him to the edge, and kept him there for quite a while causing an intense need for release to build.  
“Please what?”  
“Please, either stop, or finish me...”  
For a long moment Miri didn't move and Takeshi was convinced she would back away, but then her aura sharpened and she moved closer, brushing against him again, this time pressing harder.  
“Like this?”  
Her voice held a teasing lilt as she circled around and began swimming up along his tail sliding her body along his.  
“Yes...!”  
He couldn't resist bucking slightly as her tail brushed over his genital slit, in his naga form the pheromones of a fertile female was required for him to gain an erection, but the touch was still highly stimulating, and in his highly aroused state it was enough to push him over the edge.

The flurry of emotions that shifted through her aura and the taste of the water were familiar, he had come across it several times when he was guide to a youth during their first rites, curiosity, embarrassment, wonder, pride.  
Emotions brought out by the realization that it was them that had brought him to such a state, that their touch had made him come undone.  
It made him look forward to the day when her growth spurt was completed, hoping that she would chose him to teach her about the pleasures of her new body, that she would chose the arashiri and him as guide.  
A part of him also hoped that she would pick Arc to be her female guide, and that Arc would accept, hoping that such a thing would make Arc more receptive to his advances as he very much wished to taste her, at least once.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take! What are you doing in my bed?”  
Amber's surprised voice as she spotted him when she exited her small private bathroom made him grin and pat the comforter next to him.  
“Waiting for its owner to join me of course.”  
After a moment's pause he added that he would leave if she wanted him to.

A familiar ripple passed through her aura and a moment later a large feline landed on him and pinned him to the bed as a rough tongue dragged along his face.  
He just laid back and allowed her to have her way while he admired the striking colors of her fur.  
Her feline form had a pattern that looked very much the like the tortoiseshell patterns sometimes found in female house cats, but in deep shades of red amber ranging from an almost gold color to a deep, almost black color and the coat was very short and shiny which made the colors even more vivid.  
After a while he gently grabbed her head and pushed her nose down so he could look into her eyes, the deep cherry amber with gold flecks instantly focused on his own and the ears twitched slightly, revealing her agitation at his uncharacteristic presence in her room.

“If you are done trying to lick my face off I need to have a word with you.”  
She huffed at him, but her ears flicked forward in attention, but the slight twitch in the tip of her tail told him she was still agitated.  
“We need to talk about what happened with Ylian yesterday.”  
_“I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that. I know I was out of line.”_  
Her ears drooped slightly and the shift in her posture as her body sagged made her feel heavier, dead weight.  
“Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. What happened was a display of dominance caused by the awakening of new instincts. And the way Ylian reacted, combined with the shift in your scent makes it quite clear that you are becoming an alpha.”  
She instantly went rigid and her ears flattened against her head.  
_“I have to leave?”_  
She was well aware that extra alphas were rarely tolerated around a pack.  
“No, I won't allow it to come to that. But it can become quite troublesome unless you become a member of the pack before your alpha nature fully awakens.”

A female pack alpha would normally tolerate alpha daughters to remain with the pack as long as they don't challenge her, and if Amber was marked as pack before fully awaking to her new nature then Emelie's instincts would see her as a daughter of the pack.  
There was a possibility that there would be more trouble in the future though, if they had male offspring that turned out to be alphas within the pack, or house.  
Male alphas were less tolerant and would normally drive away any new male alphas and he was unsure if he would be able to curb the instinct to do so.

“ _I... You really? Pack?”_  
Her thoughts were a garbled mess, but the dominant feeling from her was joy.  
“Yes sweetie. Do you accept?”  
A large feline vigorously nodding her head looked rather silly and Takeshi struggled not to laugh.  
“Sweetie, you will have to shift back to your human form for me to mark you.”  
Moments later he had Amber straddling him with a shy smile and he couldn't resist putting his hands on her hips and giving them a slight tug which earned him a brilliant blush.  
Without breaking eye-contact he carefully shifted their position so that she was pinned beneath him, carefully evaluating her reactions.  
He was slightly disappointed as her reactions made it quite clear she was not yet ready for her arashiri, but he hadn't really expected anything else, though, knowing that she was looking forward to it made him look forward to it as well.  
Leaning in he nuzzled junction of her neck and shoulders, greedily drinking in the spike of arousal in her scent before forcing his instincts under control.  
“Ready?”  
“Ready.”  
Sinking his fangs in he quickly poured power into the wound, marking her as pack before pulling back and adding one of the scales from his tattoo to the mark, and as it had with the others it slowly spread down her back.  
“Welcome to the pack Amber. Let's go join the others.”  
“They need to mark me as well, don't they?”  
“Em, Dan and Manda will. Ylian might add a bit of yi's energy to the mark as well, but that will be to help you build resistance to it.”  
Ylian's energy was very different from that of the rest of the pack, and it could be quite uncomfortable when it flowed over the bond and brushed against them, Takeshi and Emelie had shadow energy of their own which protected them, and the energy that Ylian had given Dan as moira protected him.  
The others had all needed a small transfer of energy to help them recognize the energy as non-threatening.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_War_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take-san, the European Union has declared a union-wide State of Emergency.”  
Angels announcement brought Takeshi out of his meditation and he slowly opened his eyes to look at the display.  
“Good, that should make things a little easier. What about the US?”  
“They are still arguing about it.”  
Takeshi voiced a frustrated sigh, it had been a week since they took down the global power production and most countries were on their knees, desperate for a solution, but the US was dragging their heels.  
The US congress apparently felt that declaring a nation wide state of emergency would be a show of weakness, despite almost all states having declared a state of emergency within their domains.

The only states that had not declared a state of emergency was Hawaii and Alaska.  
Hawaii had quite a bit of wind, solar and wave power, the old oil plants only contributing roughly 30% of the island state's power-supply so their destruction had not had a major impact.  
There were brownouts but the Mandrake generators guaranteed stable power to vital functions such as hospitals.

Alaska had rebelled against the coal plants some 20 years ago and closed them all down, enforcing a full ban on fossil fuel plants, instead focusing on geothermal energy and hydroelectric plants.  
They had managed to become self sustaining, though Takeshi intended to slowly work on the decommission of the hydroelectric dams as well due to their impact on fish migration, however that would have to take some time as just blowing the dams would cause huge damage.  
They had destroyed some hydroelectric plants though by destroying equipment inside the plant without damaging the dams, but they had agreed to allow the Alaska dams to remain in operation.

“Well, we can't just keep waiting for them to wise up. Angel, initiate the Titan firing-sequence.”  
“Target selection?”  
“Cut all power-lines connecting the US to outside sources of power.”  
“Target selection acknowledged.”  
“Good. It's time to send out the invitations.”

During their time in the demon realm Takeshi had made a lot of friends, and even more allies that had been willing to swear the oath of fealty to him and to House Shamarai for the sake of restoring the balance of the realms.  
These demons would form the base of his Hawaii government as well as its army, and if needed, if the current plan failed, they would be the force that would conquer Hawaii.  
Right now however they would be his emissaries, carrying the missives containing his ultimatum to the governments of the world, and they would if possible reveal their true forms to the recipients of said missives.  
To bring the human realm to balance the other species were needed, and to simplify things in the long run at least parts of the world's governments needed to be aware of their existence, they would however not reveal the true scope of abilities possessed by the demons as that would probably cause a panic, and attempts to _'wipe out the threat'_.  
He wasn't particularly worried that they would succeed though since Angel had eliminated all weapons that would be capable of posing a real threat, but he did not desire a war between humans and non-humans, such a conflict would further strain the balance of the world..

On the surface the intended government for Hawaii would have no connection to him, to Takeshi Kiryu apart from employing the Mandrake Group to build the new generation of power plants.  
The US representatives might be aware of his status as a 'Non human' but there would be no tangible connection, no proof that he was in fact behind it, it would just be a convenient explanation to why Mandrake had been hired to do the job.  
He would negotiate the treaties himself, but he would do so in his true form, the form of his soul.  
The more his own power had grown and matured the more it began to reject the wolf blood from Amarok, no longer did his soul take the form of the large black wolf, instead his soul form was that of a humanoid dragon, similar to Dan's form.  
He still had the instincts and a lot of the mannerisms like the growling, jaw licking and ear nipping, those would probably never go away, but he was becoming more dragon as his power evolved.

Each missive held an offer of reliable, environmentally sound power production that would also be quite affordable to maintain, it also contained a set of terms, some of the terms applied to all of the offers, like a requirement that they acknowledge Hawaii as a sovereign nation.  
All nations would be required to set aside large areas as nature preserves, and any vulnerable species within their territories were to be protected and given assistance to recover.  
Other terms were individual for each nation, Japan for instance had already signed their agreement, part of the terms that applied was a very strict regulations for fishing and whaling for the next 50 years.  
The purpose was to give the populations a chance to recover as the targeted fishing had severely depleted the populations, especially since the most valued catch were the older, larger specimens that were reproductively valuable.  
After 50 years the populations would be re-evaluated and the restrictions updated, by not outright banning the fishing and whaling old traditions and cultural traits such as the consumption of whale and tuna would be allowed to continue, just in a somewhat more restricted manner as the previous prime catches were no longer permitted for commercial fishers and whalers.  
One of the terms that would probably cause some issues was a requirement that policies be put in place to maintain a population that was not only environmentally sustainable, but also allowing for maintaining ethnic diversity, in some areas that would mean discouraging from having multiple children, while in other areas it would mean encouraging more children.

Standing before the mist-fountain Takeshi reached out for the sentient mist and allowed it to synchronize with his aura before reaching out for Sorcha, the young fire-elemental who had risen to become his representative in the Demon Realm.  
She was also the Commander of those demons who had chosen to ally themselves with House Shamarai and sworn to fight to aid him in restoring the balance.  
Takeshi had _liberated_ her from her Blue Sands mate during one of his early visits to establish his control of the former House Miara.  
Sorcha was not born in the Blue Sands but her night demon mother was a Blue Sands female, Sorcha however took after her father, an Ifrit who had visited the Blue Sands to study under one of their healers.  
However, under Blue sands law she was forced to mate a male selected for her by her mother's mate and was bound to him using magic, magic that could only be broken either by her mate's will, or if he lost her in challenge, or if death claimed him.  
When her mate ordered her to see to Takeshi's _every need_ in an attempt to garner his favor she had risked everything and begged him to free her from her mate and Takeshi had been more than happy to do so.  
Allowing her mate to believe that he was successful in winning his favor Takeshi had managed to talk him into gifting Sorcha to him, as a 'spare mate' she held little value to her mate and the prospect of getting in on the Miara silk trade had blinded the old fool from the truth.  
Free from the constraining ways of the Children of the Blue Sands she grew quickly and proved herself as a warrior and tactician, paired with her knowledge of managing a large House she had soon become the perfect choice to manage House Shamarai while Takeshi was away, and as he gathered allies she quickly gained their respect as well.  
Before long most of them accepted her as a general of sorts, and the rest accepted his choice to formally name her Commander. 

When the mist began to swell, signaling that Sorcha was about to come through the portal he found himself eagerly awaiting her arrival.  
Last time he has seen her she had been undergoing some changes as her Ifrit side was maturing into its adult form and he was very curious to see what she would look like now, when he freed her from her mate she had been very young, little more than a child.  
By Ifrit standards she had been much too young to even consider the Arashiri, much less a mating, but her stepfather hadn't cared, he judged her by her night demon side and according to the traditions of the Children of the Blue Sands she was old enough to be mated, and bedded.  
It had been a struggle to contain his fury when she had come to him and offered herself to him, the power of the rune enforced mating-bond denying her any choice, and he had been very pleased when she asked him to free her from her mate.  
Most of the Blue Sands females had obedience and subservience so deeply ingrained in their mind, their spirits, that they were unable to even consider disobedience, unable to fathom life without the control of the males.  
Fortunately newborn Ifrit needed the heat of the lava-flows to survive so Sorcha had been born at the Citadel of Fire where her father was one of the assistant healers, her mother had been offered as companion to her father during his visit at the Blue Sands and when they found that she was carrying she had traveled with him to the citadel to give birth.  
Her mother had returned to the Blue Sands as soon as she had given birth though, but under the laws of the Blue Sands Sorcha belonged to her mother's mate and once she was old enough to survive without the lava-flows she had been sent to the Blue Sands.  
But her time with her fathers people had left an impression, a seed of independence hidden deep within her, a seed she had carefully protected and nurtured, and once she was free of her keepers it had grown and blossomed.  
She had thrived under his and Emelie's tutelage and had quickly grown into a skilled fighter, and as her skill and power grew so did her confidence and independence.

When she materialized before him he cursed silently to himself, keeping his promise to her had just become a lot harder.  
When he _bought_ her from her mate he had given her an oath that he would never touch her in a carnal way, or out of desire without her expressed permission, something he realized he would be struggling with now, because her mature form was absolutely stunning.  
She had the large spiral horns, powerful tail and flaming hair of the Ifrit, but she had her mother's slender build and wings, and her body was fire and molten lava wrapped within a latticework of black armor, much like the flame constructs summoned by the elementalists, but without the binding runes.

“Welcome to the Jacaranda Estate, Sorcha-dora.”  
She froze for a moment and stared at him in surprise as he had greeted her as _Dora,_ Majordomo and by doing so he formally gave her the position.  
“Thank you Yemo. I will not betray your faith in me!”  
“I know you won't.”  
Looking closer at her new form he motioned for her to turn around so he could see all of her.  
“I must say, you wear your power well.”  
He gave her a somewhat diplomatic compliment before asking her permission to touch her and when she nodded he carefully inspected her form, careful not to allow his touch to linger, or touch any parts of her body that could be considered as intimate touches.  
When she turned around and bared the base of her wings to him he hesitated to touch her for a moment but when she took a small step back toward him and flexed her wings in invitation he carefully placed his hand on the exposed mashen and allowed his claws to bite into her skin slightly.  
_“Your trust honors me.”_  
The Obsidian expression was so much more than the sum of its words, and he could tell that while she didn't understand the soft warbling whistle she sensed and understood the feeling behind it.

“Are the emissaries ready to begin their task?”  
“They are Yemo, all that is needed is the missives.”  
“Excellent. Come.”  
Sorcha immediately fell into step at his right side, one step behind him and followed him to his study where the scrolls waited to be sealed and sent to the Demon Realm where they would be handed to the selected emissaries.  
There was a total of 250 missives as various independent territories were also included and each missive was a scroll made from gong parchment and had been written by Angel using a robotic arm, quill pen and blood-ink.  
The ink was made from a demon realm root similar to ginger combined with a mineral from the Red Plains that was similar to cinnabar, but without the toxic effect, together they formed a deep, blood red ink that didn't bleed or fade.  
Each scroll was carefully formulated to ensure that it was properly written in each of the languages of the recipients and was sealed with the Shamarai seal and placed into a scroll case of carved gong bone and decorated with brightmetal.  
Takeshi had intentionally only used materials that could not be found in the human realm and the brightmetal decoration was actually Urui writing, each case slightly different as the writing was simply the name of the nation and leader that the scroll inside was intended for.

The scrolls called them all to meet at the new UN headquarters in Zürich one week from now.  
After the GCTI fallout many nations rebelled against the US having such a powerful role in the UN so the headquarters had been moved to Switzerland as it was renowned for its neutrality.  
Each demon would see to that their representative was brought safely to the meeting, though most had already gathered at the UN headquarters to try to find a solution to the power crisis.

“Here you go.”  
Takeshi picked up the box that held the scrolls and handed it to Sorcha.  
“I will see to that they leave right away.”  
“Thank you Dora, return here once they have been sent out. I wish to have you at my side during the meetings.”  
“As you wish Yemo.”

After watching Sorcha leave through the mist portal Takeshi sunk down on the floor next to the small fountain and tried to calm himself.  
Things were entering a critical stage and now it would be down to his skill and power to convince the world to accept his terms.

 


	90. Second Stage

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was still resting his back against the mist fountain when its power began to swell again, signaling Sorcha's return, the emissaries would be using other pathways though, it would be too much of a strain on the mist for so many to cross at once.  
When she stepped out of the mist she paused for a moment and peered down at him from the rim of the water basin with a crooked smile.  
“Not a very becoming posture for the Yemo of the grand House Shamarai.”  
Takeshi glanced up at her and huffed before closing his eyes again and tilted his head back against the edge of the basin, a show of trust.  
“I do believe the yemo is permitted to rest whichever way he deems suitable in his own home.”  
He didn't bother opening his eyes as she stepped down from the edge of the basin and stepped around to stand in front of him.  
“Oh, are you saying you wouldn't lounge in the same lazy manner anywhere else?”  
There was a distinctively teasing undertone to her words and he could feel the heat from her body as she extended her hand toward him.  
“I never said that.”  
He quipped in return and grabbed her offered hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet.  
“Behave, will you?”  
She sighed deeply as he gave her a sold hip tackle the moment he got on his feet, not enough to knock her off her feet though.  
“I am. Just not the way you think I should.”  
He had always enjoyed bantering with Sorcha, she had a quick wit and once she overcame her hesitance toward males in general she was more than willing to engage him in verbal sparring.  
“You really are...”  
“Yemo?”  
He interrupted her before she finished but he had no doubt she intended to call him _impossible_ and she rewarded him with a rather undignified snort _.  
_ “Yemo indeed, a most childish one.”  
“And sometimes a most serious one.”  
The teasing current in her aura vanished immediately as she focused her attention on him.

“Would you permit me to properly mark you with the Shamarai?”  
Takeshi's voice and aura took on a solemn note as he looked at the runed choker with the shamarai emblem that she wore around her neck.  
It was a slave-collar, though a very light one, the type reserved for highly valued slaves, and pleasure slaves, but it had not been his choice to use it.  
Free from the binding power of her mating mark Sorcha had begged him not to mark her with his power, insisted that she would rather wear slave-irons than have the power of another brand her aura and body.  
He had given in to her wishes, understanding her unwillingness to carry a new mark when she had finally been freed from her mating mark, he had refused to collar her with with the heavy iron collar of a common slave though, instead he had commissioned a light choker that was easy to hide and looked more like a piece of jewelry than a slave-collar.  
“Mark me how?”  
Her tone was hesitant and her aura displayed her emotions vividly, a confused mix of curiosity, fear and rebellion.  
“I was thinking of adorning those magnificent horns of yours with blood crystal, a shamarai flower right here.”  
He tapped his claw against her forehead where the base of the horns extended toward the center of her her forehead and formed a thicker bone plate.  
“And maybe some patterns along the horns themselves depending on how the blood flows and settles, that will be up to your power, your will to decide.”  
For an agonizingly long moment she was just standing there, looking at him with a somewhat glazed look in her eyes, then just as he thought she would reject his suggested mark she kneeled down before him with a short nod.  
Her aura told him the truth of her agreement to be marked and with a swift movement he used his claws to cut deeply into his palms before placing his hands on the tips of her horns and letting the blood flow freely.  
At first the blood gathered along the valleys of her spiral horns and flowed steadily toward the base, but once the flows met in the middle and began to form the shamarai flower the blood that remained moved away from the valleys and instead gathered at the ridges.  
As the blood crystallized black veins began to appear on the deep red base and the effect was quite stunning, but once it had set Takeshi noticed that the blackness of his shadow-flame was bleeding into the bright flames of Sorcha's hair.  
“Hmm, it seems I inadvertently added some shadow-flame to your hair. Angel, show her please.”  
Angel's projection instantly came to life and showed Sorcha's head with the newly adorned horns and black flames flickering through her hair.  
“I should be able to quench those flames if you want me to.”  
Takeshi was hoping she would allow the black flames to remain, they added nicely to her beauty.  
“I don't know. I kinda like it.”  
Sorcha kept looking at the projection for quite a while before deciding she wanted to keep the touched of black mixed into her flames.  
“It's quite unique. I don't think I have ever seen an Ifrit, or any other elemental for that matter, with black in their flames before.”

It was not uncommon for fire-elementals such as the Ifrit to have tinted flames, similar to the effect burning metal salts and other compounds had on flame colors, but few had it naturally instead it was intentionally done by altering their energies, something that took power, control and focus to maintain.  
Vanity was every bit as much a demon trait as it was a human one, only the ideals and methods were different.

“One more thing. Let's get rid of this wretched thing.”  
Takeshi reached out for the choker and with a flare of power he disabled the runes that kept it locked around Sorcha's neck and inspected the thin silver band before curling his lip in distaste and calling forth shadow-fire to eliminate every trace of its existence.  
The way she traced the area where the metal had touched her body made it quite clear that she missed feeling it there.  
“I never liked that thing, but if you wish to replace it with one without the binding runes then have someone craft something for you. Feel free to use whatever Shamarai resources you deem suitable.”  
“If I do, would you infuse some of your power into it? I have gotten used to feeling it against my own.”  
Takeshi voiced a huffing sigh, he hadn't considered that aspect of it.  
“Of course. I should have thought about that before I removed it. I'm sorry.”  
He quickly pulled a few strands of hair and made a simple braided chain and secured it around Sorcha's neck so that she would still feel his energy as she was used to.  
“Better?”  
“Mhm. Thank you Yemo.”  
“Well, enough dawdling, we have work to do.”  
Sorcha immediately gave a short bow before straightening up and waiting for him to lead the way.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As they entered the garden Takeshi asked Sorcha to stay in the main area for a while, he needed to go talk to Hugin to see if the young angel would allow Sorcha to come inside the hidden garden.  
Not only was Hugin very protective of the egg, he was clearly also quite ashamed of the fact that he was susceptible to brooding fever, a remnant of the fact that it was considered less than manly.  
“Hugin, Sorcha is here, would you be okay with her visiting for a little bit?”  
It was quite obvious from Hugin's reaction that he was not comfortable with the suggestion, but Takeshi decided to push it a bit.  
“I know amo, but she is my majordomo, it would be good if you could trust her with this knowledge. That way she can help you get hold of an egg if this happens again.”  
Hugin was still hesitating so with a sigh Takeshi ruffled the feathers on his head before walking toward the hidden doorway, but just as he was about to exit he heard Hugin's soft warble telling him it was okay to let Sorcha in.  
“Come on in, but keep your aura down, and no sudden movements.”  
Hugin was skittish and protective of the egg and Takeshi didn't want to take any chances.  
Sorcha's aura was tightly reined in but he could still feel the current of bubbling curiosity as she joined him and Hugin in the hidden corner of the garden.  
“Oh! I see. Hello Hugin.”  
Takeshi watched as Sorcha greeted Hugin before asking his permission to come closer.  
“May I see it?”  
Te sharp caw was clear refusal but Sorcha didn't give up that easily and after a few minutes of alternating begging and promises Hugin moved slightly so she could see the egg.  
“Is that a phoenix egg?!”  
“Indeed it is. Remember, I told you about the egg the twins found at the market.”  
“I hope you are keeping it nice and warm there Hugin. Phoenix eggs needs lots of heat.”  
Hugin's reply sounded so concerned it made Takeshi smile as it instantly made Sorcha apologize and assure Hugin that his fire-crystal lined nest was plenty warm enough.  
In the end though he wouldn't settle down until she added a bit of her elemental energy into the crystal sand to make it significantly hotter.

“I'm sorry Hugin, but we need to cut this visit short. There's a lot to do and very little time to do it. I'll be back tonight though. Until then I'll have one of the girls bring you some food, please eat it.”  
Hugin puffed his feathers and tried to sound strong and defiant, but it was quite clear that he was a bit disappointed that Takeshi wouldn't be spending the day with him.  
As they left Sorcha promised Hugin that she would guard his secret well, earning her a soft chirp of gratitude.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

After a few quick greetings, and compliments about Sorcha's new appearance and the effects of the Shamarai mark, they gathered in the larger study that had been fitted to be used as a conference room and command central.  
Takeshi motioned for everyone to take a seat before steadying himself with a deep breath, he knew that Dan would be upset about what he was about to say.  
“First things first, due to Hugin suffering the Brooding-fever I have been forced to make some changes to who will be coming with me to Zürich.”  
Originally he had intended to bring Dan, Hugin and Sorcha, leaving Emelie and Amanda to manage the pack and the girls while he was away, but with Hugin incubating the phoenix egg that wouldn't be possible.  
“Hugin obviously can't come as he is nestbound until the egg has hatched and while he will return to his true self once it is he will still stay at the nest until the chick is ready to leave it.”  
“So I will be working with Ylian instead?”  
“No Dan, I'm sorry. I need you to stay and look after Hugin, make sure he eats and stretches his wings from time to time. He's not accepting food beyond a few treats from the girls. I will be taking Manda and Ylian instead.”  
As expected Dan was quite upset, but after a good quarter of an hour of arguing he submitted and accepted Takeshi's reasoning, the fact that Hugin had told Dan his soul-name was a big part of it.  
Takeshi would place a trigger in Dan's mind that would allow him to remember the name if Hugin's health was at risk from his refusal to eat, that way Dan would be able to use it to force him to comply, force him to eat.

With the first point on the agenda settled they started going into details.  
They needed to strike a fine balance between threat and diplomacy, threatening enough to discourage too much resistance, but not threatening enough to trigger a panic response, which would no doubt lead to an attack.  
They were hoping that Takeshi's natural ability to inspire trust would help make it smoother, but they also had no doubt that there would be assassination attempts coming their way.

“Now we need to decide how to introduce ourselves, what names to use. I don't want to use our human names, but I also do not wish to outright lie.”  
The others quickly agreed that outright lies were to be avoided as far as possible.  
“Ylian, you can go by whatever name you want, but I think it would be a wise choice if we address you as Imora-Ieri and have Angel translate it as 'Honorable Imora'. Sorcha and Manda should use _Yemi_ when addressing you directly while I will address you as Ylian or ami.”  
Angel would be taking control of the interpreter computer system and do all the translations herself, making sure there were no misunderstandings, and that would also allow Takeshi and the others to speak Urui during the negotiations.  
“I trust that you will go by Shamarai-Iero during this time? With Sorcha using only yemo and Manda and I occasionally using amo?”  
Ylian grinned at Takeshi, the shadeling was taking quite a bit of pleasure in playing the game of politics.  
“Indeed. Now Manda, I really don't know what we should be calling you, there's of course _Shina,_ but maybe you would prefer something else?”  
Everyone was looking at her rather expectantly, causing her to squirm slightly.  
“I would, if it's okay with you I will go by _Izorei_ _Atlantea_.”  
Izore was the Atlantean word for key, and with the added ' _i_ ', it became 'the key to', in this case 'The key to Atlantis'.  
“Izorei it is then, with us using shina and ama.”  
They would be taking advantage of Takeshi's command to ensure that they didn't accidentally use their human names.

After spending several hours making plans they took a break to eat, and be social with the rest of the people living at the Island and the twins quickly pulled Sorcha into their antics, leaving Takeshi free to tend to Miri and Hugin.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Miri, are you sure you will be okay without being exposed to my pheromones for an extended time?”  
Takeshi would rather travel back to the island, or even bring her along, than risk anything going wrong with her growth.  
“I'm sure. It's already starting so less exposure will just mean I will grow a bit slower.”  
“Good. I wouldn't want to jeopardize your growth because of this.”  
It was bad enough that they would have to leave Jenna while she was pregnant, though they had managed to convince Knight's steed to carry Takeshi and Ylian from Zürich back to the island should something happen with her or her baby.  
The only reason they had managed that though was because the demon beast was very fond of Jenna and was willing to tolerate carrying them simply for her sake.  
“Take, is this going to be dangerous for you guys?”  
Miri was obviously picking up on Takeshi's stress and concern about the upcoming event and it was making her worry.  
“Not really. We have disabled most of the human's ability to attack. There is of course still the possibility of them trying to attack with armed soldiers but they wouldn't stand a chance. Or try to rig explosives at the conference hall. But those are detectable by even mortal dogs, they won't be able to hide it from demon senses.”  
“Just be careful, okay? Please?”  
Something about the way she was pleading with him made him remember that she was in fact a seer, even if her ability had yet to fully awaken.  
“Miri are you sensing danger?”  
“I.. I don't know... I'm feeling something, but I don't know how to interpret it. I don't know if it's just me worrying, or if it's my seer side trying to tell me something.”  
“How about I ask if Roghan can come see you? Maybe he can help.”  
“Okay!”  
Miri instantly perked up and forgot about her worries, but it only made Takeshi worry more as it made it seem even more like a premonition from her side.

“I am terribly sorry Takeshi, but I won't be of much help with this. I will of course try if you want me to, but I am a very poor teacher. You are correct however that my gift was intended for your little Miri.”  
Takeshi sighed deeply and thanked Roghan for taking the time to speak with him.  
“Take, can't we ask the Avatar of Schwarzwald? She was a seer before she re-awoke as an Avatar.”  
Emelie had joined him to have a word with her uncle while they had him _'on the line'_ so to speak.  
“I know love. Let's go talk to Miri.”

“Miri, Roghan was unable to help, but we do know another creature, an Avatar that might be able to help. But it will require you to travel with us in the Blackout. You think you are ready for that?”  
“Not really, but I don't have choice do I? Not if I want to find someone to help me before you have to go.”  
“I'm afraid not. We will make you as comfortable as we can, but it won't be fun.”  
It wouldn't be feasible for Miri to fly in a tank with water as inertia would greatly affect her environment.  
Instead they would move her in a manner similar to how large marine mammals such as dolphins were transported, suspended in a harness inside a padded crate and only misted with water to keep her tail and skin from drying out.  
Once they reached the Nexus point she would be able to swim in the small pond where the nymphs lived, assuming the Avatar chose to receive them.

 

When the Blackout set down in the protected clearing the Avatar was waiting for them along with Isa, they were clearly expected.  
“Welcome back.”  
The Avatar greeted Takeshi and Aellai, who had brought her daughters so that they could visit their birthplace before turning to Miri.  
“Welcome to the Primary Nexus little one.”  
Miri eagerly chatted with the Avatar while Takeshi carried her to the small pool of water where she would be comfortable for a while.  
“Miri, I will go play with Aellai's little ones while you speak, the secrets of the seers are not for my ears.”  
She looked a bit nervous, but she nodded anyway, trusting that Takeshi would not leave her with someone he believed would harm her.

“Will you watch over my daughters? The Queen has requested my presence.”  
Much to Takeshi's relief, Aellai had been sitting on his head until another sylph asked to speak with her, it would seem that sylph had brought her a message from their Queen.  
“Of course _sweetie_. I will guard them like my own.”  
As usual she responded to him calling her sweetie by blasting him with an energy charged burst of wind as she vanished from sight.  
The fact that she had been sitting on his head showed that she was slowly getting her fear of him under control and it made him hopeful that she would eventually fully overcome it.

It had been hard not to show his concern that she was meeting with the Forest Queen, he had met the vile female once while they were planning the defense of the primary Nexus and had immediately developed a strong dislike for her.  
She was as beautiful as could be, but cold and false, a vain, petty and cruel creature who looked at her subjects as toys to be used, and abused, for her benefit and amusement.  
She was unfit to be the leader of anything, much less the for the most part noble and kind forest spirits.  
His dislike of her was enhanced by his own instincts as an alpha though, instinctively he judged her as he would another alpha, and all her personality traits were bad ones in an alpha.

He tried to focus on playing with the sylph children, but they could all tell he was tense so they tried to stay clear of him, unsure if he could be a threat, and since the reaction was a sound one he didn't try to persuade them to come closer.  
His tension didn't start fading until he could feel Aellai's energy approaching him from behind but when he unexpectedly felt a pair of hands on his shoulders he startled rather badly which triggered Aellai's familiar laughter, though louder than he was used to.  
Tilting his back revealed a human sized Aellai who was grinning like a madman at him.  
“What has you in such a good mood?”  
She didn't answer him, instead she gave him a smile that clearly told him she expected him to figure it out.  
Looking at her to try to find some clue he soon realized she was no longer wearing the pendant with the seal of the royal court around her neck and he gently tapped the faded scar from where she had been burned by its power more than once.  
“Yes. I'm free!”  
“She would not release you without asking a for something in return. What is the price you must pay for this?”  
Aellai had been bound to the Royal Court in a form of indentured servitude and knowing the Queen, Takeshi knew she would not have freed Aellai from it without asking a hefty price.  
“I'm sorry Take, I am bound by power not to reveal what price we must pay for the annulment of the contract.”

The way her aura shifted as she spoke gave Takeshi pause, when she said _'we'_ her aura flickered with fear, it was the spiritual equivalent of an abuse victim flinching in anticipation of a blow when doing something that their abuser would normally hit them for.  
It had shifted into relief so whatever she had been scared would happen obviously had not, but the simple reaction was enough to tell Takeshi what the priced had been.  
The Queen had no doubt demanded that in return for her freedom Aellai would have to give any children she had with him over to the Queen.  
Needless to say if he ever bedded Aellai he would make damn sure there were no children born from it, at least as long at the current Queen ruled.

“Aellai?”  
He was somewhat surprised when she straddled him, he could feel her lingering fear and it made his instincts rebel.  
There was something in her eyes though, silently pleading for him to understand, and he did, and that understanding made him furious.  
The Queen had considered him to be _'easy'_ and in a way she was right, it was not particularly hard to entice him into a sexual encounter, and he would frequently proposition anyone he considered desirable.  
She had made some rather crude passes on him when they met, but much to his relief Emelie had stepped in and and used her authority as co-alpha to forbid him to bed the Forest Queen, saving him the trouble of having to refuse her advances.  
And now the Queen expected Aellai to bed him in order to work on securing the payment, if she didn't it would be interpreted as her trying to weasel her way out of fulfilling her end of the deal.  
“Are you sure? You still fear me.”  
“I do, a bit. I have been at the wrong end of your power, I don't think I will be able to ever fully forget that fear.”  
“I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you, you were scared and acting to protect your little girls.”  
He gently pulled her closer and tried to soothe her fear by suppressing his power and focusing on the part of him that was alpha, protector.  
“You didn't hurt me, only scare me, and you were only doing the same, protecting those beautiful little twins of yours from my power.”  
“I may not have hurt you physically, but I hurt your spirit, your courage.”  
It took a lot of effort to ignore the scent of her fear but unlike with Seia there was traces of desire in Aellai's scent, despite fearing him she was also attracted to him.  
He focused on being gentle and teasing, much like how he would treat those going through the arashiri, hoping that it would help make the scent of her desire overpower the scent of fear, and also putting himself in a mood that focused on helping her overcome her fear.

“Take, please... I need this.”  
Her words were begging him, but the pleading look in her eyes was one asking him to not hear her words, but understand the truth beneath them, and he did.  
Her need was not as it seemed, a desire for him, but a need to secure her freedom, and to do that the Forest Queen must be made to believe that Aellai not only had the intent to obtain the _'payment'_ , but also had the ability to succeed.  
There was no doubt in Takeshi's mind that the Queen was spying on them so they would have to put on a good show for her benefit, but not too good, that could arouse suspicion.  
Takeshi was mostly concerned about Aellai's fear of him, but maybe it could be used to their advantage, make it seem like it was fear of him rejecting her advances, not fear of him.

With his hands on her hips he pulled her closer and the way her eyes widened for a moment when she felt the size of him, and the fact that he was quite hard, made him smile.  
She had daughters so he knew she was not innocent, and yet she blushed when he pushed against her, a blush that went from soft to bright as he moved her clothes a bit to allow him to access her without showing everyone what was going on.  
Mindful of his claws he began using his fingers to tease her, slowly bringing her to the edge, and when he held back, keeping her at the edge without making any moves to bring her over it she nailed him with a frustrated glare.  
When her glare turned questioning he just gave a teasing smile and a hint of a nod and when understanding lit in her eyes she turned an impossibly bright shade of red as she realized that he had no intention to go any further, leaving it to her to push on.  
With a frustrated groan she shifted her position and reached down to untie the ties that kept his light hakama in place and after struggling a while with the long strips of cloth she finally managed to untie them.  
She startled slightly at the hiss as he sucked in a sharp breath at the sudden rush of cool air against his heated body, the time she had spent fumbling with the ties had affected him rather strongly.  
The rather erratic flare of Aellai's aura as she pushed herself down onto him caused some knowing snickers among the nearby forest spirits and quite a few teasing whispers about her priorities as the first thing she had done after regaining her power to change her form was to jump his _bones_ so to speak.  
“Beautiful...”  
Takeshi murmured as he watched her surrender herself to to the sensations and he was looking forward to seeing her come undone.  
As she finally reached her peak her aura began to swirl wildly around them, true to her whirlwind nature and Takeshi could feel his own power rise in response and he clamped down on it, making it rise slower so that it wouldn't scare her again.  
He was surprised when his energy didn't meet the normal soft resistance of the inner layer of her aura protecting the core of her soul, instead his energy flower right through her and he could feel her pulling at it, she was inviting him to claim her, to mark her.  
If she wished to carry his mark he would gladly allow it so he simply let his energy run free, following the invitation and moments later her wings flared behind her, and as they flickered in agitation he could see shamarai flowers forming near the tips.  
Then as sudden as the flare had been she collapsed against him and he could feel her struggle to stay awake, and the contact with her soul allowed him to know why, she wasn't feeling safe within the domain of the Forest Queen.  
“Aellai, you are House Shamarai now, mine to protect. Sleep and I will keep you safe.”  
“But...”  
Takeshi was glad that the contact between their souls hadn't faded yet as it allowed him to know her concerns, she was afraid he would reject her when he realized he would never have her heart.  
“Easy sweetie, I know, I understand. The wind may play, tease and caress, but its only love is freedom. And you Aellai, you are the wind that dances through the meadow, playing with the petals of the flower, occasionally carrying it's scent with you.”  
The moment his words faded her aura came crashing down and within moments she was back in her small form and sleeping deeply, exhaustion evident in her aura.

Takeshi carefully scoped her up and with a gentle flare of power he allowed his aura to gather in his long braid and used the power to animate it, so that he could use it as a hammock of sorts for Aellai.  
Looking at the emblems of his house adorning her wings he couldn't help feeling a surge of pride, he may not have her heart, he never would, but she had willingly become a part of his house.  
Wind elementals such as Aellai were notorious for their fickle hearts, they rarely mated and most would just take temporary partners, either for pleasure, or breeding, like the tempest demon that was the father of Aellai's young.  
He had met the demon about a year ago and found him likable enough, a bit cold, especially at first, but Takeshi could sense that he was honorable and once he had deemed the island and its inhabitants to be safe he had opened up somewhat.  
He had been there to formally accept Aellai's daughters as his, such was the customs of his people, children were not formally accepted until they reached a certain maturity, proving that they were viable and able to survive.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

To a casual observer Takeshi seemed to have fallen asleep at the base of the tree, back resting against the wide trunk, left hand resting on a bent knee and his right hand on his chest, covering Aellai's sleeping body.  
But he was very much awake, he wouldn't rest until they had left the Forest Queen's domains, he didn't feel safe even with in the Nexus sanctuary.  
When he felt the Avatar approaching he flared his aura slightly, telling her that he would prefer to be left alone, but she kept moving closer.  
“I am sorry do disturb your rest, but I need to speak to you.”  
He opened his eyes and looked at her, he didn't move though so he wouldn't wake Aellai.  
“A few years ago the Fates brought me a vision I did not understand at the time, but now I do.”  
He gave her a slight nod to continue.

_-When the wind of freedom blooms with the scent of hope, bring these words to the Dragon.  
-”Hell hath no Fury.”_

The Seer's words only confirmed what Takeshi's own instincts were telling him, the Queen would come after them, and somehow Takeshi knew that Aellai would be the target, not him personally.  
He gave her a short nod that he had heard, and understood, the message she had relayed from the Fates.  
Aellai was had just gained her freedom, making her the wind mentioned by the Fates, and the Shamarai flower of his House had bloomed on her wings, as for the scent of Hope, after having sex with her his scent clung strongly to her and would so for days unless she purged it.  
The rune for Shamarai could be read as _Hope_ in the Obsidian language, and he was also a potential Avatar himself, and should he awaken, he would be an Avatar of Hope, and he was also becoming more and more Dragon for each day that passed.  
_Hell hath no Fury like a woman scorned_ ; Takeshi was unsure why or how, but he just knew that was a warning to beware the Forest Queen.

He was brought from his musings when the Avatar spoke up again.  
“I have taught your little Seer what I can, now she needs to practice and learn to trust her powers, her sight. And you will need to acquire a proper scrying bowl for her so she can practice her _Hydromancy._ ”  
He could tell that the Avatar was surprised by his lack of surprise about the information that Miri was a hydromancer, water-scryer or concern about finding her a scrying bowl.  
“Don't worry, I have a bowl for her, a gift from a Seer hailing from the Obsidian Court.”  
“So that's how you know she would be a hydromancer.”  
The Avatar tutted at him, disappointed that she had not been allowed to surprise him.  
“Indeed.”  
He watched her pause for a moment, then straighten her spine and call on her power, nailing him with the swirling mercury of her power.  
“Takeshi, Alpha of pack Kiryu, Yemo of House Shamarai. I invoke on you the Seer accords.”  
There was no surprise there either, the Seer accords were as old as the Seer's themselves, an accord laid down by the Fates themselves that in return for the visions granted to the Seers, those who benefited from their sight were obliged to protect and care for them, to see to their every need.  
“I will honor the accord, but my oath belongs to Miri alone.”  
He would swear the oath, if only to calm Miri, to show her that he believed in her, in her power.  
“Protect her well, eye's like hers are few, and far apart.”  
“The gold in her eyes, it's a part of her powers.”  
His words were a statement of fact, not a question, but the Avatar nodded anyway.  
“May I ask how they affect her powers?”  
“You may, but I am not permitted to give you much of an answer.”  
“I figured as much. The Fates seem to enjoy keeping me on my toes. How much have they allowed you to reveal?”

_-On the tapestry of Fate the weft of causality shimmers like gold in the light of time._

“So she will occasionally be able to see which choice leads to which end, and influence them in the proper direction.”  
The stunned look on the Avatar of Schwarzwald's face almost made Takeshi smirk, she had obviously not expected him to figure out the clue so fast.  
“What? I have studied the Omniverse theory, the theory of infinite refractions.”  
He mock complained at her stunned look.”

The theory was that there existed an infinite number of parallel realities, each one shaped by the choices made by sapient beings as well as the fallout of random events.  
New ones would constantly form, while others merged when the fallout made no difference in the end, for instance if a person had three pieces of candy three new refractions would form for the three possible choices for which piece to consume first.  
And a new set would form based on the second choice, but as the third one was consumed those would merge again as the result of the refractions was the same, all three pieces consumed without any real importance of the order.  
Things did become complicated though when the retro-causality of quantum string theory was added to the concept

Normally a Seer would be able to sense, to see those refractions, but would be unable to tell which choice led to which future, but they could at least warm about possible bad futures or lure with possible good ones, urging the ones seeking guidance to carefully consider their choices.  
From what he had been told though, Miri would have the ability to at least occasionally see the string of fate binding a refraction to the choice that caused it, she would probably be forbidden to speak of it plainly, but she she would be able to nudge, to guide them into making the right choice.  
It would be up to him to listen to her, to trust her, and to try to see the truth hidden beneath her words, to heed her guidance.

“I trust that you will do right by her.”  
There was something in the Avatar's eyes that gave Takeshi pause, a longing that made his soul ache.  
“You wish for the oath yourself, don't you?”  
“I do. With my death the old oath was undone, and I refuse to re-bind myself to the Forest Queen.”  
He could definitely understand why.  
“For what it's worth I am sorry I can't give you an oath as well, but a House is only allowed one Seer that is not blood and for me that is Miri.”  
“I know Take. And you should know that I would have been happy to bind myself to your House had it been possible.”  
For a brief moment she looked so young, so vulnerable that he couldn't resist pulling her into his arms and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, mindful to move the improvised hammock with the sleeping Aellai out of the way.  
When the Avatar tilted her head up he gave her a gentle kiss and promised her he would try to find someone for her to exchange the oath with.  
When she snaked her hand around his neck and deepened the kiss he was more than willing to answer her in kind, but just as he felt himself stir she stepped back with a frustrated moan.  
“As much as I would love to continue this, you need to take those who are yours and leave now.”  
Looking down at her he noticed that her purple eyes were swirling with silver, telling him that she had seen something that made her urge them to leave right away and he was not about to refuse the council of a Seer.

A few minutes later he had secured Miri in her tank and secured the planter with Aellai and her daughters in the co-pilot's seat and was ready for takeoff, Angel had prepared the Blackout when she heard the Seer's words.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

As they approached their island Angel brought an alert up on the main screen.  
“There is a group of small boats approaching the Leviathan, and the passengers are armed.”  
Takeshi instantly shifted his attention away from the conversation with Miri and focused on the screen.  
“Assessment?”  
His own assessment was that they were pirates, hoping to commandeer the Leviathan as she offered comfortable living, and had her own power-generation.  
“I would say pirates.”  
“Agreed. Let's show them why that is a bad idea, shall we?”  
“With pleasure.”  
The tactical screen came to life as Angel brought their offensive weapons from standby and a few moments later all indicators showed weapons online.  
The impeccable timing of their arrival made Takeshi quite certain that this attack on the Leviathan was the reason the Schwarzwald Seer had told them to hurry and leave.  
“Hold on everyone, there might be some discomfort as I need to make a sharp descent.”

Aellai was watching with wide eyes as Takeshi's face became dominated by an almost maniacal grin as he pushed their craft into a rather sharp dive before pulling up and going into hover-mode at low altitude between the Leviathan and the approaching boats.  
She watched in concern as several of the engine readouts were fluctuating due to the strain of maintaining hover so close to the waves, but Takeshi barely glanced at the readouts as he activated the microphone on his headset, causing Angel to activate the outer speakers.  
“I suggest you turn around, this is private property, and I will defend what is mine.”  
The sudden appearance of the obviously military craft had cause quite a stir, but it seemed they had done some research on their target as two of the men raised handheld stinger launchers.  
The wide grin turned into laughter as the Blackout's laser point-defense easily intercepted and destroyed the missiles, and their aggressive action set the rules for the encounter and Takeshi flipped the arming switch before opening fire on the boats.  
His laughter pulled at her, but she couldn't help feeling a surge of fear along with it, he wasn't hiding his reactions as he usually would and it was clear that he took great joy in destroying those who threatened what was his.

Takeshi could feel Aellai's fear as he allowed his dark side to rise as he held the triggers for the Blackout's cannon bank, the M39 based revolver cannons quickly tearing the attackers boats to shreds before he swung around and took out the survivors.  
He had decided that it was as good a time as any to let Miri see his darkness and much to his relief she wasn't bothered by it, he would need to work with Aellai though as her fear was obvious.  
But the underlying exhilaration did give him hope.

With the attackers terminated he set course toward the larger ship that had turned tail the moment he opened fire, hoping that he wouldn't have noticed them, or that he perhaps would believe them to truly be a fishing-vessel.  
Turning the controls over to Angel he shifted into his modified dragon armor and prepared to board and take over the vessel, he needed answers to make sure there would not be further attacks.  
He quickly made sure Aellai and her daughters were secure before opening the door and jumping out, shifting into a raptor form and diving down toward the boat.  
Soon there was yelling and gunfire on vessel, but it quickly went silent as Takeshi subdued the crew and took control of the boat, turning it back toward the island.

When he made to at the Leviathan's dock Ylian and Manda were waiting for him, called there by Angel to help him interrogate the crew of the captured boat, they needed to know who had supplied them with information.  
With the summit only days away they couldn't take any chances so they would be using everything they had to get those answers.

Between the powers of the three of them it didn't take long to figure out where they had received their information, and the source was somewhat unexpected, it was the niece of the shipyard owner.  
It would seem that her habits with men, partying and drugs had caught up with her, after being fired from her job at the shipyard and being cut of from her substantial trust fund she had quickly ran out of money to feed her growing habits so to sate her addictions she sold information about her uncle's clients.  
She had obviously seen the Blackout when they picked up the Tiamat after it was rebuilt.

The issue of how to deal with her was a bit harder to solve, ideally Takeshi would have preferred to have the proper authorities deal with her as she had no doubt sold out other clients as well.  
But with the state of the world as it was there was no way to properly investigate her so they decided to send one of the demons that was skilled at possession after her to make sure she couldn't cause any more problems.  
The same demon would also make sure to deal with the drug-dealer that had bought the information from her as well as keep an eye on whomever the dealer might have sold the information to.  
“Take, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of letting these guys live, much less letting them go.”  
Amanda was looking at their captives with unease.  
“I agree with our sweet beta here, they pose far too great risk not only to House Shamarai and the Pack, but to your mission as well.”  
Amanda blushed slightly when Ylian agreed with her assessment.  
“I'm afraid you are right, we have to kill them. There is enough evidence on the boat to show that they are pirates, we can get rid of anything that leads them to us and make it seem like an internal dispute, kill them and set the boat adrift.”  
The reaction among their prisoners was immediate, and loud, so Takeshi barked out a a command, instantly silencing them.  
“If I may suggest, I haven't had a chance to feed properly since I came here, and their life-force would sate me for quite a while. Send the boat out into the sea, rig an accident and send it to the bottom. If anyone finds it it will be assumed the crew was lost, eaten by the creatures of the sea.”  
Ylian's suggestion would indeed solve several issues, the lack of live food wasn't bothering them just yet, but they would need to visit the demon realm every few years to hunt unless prey could be found in the human realm.  
“Agreed, if they can sate your hunger, that would be the best option. Manda, you might want to leave for this.”  
Takeshi didn't want Amanda to watch Ylian consume the still living crew of the boat.  
“No Alpha. I am beta of pack Kiryu, I need to know these things about the members of our pack. I need to accept them, and be able to handle them.”  
She was right, of course, so Takeshi just sighed and nodded.  
“Go ahead Ylian, sate your hunger.”  
Amanda leaned into his side for support as they watched Ylian abandon their humanoid form in favor for the shapeless blob of darkness that quickly engulfed the captive crew and when it condensed back into the form they were familiar with there was no trace of the crew.

“Manda, are you okay?”  
Ylian approached slowly, a bit concerned about her reaction to seeing them feed.  
“No, not really. But I will be. I needed to see that, I need to know what it means to be a shadeling.”  
Takeshi's pride was surging over the bond as Amanda struggled to wrap her mind around what she had seen, but even more so what she had felt.  
When Ylian fed they absorbed not only the flesh of their prey, but its life-force as well, its spirit and soul was taken into theirs where its experiences, its power was added to their own.  
“Always remember Manda, shadelings are cannibals, we will consume our own the same way I just consumed them.”  
Takeshi made a somewhat displeased face when Ylian decided to share more about shadeling nature, but Amanda had asked for knowledge, and it was Ylian's story to share.

“We are a harsh breed, even among demons. We have always followed the rule of power.”  
They paused for a moment waiting to make sure they had Amanda's attention.  
“In the constant challenges fought between our kind it was not uncommon for both parties to perish, the winner killing their opponent, only to perish from damage sustained in the fight. Paired with the fact that we are slow to reproduce our numbers were dwindling. A pana may birth hundreds, and see none of them rise to the power of a true shadeling.”  
They explained how the decline of their species had caused their ways to change, when a challenge was fought the winner consumed the loser, healing themselves and ensuring that one of them would live on, stronger than before.

While Ylian spoke all of them worked on setting the fishing boat on a course that would bring it into the open sea an set an overload in the engine that would sink it and once done the stood on the dock, watching the boat leave toward the open sea.  
As it closed to the protective barrier around the island Amanda began to sing, weaving dragon-magic and Atlantean sea-song around the vessel.  
“Manda?”  
Takeshi waited for her voice to grow silent before seeking answers about what magic she had woven.  
“I don't know. I just knew I had to.”  
Takeshi sighed with a smile and muttered about instincts which made Amanda smile back at him, and they both startled slightly when Ylian spoke up.  
“Take, Manda, open your senses, the power is calling the spirits of those who have suffered at the hands of that ship. Are you familiar with the human legend of the Flying Dutchman?”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take-yemo!”  
“Yes Miri, what is it?”  
“I... I...”  
She was swimming in rather agitated circles which made Takeshi want to sigh.  
“Miri, sweetie. You need to speak up.”  
“I need to come with you...”  
He could see the silver in her eyes and knew that her power had showed her something, but he would test her a bit.  
“It wouldn't be very comfortable, you would have to stay in a small tank the entire time.”  
“I don't care! I have to come, even it if means invoking the oath.”  
“Very well Seer, I will make the arrangements.”  
Her eyes widened in a rather comical fashion when he bowed slightly and acknowledged the oath he had sworn to her as the Seer of his house.  
“You did well little Miri. Remember this day and be proud.”  
Ylian's words made her spin around so fast she almost fell over the edge of the raised section of the rather elaborate tank that she called home.  
“Indeed you did, you need to trust yourself, your instincts and power, and know when to push, when not to take no for an answer, even if it's me.”  
Takeshi added his own praise while calling for Sorcha, they would need a few more demons to carry Miri's tank.  
“Em, will you work with Miri and Manda please to create a tank, about the size of the transport tank we used for Arc, and try to make it as comfortable as possible.”  
“Of course.”  
Moments later Sorcha arrived with a short bow.  
“You needed me?”  
“Yes. Miri will be joining us so I need to to find carriers to carry her tank.”  
“Any specific requirements?”  
“Try not to pick ones that look dangerous in human perception, and at least one of them with water elemental abilities in case something happens.”  
“How about the dryad sisters?”  
“Hmm, they are Black Oak, right?”  
“Their mother is, the father is a _Kelpie_ of Lake Pasha.”  
“Now that must have been a rather interesting mating...”  
His comment cause a rather annoyed hiss from Em.  
“Take! You will not speak of such things around the girls!”  
Kelpie males were only able to reproduce while in their stallion form, and dryad females could only conceive while in their humanoid form, so their mother had done it with a horse.  
Sorcha looked at them with a bewildered look, unable to figure out what had set Emelie off.  
“Human sensibilities ama, in most human cultures interspecies sex is considered the ultimate perversion, a violation of 'God's order'. And those practicing it are seen as mentally ill deviants, in the past they were killed, in some cultures they still are if found. In the past even interracial relations were seen as abnormal.”  
“Oh, I see.”  
Sorcha's flame flickered slightly, a clear sign that she was a bit uncomfortable with the topic.  
“Ah, I have made you uncomfortable, apologies.”  
“No, not uncomfortable as much as confused. Lady Em has never seemed like she has minded such relations before.”  
“Oh, she doesn't, it's just a bit of human sensibilities toward the fact that in order to breed, the Kelpie was in his stallion form, and the Dryad in her humanoid form. It's a popular theme in some of the more unsavory pornography of this world.”  
Sorcha just nodded with a blush, she may have denied being uncomfortable but Takeshi could tell she was, and he commended her on trying to fight through it.  
“But Sorcha, you don't need to be strong all the time. It's okay to feel uncomfortable with things, and when you do, I want you to tell us, we are your house now, and we take care of our own.”

“I'm a demon, I shouldn't be bothered by things like these...”  
“Sorcha, you may be a demon, but you are also young, and the victim of what most cultures would consider extreme abuse. You are most definitely allowed to be bothered by these things.”  
“If you say so Yemo.”  
“I do, now go on, get those dryads here so Miri can meet them.”  
“Yes Yemo!”

With Sorcha on her way to find the dryad sisters Takeshi turned his attention back to the construction of Miri's portable tank.  
“I want you to have the Mother create a few sea urchins to put in there, long spined varieties with venom that can be used as a weapon. Your carriers will of course also be guards, but I want you to have some means of defense in there.”  
Takeshi was not about to take any unnecessary chances with his little seer.  
“Okay. And I want lots of seaweeds so I can hide if it gets scary.”  
The request made him smile, she was trying so hard to be brave, but part of her was still a scared child.  
“Of course sweetie, how about we ask the Mother if she can make some anemones as well? Nice big colorful ones and make them so that they will sting anyone but you?”  
“And you! It's gonna be too small for you to join me but I want you at least be able to put your hand in.”  
“As you wish, it's your tank after all.”

In the end they ended up with a two part tank, one with a fairly standard rectangular fish-tank design, and a module that connected onto it with a more natural curved design with waterfalls and pools where she could rest and with a throne seat where Takeshi would sit, allowing Miri to rest in a small pool at his right shoulder.  
“Is it really okay like this?”  
Miri was second-guessing herself a bit since the design placed her at his right side, and in an elevated position, usually the  dominant party would have the upper position and the subservient below them, even more so for merfolk who lived in a fully 3D world, and with the design that had been made Takeshi would technically be beneath her.  
“Of course sweetie, you will be there as the Shamarai Seer, you belong close to my ear.”  
“It's so big, how are we going to move it?”  
“I will have Ylian summon it right to the podium when we enter, then we will connect your tank to it.”  
It was quite a bit showier than he had initially planned, but he had no doubt it would work out well in the end, Miri had seen something that made her adamant she needed to be there, and her presence would alter things.

Miri joining them turned out to only be the first change in their plans as Merle appeared at the Shamarai estate shortly before they were about to leave.  
“I am here by Imperial orders yemo.”  
Before Merle and Seia mated, Merle had left his own House, one of the lesser imperial houses to become House Shamarai, that ensured that all House Miara assets remained in Shamarai control, and it meant that Seia remained of House Shamarai as well, under Takeshi's protection.  
“I can see that, the Imperial colors suit you.”  
Merle was wearing the pure black of Lucifer's personal guard.  
“Thank you Yemo.”  
“And your orders?”  
“I am to be your personal guard, as well as emissary for Lord Lucifer should matters that concern the Obsidian Halls be brought up.”  
“Very well.”  
Takeshi could refuse as Lucifer had no authority over him or House Shamarai, but that could put Merle in a tight spot, and Takeshi saw no reason to refuse.  
“So, Merle, how are the children doing?”  
“Very well yemo. Bris has begun teaching Leeah about the court and she is showing great promise.”  
“And Toben?”  
The question made Merle release an involuntary chirp off agitation.  
Growing up in the Blue Sands Toben had begun to emulate his friends in how they treated females something that neither Takeshi nor Merle appreciated, but it was hard to curb the behavior when it was how everyone else behaved.  
“Not good I'm afraid, we have decided to give it to the end of the season, if we don't see any improvement we will send him to the Eternal Night.”  
The Eternal Night was Lilith's domain, a mountain-range and forest that was home to her castle where she and and a horde of her daughters lived.  
Takeshi shook his head with a sigh as Merle started a very long-winded list of titles, starting with _'Our blessed progenitor, divine mother of all'_ , before mentioning that Lilith had offered to take Toben in and teach him a lesson or two about respecting females.  
“Merle, please, I am quite convinced Lady Lilith won't mind if you don't list all of her titles and honors when speaking of her outside of a formal setting.”  
Merle quickly apologized for being long winded before explaining some of the details of the plan to set Toben straight before he had a chance to become like his brother.  
“I'm sure the ladies of the Eternal Night will sort him out just fine. Now, how about your little Emmie?”  
Merle and Seia had named their firstborn, an adorable little girl, after Emelie as a token of gratitude for her sparing Merle at their first meeting.  
“She grows well, the palace healer tells us she has begun to develop flight-muscles so she should grow wings soon.”  
“Congratulations.”  
Merle and Seia had both been somewhat disappointed that their daughter had been born without wings but it seemed the nature of her mother was slowly giving way to that of her father.  
“Once this is done you should take all them to visit the Eternal Night, it would do the girls good to get away from the Blue Sands.”  
Takeshi's words made Merle look rather pensive.  
“It would, but the silk production needs to be tended.”  
“I might have a solution to that. I have a youkai who is an experienced silk master who has been pestering me for a chance to observe the production of Snow Pearl silk. I am quite sure I can convince him to oversee the silk farm for a few years in return for being allowed to study it.”  
“Youkai, those were nature and animal spirits of your native land, were they not?”  
“They are, this particular youkai is a moth youkai so he has a natural affinity for silk.”  
“In that case we would be most grateful for the opportunity for a reprieve from the ways of the Blue Sands.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Second Stage_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The last minute changes had caused quite a stir, but they were finally ready to head out, those who did not come to the meeting would remain at the island, with a few extra guards assigned.

Miri's tank was completed, and the 'throne' had grown even more elaborate as they had added a section that would allow Amanda to take her mermaid form as well and altered the seat to allow Takeshi to sit comfortable in his draconian form.  
The three dryad sisters had agreed to carry Miri's tank and care for her during the meeting and Miri had agreed that they were a suitable choice.  
Ylian would be there as a representative for Lilith while Dan and Emelie would stay behind and watch over the pack.  
Much to Takeshi's relief Brenna had come over to the human realm and would stay with Jenna and Hugin, having another person with experience of motherhood there would help both of them stay calm.

“Let's head out. We will gather at the Shamarai estate for the final preparations.”  
It was time to move their plan to the next stage and face the world leaders.

 


	91. Ultimatum

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


Takeshi was standing before the mist-portal at the Shamarai estate waiting for Ylian and Merle to arrive, the excited and nervous energies from Amanda and Miri was tingling along his senses while Dan felt somewhat muted, he was still a bit upset that he would have to stay behind with the rest of the pack.  
He did agree though that Amanda was better suited for the task, but that didn't mean he liked it.  
“Damn! Wow!”  
The sudden excited shift in Dan's aura paired with the sharp exclamations made Takeshi turn his attention away from Sorcha and Miri to check what had Dan so excited, and when he spotted Ylian he understood.  


The shadeling was wearing a new form that they had not seen before, it was larger than the usual form and was shrouded in wisps of darkness, bringing to mind images of the _Grim Reaper_ of legends.  
“I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with my somewhat inarticulate mate here. You look amazing.”  
“Ah, that's right, you have never seen my Avatar form. Glad you like it.”  
The teasing glint in Ylian's eyes carried well in their voice.  
“Like it?! Damn Ylian, now I'm going to sit around being jealous the entire time 'cause Take gets to enjoy this.”  
Dan's complaints made everyone laugh and Ylian promised that they would take the Avatar form more to allow Dan the pleasure of looking.  
“It's not just your appearance though, your power feels different. May I taste it?”  
Takeshi flashed slender fangs at Ylian, but they stepped back slightly.  
“That might not be such a good idea, the power of my Avatar aspect might be a bit too much even for you, we don't want you to be affected by the haze during the meeting.”  
Takeshi huffed in disappointment, but he wouldn't push the issue, Ylian was right after all, he needed to be clear headed and not under the influence of blood intoxication, even if Ylian's essence technically wasn't blood the effect was the same.  
“Ylian... I think you should allow it.”  
When Miri spoke up all eyes focused on her and they could see the silver swirl of her eyes.  
“I will heed you words Seer.”  
Ylian bowed his head slightly before baring his neck at Takeshi.  
“Go ahead amo, but be careful please, the essence of an Avatar is potent.”  
“Take, just a single drop.”  
Miri's words held a clear warning so Takeshi took Ylian's hand instead of going for the offered neck and with careful pressure of a claw he pricked a fingertip to allow a single drop of black blood to form before licking it away.  
The moment he touched the not-blood a jolt of energy surged through him, it was dizzying and he could feel the crimson haze creeping at the edges of his senses, but he was able to shake it off and regain control.  
“Whoa, that's intense.”  
Ylian just snickered at Takeshi's somewhat dazed expression, the tone held a very obvious _'Told you so'_ that made Takeshi bare his fangs in mock annoyance before chasing the group toward the mist-portal.  
Takeshi turned to Dan just as he was about to cross into the gateway.  
“Dan, look after my house, our pack. Especially Jenna and Hugin, don't let them worry too much and don't let Hugin refuse to eat.”  
“Would you stop being such a worrywart, I swear you are more of a mother-hen than our resident brooder could ever be.”  
Dan huffed at him, but Takeshi could feel the stir of emotions, Dan was obviously happy about the trust he had been given, but also nervous which he was trying to hide by pretending to be annoyed.  
“Don't worry love, you will do just fine.”  


Takeshi took a deep breath to steady himself as he stepped out of the mist-portal that had been set up in the ready-room behind the main floor of the great hall in the Zürich UN center.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Angel, are you in control of the computers?”  
“Yes, I am fully integrated into all systems, they are under my control.”  
“Deploy the umbrella please.”  
“Right away, yemo.”  
Takeshi huffed at Angels insistence on using titles and moments later a shiver went through his body as the electronic countermeasures of the UN center activated, blocking all transmissions to and from the building other than those transmitted through a dedicated hard-line that Angel was in full control of.  
Moments later a demonic shield activated with a similar purpose, but able to handle communication through demonic abilities, it was a loan from Lucifer as they were very hard to make, they needed to block communication while at the same time not interfere with mating- and pack-bonds.  
“Everyone, let's do this.”  


When the doors opened those assigned to guard duty stepped out first and caused quite a ruckus as everyone could see they were not human, once they had taken their places Angel began the introductions, starting with Ylian as they would be the one to bring in the tank that had become a throne.  
“The honorable Avatar, Imora-ieri.”  
Ylian walked out into the empty space at the main stage of the room and quickly wove shadows into a summoning circle and brought in the large crystal structure.  
“The great Seer of House Shamarai, Miri of Atlantis.”  
Takeshi smiled at Miri's excited song as the dryads picked the tank up and carried into the hall and connected it with the rest of the structure, using their elemental powers to ensure that it was properly filled with water and that the water flowed freely.  
“The Gatekeeper, Izorei Atlantea.”  
Amanda stepped out and walked to the left hand side of the throne where she carefully folded her kimono and sat down and the moment she did one of the dryads brought her a pitcher of water and a chalice.  
“Sorcha, Majordomo of House Shamarai. And our most honored Yemo of House Shamarai, head of these proceedings.”  
Sorcha stepped up and opened the door for Takeshi and once he stepped out she took her place at his right side  


Takeshi stepped into the larger hall and walked over to the throne, and the moment he sat down it came to life, the crystals glowing and all of the sanctuary creatures waking up, he couldn't help smiling when a holographic image of Hugin in his raven form flickered to life at his left shoulder, no doubt there was a matching holographic screen in the garden showing Hugin the view of the hall.  
There was quite a lot of talking, disbelief and shock and the sheer volume of the noise was making Takeshi's head hurt and he could see that most of the demon emissaries were uncomfortable as well.  


“ _ **Djitscha!”  
**_

Takeshi's voice was heavy with his power and his aura flared across the hall as he demanded silence and the effect was instant, silencing everyone except the members of his house who were used to the weight of his power. _ **  
**_ It had been a bit of a test, to see if his _command_ would work even if the listener didn't understand the words spoken, and it seemed it would work at least for simple things, like demanding silence.  
_“Everything is ready.”_  
Angel's final words over the com implant made him take a deep breath, it was now or never.  


“ _You have been gathered here today to begin the process of signing a treaty that will ensure a clean and safe way to meet the power-requirements of this world.”_  
Takeshi spoke in Urui and Angel translated to all the languages of the world through the interpreter system already built into the great hall.  
“The United States of America do not negotiate with terrorists!”  
He almost smiled, the US representative's outburst was expected and his answer was ready.  
“How fortunate then, representative Taylor, that this is not a negotiation. We are merely here to sign the treaty as courtesy dictates that such matters be handled in person.”  
“You attack us, cause the death of millions, then expect us to just nod and sign away one of our member states? You´re insane! And it's Vice President Taylor!”  
“ **Representative Taylor** , how long do you believe your union will be able to hold out before the people revolt and elect leaders that will agree to the terms so that power can be restored?” _  
_ Takeshi put extra emphasis on _Representative_ just to annoy the man and Angel reflected that in her translation, the more agitated he was the easier it would be to manipulate him.  
Taylor was about to say something else, but Sorcha stepped forward and silenced him before demanding that they observe the proper procedures established for such meetings and moments later the display in front of Takeshi lit up as everyone wanted to ask questions.  
“You will all be given opportunity to ask your questions once Shamarai Yemo has finished his address.”  


It was time for Takeshi's speech and with a pulse of power he stood up and walked up to the speaker's podium.  
“As representative Taylor so bluntly pointed out, I was behind the attacks that took out most of the world's power production. But I did not act out of malice, quite the contrary. Human kind has become a plague upon their realm, like virus that reproduces without caring about the survival of the host.”  


_-Humankind has continued to demand more and more of their realm, but without taking care of the nature that nurtures them, instead greed has dictated policies and methods.  
-Instead of encouraging and promoting research into, and development of, cleaner, safer and more efficient methods, they have been suppressed and hidden, great minds assassinated in order to safeguard the profits from the old methods.  
-All this has been done without care for the world you live in, a world that is now on the brink of collapse and if it falls, the balance of the realms will crumble, and the other realms will fall along with it.  
-To prevent this the realm is trying to purge itself of the infection that is killing it, the natural disasters, the pandemics, that is all this realm trying to purge itself, trying to reduce the population of the infectious life-form to a level it can withstand.  
-But alas, humankind is nothing if not adaptable and resilient, so the world has been preparing to wipe them out completely, even if it will destroy many other species as well, the balance of the realms must be protected at all cost.  
-But there are some of us that feel that mankind is a part of that balance, so we stepped in and removed what has been a major cause of the decline of the realm, the hazardous methods of energy production.  
-And as humanity has refused to change the methods when merely offered alternatives, I decided to use more extreme means, wiping out the old ways you have no choice, either you accept my terms, or you watch your nations descend into the dark-ages._  


There was quite bit of talking once Takeshi indicated he was done talking, but this time they didn't put a stop to it, instead he took his seat and focused on talking to Amanda and Miri.  
Miri was watching the room with her seer's eyes and the calm in her aura told Takeshi that she wasn't seeing anything troubling.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


They waited almost an hour before Sorcha stepped up to the podium and called for silence.  
“We will now allow you to ask your questions about terms placed upon the nations of the world.”  
The display instantly lit up again and Angel began sorting through the submitted questions, picking a few speakers to ask the most common questions.  


“Representative Pedersen of the Kingdom of Denmark, you may address the Shamarai Yemo.”  
“Among your demands is quite a lot of land, including a significant area of Greenland. I would like to know what your plans are for this land.”  
“Most of the land, like the parts of Greenland that are the Danish concern, will be designated wildlife preserves. Human settling will be limited and priority given to native cultures adhering to traditional lifestyles.”  
“My translation said _'most'_ , is that translation accurate?”  
The question wasn't really about the translation, what the woman wanted to know was what the plans were for the areas that did not fall into the category Takeshi had described.  
“It is. Some areas, like Hawaii will serve a further purpose to become a safe haven for those within the human realm who are not entirely human. Creatures that most of you would consider to be legends, fairy-tales or superstitions.”  
At the mention of Hawaii the US representative instantly bolted to his feet to begin arguing, but a sharp flare of Takeshi aura signaled the US emissary to intervene and silence the irate man.  
“Please, continue representative Pedersen.”  
Sorcha nodded for Denmark's representative to continue.  
“What kind of creatures would these be?”  
“There are three main categories, those who are entirely non human, such as your elves, the fae, demons and nature spirits like the dryads here. Then we have the crossbreeds, people who are descendants of unions between humans and non-humans, like the guard of the Japanese representative's assistant.”  
Takeshi couldn't help the slightly teasing edge to his aura as he nodded toward Kasumi and Knight.  
Japan had already signed the treaty after negotiations with Kasumi, and when the meeting was called the Japanese Prime Minister had asked Kasumi to attend as his assistant.  
“And finally we have creatures who may have begun as humans, or are essentially human but have powers beyond those of a human, like shapeshifters, psychics and similar.”  
The Danish representative nodded slowly before thanking Takeshi for his answers and re-taking her seat.  


Moments later the US representative bolted up and began ranting about how they would never agree to hand over Hawaii to a bunch of terrorists.  
“You fail to understand the situation you are in representative Taylor. If you review it you will find that you have no choice, if you do not sign the treaty we will simply take it, and you will not receive the power generators.”  
“The UN will never stand for that!”  
“Like you, the UN has little choice but to stand behind Hawaii becoming a sovereign nation under the rule of an appointed council. If they do not the treaty will be void and no one will receive the power generators.”  
The rather sharp response caused a bit of a stir, but it was expected, Takeshi would have to pull of quite a balancing act, some points he was willing to made concessions but other points he would not budge on in any way.  
When the US representative was about to speak up again Sorcha stepped in and silenced him again.  


“Representative Balewa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, you may address the Shamarai Yemo.”  
Sorcha called the next name of the list Angel provided.  
“Shamarai Yemo, these terms will not be easy to comply with, our nation has struggled for many years trying to end the poaching of our great animals. But we are a poor nation, with large lands, and the poachers are well organized.”  
Takeshi didn't need Angels translation as the representative spoke Swahili, a language he had learned from Shani, but hearing it spoken again did cause a pang of pain as it reminded him of the unit, but moments later he could feel their spirits stir, reminding him they were not truly lost.  
“We are well aware of the problems your government has faced trying to put an end to the poaching. And thus will not demand that you manage this on your own, if you agree a task-force will be formed that will work with your government to regain control, there are also many tribes living in those lands that would be willing to aid.”  
Sarisha's tribe was located in Sudan, but there were many other small tribes of blessed across the entire African continent that would be willing to help safeguard against poachers outside of their own territories.  


The contrast between Takeshi's response to the US representative and his reply to the concerns raised by the Congo caused a bit of a stir, and helped show that perhaps the demands were not as unreasonable as they might seem, but Takeshi suspected that it was only the beginning, and that the hardest part would probably be securing Hawaii from the US.  
The US representative was stubborn and argumentative, Takeshi had studied him in great detail and knew the man would not give in easily, far too concerned with his own position, pride and vanity.  


“That is enough questions for now. We will pause for a meal and reconvene in two hours to work through the details of the global treaty. The signing and national treaties will be dealt with on an individual basis.”  
After about an hour of questions Sorcha stepped in and ended the meeting.  
“Food and drinks have been provided in the cafeteria as a token of good faith.”  
The last part wasn't entirely true though, the main reason for providing the food was to show that they had suffered no ill effects of the war or the aftermath of taking out the power-production, even in the short time since the attack most nations were starting to feel the pinch as food supplies dwindled rapidly.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“No, please Sorcha-dora, sit, relax, we will serve.”  
The oldest of the dryad sisters objected when Sorcha moved to begin serving Takeshi and the others their food.  
“Your service is much appreciated, but you were brought here to serve and aid our seer, you do not need to serve the rest of us.”  
Takeshi took care to point out that he didn't expect them to serve him or the others as well.  
“Please Yemo, we are only happy to help.”  
“In that case, please, go ahead.”  


Takeshi and his group were seated at a separate table in the cafeteria hall, and it did cause a bit of a stir, the representatives had expected them to make use of one of the private meeting-room for their meal.  
But Takeshi rather be in the cafeteria where he could listen in on conversations and feel the aura of those who spoke, while Angel could relay the words to him she was still unable to relay the feel of the one speaking.  
She could pick up on basic cues of deception such as voice patterns, eye movements, respiration, pulse and perspiration, but they were still not as accurate as a person's aura.  


It was maybe 10 minutes into the meal when he noticed the Japanese representative approaching their table.  
“Representative Yoshida, what can we do for you?”  
“I would like to thank you for the most generous meal.”  
“You are welcome, but I feel that is not your true reason for approaching.”  
Takeshi already knew why the Japanese representative was there though, Knight had given him a heads up.  
“Ah, indeed, I have come hoping to be allowed to make a somewhat selfish request. Kiryu-sama's Kage tells me that the meat we have been served is something you call _Gong_ and that this gong makes the most delicious sashimi. As I am very fond of sashimi I would like to ask if I could be allowed the privilege of sampling a piece.”  
“Of course. Come, sit.”  
Takeshi nodded toward one of the unused chairs and Yoshida bowed deeply before taking the offered seat.  
“ _Tiima_ , would you you please prepare a selection of the raw cuts that are safe for human consumption.”  
“Of curse Yemo.”  
_Tiimi_ was a common address used when addressing servants of a higher standing and one of the dryad sisters immediately approached to do as Takeshi had asked, though he could feel an undercurrent of confusion from them as it was usually not an address used by those who employed the servants, they would usually just call them by their first name, without any titles.  
“Safe?”  
Yoshida sounded slightly concerned.  
“Some of these foods contain various amounts of poison as they come from creatures that possess toxins for protection, or hunting.”  
“Ah, similar to fugu?”  
“Indeed, but some are far more deadly.”  
Yoshida nodded his understanding before thanking the dryad as she placed a plate with various cuts in front of him and a an identical plate in front of Takeshi, to allow Takeshi to guide him through the various cuts.  


When Yoshida thanked them for the meal and returned to his own party there was about an hour left of the assigned lunch break so Takeshi turned to Amanda and Ylian to sate a different kind of hunger, not caring in the least that there was still quite a lot of people in the cafeteria.  
He had barely started when a discreet flare of aura called for his attention and he looked up to find a rather young looking demon standing at a respectful distance.  
“Yes?”  
“Shamarai-yemo, may I have a moment of your time?”  
“Of course, Marakell of House Duneii was it?”  
“That is correct, thank you iero.”  
Marakell carefully stepped closer, mindful not to allow their own alpha nature trigger Takeshi's protective or possessive instincts.  
“As you are no doubt aware I am incubus and sensing the amount of energy you and your simori release I felt it would be a waste to not at least ask if I may approach and partake in the abundance.”  
“How long has it been since you fed?”  
“Longer than I would prefer, but not so long that my control is at risk.”  
“What do you think, should we let him alleviate his hunger?”  
Neither Amanda nor Ylian had any objections so Takeshi nodded for Marakell that he could approach and feed.  
_“Take, you should invite him to join you.”_  
Miri's silent words made Takeshi look at her, and as he suspected she was under the influence of her power.  
“Marakell if my simori do not object you are welcome to come closer, to touch and feed more deeply.”  
Takeshi followed Miri's suggestion and invited the incubus to join them, though Amanda made it quite clear that while she did not mind if he touched Takeshi or Ylian, she would not tolerate him touching her.  
“I will will respect your desire not to be touched Izorei Atlantea. Imora-yemi, may I?”  
“You may if my simiro can handle it.”  
Takeshi nodded that it was okay, but warned him to be careful, he was unsure how far he could tolerate the unrelated alpha when it came to touching his mate-to-be..  
_“Miri, do you know why your sight is telling you that we should invite and feed him?”  
“He is near death from starving himself, I don't know why though.”  
_ “Marakell, my seer tells me you did not tell us the entire truth regarding your hunger. You are near death, are you not?”  
“I am, but you have my word, I will not lose control, never again.”  
“Again?”  
Takeshi instantly picked up on the barely whispered last words.  
“A long time ago I was injured badly in a fight, when I returned home my mate offered her energy to help me heal, but I lost control and she was too weak to withstand it. That day I swore I would never feed of someone weaker than myself.”  
It was obvious that Marakell was not comfortable with sharing the information, but did so anyway out of respect.  
“You have our condolences. I can't even begin to imagine such a pain.”  
“Thank you.”  
Takeshi could feel that he was thanking them not only for their condolences, but for their lack of judgment.  
“It must have been hard for you to feed with such a restriction, you are Shirai, are you not?”  
“Ganrai actually, but both my parents are Shirai so I am stronger than most Ganrai.”  
“Well, you are welcome to feed from us, all we can handle.”  
Marakell didn't answer, he merely nodded and opened his aura to them and the moment he felt Takeshi he startled and stared at him.  
“You are...?”  
Marakell had obviously sensed that Takeshi was in the early stages of his heat when their unshielded auras touched.  
“Don't worry, I am soulmated, and it's still weeks until my my peak, I can handle having another alpha around as long as you don't pose a challenge.”  


“Can you handle being dominated by another alpha?”  
Takeshi found himself being rather attracted to the incubus, he, as all of his kind was good looking and possessed a strong sex appeal.  
“With your power, yes. My own alpha nature is not very strong.”  
“Then will you permit me to take you?”  
Takeshi chose to ask instead of his usual teasing, it was safer as any hint of challenge from Marakell would trigger his own instincts.  
“I will.”  
“Tiima, would you be willing to use your abilities to give us a measure of privacy?”  
The privacy wasn't really for them, but for the humans who still remained in the cafeteria.  
“Of course Yemo.”  
As the dryad shifted their forms to form a copse of trees Takeshi turned his attention to their guest.  
“We don't have all that much time though, but we should be able to sate some of your hunger.”  
Leaning in he began to trail nibbling kisses along Marakell's neck, testing his reaction and was pleased to find that he submitted without any hint of struggle.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“No! No way! We will never agree to Hawaii's secession under these circumstances and unilateral secession is in violation of the constitution!”  
Takeshi was struggling not to sigh as the US representative once again objected to the terms of the agreement, most of the other nations had agreed, though some did so with objections.  
They did however realize that it was in their best interest to agree, and were no doubt hoping to worm their way out of paying the price later.  
“With all due respect Vice President Taylor, this is not about the US alone, this concerns the entire world. We simply cannot afford to refuse this treaty.”  
The french representative, UN Ambassador Gauthier had been selected to speak on behalf of the majority of the representatives, trying to talk some sense into Taylor and a handful of other representatives that were refusing the treaty, but without much success.  
The US representative was simply refusing to “surrender territory” to what he called terrorists, while the main objection for the others was the fact that Takeshi and the others were not human, refusing to surrender to the _Devil's minions.  
_ Takeshi reached out with his aura ad wrapped it around Merle's as the angel was growing increasingly agitated by how several of the religious representatives were speaking of Lucifer.  
_“Easy Merle, they only know of twisted legends, lies they have been fed for generations.”  
_ Merle did relax slightly, but it was obvious he was struggling with it, as one of Lucifer's sworn guards it was his duty to uphold the honor of his Lord.  
**“It is our duty as servants of our almighty Lord to smite down the followers of Satan, even if they were once angels of our Lord!”  
** The speaker was referring to the snow-wing angel that had been selected to be the emissary for the Vatican, hoping that her likeness to the traditional description of the _'Angel of the Lord'_ would make the deeply religious group more open to listening to her. **  
“It is our duty to devote ourselves to the total destruction of the deceiver, Lucifer, father of lies!”**  
Takeshi just sighed at the outburst, there was no way he would be able to hold Merle back now, not with what would be seen as a direct threat spoken against Lucifer.  
_“Please, try not to kill the pathetic fool.”  
“No promises.”_  
A moment later a black blur streaked across the space between Takeshi and the speaker, and an obsidian blade was leveled against the offenders throat.  
The outcry was immediate but Takeshi stepped up and silenced them.  


“ _ **Djitscha!”  
**_

This time the effect wasn't quite as strong as they were trying to resist, but nevertheless the room stilled.  
“Merle here is an Imperial Guard of the Obsidian Halls, sworn to the service of their Lord, Lucifer, the Light who Fell, Avatar of Defiance. It is his duty to protect the honor of his Lord, and to strike down any whom dare threaten him.”  
Takeshi left out Lucifer's title as an Avatar of Chaos as it could make matters worse.  
The creature that had been the base for the legends of the Christian “God” was an Avatar of Order, which had caused some issues with the significantly younger, potential Avatar that Lucifer had been at the time.  
“I suggest you mind your words and make sure not to speak of Lucifer in a threatening manner.”  
Takeshi almost smiled at the irritated twitch in Merle's wings when he spoke of Lucifer without titles, the angel would no doubt complain later.  
It took a few minutes to diffuse the situation and Takeshi could feel that Merle was struggling to maintain control, and to maintain his transformation that adjusted his size.  
“Merle, you may return to your true form if you think that will help you maintain control.”  
“Thank you Yemo.”  
The reactions when Merle grew back to his true form were quite amusing and Takeshi could hear Miri's soft song that was the merfolk equivalent of giggling, which made Amanda smile as well.  


After another hour of what could only be described as bickering back and forth Sorcha stepped up and announced that they would be taking a break and reconvene in half an hour.  
“Refreshments will be served in the cafeteria if you are hungry.”  
“One last point please?”  
The french representative spoke up before anyone had a chance to move.

“Go ahead.”  
Takeshi gave a short not.  
“When we reconvene we would suggest a vote as we are getting nowhere like this.”  
“What kind of vote?”  
He had his suspicions, but wanted to make sure.  
“How many are in favor of acknowledging Hawaii as a sovereign state on the condition that they can present a viable option for self government and management of the current US citizens residing within the territory.”  
It was questions and concerns they had been prepared for so Takeshi quickly asked Angel to give them the information they needed.  
“Information is being transferred to your tablets detailing plans for government structure both short term and long term as well as how to manage current residents. How about we extend the break to one hour to give you some time to look at it?”  
They quickly agreed to Takeshi's suggestion and the gathered representatives filed out of the grand hall for their break, Takeshi and his group however did not join them this time, instead they withdrew to the small ready room to sate a different kind of hunger and Takeshi invited Marakell to join them once again.  
“Merle, would you please watch over Marakell's charge during the break?”  
“Of course!”  
Merle was more than happy to not be there during their more intimate activities.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Take, come. Closer!”  
Miri was beckoning him to lean in over the edge of her tank and he was somewhat suspicious as to what her intentions were, but he did as she asked anyway, he was a curious creature after all.  
There was a slight splash as she used her powerful tail to propel herself out of the water and plant a quick kiss on his lips and he instantly cursed the fact that he couldn't really kiss her back due to the sheer difference in size between them.  
Licking his lips he groaned at the slight taste of her, it was eager and inviting, and he could feel a slight stir in his instincts.  
“Miri, please, try not to tease me like that right now.”  
She just smiled at him and used her tail to beckon him.  
“Come. Dreamscape!”  
It would seem she was set on playing with him, but he had invited Marakell for a reason and his gaze flicked between them in a moment of indecision.  
“She is you Seer, her needs must be tended before those of an outsider.”  
Marakell quickly settled the matter by making it clear that he would refuse to be placed ahead of Miri.  
“Don't worry amo, I will see to that my kin here can feed a bit. I have plenty of life force to spare, and perhaps I can talk our dear Manda into allowing me to tease her a bit.”  
Ylian assured that Marakell's hunger would be taken care of and Amanda agreed that she would try to help.  


Takeshi made himself comfortable in one of the large couch chairs and moments later he found himself in the dreamscape, the surroundings was one of the kelp-forests near Atlantis and he was in his naga form.  
They sound of mermaid song drew his attention and he slowly moved closer.  
As the kelp gave way for clearing with a colorful reef he spotted what could only be Miri, but she was much larger now, and stunningly beautiful.  
“Miri, is this what you will look like when your growth-spurt is done?”  
She didn't say anything, only nodded with a smile and began to swim in a wide circle around him, tightening it for each lap she swam, the mimicry of a mating dance was a very forward way of flirting for the merfolk.

By the time she began to actually slide against his body the water was saturated with her flavor and Takeshi was struggling to stay in control, to slowly coil around her and hold her tight.  
It was not easy, the taste of her on the water was maddening, his looming heat making it all that much harder.  
“Miri, as much as I want this, I want to wait, I want it to be real.”  
The taste of rejection, disappointment was instant, how he loathed that flavor.  
“Easy, I have an idea you might enjoy.”  
Slowly he allowed his own influence and will take over the dreamscape and turn the underwater scene into a beautiful, alien beach before altering both their forms into human forms and gently helping Miri leave the water and walk on the beach.  


“Miri, Seer of House Shamarai, will you permit me to be your Guide? Permit me to teach you about pleasure in the way of the land-dwellers?”  
“Please...”  
Her smile held an alluring mixture of shy innocence, curiosity and a delicious hint of desire that Takeshi had grown to enjoy immensely.  
With a single thought the scene around them shifted slightly, it was still the same alien beach with it's bright blue sand and silver water, but a thick covering of soft, red, grass was spreading around their feet to give them a comfortable place to lay down.  
Slowly helping her down he allowed her to get comfortable before kneeling down above her, gently tracing his claws along the patterns of scales that were present even in the more human form he had given her.  
“Don't worry Miri, in the dreamscape we have all the time we could ever need.”  
The way her eyes widened in a mix of anticipation and almost-fear as he leaned in to kiss her made him smile, then the flavor of her made him groan.  


When Takeshi slowly roused from his meditative state he was greeted by the sound of amused chuckling and opening his eyes revealed the cause, Marakell was looking rather frazzled, almost singed.  
Leveling them with a questioning look he waited for someone to collect themselves enough to explain.  
“Ah, amo, you see, whatever you did with little Miri in there caused you release some rather potent energies.”  
Ylian was trying to be diplomatic, but was failing to suppress their amusement at the situation.  
“What yi is trying to say is that you had enough fun with our obviously not all so sweet and innocent Miri here to ensure that every succubus and incubus in all of Zürich won't need to worry about their next meal for quite some time.”  
Amanda was struggling to keep a straight face as she spoke.  
“I.. Since you were only putting out a small trickle of energy, and I did not wish to disturb your meditation by reaching out for you I dropped my usual defenses and opened my soul to your energies.”  
Takeshi had promised Marakell that he could freely feed of any sexual energy they released and it would seem the incubus would take great care not to have that promise rescinded.  
The sound of Amanda breaking down into laughter again made Takeshi look at her with a raised eyebrow but she was too far gone to speak up.  
“Your release of energy was quite sudden, and quite intense, and our guest had opened himself fully to the energies you were releasing.”  
Ylian was maintaining a rather diplomatic tone that made Takeshi very suspicious,  
“Okay, will someone please get a grip and tell me what the hell is so damned funny!”  
The sharp tone of Takeshi's voice was somewhat counteracted by the amused frustration in his aura and it only made things worse as Ylian broke down into laughter as well so Takeshi turned to Marakell with a glare.  
The incubus squirmed a bit before turning around and showing Takeshi his back, and there, over the mashen a somewhat familiar mark was glowing brightly.  
Takeshi stared owlishly at the mark before breaking down into laughter himself.  
“What's happening?”  
Miri woke from the dreamscape to find the other laughing like they had lost their minds but when she saw the mark on Marakell's back she too began laughing.  
The sudden release of energy, along with the fact that Marakell had opened his soul to Takeshi's energy had caused a marking, it was similar to a mating mark but it was one sided, like a brand telling everyone that Marakell belonged to Takeshi, and Miri.  


When they finally calmed down a bit Takeshi turned to Marakell and offered to remove the mark but Marakell shook his head.  
“No, it's fine, I don't mind. I owe you my life after all.”  
Takeshi paused for a moment to consider Marakell's words.  
“No Marakell of Duneii, you owe your life to the Seer Miri, ward of House Shamarai. Had it not been for her I would not have invited you like this. And if you still wish to show your gratitude, you can do so by swearing the oath of the Seers Champion.”  
It was a bit of a gamble, Takeshi had no authority to ask such a thing of Marakell, and it could backfire, even make Marakell challenge him.  
The somewhat stunned look on Marakell's face slowly faded into in thoughtfulness, then acceptance as he smiled and gave a short nod to Takeshi before turning toward Miri and bowing down with his wings spread low.  
Marakell spoke the oath with a soft but steady voice, and when he was done he patiently waited for Miri to decide if he was worthy.  
“Yemo.”  
Miri reached up for Takeshi and he carefully picked her up from the water and held her close to Marakell's shoulder so she could reach out and tap it, formally accepting his oath.  
When Marakell looked up Takeshi held out Miri toward him and with a short nod Marakell carefully took her from Takeshi's hands and placed her back into the tank, a show of trust and a formal sign of giving Marakell the duty of being Miri's caretaker when Takeshi could not.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Shamarai-yemo, we have a few questions about the material we have been given.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“There is no information about how long a term of office will be or how elections will be handled.”  
“Simple, there will be no elections. All government and public office positions will be filled based on merit, not popularity.”  
As expected the objections were instant.  


“To select the government based on a popularity contest is foolish at best, being popular, or as is the case in most human governments, have the financial and media backing to manipulate the masses does not mean you are suited for the position.”  
Again there were objections, but Sorcha quickly silenced them.  
“Demons have a very different approach to government, the strongest claim territory and and rule it as Lord or Lady of the land. They have the ultimate say in matters regarding their land and their subjects, but they are also expected to use their power to protect.”  
Takeshi continued to explain how the lands were ultimately ruled by the powerful, but how most of the day to day running of a territory was performed by various councils with members selected for their expertise and skill.  
“While there are no elections, there are referendums in matters that are of great concern to the people.”  
“And what about legal and judicial? There is nothing here about police, court or prison systems.”  
“In the beginning there will be two separate systems, one for the human population and one for the non-human population, but they will eventually be merged. As for police all such matters will be handled by the guard-force. A human police officer will simply not be able to handle a demonic perpetrator.”  
“And if a demon commits a crime, how will they be judged?”  
“It depends a bit, if the victim is human a combination of demon and human law will be applied, but if the victim is demon they will be judged by demon law.”  
“So for instance if a demon kills someone, what would happen?”  
“It depends a lot on the circumstances, like the species of the victim and if there is questions about the legality of the kill they would be brought before the ruler and a council with extensive knowledge about demon law, as well as abilities related to being able to detect lies.”  
“Legal kill?”  


Takeshi didn't see who interrupted him, but he answered anyway.  
“Demon law is harsh, and challenges are often fought to the death, killing someone in challenge or killing a tharas is not considered a crime.”  
“And what are these tharas?”  
Angel had chosen to not translate the word as it could have several meanings.  
“A tharas is an outcast, someone who has committed a crime that had branded them as unworthy to be permitted to live within demon society, they are not allowed to enter any demon city or village. Guards **will** kill them on sight and it is permitted for anyone to kill them at any time”  
There were a few shocked gasps but Takeshi ignored them and pushed on.  
“I branded a male connected to my House myself once for trying to rape a young female and showing no remorse, claiming that taking her was his right. Had he not been stopped before doing more than scaring her and giving her a few bruises he would have been executed on the spot as she had not yet reached her ramhiri, so she was the demon equivalent of a minor, a child.”  
He noted quite a few agreeing nods, many obviously approved of how rapists were handled under demon law.  
“Demons don't incarcerate their criminals the way humans do, the most common punishment is to pay restitution to the victims, usually combined with forced labor and banishment from the community where the victim lives, a form of permanent restraining order.. More grievous crimes are usually punished by death, or banishment from all demon society.”  
There was a moment of hectic whispering before one of the representatives spoke up again.  
“But isn't total banishment a death-sentence in itself? How are they to survive if they are not allowed to enter the cities?”  


The question opened up for Takeshi to bring up another of the main points he had selected to reveal to the humans, letting them know that demons were not as abundant as humans, though more powerful.  
He was willing to force the issue, to conquer Hawaii, but t would be much easier if he could convince them to give it to him, to make them think they had a choice, to think they had chosen it themselves.  
“The outcasts can survive quite well in the unclaimed territories known as the Badlands as most demons are far more resilient than humans. The demon realm is mostly wilderness, it's total size is about the same as the human realm, as earth, but demons don't count the population of their cities in millions, or even tens of millions, or nation's reaching billions.”  
Takeshi explained that most demon cities would be concidered little more than villages of a few hundred or towns with a population of a few thousand, even the large cities only count their population in tens of thousands and an entire territory, the equivalent of a nation, rarely has more than 100.000 subjects.  


“And if a demon kills a human?”  
“It will depend on the level of provocation, if unprovoked they will have to pay restitution, then be sent back to the demon-realm to be marked as tharas, but if the kill was provoked the punishment will be less severe, and with more extreme provocation there might be no punishment at all.”  
“What kind of provocation?”  
“For instance if you threaten or injure the mate of a demon outside of a challenge they **will** kill you and by demon law they will be well within their right to do so. Some provocations, such as challenges and some insults will also result in a swift and lethal reaction. But the humans who chose to stay would be informed of this.”  


There was several more rounds of questions before they finally put the matter to a vote and Takeshi was pleased to see that the vote to turn Hawaii over to him and the rule of demons in return for the new power-source was passed with crushing majority.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


After the vote was done the meeting was adjourned and the signing would take place the next day.  
“Miri are you sure you want to stay?”  
“Yes, we need to stay.”  
“As you wish my little Seer.”  
Takeshi teased softly before leaning over and putting his hand in the water only to have her dash away with a teasing laugh.  
“Prove your worth yemo. I wish to toast but have neither chalice nor drink.”  
”Oh, my Seer has a quest for me?”  
“Mhm.”  
The playful feel of her aura and the somewhat impish tone told him that it was not a true quest, more like Miri playing a bit to get used to her role as a Seer and he was more than happy to play along if it helped her feel more comfortable in her role.  
Stepping up to the tank he kneeled down and lowered his wings into a submissive pose, though his aura didn't follow suit.  
“Ask what you will of me Seer and I shall put my honor on the line to fulfill your every desire.”  
It wasn't the proper words for accepting such a quest and his teasing words made her blush vividly and splutter a few times before she spoke up.  
“I wish to toast our victory today, but I find myself lacking both the chalice and the contents. Go bring me something suitable.”  
“And what sort of chalice and drink would satisfy our Seer?”  
“A want for a chalice that has not been crafted.”  
It would seem the test would be of his wits and he nodded his understanding.  
“And a sweet drink not brewed or blended, not taken from the body of neither man, demon or beast. Nor the juices from plant or fruit or stolen from the labor of others.”  
Takeshi had to congratulate her on her task, it would not be an easy one to figure out.  
“As you wish my Seer.”  
“Now go, I would prefer to hold my toast before the sun sleeps.”  
Again there was a slight twist on traditional words, giving him until sunset to complete his task.  


When he stepped out of the room he was met by a group wearing tactical gear similar to the equipment used by SWAT teams and similar special units, but there were details that didn't fit.  
“Ambassador Shamarai, we are your escort for the duration of your stay.”  
They wore no unit insignia, patches or other identification and some of the gear was definitely not standard issue, like the alien skull-masks they were all wearing, which told Takeshi that they were most likely a mercenary unit hired for the meeting.  
Holding up a small crystal speaker he addressed the woman with the red flame on her mask as she was clearly the leader of the group, which consisted of her, another woman and five men.  
“I have no need for babysitters.”  
He spoke in low tone and Angel translated his words in his own voice, relaying them through the speaker.  
“I have have no doubt that you don't. But I have my orders, we are to provide you with an escort whenever you leave these rooms. ”  
Takeshi gave her a slightly annoyed glare but responded with a short nod, he had after all had such assignments himself, and honestly he hadn't expected to be allowed to roam freely.  
“I trust that you will keep your distance and not bother me.”  
“Of course Ambassador. And there is no need for that device, we are all connected to the interpreter system.”  
Takeshi just huffed in dismissal and began walking toward the exit, he would spend some time walking around the secured area around the complex to consider the solution to Miri's task.  


He quickly found that his mind was rather distracted by his new company, they stayed back and out of his way in a very professional manner, but the woman who led them had him curious, and distracted.  
With a mental shake of his head he focused on his training, remove any distractions, focus on the task.  
After a few minutes his mind felt clearer than it had in a long time and he set out to find the items for Miri.  
A chalice that was not crafted brought to mind the simple drinking horns that used the naturally hollow horns of various cattle, but such an item would be much too large for Miri so he needed to find something else.  
With a somewhat frustrated sigh he took a seat under one of the many trees in the area and after a while his mind began drifting toward the mercenaries again, shifting his gaze slightly to look at the female leader he noticed the meadow flowers growing next to where she was standing, bluebells to be specific.  
Getting to his feet he slowly walked toward his babysitters and he could pick up on the nervous energy, an energy that shifted to confused as he bent down and picked one of the flowers and placed it within a small crystal bottle that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.  
The small bell-shaped flowers would make do nicely as a chalice for Miri, now he just had to figure out a solution to what to offer her to drink.  
As she wanted something sweet plain water was off the list, as well as adding flavor to water, he grumbled silently and had to admit that Miri might just have given him a riddle he could not solve, pride was evident in his aura though, she was a clever little thing.  


Takeshi had been meditating on the puzzle for a while when he heard a distraught cry not too far away, it sounded like a child, a young girl and he quickly got up and moved toward it, obviously startling his shadows a bit as he had not moved for nearly an hour.  
He quickly found the source of the cries, a young girl and a slightly older boy who obviously was her brother were looking up at one of the large birch trees, he didn't understand what they were saying though, but Angel quickly translated for him.  
_“It's up too high we will never get it down.”  
_ The boy's words only made the girl cry harder, it would seem something of hers was stuck in the tree.  
“I am detecting a radio-signal from the girl, and the tree. It seems a small drone is stuck near the top of the crown.”  
Angels words confirmed his guess and as she gave him targeting angles he quickly located the radio-controlled toy and decided to help the distraught girl, so he walked closer to the tree, stunning the two children to silence.  
Gathering some power into his legs he jumped up before unfolding his wings and and with a few powerful beats he reached the top of the crown and carefully moved toward the drone so he wouldn't knock it loose and cause it to fall and break.  
Once he had extracted the small toy from the tree he carefully landed a few meters away, mindful to fold his wings early and land in a crouch so that the gust of air wouldn't knock the humans down.  
Slowly walking toward the children he held out the drone toward the girl.  
“Oh, Mr Dragon saved saved my drone! Thanks!”  
When she noticed that he was indeed holding her drone she ran toward him with a brilliant smile and before he knew it she was hugging him and thanking him for saving her favorite toy while apologizing for not having a reward for him.  
He just patted her head gently before prompting her to take her drone and she quickly took it and began to walk back toward her rather concerned brother, but about half way she suddenly stopped and ran back to him and held out a small candy-bar as his reward, he wasn't much for sweets, but he would accept it as the gesture it was.  
Looking at the small chocolate sweet he couldn't help an amused chuckle, her little reward was far more valuable than she knew.  
“Angel, prepare to have one of the new Mandrake made drones sent to her please.”  
“Of course. May I inquire as to why?”  
“Coconut.”  
Takeshi's reply caused Angel to make a rather confused sound and he just laughed and told her he would explain later.

The chocolate bar was one of those with a coconut filling, and it gave Takeshi the solution to Miri's second riddle, Coconut water.  
It was slightly sweet, and it wasn't actually the juice of the coconut, it was merely water gathered inside the hollow nut, he would need a fresh coconut though, which was probably not available in Zürich.  
After thinking about it for a few moments he decided he might as well put on a bit of a show so with a calming breath he reached out for the Qilin mounts that Lucifer had gifted them with, as true realm-walkers they could easily travel where he needed to go.  
They would travel through a section of the borderlands that would allow them to bypass most of the distance between his current location, and a suitable tropical location.

A few minutes later the air in front of him began to shimmer and a few seconds later the two beasts appeared, tack in place and reins carefully tied to the saddle.  
He quickly untied the reins of his own steed and mounded up in a swift, smooth, motion before leaning over and taking the reins of the second beast and slowly turning toward the group of mercenaries, he would offer their leader to join him.  
“I do believe your orders were to not let me out of your sight.”  
He held the reins out toward the woman with the red flame on her mask and after a moment of hesitation she took the reins and and led the beast toward a low bench to help her reach the stirrup and saddle-horn and pull herself into the saddle.  
The qilin pranced about a bit, testing the unfamiliar rider, but settled down when Takeshi scolded gently.  
The flicker of surprise and fear from the woman as they shimmered into the borderlands was quickly replaced by a sense of awed amazement, and avid curiosity as they traveled through the alien landscape of the borderland.  
A few minutes later the once again shimmered through the veil and found themselves on a small beach littered with coconut palms and Takeshi quickly dismounted and tied up the reins, he would let the qilin wander and graze as they saw fit while he looked for a few nice, fresh coconuts.  
When he reached out to offer his keeper a hand in getting down he could feel a rather annoyed flicker through her aura, but she accepted the help.  
“Thank you Mr Ambassador.”  
“Please you may address me as Iero.”  
He wanted nothing more than to tell her his real name, but though he had a good feeling about her he couldn't risk it, not yet.  
“Thank you, Iero...”  
“Good, and how may I address you?”  
For a long moment she remained silent so Takeshi didn't think she would answer, but as he turned to walk away she spoke up behind.  
“My name is Sonya, but everyone calls me Red.”  
“Red Sonya, the legendary warrior who would not lay with a male who had not bested her in fair combat.”  
Her surprise that he knew of the legend was obvious and chuckled at her stunned silence.  
“I know a few young females who greatly favor the legend of the human girl who rose from the horrors and became a warrior whom even demons hesitated to fight.”  
The flicker of discomfort that rippled through her aura told Takeshi that she probably had more in common with the legendary Red Sonya than just her name and combat-skills and he suppressed a growl as he secured the reins so they wouldn't snag.

Takeshi spent the better part of an hour looking for just the right nuts to pick, and while he did he could feel Sonya's growing amusement as he climbed up the palms and carefully tapped and shook each nut to see how well filled with water they were.  
“Not to criticize your methods Iero, but wouldn't it be easier to fly rather than jump and climb?”  
Takeshi waited for Angels rather superfluous translation to end before answering.  
“Indeed it would be, for me, but it would make things somewhat uncomfortable for you.”  
With a few short flaps of his massive wings he demonstrated his point as the blasts of air stirred up sand, dust and debris from the ground which made her cover her face despite the mask she was wearing.  
“Point taken.”  
She grumbled only to let out a startled yelp when he tossed one of the smaller coconuts to her before landing softly at the base of the palm and walking over to her.  
Holding the drupe securely in a clawed hand he used his razor sharp talons to cut away the husk and pierce the still soft shell of the nut and took a sip before offering her a drink.  
He was curious to see if she would accept, and thus remove her mask so he could see her face, and when she accepted it he looked at her with eager anticipation.  
It quickly turned to somewhat frustrated disappointment as she pulled a titanium straw from a hidden pocket and slid it into the nut, then into a hole in the mask and drank deeply.  
Her laugh was soft when he huffed at his own failure and moments later he laughed as well.  
“Well played Red, but I am not one to give up easily.”  
He held out a passion-fruit for her and she accepted it with a snort.  
“Neither am I, iero.”  
With a touch to the side of the mask a small section of the lower part of the mask unhinged and opened, but the section that moved shielded her face from his eyes as she ate the offered fruit.  
“So, from Zürich to coastal Brazil in a matter of minutes, that's one for the record-books.”  
“Actually, we were moving slow as to not overwhelm your human senses.”  
He handed her a few more fruits before going back to looking for the perfect coconut to offer Miri, he would also pick a few fruits as he knew she would love the sweet passion-fruits as well as guanábana, açai and other fruits he found in the area.  
“So, you had a sudden craving for tropical juice or maybe a fruit salad?”  
Takeshi found himself appreciating the teasing tone in her voice, it seemed she was starting to relax around him.  
“My Seer wished to drink a toast so she sent me out with a task. And since she has a deep love for all things sweet I can't miss such an opportunity to bring her something she will enjoy.”  
Sonya nodded and hummed at him while she watched him take out a crystal and shape it into container for the fruits and nuts.  
“Whoa! What just happened?!”  
She jumped back, hand on her weapon when the crystal crate vanished in a flare of power.  
“Rune teleportation, I sent the items to my home. And I will retrieve them from there once I am back with my Seer.”  
“Useful I guess.”  
Her voice carried a distinct tone of someone who was accepting matters simply due to being overwhelmed, but fortunately their little outing had reached its end and it was time to return.  
“Indeed, though unfortunately it can't be used on anything with a soul.”  
With a mix between a howl and a roar he called for the qilin and kneeling down slightly he offered Sonya to use his leg as a stepping-stone to reach the stirrup.  
“Would you like to feel how it feels when a qilin truly runs?”  
The spark of excitement in her aura was all the answer he needed as he spurred his beast to run across the borderlands with Emelie's beast at its heels with it's temporary rider clinging to the saddle with a cry of surprise that shifted into exhilaration.  
“Sit up straight is you wish to slow down.”  
Takeshi instructed her while folded his wings tightly and leaned forward to spur his own mount to move faster, it was still nowhere near their top speed, but it was plenty enough to get the adrenaline pumping.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Ultimatum_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“A chalice not crafted for my precious Seer”  
Takeshi held out the delicate flower for Miri and she clapped with joy before taking it and watching him carefully cut away most of the husk from one of the coconuts and then use a claw to pierce the shell.  
Taking one of the straws from the refreshment table he put it into the water inside the nut and plugged the hole and lifted it, and a few drops of water inside that he carefully placed into the upturned flower that Miri was holding out.  
He was struggling not to smile at the very serious face Miri was making as she carefully took a sip to test the offered drink before nodding and asking him to pour a toast for everyone.  
“To our first victory, and the first step to creating a true sanctuary.”  
Takeshi's suggested toast was greeted with cheers and everyone drank to it before countering his toast with one of their own.  
“To Hope.”  
He huffed at them for the double meaning of their words, but he drank to their toast nonetheless.

 

 


	92. Negotiations

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“With all due respect Ambassador Shamarai, we have been working with wildlife management in regards to our wolf population for many years now and the population needs to be kept in check. And the licensed hunting is vital to maintaining a healthy population by preventing inbreeding.”  
Takeshi sighed deeply, as the Swedish representative was arguing the terms of the Swedish agreement.  
One of the terms was to put an end to the hunting of the nation's small wolf population which was barely hanging on.  
“The population is barely viable due to the combination of the license hunt, the amount of animals killed illegally, and the habitat isolation preventing the natural exchange of members between the packs and formation of new packs.”  
The representative protested again that they had too much wolf as it was and that livestock was being lost as well as a number of dogs killed by wolf.  
“This is not a negotiable term, livestock can be protected using proper fencing, as for the dogs killed, I have seen the statistics, the deaths are dogs that have been running lose, mostly hunting dogs. The solution would be simple, don't have dogs running around unattended in wolf territory.”  
“The Sami population can't just fence in their reindeer herds, they need to be allowed to wander freely which they won't be able to if the wolf population becomes any bigger.”  
“That is the natural order of things, they are reimbursed for the value of animals lost to predators, and natural predation is vital to maintain a healthy population.”  
The argument continued back and forth for a while, but Takeshi refused to back down.  
“But the inbreeding.”  
“Will be dealt with by transplanting wolves from other regions that will add diversity to the gene-pool and also reestablish a natural wariness toward humans. For livestock keepers a program to breed and provide livestock guardian dogs has already been established and Sweden can easily be added to the patrons of the project.”

Takeshi had been a part of livestock guarding dog breeding project for over 20 years along with Amarok, crossbreeding a selection of dogs from breeds like Great Pyrinees, Tibetan Mastiff, Kangal, Komondor, Kuvasz, Anatolian Shepherd and even Caucasian Ovacharka.  
The surviving malamutes from the sled dogs that Takeshi and the unit had purchased had become an important part of the program as they had interbred with the blessed wolves of Amarok's pack and give rise to a highly intelligent, but human friendly line of wolf hybrids with all the senses of the wolf.  
Takeshi had been introduced to it by Sarisha as the livestock guardian dogs had been successfully introduced to the tribes in her area to protect their livestock from predators, allowing for a less hostile relationship between the humans and the great hunters of the wild.

“But...”  
Takeshi interrupted the representative, he had had enough of the arguing.  
“No, this is final, sign and receive the generators, or leave and receive nothing.”  
Takeshi was tired, and beyond frustrated as the signing of the national treaties was taking quite some time.  
Fortunately the majority of the nations had signed without much complaints, but those that remained were taking their sweet time, arguing every little detail of the demands levied against their respective nations.  
It had already been three days and every hour of delay would mean more dead before power could be restored, more lives to forever taint his conscience.  
With the signature done Takeshi left the room with a sigh, he needed some fresh air.  
He paused for a moment when he exited the room to allow Sonya and her unit to get up and follow him as they were ordered to.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“You are upset.”  
Sonya gave Takeshi a gentle nudge to move over before taking a seat next to him on the bench, making Ylian snicker as they moved over slightly to make room for Takeshi to scoot over.  
“Indeed I am Red.”  
“Care to share why?”  
He sighed deeply, over the past few days he had grown to consider her a friend, and she had obviously grown rather comfortable in his presence, even going as far as responding to his teasing.  
“Every delay means the death toll will increase, more lives added to a list that is already far too long. I don't want more lives to be lost, no more blood on my hands.”  
He brought his hands up and turned them over as if inspecting them for blood but he was somewhat surprised when a pair of very human hands took hold of his and pulled his hands down.  
“We all have blood on our hands, what matters is what we build with these bloodied hands. Will we build another generation soaked in blood, or will we build a future where our children can live without sullying their hands with the blood of the world.”  
He watched her inspect his claws for a moment before closing his hands around hers, he did so slowly, allowing her ample time to pull back if she wanted to, but she remained still, and her aura shifted slightly.  
It wasn't desire in the physical sense, instead there was yearning for acceptance, for understanding that was so strong it made his heart ache and when he gently brushed the pad of his thumb over her hand her breath hitched slightly and her aura shifted into a more relaxed pattern.  
“War is easy, killing is easy. The hard part comes after, living with the death, and building something new, something better from the ruins, to make sure the loss was not in vain.”  
What had started as her trying to soothe his mood ended with him soothing her old wounds and her relief was tangible.

A slight electric tingle along the back of his skull alerted him to an incoming call on the com-implant and he picked up the crystal speaker, silently letting Angel know to translate and transfer the call.  
“Daddy!”  
Sarah and Maria called at the same time the moment the call transferred through.  
“Hello girls. Now, why are my lovelies calling at this hour?”  
It was 11 in the morning local time, which meant is was 11 in the evening in Hawaii.  
“Daddy we miss you! Can we come visit?”  
Takeshi huffed in amusement at the eager, begging voices of his little girls, and the somewhat annoyed caw that could be heard in the background.  
“Perhaps, but you would have to maintain your shift the entire time, and speak Urui, you think you can do that?”  
He had no doubt they could, but he asked them anyway, allowing his voice to carry a hint of teasing challenge.  
“Yes!”  
“Of course!”  
The response was instant and he chuckled for a moment before asking them to put Emelie on.  
“Mommy isn't here. She's helping Hugin adjust the nest to make it warmer for the egg.”  
“So who authorized the communication?”  
“I did Alpha.”  
Dan's voice cut in over the speaker.  
“Ah, my dear Beta.”  
After a quick exchange of greetings Takeshi told Dan to ask Emelie to summon the qilin and have the girls prepare to come visit after the last meeting for the day which would be in about 7 hours.

“Red, will you allow me to ask a favor of you?”  
She nodded slightly and her aura was sparkling with curiosity.  
“When my Beta arrives with my girls will you and your unit put the safety of those little girls above all else, above any orders given, any payments offered?”  
It was a test and his word carried hints of suggestion while his aura wrapped around her and tendrils of his power seeped through the layers of energy that shielded her soul.  
She tilted her head slightly and he found himself once again wishing that her mask wouldn't hide her eyes quite so effectively, but it did, robbing him of one of the best ways to discern a person's reactions.  
But the calm swirl of her aura indicated thoughtfulness and the slight sharp edge told him she was in a serious mood, not taking his request lightly.  
“Yes, we will.”  
When she spoke up the truth of her words was obvious both in voice and aura.  
“Thank you.”  
“Kids are really important to you, aren't they?”  
“They are. Those who are too weak, or too innocent to defend themselves should be protected by those able. I am an alpha, our instincts are to protect.”  
He watched as she walked over to the rest of her little unit and listened with amused curiosity as they teased her about allowing him to get under her skin.

“Can you blame me? Unlike you barbarians he has some manners. Not to mention I don't often get to have a conversation with a male capable of thinking with the head on his shoulders instead of the one between his legs.”

The amused snort from Ylian told Takeshi they had heard Sonya's reply and didn't agree with it.  
“She obviously does not know you very well amo.”  
“Oh shush, be nice. I just don't bother suppressing the urges around you guys.”  
The approaching heat had begun to affect his libido, making him far more prone to as Sonya had put it _'thinking with the head between his legs',_ it wasn't enough to affect his control just yet though.  
_“I could try to soothe it again like I did back in the Obsidian Halls.”_  
Ylian's silent offer made Takeshi smile, they were obviously picking up on his increasing desire, and frustration at being in a situation where he couldn't act on it.  
_“I will be fine, I intend to take it out on my dear little beta when he arrives with the girls, and on you guys later tonight.”  
“Ah, a worthy pursuit indeed. Will you permit me to watch?”  
“I don't mind, but he might.”  
“It truly is a shame that _ _**yi** _ _still carries those doubts.”  
_ As usual Ylian put a bit of emphasis on the _yi_ whenever Takeshi referred to Dan as he out of habit.  
_“A shame indeed. Makes me want to find and kill anyone and everyone who caused him such doubts and insecurities.”  
“An Alpha through and through.”  
_ Takeshi just huffed at Ylian's teasing as he shifted his position slightly to allow them to place their hands on his shoulders and moments later the soft chill of Ylian's aura began soothing the familiar fire.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Much to Takeshi's relief the rest of the day went his way, the remaining representatives he met with signed the contracts without further attempts to negotiate, there were some questions, some clarifications needed, and a bit of reluctance, but they signed.

“Let's go meet our little girls, shall we?”  
Takeshi spoke into the seemingly empty room and after a moment the shadow of the bookshelf darkened and solidified into Ylian's avatar form.  
The only place where they dropped the illusions, the shifts, was in the larger VIP section connected to the small ready room, the rooms had been covered in layer upon layer of wards, both mystical and technological, to ensure that no one could see anything that happened within.  
The moment they stepped out of the small conference room they were met by Sonya and the smallest of the men in her group, the man called himself _Jackal_ and he was the recon and tracker of the group.  
“Red, Jackal.”  
Takeshi acknowledged them both with a slight nod and could feel a slight hint of guilt mixed with amusement from both of them, telling him that he had been the topic of their conversation.  
He had grown to respect Jackal after getting his ass handed to him when challenged to a game of Go, the young man was a master level player.  
If Takeshi hadn't been able to sense Jackal's youth in his aura he would have believed himself to have been playing against one of the old masters.

“Red, could you secure this area here please?”  
Takeshi indicated toward one of the grass areas with a small water feature flowing through it.  
“Of course. _Sonnet, Wizard,_ clear the east side. Jackal, take _TamTam_ on the west, _Screech_ , _Wraith_ , hold the south.”  
“Right away Red.”  
Sonya quickly sent her unit out to cover the area and they moved swiftly, shooing a handful of people from the grass.  
Takeshi looked at Wraith, the second female of the group, as she walked toward the south side, he had no doubt that she was by far the deadliest of the group.  
Her aura carried the distinct edge of an experienced and skilled killer and he could sense a hint of demonic energy in her, it was faint, either she had a demon lover, or a demonic ancestor that was quite a few generations back.  
Takeshi was pretty sure it was the former though as the demonic energy wasn't fully integrated into her aura.

“It's all clear Yemo.”  
Sonya's words brought him out of his musings and he reached out over the mating bond and gave Emelie a gentle nudge, unfortunately the distance made it hard to reach Dan over the bond as their bond was not as powerful as that of soulmates.  
Moments later there was an answering nudge that carried her amusement, and told him that they were ready, angel had no doubt informed them the moment the meetings were over with.  
It didn't take long before he felt the telltale shimmer of power that told him the two qilin were about to pierce the veil and a moment later they appeared in front of him, Dan riding Emelie's steed and his own carrying the twins.  
The moment they were fully into the human realm Takeshi moved over to Emelie's steed and took the reins, the qilin was quite spirited and Dan was a rather lousy rider.

“Thanks.”  
Dan's mumbled words of gratitude when Takeshi helped him dismount made Takeshi smile and tease him gently.  
“I told you you should get some practice with actual horseback riding.”  
“Hmph, like you don't prefer a completely different kind of riding anyway.”  
It would seem Dan was in a teasing mood, and Takeshi didn't mind at all, instead he allowed his pride flow through the bond as Dan's Urui had improved greatly, though he knew the raijū helped translate some of the nuances.  
“Oh, indeed I do my dear little Beta. But unfortunately I don't think there will be time for any of those activities this time.”  
“Can't you come to the Shamarai estate, or the Obsidian Halls for a while? Please..?”  
Dan's voice held a slightly desperate note that caused Takeshi to pull him into a tight embrace.  
“As much as I would love to spend a few days doing nothing but you, we can't risk it right now. My heat is close and and it would be very bad if it started before we are done here.”  
The teasing words had Dan blushing and spluttering in an instant before he nodded with a somewhat solemn note in his aura.  
“Can't blame a guy for trying...”  
The slight trickle of pain in Dan's aura made it perfectly clear that he had known what the answer would be, but had asked anyway.  
“Indeed. Never stop trying.”  
Takeshi soothed with a somewhat teasing undercurrent.  
“Hmph, it's not like you need the ego boost.”  
“Oh, huffy today, are we?”  
Dan took few deep breaths and let out a deep sigh before answering Takeshi's question with a bit more heat than usual.  
“I've really missed you, okay!?”  
“Ssh, easy my love, my precious mate. Believe me, I have missed you as well. More than I ever though I would.”

Their mating bond was still fresh by demon standards and it took time to get used to being apart, it had been the same with Emelie for the first few years, the bond with Sheealia wasn't nearly as strong though so it was less of a strain to be apart from her.  
He did feel the emptiness in his bond with her as well, but normally his closeness to Emelie and Dan would numb the longing, but now, being apart from all of them he felt the full force of it.  
If he had not also been apart from Jenna and Hugin the courting bonds with Amanda and Ylian might have been able to help reduce the effect, but now it was just enough to keep him balanced.  
The fact that Jenna was pregnant and Hugin's brooding fever caused him to show all of the sign you would normally see in an Obsidian female when she was pregnant or caring for an egg only made matters worse, the timing had been quite bad.

“I don't like these forms...”  
Dan complained softy as he leaned into Takeshi and Takeshi found himself agreeing wholeheartedly, the snout of a dragon made it quite impossible to kiss someone and it had given him a crash course in just how much of his interactions with his pack and house actually consisted of kisses.  
“Indeed, no kissing really sucks.”  
A lot of the time he would kiss them as a greeting, even the twins were normally greeted with a kiss on the forehead before he even spoke to them.  
“Daddy, who is the lady with the nice aura?”  
The twins effectively interrupted any further complaints by demanding an introduction.  
“Ah, she has a nice aura, doesn't she?”  
“Red, I would like you to meet my little girls.”  
Sonya immediately kneeled down in front of them to bring herself down to their level.  
“This is Sonya, but her friends call her Red.”  
The twins instantly lit up and greeted her with their usual energy.  
“Remember girls, it's not safe to use your real names here.”  
They instantly settled down a bit and their aura gained an edge of maturity before they gave him a short nod.  
“You can call us Nala and Nele.”  
The names made Takeshi snicker, it was the player-names they had used when they began playing games online, without the set of numbers to make them unique.  
“Well hello there Nala and Nele, it's nice to meet you. You father has spoken quite fondly of you.”  
The twins brilliant smiles was clearly having an effect on Sonya, and while he couldn't see her face behind the mask, Takeshi could feel her smile in her aura as he nudged Dan forward.  
“And this is my Beta and Second mate.”  
Dan held out a clawed hand and after apologizing for not using his real name he introduced himself as _'Rai'.  
_

It had caused quite a bit of confusion at first when Ylian explained that despite being the third mating bond formed Dan was considered to be Takeshi's second mate.  
This was due to the fact that they had a courting-bond formed already when Takeshi initiated courting with Sheealia, due to that she had only been second mate for as long as the bond with Dan remained a courting-bond, the moment it was solidified into a mating-bond she had been pushed down to third mate.  
The same rules meant that Ylian would at best become Takeshi's sixth mate, unless Amanda, Jenna or Hugin rejected the courting and shattered the bond.

With introductions out of the way the focus quickly shifted to playing with the twins, and the games were the usual mix of fun and training that was typical for most demon cultures.  
“Come on girls, let's see who can catch it first.”  
Takeshi had created a small bird from one of the sanctuary crystals and breathed temporary life into the creation and tossed it into the air to see how well the girls were able to fly in their borrowed form.  
They both complained about how hard it was to fly in their current form but Takeshi teased them gently and offered a bribe in the form of a large plate of their favorite zimara sashimi to whomever caught it first, and without damaging it.  
Much to the girls annoyance, and Takeshi's amusement, TamTam was the one to catch the tiny crystal bird after the girls had spent a good half hour trying and failing.  
The mercenary had used a piece of steel wire and small fishing weights from his survival-kit on his mosquito head net to create a makeshift throwing net that he had used with great skill to catch the bird and bring it to Takeshi.  
“TamTam, it would seem I owe you a nice plate of zimara. If it is agreeable with you, you may collect your prize at the next meal.”  
“Thank you. I have no idea what it is, but I overheard the Japanese Representative praise your sashimi as the best he had ever tried and I am curious to try the good stuff.”  
The reply made Takeshi snicker before turning to the moping twins with a slight growl.  
“Girls, where are your manners?”  
“But he cheated!”  
“Did he now? Did I say you had to fly to catch it? Or that only you two were allowed to try?”  
“No, but!”  
“No buts, the only rule was to catch it without causing any damage, and TamTam did that just fine, he even waited quite a while to allow you a good chance before trying.”  
The twins grumbled a bit, but another low growl silenced them and they turned to TamTam and apologized before congratulating him on winning.

It didn't take long before the girls had everyone involved in a strange game of tag and Takeshi played along for a while before pouncing at Dan and dragging him of to the side for some private time.  
Not that it was all that private, but they didn't really care beyond the fact that it prevented them from shifting into a form that would allow for kissing, though the lack of kisses didn't prevent them from finding their release.  
Dan was leaning into Takeshi's side, aura alight with amusement as they watched the others play.  
“So, the leader, Red, that small male...”  
“Jackal.”  
Takeshi supplied with a small smile when Dan hesitated.  
“Red, Jackal, and the crafty one, TamTam, any more of them you want to lure into your bed?”  
Dan's tone was clearly teasing, but it still carried a taint of his insecurities.  
“Nah, that sounds about right.”  
Takeshi teased lightly while nibbling at the mating mark in lieu of kisses.  
“Care to let me in on why you don't seem interested in the other female, Wraith was it?”  
”Oh, she is quite interesting, but I think she might already have a demon wooing her and I don't want to risk ruining such a thing. Not when all I am after is a no strings romp. No matter what the instincts of my heat tell me I should do.”  
Dan just huffed at the explanation and mumbled about Takeshi being too honorable for his own good sometimes, after his own heat he had a better understanding of how compelling the instincts could be.  
Takeshi on the other hand couldn't help a hint of amusement at the fact that Dan was using male and female rather than man or woman.

“Okay girls, it's getting late. Time for you to head back home.”  
Takeshi called out into the darkness around him and accompanied his words with a pulse of his aura to make sure the twins would pay attention, it was hours past sunset and they had spent the time playing hide and seek in the darkness among the tree's after Angel had turned of most of the streetlights.  
At first there was no response so he sent out a slightly sharper pulse of energy that caused a gentle flicker of response from the twins, but the way it instantly vanished told him that they were intentionally hiding from him.  
“Girls, if you don't stop hiding and come here right now you will not be allowed to visit again.”  
The reaction from the girls was instant as their auras flickered back to their usual bright flame, but there was a somewhat annoyed edge to it and when they came into Takeshi's hearing range he could hear them grumbling about not wanting to stop the game.  
“Now now girls, I'm sure everyone will be more than happy to play more games another evening, so how about we go see Miri? She will be most disappointed if you don't drop by and say hello before you head back home.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With the girls rounded up they headed back into the the main building and the suite of VIP rooms that had been set aside for their use where Miri was waiting along with Amanda and Marakell.  
Sorcha was out doing her rounds, collecting the reports from all the emissaries and would not be joining them until the morning.  
The moment the door closed behind them Takeshi found himself being pushed rather roughly against the wall by a now fully human looking Dan who grabbed him by the spines of the frills along the back of his jaw and impatiently pulled at his head.  
“Shift!”  
Dan's frustrated growl made everyone snicker which only made his frustration spike higher as he tugged harshly at the horn like spikes.  
“Easy love, I can't shift while you hang onto my frills like that.”  
Dan instantly let go before slapping Takeshi's chest.  
“Hurry up will ya!”  
“Ah, so impatient, my sweet little beta.”  
Takeshi intentionally kept his shift slow and gradual, leaving his head and face for last as he was well aware of why Dan wanted him to shift.  
As his shift completed he leaned in and nipped at the mating mark while reversing their position and pinning Dan to the wall.  
The twins conversation with Miri faded into indistinct chatter as he shifted his attention fully to Dan, and to kissing him senseless.

“Amo, I think you broke your mate.”  
Amanda was laughing at Dan's completely stunned appearance when Takeshi broke of the kiss.  
“Our dear little beta does indeed appear to be malfunctioning.”  
Ylian joined the teasing with a wide grin.  
“Oh, I think he managed to break Marakell as well.”  
Miri's addition made Takeshi turn around and look at Marakell who indeed looked just as stunned as Dan, it would seem the mark had caused Marakell to be strongly affected by the strong emotions in the kiss.  
“Did you say his name is _Karamell_?”  
The twins instantly perked up.  
“No, it's Marakell.”  
“Oh...”  
The utter disappointment in the twins voice made Takeshi break down into laughter, which roused both the stunned males from their daze.  
“Okay, anyone care to explain what was so funny?”  
Amanda was tapping her claws against the table while waiting for someone to explain what was so amusing about the mix-up.  
“Karamell is the Swedish word for a hard candy. Sorry Marakell, but I think you may just have earned yourself a nickname.”  
“Great.”  
The huffing response caused another round of laughter, but it was quite clear that Marakell didn't really mind, quite the opposite, he seemed only happy about the sign of inclusion that a nickname represented.  
They had spent quite a lot of time talking during the nights and Marakell had spoken about his past, about the hardships of his self-imposed isolation.  
After the death of his mate by his own power he had surrendered his pack to his betas and withdrawn from his house, living the life of a loner and it had done quite a number on his instincts.  
To once again be pulled into the powerful bonds of a pack, even if it was just at the fringe of it, was soothing his instincts, the fact that this particular pack was very sexually active was an added boon as it helped sate the burning hunger that he had lived with for a very long time.

“Come on girls, time to head back.”  
Rounding up the twins resulted in some moping as usual but the promise of them returning the next day had them falling into line without too much resistance.  
“Jackal! Piggyback ride!”  
The moment they left their rooms Sarah made a beeline for Jackal to beg to be carried while Maria headed to TamTam with the same mission in mind, the girls had clearly picked up on Takeshi's interest in the pair and decided to make sure to give him an opportunity to speak with them in a slightly more private setting.  
“Girls, be nice. You are quite heavy for a normal human to carry.”  
The instant pouting and kicked puppy look quickly made both the men assure them that it was fine and kneeling down to allow the girls to grab on.  
“You know, you really don't have to humor them.”  
“Don't worry, it's okay. It's not very far anyway and we are used to carrying a lot of equipment.”  
“Suit yourself.”  
Takeshi teased as they headed out, he knew that both the men would probably be pretty sore by the time they reached the area where they would summon the qilin.  
The girls current form gave them quite a different balance and weight distribution which made them very taxing to carry piggyback style.

“See you later girls. Mate.”  
Takeshi waved to Dan and the girls as the qilin shimmered into the borderlands before turning to Jackal who was rolling his shoulders with a pained groan.  
“Not to be the one to say 'I told you so', but I did tell you it was a bad idea to carry them.”  
Jackal just grumbled in response while trying to reach to knead a twitching muscle in his own neck.  
“If you permit it, I can assist you in soothing and healing those sore muscles. It's the least I can do after you humored my girls and played along in their games.”  
Takeshi placed his hands on Jackals shoulders and use his thumbs to soothe the offending muscle, earning him a rather pleased groan of relief.  
“Come join us in the ready-room, it would make it much easier to treat you.”  
“I'll think about it.”  
Jackal would no doubt want to talk about the invitation with Sonya before accepting.

As Takeshi suspected Jackal and Sonya fell back slightly, but he focused his senses on listening in on their hushed conversation.  
“What do you say Red? Permission to remove my gear and mask?”  
Jackal was trying to convince Sonya to give him the go ahead to accept the offer.  
“It might not be such a good idea, we do wear these for a reason after all.”  
Sonya was hesitating, set on protecting the identities of her team.  
“I don't know why, but I feel like we can trust these guys.”  
“I know, it's not them I'm worried about. You have seen the material I showed you, you know what they do to mercs when they feel they are getting too good.”  
The words cut deeply into Takeshi's heart and he could feel the power of the sayuri flare, they were hidden in his current form, but within his soul they were glowing.  
“Come on Red, that ready room has got to be secure.”  
“Fine, if it's secure you can do whatever you want to.”  
“Thanks Red.”  
Takeshi struggled to keep from chuckling when the sound of a slap against the back of Jackal's helmet marked the end of the conversation behind him.

Once they had returned inside Takeshi held open the door into the ready-room and invited Sonya, Jackal and TamTam inside and offered them drinks and a wide selection of snack foods.  
“Don't worry, a pair of the servants are bringing food and drinks to the rest of your unit as well.”  
It was quite obvious that they didn't want to eat and drink if the rest of the unit were not given the chance to.  
“Thank you Mr Ambassador.”  
“There is no need for titles here Jackal. Just call me Yemo.”  
Takeshi offered him a pitcher of slightly purple water and a glass with a grin.  
He would have preferred to tell them his name, but he wanted to get to know them a bit better first.  
“I suspect that offering you an alcoholic drink would not be proper.”  
“Yeah, no drinking on the job.”  
“The springs that this water is fetched from is well known for their rejuvenating and healing properties, I hope you don't mind the slightly acidic flavor.”  
Takeshi watched while Jackal eyes the liquid with a slightly suspicious glare before sniffing it and taking a careful sip.  
“Hey, this is pretty good, a bit like cucumber water.”  
He quickly emptied the glass and Takeshi poured him another one with a nod.  
“So, have you decided whether you will accept my offer or not?”  
“This room, is it secure?”  
Jackal was looking around and his aura was crackling with anticipation but it held a nervous edge as well.  
“It is, both against electronic surveillance and mystical methods. If you wish me to I can have Angel disable parts of her own visual records and only record low resolution infrared that won't be sufficient to identify you should someone manage to get access to the records.”  
“I have a feeling that getting into your records would be quite a task.”  
“It would, Angel is a fully sapient AI powered by a crystalline quantum computer. There is no computer or code on this planet with the capacity to break past her defenses. And any human hacker would be facing off against a quantum computer with access to all the knowledge of the global network, and the skills of the hacker D-Rex.”  
Daniels handle, _D-Rex_ was still hailed as one of the greatest hackers of all times and the reaction to the name made it quite obvious that they had heard of her.  
“In that case, yeah. I would love to get my back properly kneaded.”  
Takeshi quickly called for one of the dryad sisters to bring him a massage table, he had contacted Amanda while they were walking back and asked her to arrange something, but when the dryad entered he almost laughed, the 'table' was actually Ylian who had transformed into a suitable form.  
“Go ahead, strip and make yourself comfortable.”  
Though he did try, Takeshi just couldn't keep himself from teasing Jackal a bit, and the response was very encouraging as he began removing his gear and clothes in a rather teasing manner.

The gloves came off first and revealed a dark amber skin tone that had Takeshi very curious to see the rest, but much to his frustration Jackal managed to remove most of his gear and clothes while still holding the mask in front of his face.  
With only the tight fitting, long sleeve, compression t-shirt remaining he finally removed the mask which revealed a fairly young looking face, and a pair of pale blue eyes, the shape making it quite clear that Jackal carried some Asian blood in him.  
The dark skin color and blue eyes however told Takeshi that Jackal was clearly of mixed origin.  
As the shirt hiked up higher it revealed several tattoos, the most prominent being the Eye of Horus, Eye of Ra and winged scarab over his chest.  
But when he turned round to place the shirt with the rest of his clothes it became obvious where he had gotten his call-sign, on his back was a large, and somewhat suggestive, image of Anubis, the jackal headed Egyptian God of the afterlife.  
Jackal turned back around and while he put the earpiece back so that he could hear Angel's translations Takeshi reached out and traced the eye over his heart with a sharp claw while studying the reactions, and the slight hitched breath, widening eyes and dilated pupils was promising.  
“Go ahead, make yourself comfortable.”  
Takeshi motioned toward the massage table and he could feel Ylian's curiosity and amusement as Jackal did as asked.  
Taking one of the crystal bottles from the tray that the dryad had brought along with the table he gently breathed fire charged with chi against it to warm up the contents and activate the healing properties before applying a generous amount to Jackal's skin and getting to work on treating the abused muscles.  
The mixed groans, moans and sighs as he worked made Takeshi smile and focus on bringing out more of the delicious sounds, Jackal turned out to be very vocal and he didn't hesitate to voice his opinion, or desires.  
_“Had I been incubus or succubus I would not have needed to feed for quite some time.”_  
Ylian's silent words confirmed what Takeshi already knew based on Jackal's scent and aura, the man was clearly growing increasingly aroused.  
Takeshi kept working in silence, but when he felt Jackal relax and start to doze off slightly under his hands he carefully allowed his claws to bite into his skin a bit earning him a startled gasp and a few muttered curses.  
Takeshi set out to bring Jackal back to the rather excited state he had been in at the beginning of the massage, allowing his touch to become more of a teasing caress and the response was very encouraging.  
Leaning in he whispered against Jackal's ear, knowing that Angel would interpret the action and only transmit the translation to Jackal.  
“I want you.”  
There was another sharp hitch in Jackal's breathing, but then he huffed slightly  
“No kidding. I can feel that you know.”  
While Jackal spoke Takeshi brushed his fingers against the side of his face.  
“What do you say we find some privacy?”  
Jackal's only response was to lean into the touch and nod silently.

Takeshi quickly synchronized his aura with Ylian, who had been paying close attention to their interactions, and after a few moments they all slipped through the shadows into the next room.  
“Whoa! What just happened? Where are we?!”  
Jackal instantly bolted from the table on high alert, but Takeshi gently wrapped his arms and wings around him.  
“Easy there. We shadow-traveled into the next room, it's perfectly safe. If you listen carefully you can hear Red and TamTam through the door.”  
The voices could be heard through the door as Amanda explained where Jackal had gone.  
When Jackal calmed down a bit Takeshi nudged him toward the bed in the far end of the small nap room.  
“If you don't mind Alpha, I will take my leave now.”  
The sound of Ylian's voice made Jackal startle and look around for the source, and when he realized it was the table that had spoken he blushed brilliantly.  
“Go ahead ami. And I would appreciate if you could have a word with your dear niece and ask her to locate my actual massage table and have it brought here.”  
“Of course amo.”  
Ylian began to call their power, but paused for a moment and looked at Jackal.  
“I must say, your reactions to our yemo were most interesting.”  
A moment later they vanished and left a very confused Jackal behind but he quickly found himself distracted by Takeshi's roaming hands.  
“Amo, do you think you could trust me enough to allow me to blindfold you?”  
“What? Why?”  
It was obvious that Jackal was quite overwhelmed, but Takeshi decided to push on anyway, to not give him too much time to mull on the strange things that had happened.  
“I would very much enjoy being able to kiss you, but to do that I need to alter my form into a more humanoid form, and it could be troublesome if you learn what I look like in that form.”  
“Oh...”  
For a moment there was silence then Jackal closed his eyes and nodded.  
“Thank you.”  
Takeshi whispered while he brought a piece of demon silk out of his shift and used it to tie a blindfold before shifting to a more human form and leaning in to kiss the slightly nervous man beneath him.  
Jackal's tension broke with a moaning sigh and moments later he was returning the kiss with a hungry fervor that made Takeshi chuckle before focusing on proving his skill as a lover.  
Jackal was vocal, and demanding, traits that Takeshi appreciated in a lover and was more than happy to give in to most of the demands, though he refused to listen to the repeated demands that he stop teasing.

“This is why I don't like being with men who are bigger than me.”  
Jackal's grumbled complaint's when Takeshi pulled him close and tucked him under his chin made him freeze slightly  
“Oh, you don't like being held?”  
Takeshi very much enjoyed his post-sex cuddling, and he loved having his lovers sleep in his arms even if he didn't sleep himself, but if it made Jackal uncomfortable he would forgo it.  
“Quite the opposite, I like it a bit too much.”  
He could barely hear the mumbled words as Jackal burrowed his face into his chest with a sigh.  
“Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Now rest and try to sleep.”  
Jackal didn't hear the soft whisper though as he had already fallen into the relaxed sleep of total satisfaction.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Jackal had slept for about two hours when Ylian quietly entered the room with Takeshi's portable massage table and the slight shift in energies was enough to make him stir and for a moment there was a spike of panic as he pulled at the blindfold before remembering why he was wearing it.  
“Easy there. Do you want me to shift back so you can remove the blindfold?”  
“No, it's fine. I just needed a moment to remember where I am.”  
The nibbling kisses along Takeshi's chest was a clear invitation to another round, an invitation Takeshi was not about to decline, but before he could make anything of it Jackal suddenly flinched and a strong surge of pain raced through his aura that made Takeshi stop.  
“Jackal, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?”  
“No, it's an old injury acting up. I used to be a special ops candidate but an accident during para training left me with a spinal injury which disqualified me from the program, and any further service.”  
Takeshi gently ran his hand along Jackal's spine, searching out the injury.  
“It doesn't seem like a serious injury. ”  
“It's not, not really. Painful, but not dangerous. But fixing it still requires a pretty big surgery with a high risk of making it worse, landing me in a wheelchair, or even killing me. So I rather just deal with the pain.”  
It only took Takeshi a moment of consideration before he offered Jackal to heal the injury.  
“My blood can heal it, if you are willing.”  
“Seriously?”  
“Indeed. It can heal almost any injury.”  
“What would it cost me?”  
“Nothing. Consider it a gesture of good will, and a bribe to encourage you to pick my side should any form of conflict arise here. Or you could see it as a _Thank you_ for a pleasant time.”  
“You really are an odd duck, aren't you?”  
Jackal's mumbled reply made Takeshi smile widely and give him a teasing kiss.  
“I believe I have been called such things before.”  
“If I accept, what would you do to me?”  
“I would normally use my claws to dig into the flesh around the injured area, then cut myself and allow my blood to seep into the wounds. But doing so would damage your tattoo.”  
“I couldn't care less about that if it fixes my spine.”  
“Perhaps, but it would be a shame to ruin it if I can do it without causing it any damage. There are syringes and needles in the med kit, I can use those to draw blood and inject it directly into the injured area.”  
Jackal nodded silently and it took a few minutes before she spoke up again, time Takeshi spent trying to soothe him him, gently running his hands over his back and trailing kisses around his face and along his jaw.

“Are there any risks I should be aware of?”  
Takeshi's control had improved greatly since he used his blood to heal Dan's night-blindness, but it was still a fine balance to give just the right amount of blood, and he rather give too much than not give enough.  
“As far as human physiology is concerned I am a universal donor, so there are no direct risks associated with the injected blood itself. There is however a risk that you may reject the power contained in my blood, and if that happens you will experience severe pain for a few moments while I neutralize the power, and I won't be able to use my blood to heal you. I still have other options though, but they are less effective and much slower.”  
“So it's not dangerous. How about side effects?”  
“It's a treatment that requires very precise control over how much blood, how much power, I feed into your body. And I don't want to risk not giving you enough to fully heal the damage, so I will give you enough to be on the safe side. But the residual power will cause some additional changes depending on how much energy there is left.”

Takeshi went on to explaining how his power would work, first it would heal the primary injury, the spinal damage, then any residual power would move on to repairing any other injuries.  
If there were no immediate injuries to heal or of there was energy left when done it would move on to repairing any minor damages or flaws, essentially bringing his body to perfect condition.  
If there was still energy left after that it would begin to strengthening his body's core functions beyond normal human capacity and greatly increase his resilience to disease and infection.  
Boosting the brain's ability to form new connections and management of signal substances would boost learning capacity and memory and make him less susceptible to mind altering chemicals and the effects of sleep deprivation.  
A boost of the nervous system and sensory organs would improve things like reaction speed, hearing, eyesight, smell and touch sensitivity.  
Improving the digestive system would make him more resilient to food borne pathogens, parasites and toxins as well as make him able to digest foods that the human body normally can't like cellulose in coarse plant based foods and able to more effective digest normal food.  
Strengthening of the respiratory system would allow him to survive breathing a wider range of gas mixtures, including normally toxic gases and much lower, or higher, oxygen content as well as make him able to hold his breath longer and improve stamina by providing a more effective blood gas exchange.  
Strengthening of the circulatory system along with renal and liver functions would also improve toxin resistance and improve overall performance and stamina.  
And finally strengthening of base physical constructs like skeleton, muscles and tendons would improve overall physical performance such as speed, strength and durability.

“Oh, with side effects like those there's no need to hold back then.”  
Jackal's tone was teasing and it further strengthened Takeshi's resolve to give him a significantly larger dose than strictly needed.  
“There are a few more possible side effects. If your genome carries latent abilities they might activate.”  
“Okay dude, I'm sold already, no need to list any more side effects.”  
Jackal's laugh made Takeshi smile, but there was still one more risk he needed to tell him about, though he doubted it would occur.  
“There is a risk that you may develop a bond of sorts with me that will allow you a keen awareness of me, even over great distance. Allowing you to sense my emotional state, power levels and overall health. This can be very unsettling, especially if I get hurt, or weakened.”  
The last part made Jackal pause for a moment before turning his face up toward Takeshi and smiling.  
“I think I can live with that. I have a feeling you will be stuck in my head anyway.”  
“I would surely hope so.”  
The teasing reply made Jackal huff and reach up and pull Takeshi down for a proper kiss which he was more than willing to go along with, especially since it seemed to calm Jackal down.

“Can we join the others first though, I think I will need some moral support to do this.”  
“Of course, just give me a moment to shift back.”  
Takeshi quickly returned his face to the dragon like visage before freeing Jackal from the blindfold which made the young man blink and squint for a bit before his eyes got used to the light.  
The moment they returned to the other room there were a few catcalls and teasing snickers from Sonya and TamTam which made Jackal huff and accuse them of being jealous before explaining what Takeshi had offered.  
The information sparked some debate, but Jackal made it clear that he wanted to do it and that he would go ahead regardless of the others opinion in the matter so they quickly settled for calling the rest of the unit in.  
While they explained Takeshi set up the foldable massage table to make sure Jackal would be comfortable during the procedure.  
“Imora-ami, would you be so kind as to fetch the med kit please.”  
“Of course alpha.”

When Ylian arrived with the large med kit Takeshi quickly dug through it and picked out sterile wipes, two packs of sterile tubing, the thickest needle he could find as it needed to be pretty strong to be able to draw blood from him in his current form.  
He also grabbed several of the 100ml syringes that were normally used for saline and an IV kit suitable for injecting Jackal with the blood along with a few other items.  
_“That will be a lot of blood amo, are you sure?”_  
Ylian's silent question held a hint of concern.  
_“I am, it will be enough to heal him and enhance him a bit, but it won't be enough to make him a blessed.”  
_ “Holy crap! That is one huge needle!”  
There was a hint of fear in Jackal's voice when he spotted the massive 15 gauge needle but Takeshi just snickered at him.  
“Don't worry, that big needle is for me. This nice little thing is for you.”  
A bucket of ice was added to the items as well, they would need to cool down Takeshi's blood before giving it to Jackal as Takeshi's body temperature in his current form was much higher than that of a human.  
With all the items they needed prepared Takeshi turned to Ylian and held out the tray with the large needles, one of the tubes and the syringes.  
“I will need your help to draw the blood.”  
“Of course amo. Just tell me what to do.”  
“I need you to infuse the needle with your power or it won't be able to penetrate my hide.”  
While he spoke Takeshi attached the needle to the tubing so that they would be able to leave the needle in and just swap the syringes after filling each of them with blood.  
“Even infused with my power it won't be able to penetrate your scales, so I will either have to push it under the scales, or you will have to remove a few scales.”  
“I know.”  
Takeshi quickly pulled a few scales from the side of his neck before turning his head to make it easier for Ylian to insert the needle into the blood-vessel and draw the blood needed.  
“Ow, that must hurt.”  
Jackal winced slightly as he watched the thick needle being forced into Takeshi's neck and he seemed unable to look away as Ylian filled the syringes one by one before removing the needle and handing it to Takeshi so he could dispose of it with shadow-fire.

When Takeshi grabbed the sterilization kit his hands were joined by a second pair and looking up confirmed that the owner of those hands was Wizard, the medic of the group.  
“If you don't mind I will assist.”  
“Of course I don't mind, Jackal is your patient after all.”  
Takeshi carefully cleaned his hands and soaked them with the disinfectant before breathing fire over them to make sure there were no contaminants on them as he would not be able to wear the sterile gloves.  
“I noticed you didn't bother with sterile procedures for yourself.”  
The statement held a sharp edge of curiosity so Takeshi answered the unspoken question.  
“I'm not susceptible to any normal infections, and the unique properties of my blood makes it unable to carry harmful pathogens. If everything goes as planned there would be no risk of infection. But since there is a risk of his body rejecting the power in my blood we need to take proper precautions.”

After helping Jackal get comfortable on the massage table Takeshi used a sharp claw to draw a summoning circle on one of the trays from the med kit to summon two small vials of venom, one paralyzing and the other numbing before quickly using his flame to sanitize the vials.  
“Jackal, I am going to immobilize you from the neck down to keep you from moving during the procedure, it's perfectly safe but it will feel a bit strange. It won't numb you though so I will apply a numbing agent directly to the area of the injury so you won't feel any pain.”  
“Okay.”  
Picking up one of the sterile applicators he dipped it into the numbing agent and applied a drop to the skin on Jackal's neck at the junction between the C2 and C3 vertebrae before picking up the smallest of the syringes and needles and drawing a small amount of the paralyzing venom and injecting it.  
It would render Jackal incapable of moving from the neck down but he would still be able to feel his body, which could get useful later for keeping him calm.  
Taking another applicator Takeshi placed a few drops of the numbing venom on the damaged vertebra and set the vial aside, he might need it again later.  
He explained what he was doing with a low, calm voice that carried a hint of power while charging the needle with energy to make it sharper and stronger to make sure he could easily reach the spinal cord for optimal effect.  
Once he had inserted the IV he disposed of the needle and made sure the adhesive would keep it secure and before long he began to slowly inject the blood.

Much to Takeshi's relief he could almost instantly tell that Jackal's body was accepting the blood and was healing rapidly.  
“There you go, it's working.”  
He gently brushed his hand down Jackal's back, the soothing motion helped him get a better feel for what the power of his blood was doing to the man's body.  
Once the last syringe was empty Takeshi removed the IV and began to massage Jackal's back again, it would help keep him relaxed and speed up the healing, and the changes in his body.  
“I need you to keep trying to wiggle your toes and fingers so we can tell when my blood has begun to counteract the venom I used to immobilize you.”  
It would be one of the last things to happen and would tell Takeshi when it was time to see how much power was left and perhaps start neutralizing any remaining power.  
Takeshi kept working on Jackal's back while listening to the hushed conversation of Sonya and the other members of the unit, occasionally offering a teasing quip to let them know he heard them just fine, but most of his comments were solely for Jackal's benefit, helping him to stay calm while he was unable to move.

It was about 10 minutes later that Jackal noted that he could wiggle his toes again and another minute or so later the effect of the paralyzing toxin had faded completely and Takeshi carefully probed Jackal's body with his aura to see how much power was left from the blood he had given.  
There was only a amount left, not enough to really do anything, but he didn't want to leave it as that could have unpredictable effects.  
“There is a little bit of power left, I can neutralize it, or I could direct it to merge with your tattoos”  
“And if you merge it, what would happen to my tattoos?”  
“It would enhance the pigments, restoring them to perfect condition, make sure they will never fade or blur. The pigments would become more resilient as well, acting a bit like armor, and should you sustain an injury that damages the tattoo the tattoo itself will heal along with the damage. It would also make you able to manipulate the pigment, allowing you to hide the tattoos if you want to.”  
“Okay, I'm sold.”  
Takeshi quickly directed the energy to do what he wanted it to, but when he was done there was a tiny flicker remaining that Takeshi didn't know what to do with at first, but then a an idea came to mind and he directed the tiny spark toward Jackal's groin.  
“Hey! What did you do?”  
“Oh, nothing much. A little surprise for you to discover. But I promise, it's something you will find not only quite pleasurable, but also very useful.”  
The energy would increase Jackal sexual stamina, and affect his fertility so that he would not be able to impregnate someone unless he actually wanted to.  
Jackal had mentioned that one of the reasons that he kept himself mostly with male lovers was that he didn't feel ready to become a father and he didn't want to risk making a temporary bed-mate pregnant, which could happen even if he used protection, and it was not unheard of for females to lie about using blockers.  
There was a male version of blockers, but it had a side effect that would be very troublesome to someone in Jackal's line of work, it significantly reduced the levels of testosterone and several other hormones vital to physical performance and recovery as well as mental clarity.  
“Now go on, show your family that you are okay.”  
There was a flicker of confusion in Jackal's aura before he realized what Takeshi meant by family.

While Jackal spoke with the rest of the unit, reassuring them that he was fine, better than fine, Takeshi focused on reshaping the scales he had removed to make it easier for Ylian to draw blood.  
He quickly shaped them into a bracelet with flat links and the image of a dragon carved into the surface.  
He waited for the group to get ready to leave and head to their own room for some sleep before approaching Jackal and offering him the bracelet.  
“It's crafted from the scales I removed to draw the blood, I want you to have it.”  
Jackal hesitated for a moment, staring at the deceptively simple bracelet with rather wide eyes before nodding and holding out his right arm so Takeshi could attach it and lock it with a small spark of power.  
“There, it won't come of unless you want it to, and it won't break.”  
When Jackal thanked him by reaching up and kissing the underside of his jaw Takeshi was forced to take a deep breath to steady himself as he could feel his heat stir slightly, it would seem they would need to hurry things along.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Negotiations_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi once again found himself face to face with the US representative, but this time the man was visibly upset as he had received orders from above to sign the contract.  
It was the final signature as he had tried to stall for time to make the US president change the orders, but ultimately he had been told to sign, or be replaced.  
Most of the nations that had been objecting had ultimately signed the treaties, the only representative that had not signed was the Vatican representative who had flat out refused to attend once the true nature of Takeshi's group and the emissaries had been revealed.  
“Thank you representative Taylor.”  
Takeshi couldn't help gloating as the annoying man signed the papers.  
The second stage of their plans was finally done and it was time to return to their island and start working on the third stage, the reconstruction of the global power-supply, and help rebuilding what had been destroyed during the war and the global blackout.

 


	93. Circle of Life

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Circle of Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With their work done for the moment they were to leave Zürich but Takeshi wanted to have one last word with Sonya before they left so he invited her and her unit to celebrate the success.  
After several hours of food, drinks and all sorts of shenanigans Takeshi approached Sonya intent on getting some private time with her.  
“Red, could I have a word with you in private?”  
Part of the reason for asking her was that he had still not seen her face, the others had all removed their masks during their little party but she insisted on keeping hers on and he was curious as to why as she clearly trusted him.  
The fact that she didn't hesitate to accept the request further proved that fact.  
“Red, if you don't mind me asking, would you tell me why you refuse to remove your mask? I would very much like to see your face before we leave, please.”  
For a long time she was just facing him, but based on the way she was breathing Takeshi was pretty sure her eyes were closed under the mask, then she took a deep breath and gave him a short nod before reaching up to remove the mask.  
When she lowered the mask it revealed that the red flame design held a deeper meaning as the right half of her face was covered in a red burn scar and her rapid, shallow breathing revealed her anxiety about his reaction to seeing her face.  
“Beautiful.”  
His words were barely more than a murmur as he brushed his hand against the side of her face but the words still startled her slightly and she opened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief.  
“Ask any demon and they will tell you that scars is not something to be ashamed of, or to hide. Scars is proof of your ability and will to survive, proof that you possess the power to keep going despite an injury that would have destroyed a lesser female.”  
She nodded silently at his words, though her aura revealed that she was still somewhat hesitant to accept that he truly found her to be beautiful.  
“May I kiss you?”  
Once again her eyes widened in surprise before she nodded and closed her eyes, anticipating that he would ask her to do so since he would have to reveal his true face to be able to kiss her.  
“It's okay, you can open your eyes if you want to. I don't mind if you find out who I truly am.”  
She took a deep breath and shook her head.  
“I don't need to look at you, Takeshi Kiryu.”  
Now it was Takeshi's turn to pause, but he found that he wasn't really surprised that she knew who he was, instead he was very curious about what had given him away.  
“Indeed you don't”  
He didn't bother speaking Urui anymore instead he leaned in and claimed the promised kiss.  
“You don't seem surprised.”  
“Well, I'm not oddly enough. I am however very curious as to when and how you figured it out.”  
While he spoke Sonya rested her head against his chest and he began to slowly return to his human form so that she would be more comfortable.  
“I think a part of me knew all along.”  
Takeshi didn't answer her, instead he waited to see if she would elaborate.  
“You have this intense presence when you speak.”  
It took a while before she spoke again, but it seemed she had decided to tell him at least, she only needed to gather her thoughts and find her words.  
“I was at the White House you know, when you received your medal. The top students from my academy were there as a field trip.”  
She continued to tell him about how she had been orphaned at age 5 and became a ward of the state, but due to her disfiguring facial scar, as well a deep emotional scars no family wanted to take her in.  
When she was old enough the orphanage enrolled her at a military boarding school, finally in a place where her scars didn't matter she put everything she had into the studies and exercises and quickly became one of the top students, which earned her a spot in the group that was invited to the White House to witness the award ceremony.  
“After finding out the truth about you you became a role model of sorts for me, you came to represent everything I wanted to become.”  
There was another long silence and Takeshi was just about to speak up when she beat him to it.  
“It was seeing you with the twins that made me finally accept that it really was you, and your mate, Rai, he's Dan, isn't he?”  
“He is.”  
Takeshi confirmed her words before going silent again, waiting to see if she would speak up again, and after a few moments he felt a sharp shift in her aura as old pains surfaced.  
“My mother was killed in a carjacking when I was 2, I almost died as well when they tore out the car seat with me in it and just tossed it at the side of the road but she managed to get her phone out and call 911 before passing out. When the ambulance finally arrived it was too late for her, but they managed to save me.”

Telling him about how her mother had died opened a floodgate and she began telling him everything she knew, she had no memories of her own of the incident with her mother but there were a few articles about the incident.  
The carjackers had robbed a bank and killed 8 police officers so there was quite a lot of media buzz about it, her mother's fate pulled along with it.  
She was too young to remember much of what had happened after as well, but her fathers online diary had told her of how he had struggled with the loss of his wife, with taking care of her and keeping the house that was her mother's inheritance.  
“Then one night, a group of men broke into to our house, they tortured Dad to get him to open the safe, then they raped me, set the house of fire and left us for dead. I don't remember what happened beyond that, I have no idea how I survived, but the firefighters found me in the pool. I was severely burned and was bleeding badly, but somehow I was still alive.”  
She didn't remember much of the first few months after the incident, but she had read her medical file and her file at the orphanage, she had been hanging on to life by a thread for months, but she pulled through and began to recover.  
She talked about her time at the orphanage and the constant disappointments as no family wanted her due to her scars and past and she spoke of the joy she felt when she moved to the boarding school.  
She spoke of her studies and the first time she heard about Takeshi and his unit, they had been presented as a cautionary tale, twisted information saying that they had gone rogue and that the GCTI had been forced to eliminate them.  
“I never really believed the stories though. And it turns out that what I believed was pretty close to the truth.”  
As she spoke Takeshi could feel her face heating up with a blush and it made him curious about what she would say next.  
“You were my first so called love you know, a crazy mix of hero worship and celebrity crush.”  
“Oh, and have I lived up to your imagination, or do you find yourself disappointed?”  
The teasing question had her spluttering for a moment, but the solemn note of her aura vanished.  
“I.. You... Well...”  
“Yes?”  
“I guess you are doing okay so far, but I can't really tell yet...”  
“Let me guess, I would have to prove myself in bed first?”  
“Ugh, you are horrible!”  
With the tension broken their conversation turned toward more pleasant subjects and before long they rejoined the others, but Takeshi did return to his dragon form, he would not reveal himself to the rest of them just yet.

 

When they returned to the room Ylian instantly got up and walked over to Sonya which caused her to hesitate a bit and when they brushed their hand against her scarred face she froze.  
“You wear the proof of your strength well.”  
She instantly blushed crimson before thanking Ylian.  
“I told you, didn't I?”  
Takeshi's teasing quip earned him a somewhat annoyed huff as she walked over to her unit and joined them around the low table.

“Red, everyone. I would like to make you an offer. Come work for me. Become a special ops team for the new Sovereign Nation of Hawaii.”  
“No offense, but we like being under our own command.”  
“Understandable, Screech, but please, allow me to finish before you make up your mind.”  
Screech huffed and the others teased him, but they all settled down to listen to Takeshi's offer.  
“Your primary job would be to teach the demons about human military practices, but you would also be sent out to retrieve some of the individuals seeking refuge in Hawaii. For these services you would given a standard pay, housing and food along with whatever gear you require. On top of this you will be free to accept any mercenary jobs you see fit as long as they don't interfere with your regular duties.”  
“Well, that does sound like a decent gig. Anything else?”  
“You would have free access to my information network, and with it the freedom to create your own missions, with fair compensation.”  
After a few minutes of internal deliberations they turned back to him.  
“When do we start?”  
“There are a few things I need to take care of first. Take this, and give me a call a month from now and I will pick you up.”  
Takeshi tossed one of his modified satellite phones on the table and Sonnet quickly grabbed it and added it to his com-gear before the group thanked Takeshi and left the ready room to head out to collect the rest of their pay and get themselves some R&R.

“Well, we are all done here. Let's head back to the Shamarai estate.”  
The others nodded and less than an hour later they stepped through the mist-portal at the estate.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Circle of Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The moment Takeshi stepped through the small mist-fountain back at their island he was greeted by a face full of feathers as Hugin had left the nest in Dan's care for a brief moment to be able to greet their returning alpha.  
“Hello love. Feeling better?”  
The teasing question was met by some rather energetic caws and chirps, but the angel didn't return to his normal form, instead he stayed in the raven form and started to head back towards the nest, eagerly calling for Takeshi to follow him.  
“Hai hai I'm coming, easy love.”  
When they entered the hidden section of the garden Dan looked up from the nest and smiled at Hugin.  
“You see? I told you he would make it back in time.”  
When Dan moved aside it became obvious what had Hugin so excited, there were several fine cracks in the surface of the egg, and Takeshi could hear soft chirps from the egg.  
When the egg suddenly began rocking Dan quickly placed his hands on each side to make sure it stayed put and didn't get turned over so that the chick would end up on it's back, or upside down.  
Moments later Hugin was back in the nest, carefully nudging the egg into the perfect position before using his body to Keep it in place.  
“Oh, I see. Congratulations Hugin, you have done really well.”  
Takeshi leaned in and gave Hugin a quick kiss on the beak before turning to Dan and stealing his breath away.  
“And you my little beta have done a great job keeping our adorable raven nice and healthy.”  
After carefully probing the egg with his aura Takeshi left Hugin to watch over with a promise he would be back as soon as he had said hello to the rest of the household.  
With a quick glance he confirmed that Marakell had successfully helped Miri back into the garden pond and was currently serving her a plate of sashimi under Emelie's watchful eye.

“Okay girls, that's quite enough. Settle down so Jenna has a chance to say hello too.”  
Jenna was playing it safe and stayed out of the fray, and the inevitable dog-pile as everyone wanted to greet Takeshi at the same time.  
“Come here sweetie.”  
He beckoned Jenna closer and gave her a gentle kiss while allowing his aura to gently brush over her belly and the tiny life within.  
“How have you been feeling?”  
“Hungry, regular food doesn't seem to cut it anymore.”  
“Well, we suspected that might become the case. I'll make sure to have plenty of demon realm food brought, and you should talk to the Mother as well, maybe she can create some supplements for you.”  
Jenna just nodded and leaned into him, relishing the soothing touch.  
“Do you want to test if my blood might be able to help dim the hunger?”  
“I don't know... It's...”  
“You don't have to if you don't feel comfortable with it, it was just a suggestion.”  
“You really think it would help?”  
“I do. Can't you feel that she if feeding of my aura, and that it's calming her down?”  
“You know I'm not very good at that. But if you think it will help I might as well try at least.”  
“That's my brave lioness.”  
“Oh shush.”  
Takeshi just ignored the bared fangs and pulled her closer and carefully shifted their positions so that he could offer her his arm before using a claw to make a deep cut in the wrist and offering her the blood.  
When she hesitated to take the offered blood he merely controls the flow and waited for her to make up her mind, but when he finally felt a slightly rough tongue dart out and lick away one of the small rivulets of blood he couldn't help groaning at the sensation.  
“Sorry, did it hurt?”  
“No, not at all, quite the contrary. Remember, I'm in the early stages of my heat.”  
“Oh...”  
The next lick was slow and deliberate focused on teasing him, and he could feel her triumphant joy as she successfully made his groan turn into a rather needy moan.  
After a few more teasing licks he could feel her aura shift slightly, a distinct hunger making its presence known and a moment later she latched on to his wrist so he released the blood flow and she drank deeply, sating a hunger for raw power that she had not understood before.  
“Better?”  
“Mhm... Much better.”  
Takeshi was struggling a bit though, it would seem he was deeper into his heat that he had originally though.  
“Come on love, let's join the others for some proper food shall we?”  
“I want smoked meat!”  
“I think we still have a few of those smoked lamb legs left and I can have Sorcha tell the kitchen staff to smoke a few gongs to make sure we don't run out of smoked meat for you.”  
“A few gong, huh? Just how much do you think I eat?”  
Jenna's temper flared instantly but Takeshi just grinned at her.  
“Enough for two creatures with power.”  
The grumbling that followed was quickly silenced by a searing kiss and by the time he pulled away she sported a rather dazed look.

When they joined the others a large meal had been served in the garden and everyone had gathered for a bit of a feast to celebrate the success in Zürich so Takeshi took the opportunity to introduce the new member of their household.  
“Everyone, this is Marakell of House Duneii, he is Miri's first sworn Champion and as such he will be living with us most of the time.”  
Greetings were quickly exchanged and the girls usual energy and curiosity soon had Marakell smiling as well, the welcome further soothing his abused instincts.  
“But, he's an alpha, won't that cause problems?”  
Amber's question was a valid one, especially since she herself was an alpha, giving their group a surplus.  
“It will, for instance now that I'm going into heat I won't be able to tolerate him being here, at least not for the main period of the heat so he will have to leave for the duration.”  
“Oh, okay.”  
“The matter of my heat does bring up another issue, any of you girls who are not ready to be my bed-mates will have to leave as well.”  
The complaints were instant, but they settled down pretty fast when he reminded them that he wouldn't have his usual control, and since they all responded rather encouraging if he teased them there was a very real risk that he would not be able to keep from claiming them.  
“You can stay at the Shamarai estate, or go visit the Obsidian Halls, I am sure Lucifer will be more than happy to show you a good time and spoil you rotten with treasury slips to use at the market.”  
The prospect of being allowed to shop at one of the great markets in the Obsidian Halls quickly cheered them up and Takeshi almost felt sorry for what the old angel would have to suffer at their hands.  
But only almost, he was sure the old pervert would teach the girls a lesson or two about teasing as well.

The meal passed in the usual chaotic manner with the girls demanding to hear everything that had happened in Zürich and by the time they had managed to drag the entire story out of them it was well past sunset.  
”So, have you girls made up your minds about who stays and who goes?”  
He would have preferred to give them more time, but he could feel the heat rapidly gaining in intensity, by morning he would be fully into it.  
“Yeah, we have, we will be leaving so you can focus on your mates and courting bonds. And just so you know it, we expect you to have more mates when we come back.”  
Takeshi had no doubt that he would complete the bond with Amanda at least, Jenna and Hugin was a bit of a gamble, his heat would register both of them as breeding and thus not very interesting, and he knew that Ylian would refuse to complete the mating-bond unless the pre-existing courtings were completed first.  
Takeshi was hopeful though, since the egg was about to hatch Hugin might just revert back to his true form before the heat ended, giving them a chance to complete the bond, as for Jenna, he was pretty sure she wanted to complete it, the question was if he would have enough control to do it safely, maybe if he did it at the very start or very end of the heat.  
He wouldn't take any chances though, if he wasn't sure he would be able to control his energies he wouldn't even try.

“What about you Miri? With your growth-spurt so close at hand do you want to stay here, or will you travel to the Obsidian Halls as well?”  
“I'm going. Marakell has to leave anyway so his alpha nature won't trigger a violent reaction when your instincts flare during the heat. So we might as well make the best of it and use the time to get used to each other.”  
It had become quite obvious the past few days that the mental part of the growth had already started, she was already acting far more adult than before, and for longer periods.  
When the early stages of her growth started she would have brief flashes where she would act more mature, and quickly revert back to her childish self, but now it was the other way around, her aura giving of a mature energy most of the time, only briefly reverting to a childish energy.

With their decisions made Takeshi reached within his soul and pushed his power against the feathers that Lucifer had given him, they allowed the formation of a communication link similar to the crystal they had used to communicate with Ylian.  
He didn't think there would be any objections, but he wanted to make sure that it was okay for him to send them all to the Obsidian Palace for an extended period of time.  
His heat would last about 5 to 10 days, which, with the chronoshift, was an equivalent of 50 to 100 days in the Obsidian Halls.  
The contact with Lucifer's mind was a dizzying experience as there was no buffer to counteract the effects of the chronoshift but fortunately it only lasted a few moments and when it broke Takeshi had a promise that his family were welcome to visit as long as they wanted to and that they would be well cared for and protected in his absence.  
The final thought that carried through was a very suggestive promise that Takeshi was more than welcome to come spend his heat at the Palace or one of Lucifer's many hidden retreats instead, the communication had cut of rather suddenly after that, but Takeshi was pretty sure he had managed to relay a pretty solid “You wish” before the contact was lost.  
Though, honestly he didn't mind the idea of spending a heat with Lucifer in the least, but not right now, he wanted a chance to spend one with the girls first, so spending one with Lucifer was at least 20 years into the future.  
“Go on girls, go make sure you have anything you might need packed, once my heat starts I wouldn't recommend returning here unless it's to get screwed silly.”  
“Okay!”  
The chorus of voices was just a tad to loud for Takeshi's ears and he visibly relaxed when the stampede had left the garden.  
“Now, Miri, I want you to bring the dryad sisters with you as well, their water abilities will give an extra layer of safety that I don't want you to go without.”  
“Yes, Yemo.”  
Her tone was somewhat teasing but her aura told him she would do as he had asked.  
“Now Miri, you didn't tell me the entire reason why you want to leave. Mind telling me now when the others aren't here?”  
Miri's fins instantly drooped, making her look a bit like a wilted flower.  
“Easy, you don't have to if you don't want to.”  
“It's okay...”  
She swam over to the edge and reached out for him so he made himself comfortable on the floor and put his hand in the water and moments later she was curled against it.  
“You will be running high on instincts, and well, the rapid growth can get pretty painful from time to time, especially since the different aspects of the body don't always grow in perfect sync. And I don't want you to sense my pain because then you might just try to soothe me instead of being with your mates and simori.”  
Reaching over Takeshi carefully wrapped his hands around Miri and plucked her out of the water so that he could put a kiss on her forehead before putting her back.  
“Thank you sweetie. I assume this means you will have completed the growth cycle when you return?”  
The care she showed toward him and his mates and simori made his instincts soar with pride, and it made him want to mark her as pack, but that would have to wait, he would first offer her to become a full member of his house.  
“Of course, and I expect you to honor you promise to be my guide for the Arashiri when I do.”  
“I will be eagerly awaiting the opportunity to do just that.”  
The teasing tone made Miri huff and dart away from his hand in a burst of bubbles.

When the girls returned with their bags the dryad sisters had arrived to help Miri travel to the Obsidian Halls, but she insisted that she would only allow Marakell to carry her so Takeshi brought out one of the containers that they had used to carry her between the lagoon and the house.  
Since then they had added a mistportal in the lagoon as well as added some mist to the pond in the garden to allow Miri to travel between the house and the lagoon on her own if she wanted to.  
It was mainly done in anticipation of her growth though, once she had reached her more mature form the pond would be rather small for her, but she still wanted to be close to everyone.  
Takeshi had spoken with the Mother though, and together they had made plans to expand the pond underground and connect it to the lagoon through a tunnel, the plans were all completed and the Mother had assured Takeshi that it would be perfectly safe for all of them.  
The reconstruction of the pond would be presented to Miri as a ramhiri gift when she returned to the island.

After seeing the girls off Takeshi headed to Matthews' room to have a word with him and see if he wanted to stay at the house, or maybe head out in the Tiamat with Eriko.  
“I have a feeling things will get a bit too rowdy for my tastes around here so I'll take that offer of using the Tiamat. Sorry, kid, guess you will have to wait for your next heat to screw the tails of our dear fox here.”  
While the words were teasing, spoken with a tone of bright humor, they did carry a darker undertone, it was quite clear that Matthews didn't expect to be around for the next heat, and Takeshi could feel the truth of it.  
Even in the short amount of time they had spent in Zürich the old soldier's life-flame had dimmed significantly, the difference had been shockingly obvious when Takeshi hadn't seen him for a few days.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Circle of Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With everyone that was leaving gone Takeshi and the others gathered in the garden, teasing and playing while watching Hugin care for the egg, but as Takeshi's heat intensified the games turned decidedly more sexual and before long he was focused on Amanda with an intensity that made her squirm slightly.

When morning came around they were fully mated and Takeshi's heat was temporarily subdued from the formation of the bond, but it was the hatching of the phoenix egg that gave him pause as it triggered some rather intense nesting instincts.  
But those instincts gave them an opportunity, they brought about the near perfect conditions for Takeshi to fully claim Jenna without the risk of harming the baby as it brought his protective instincts to extreme levels.  
Mindful of her condition he took his sweet time to bring her to her peak before sinking his fangs in and blending their souls into the ultimate bond and by the time he was done he could barely feel his heat.

The 3rd day was spent relaxing and watching over the tiny phoenix chick, allowing it to imprint on Hugin and Takeshi as it's parents and as the sun set Hugin returned to his true form and was instantly assaulted by a very horny Takeshi whose heat had returned with a vengeance.  
“Amo, easy on the feathers please. I would very much like to still have enough of them to fly after this.”  
Hugin's soft complaints lacked any real edge as he eagerly responded to Takeshi's touches while his soul sung the familiar tune a tune that invited Takeshi to claim him fully, to finalize their bond.

“ _I am Mainano, I am yours.”_  
_“Yes Mainano, you are mine, forever mine, my mate!”  
“Yes! Yours! Mate!”  
_

The mating with Hugin was different from Takeshi's other matings as the bond was formed using Hugin's soul name, but the bond was strong and true, and the marks that Hugin carried changed to reflect his new status as Takeshi's mate.

During the 4th day, once Hugin recovered from the intense emotional drain of the mating he turned to the others and took the neutral stance that was second nature to the guards before calling for the attention of his co-mates.  
“Everyone, now that we are co-mates there is something I would like to share with all of you, though, I suspect some of you already know.”  
Takeshi just smiled, he could sense that Hugin was about to reveal his soul name openly to his co-mates, and out of the ones present Takeshi had a feeling that most of them already knew it.  
“My true name, my soul name, is Mainano.”  
There were a few shared looks before everyone broke out in wide smiles.  
“We know you silly little raven.”  
Takeshi had been unsure if Jenna knew, but it quickly became obvious that Hugin had unknowingly told her as well at some point.  
“Even you?”  
Hugin seemed genuinely surprised that Jenna knew as she didn't have the same power and dominant nature as the others.  
“Your soul told me while I was helping you build the nest. I figured I would take a page from our dear Alpha's book and just wait and see if you would tell me yourself.”  
She stepped forward and gave Hugin a kiss on the cheek.  
“Thank you Mainano, I will guard your name with everything I have, I will not abuse your trust.”  
Hugin's utterly stunned look had the others snickering and teasing him as they stepped up one by one to thank him for entrusting them with his soul name.

On the 6th day Takeshi woke up from a light slumber with fire burning in his soul, the peak of his heat had arrived at last and influenced by its power he set out to claim his last remaining simori.  
To fully claim Ylian in the way of the shadelings would take quite a bit of power but there was no hesitation whatsoever in Takeshi's aura as he took the form of a shadeling and engaged Ylian in the mating fight.  
The others watched with rapt attention as Takeshi's and Ylian's forms merged and stilled, shading fights were quite different, it wasn't about skill in the was a fight between corporeal beings, instead it was their pure power and their mental and spiritual fortitude that was tested.  
As the challenge continued the other soon turned to games of their own as it was hardly a spectator sport, the two would simply remain merged into a formless cloud until one of them submitted, or was consumed by the other.  
Several hours had passed when the battling energies finally shifted somewhat and became focused on merging even further and after a few moments they pulsed as one before separating as bonded mates.  
After returning to their usual forms the pair shared a searing kiss before Ylian pulled away and turned to Dan, kneeling down he held out an orb of shadow power.  
“Dan Lindgren, Beta of Pack Kiryu, will you accept this gift, and grant me courting rights?”

Some of the time that Takeshi and Ylian had spent merged had been devoted to creating the courting gift, it was the catalyst that Ylian had promised Dan when they gave him the moira for his mating with Takeshi.  
During their merger Takeshi had asked Ylian if they wished to take the opportunity to become pana again, but Ylian had asked him to help create a catalyst that could help Dan become more like a shadeling instead.

There was a long silence as a rather stunned Dan just stared at Ylian and Takeshi could feel the slightly nervous edge that was creeping into Ylian's aura, and it made him smile.  
All of them viewed Ylian as an elder, their great experience and calm nature giving them a very mature presence but just like with their dear angel twins, Ylian wasn't actually very old, not for a shadeling at least.  
The twins were actually the equivalent of late teens, just coming into their twenties, and Ylian was the equivalent of someone in their mid twenties, making Dan the elder between them though most of the time Dan's somewhat whimsical nature made him seem younger than he was.  
“Danny, it's pretty rude not to answer when someone proposes to you.”  
Jenna's teasing words snapped Dan out of his stupor and a split second later he had thrown himself at Ylian, accepting the courting with a flurry of emotions.

On the 8th day Takeshi was brought out of his slumber by a gentle shift in the energy of the island telling him that the mist portal at the lagoon had activated, and soon he could sense Miri's presence and moments later the portal at the house activated and brought Marakell into the human realm.  
No one else came through though, so Takeshi was sure that Miri had intentionally returned before the end of his heat.

Takeshi's curiosity sparked even more when he could feel Marakell approaching the warded den, and he was carrying something with Miri's energy signature on it.  
“Shamarai-yemo, our Lady Miri has requested I present you with a missive.”  
The words were spoken from outside the barriers and made the rest of the group stir slightly.  
“Enter.”  
“Thank you.”  
The moment he stepped beyond the barriers Marakell froze and cursed under his breath as he forced himself into a fully submissive position and waited for Takeshi to approach him.  
“Let's see what our dear little Seer has to say.”  
Marakell groaned slightly as his senses were drowned in the sexual energy that Takeshi radiated but he managed to clear his mind with a slight shake of his head and hold up the small scroll-case.  
“She set me up, didn't she?”  
He muttered as Takeshi took the missive.  
“Indeed, you are as we say in the human realm, _totally_ _screwed_.”  
Takeshi's heat was almost over though, so he wouldn't have any problems keeping his hands to himself if Marakell showed any signs of rejection, but it didn't seem like it would be needed if the clawed hands he felt on his hips was any indication.  
The teasing nips, licks and kisses that followed was a sure sign that Marakell didn't mind the situation, and it also showed that he had been paying attention to Takeshi's sexual preferences as fellatio was not something that was commonly practiced among demons.  
The deadly fangs of most demon species made such activities somewhat hazardous for the one on the receiving end, and the fact that Takeshi allowed it was a sign of trust.  
The letter from Miri confirmed that she had intentionally returned before the end of the heat, and that she had set Marakell up by sending him to deliver the message early.  
She asked Takeshi to come down to the lagoon at sunset to start her arashiri, and to take good care of Marakell until then.  
Takeshi carefully put the scroll back in the case and held it out for Emelie who had approached him to see what was happening and once she had taken it he let his hand drop to Marakell's head, gently urging the demon to increase his efforts.  
Takeshi's rather obvious reaction to the treatment he was receiving caused an amused energy to flicker through Marakell's aura but the most prominent energy was desire and hunger, it would seem he was greatly enjoying the effect his actions were having on Takeshi.

As the sun began to set everyone gathered down at the lagoon to have a look at Miri's new form, and allow her more choices should she want another female at her side for the arashiri, but as Takeshi had hoped, she asked Arc, and Arc accepted.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Circle of Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With the heat over Takeshi sent word to Lucifer and a few hours later the girls had all returned, all of them carrying bags of clothes and trinkets both gifts, and items they had purchased themselves, thought using Lucifer's resources.  
Takeshi shook his head with an amused sigh as they showed him all the gifts Lucifer had given them, each of the items were expertly picked to fit each of their tastes and natures, and each item was masterfully crafted.  
And while not everything was made from rare or precious materials most of it was, and all of it would bring in a very high price at the markets.  
All of them had clothes and a cloak made from soft omarachai hides, decorated with silver kanna spikes and vocri scales, the cloaks also had black feathers that obviously had been plucked from Lucifer himself.  
“I see he spared no efforts trying to woo you. So, Alice, was he worth it?”  
Takeshi's teasing caused a few snickers, everyone accusing each-other of falling for the old angel's charms, but the scents and energies told Takeshi that Alice had been the only one to actually accept Lucifer's, no doubt persistent, invites.  
“Yeah, he was.”  
“Good. I would be a shame if I had to go there and kick his ass for not satisfying one of my girls.”  
The laughter was instant and within moments Takeshi found himself at the bottom of an impromptu dogpile.

The good mood however quickly vanished when the Tiamat returned with Matthews, Eriko and Takara, even the girls instantly noticed the difference in Matthews, noticed how faint and unstable his life-flame had become.  
“I'm sorry...”  
Emelie curled into Takeshi's side and she was soon joined by the other girls pain evident in their auras as they had all come to see Matthews as a grandfather of sorts, and Takeshi had to admit, he had seen the crazy old soldier as a father for a long time.  
“Now now kids, no need for the long faces. We all knew I wouldn't last very long.”  
Matthews was clearly aware that his health was failing, and that no mortal treatments would work this time.  
“But we don't wanna lose our gramps!”  
The twins sounded almost angry, and a part of Takeshi could understand them, they had the means to save Matthews's life, but he refused to allow them.  
“My sweet little girls, my little granddaughters. You forget that I am human, and humans die.”  
“But you don't have to be human!”  
“I know, but I want to remain human, I want to live, and die, as a human. I know it hurts, but please, respect that choice.”  
For a brief moment twin growls were heard, then suddenly they turned into whimpers and the twins rushed over to Matthews and attached themselves to him, mindful not to use their strength.  
“Kid, we need to talk.”  
“Indeed we do old man, indeed we do.”

The walk back to the house had been somewhat subdued and once they gathered in the garden the girls gathered around Takeshi, both seeking emotional support, and offering it.  
“Angel, please create a dedicated file for this conversation.”  
“Noted.”  
“So, any special arrangements you want us to ensure for your remains?”  
There were a few shocked murmurs among the girls when Takeshi went straight to the point, but he knew Matthews well enough to know that he wouldn't want it to be all emotional, right now they were soldiers getting their affairs in order before shipping out to a hot-spot.  
“I have spoken with this Mother of yours and while I really don't understand all this strange shit you have dragged me into she explained that if my body is buried at the roots of that tree a part of me will be able to remain, and maybe offer a piece of advice here and there from beyond the grave.”  
“That's right, if you are buried at the roots of the soul-tree your spirit, the part of you that makes you, well, you, can be bound to the tree, allowing us to speak through it.”  
“Since all my assets were seized during the GCTI raids there's no point to make any will of any kind, just promise me you will look after Eriko and Taka for me.”  
“Of course. I promise I will care for them as I would any of mine.”  
“One more thing kid, I can feel my mind slipping. Please, let me die with dignity, while I'm still myself.”  
“Of course.”  
The conversation continued for a few more hours and Matthews made it perfectly clear that he did not want to wait until his mind and body failed completely, he wanted his life to end on his own terms, while he was still himself.  
It caused quite a bit of argument from the twins, accusing him of being selfish and cruel for asking such a thing of Takeshi, and Matthews didn't deny the accusations, he was well aware that it was a selfish request.

“I think it's time kid, I'm tired, so very tired...”  
They had been talking for a few hours, and Matthews's life-flame had been steadily growing dimmer, he probably still had a few weeks left in him, but soon it would start to affect his mind.  
The walk to the Sanctuary was slow with Takeshi staying close to Matthews's side, gently supporting him when needed, while still making sure not to tarnish his dignity by coddling him.  
Once at the Sanctuary the girls helped Matthews bathe and prepare to dress for the occasion so to speak, but when Takeshi gave him a box that revealed itself to contain a full dress uniform Matthews broke into tears.  
“My Full Dress Whites, how did you manage to get your hands on this?”  
“A certain Swedish thief encouraged me to locate them and liberate them from the GCTI investigators.”  
“You knew all along we would end up here, didn't you?”  
“I held out hope that you would change your mind, but I prepared for the more likely scenario of you being stubborn.”  
Painstakingly slow they helped Matthews get into his old uniform before walking into the annex of the Soul-tree where a raised bed had been prepared for him but before he had a chance to sit down Takeshi tapped his shoulder gently.  
“There is one award missing from your uniform.”  
“No there's not, I personally checked each and every one.”  
“Not this one.”  
Takeshi held out a very formal looking box and opened it to reveal a medal, it was loosely based on the designs of the Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom, but with the Shamarai flower of Takeshi's house instead of a star.  
“What are you up to now kid?”  
“We were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for our part in taking down the GCTI, but I would not have been able to do it without you, and you received no recognition, instead you were made out to be one of the bad guys, everything you had accomplished, everything you owned, taken away.”  
Takeshi carefully placed the medal around Matthews neck with an air of formality, thanking him for all he had done.  
“It may not be an award that is formally recognized by the US or UN, but it will be highest possible award in the Sovereign Nation of Hawaii and your name will always be remembered with honor and distinction.”  
By the time Takeshi was done Matthews was in tears but Takeshi suspected it wasn't over yet and was not surprised when Munin stepped up by his side and presented Matthews with a simple feather trophy, thanking him for his aid in the task of restoring the balance of the realms, and revealing that his name would written in Hall of Heroes at the Obsidian Palace.

 

“Look at the mess you made! Here I was going to tell you guys off that this is a no tears event and I end up being the one crying like a baby.”  
Matthews's grumbled complaints as he made himself comfortable on the raised bed had everyone smiling and snickering despite everything.  
“It's time kid, send me on my way.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath, it may be what Matthews wanted, but it would not be an easy task.  
Emelie's hand on his shoulder anchored him, and the calm approval radiated from the demons in the annex helped him steel his resolve as he brought a small vial of dream conch venom out of his shift.  
The potent venom would act as an anesthesia and put Matthews into a deep sleep where he would be unable to feel the effects of the deadly venom that Takeshi intended to use to end his life.  
Emelie gave him a small chalice with the sweet irri liqueur that Matthews loved and Takeshi added a few drops of the venom, administering it orally would make the effect slower and allow Matthews to gradually fall asleep in a more natural way.  
“Walk with pride into the beyond, father.”  
Takeshi's final words as he raised a toast made Matthews's eyes widen for a moment, then he broke into a brilliant smile and emptied his chalice before leaning back and allowing the venom to claim him.  
“You make sure not to join me anytime soon, son.”  
“I will do my best.”

A few minutes later Matthews was in a deep sleep and it was time for Takeshi to fulfill his promise, carefully he gathered his power and searched out all the venomous creatures he knew of and combining their natured he shifted slightly, creating a venom sack connected to one of his claws.  
But just as he was about to pierce Matthews's skin with the venomous claw a hand stopped him, but the hand did not belong to any of the residents of the island and looking up revealed a slender figure in a black, hooded, cloak and Takeshi instantly knew what the creature was.  
“Shinigami...”  
The surprised look on the others faces told him that they did not see the emissary of death, it would seem he alone had been granted the privilege.  
“His time is here, this task need not be yours. Allow me to perform my duty.”  
The soft voice was neither male not female and the words were spoken softly.  
“As much as I appreciate the offer, I gave him my word that I would be the one to send him on his way.”  
“Then allow me to lend you the power of the Shinigami, the ability to grant a painless death, a true death.”  
Takeshi was somewhat suspicious of the offer, the Shinigami were not known for allowing their power to be wielded by others.  
“If I accept, will it in any way affect his decision to allow his spirit to remain here, within the Soul-Tree?”  
“No, you have my word it will have no effect beyond granting a swift and painless death.”  
“Then please.”  
He reversed the shift and when the Shinigami's hand once again touched his he could feel a tiny flicker of power entering him and he carefully reached out for Matthews's face and the moment he touched it the life-flame flickered once and vanished.  
He could feel it though, that last drop of life-force merged with his own giving him a deep sense of calm, the calm of a death that was supposed to be.  
“Thank you Shinigami for showing me this.”  
“This war, this death it caused, know this, it was meant to be. Their souls walked into the beyond fulfilled.”  
The weight of the hands on his shoulders slowly faded away and left him with a deep calm, somehow he knew that the words had been true and it had lifted a great burden from his soul.  
He still had blood on his hands, but somehow it didn't feel like it tainted him the same way anymore.

Looking up told him that the others had a lot of questions, but they would have to wait, because Matthews's spirit was starting to rise for its final farewell.  
Takeshi was a bit surprised though when the spirit approached Jenna first, holding out a hand for her so that they could speak.  
There was a hint of hesitation before she took the offered hand, she was obviously confused about why he would approach her first as well.  
“I have a gift for you, or well, more precisely for my little granddaughter in there.”  
“What? Why?”  
“I see things so much more clearly now, and I finally understand all of of this strangeness. Your little daughter has a very powerful soul, but it's a new soul, it lacks the experience and wisdom to temper that power.”  
Jenna nodded slowly, she had sensed the power herself, and Takeshi had as well and they had spoken a lot about it.  
“Take explained that we will have tough time keeping her from losing her way, from drowning in her own power.”  
“Hopefully my gift will make that task easier.”  
Holding out his other hand a small glowing orb appeared and he held it out for her.  
“My soul may not have been a powerful one , but it was very old, hundreds of lifetimes worth of experience and wisdom gathered. This fragment holds those experiences, all that wisdom. With your permission it will be merged with the new soul”

Takeshi watched with slight concern as the spirit brought out a small glowing orb and gently placed it against Jenna's belly where it was quickly absorbed by their daughter's soul.  
Deep inside he knew that Matthews's spirit would never harm the child, but not knowing what was going on set his instincts on edge, but Jenna seemed calm, and happy, which soothed his instincts.  
Moments later the spirit was in-front of him and he took the offered hand and moments later he understood and nodded, allowing his gratitude to flow freely.

The spirit said its farewell to everyone gathered before slowly merging into the tree while the body was lowered into a shallow grave, come morning there would be no trace of the remains save for the medals that Takeshi would retrieve.  
Once he was done building the new Hawaii they would be put on display in honor of the life of Thomas Matthews.  
There was one last surprise though as one of the branches of the jacaranda tree bowed down toward Eriko and deposited a beautiful kanzashi in her hands, and even from across the room Takeshi could feel that it held a tiny fragment of Matthews's spirit and she quickly put it in her hair with a wistful smile.  
The old fox had truly loved Matthews and it would take a long time for the wounds in her heart to heal.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Circle of Life_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was sitting in his study looking over the distribution of the generators throughout the world while waiting for Angel to tell him that the Blackout was ready for takeoff when his sat phone rang, not many had the number for it.  
Assuming it was Red calling to confirm their pickup he answered with his usual 'Yes?', but the voice on the other end was not Red, it was Amarok.  
“Isso, you need to come here, quickly.”  
“Amarok, what's wrong?”  
“The white bitch, Sesi's descendant, she has birthed a pup out of season, but she didn't survive, and the others refuse to accept the pup and it's refusing to let me feed it. Please, will you come here and see if you have better luck? Sesi's line has always had a connection to you. And this pup, I don't know what the father might have been, but I do know it was no mortal wolf, and not one of the blessed.”  
“I will be right there, have you at least been able to get some fluids in the pup?”  
“Yes, but I had to resort to subcutaneous injection, so please, hurry, he won't be able to hang on for long.”  
“I'll be right there.”  
Reaching out through his bonds he gave the bond with Ylian a gentle tug and a few moments the shadeling appeared in the shaded corner of the room.  
“You rang?”  
“Let me guess, the girls have introduced you to The Addams Family?”  
“Indeed, quite amusing.”  
“Well, I could use some help. I need to get to Alaska right away, it's an emergency so I intend to shadow-travel, but it's pretty far, so I could use a bit of a boost.”  
“Of course.”  
Ylian instantly abandoned their corporeal form and their energy became inviting, calling out for Takeshi to merge with them.  
“Angel, would you brief Dan and Hugin on the situation please and have them go get Red.”  
“Of course.”  
Following Ylian's lead Takeshi took his shadeling form and merged with Ylian before calling on the power to shadow-travel, allowing his mind to guide them to the small cave room where he had spent so much time while recovering from the loss of his unit.

Amarok startled slightly when Takeshi stepped into the main cavern, he had obviously not expected him to arrive so soon, and was entirely focused on the newborn pup.  
“Ah, that was fast, welcome.”  
“The pup?”  
Takeshi didn't waste any time on pleasantries.  
“Here, she began lactating early so I managed to salvage a small amount of colostrum, it's in that vial there, but I haven't been able to get him to accept it.”  
Amarok handed him a bundle of cloth with the tiny pup curled up in the folds, kept warm by warm water bottle that gave just enough warmth to keep the pup comfortable, without the risk of it becoming too hot.  
“Ylian, could you bring that tray a bit closer please.”  
Takeshi carefully inspected the pup, it looked well formed, it was breathing normally and its life force seemed strong, there was no immediate reason for concern.  
The critical part was getting it to start feeding though, but it didn't seem to have any interest in the offered colostrum and after spending over an hour trying to get it to feed Takeshi was starting to grow concerned.  
Such a young pup couldn't survive very long without feeding, and if it took much longer it would become too weak to feed.

“Amo, don't you think its energy feels a bit like a shadow?”  
“It does, the sire was probably at least part shadow of some sort, and it's probably what killed the dam.”  
“I think I might have an idea.”  
“Well go on, do share. Anything that might help.”  
“My mother's Stable Master once came across a Lava Hound that had been bred by a lesser shadow beast, she too perished while whelping the offspring and the pup was nearly lost as it refused all nourishment until the Stable Master gave it mare's milk mixed with her own blood.”  
Takeshi instantly gave the pup to Ylian and grabbed the small vial with colostrum and cut into his hand, adding some of his blood to it before filling a new syringe and fitting one of the small nipples on it.  
Ylian gently handed the pup back and when Takeshi held the syringe closer to the pup's nose everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the pup instantly began sniffing around and weakly try to crawl toward it.  
The pup made short work of the mix before yawning and promptly falling asleep in Takeshi's lap.  
“Now that is just adorable, you would make a great pana.”  
Ylian teased lightly before leaning in and stealing a kiss to silence the low growl of objection while Amarok stared at them with a rather bewildered look.  
“Pana is the shadeling equivalent of a mother. Para would be the equivalent of a father.”  
Takeshi grumbled slightly as he explained to Amarok, there would be no end to the speculations if he didn't.

The pup was out of immediate danger but it's energies still felt strange, fragmented and incomplete somehow so Takeshi decided to give it a more thorough examination using his aura but when he touched the pup with his focused energy he snapped back in surprise.  
_“Nani?!”  
_ The strange reaction instantly had Ylian at his side, radiating curiosity mixed with a hint of concern. _  
_ “What happened?”  
“Open your senses, feel me, and feel the pup.”  
A moment later Ylian's eyes widened in the same disbelief that Takeshi had just voiced, but Amarok didn't seem to be able to figure it out.  
“Remember that shadow that was created when you changed me into a blessed?”  
“Of course I do, how many times did that troublesome thing almost kill me?”  
“Well for a while now I have been merging more completely with it, absorbing its knowledge and instincts. And now, when I used my focused aura to touch the pup to examine it...”  
Takeshi paused for a moment, the even was somewhat unsettling.  
“It left me, it left and moved to the pup...”  
Takeshi was still desperately trying to grasp the implication of what had happened, but he knew one thing, he would protect that pup with everything he had, the Beast had caused him a lot of trouble, that was true, but without it there would have been many situations where I would not have known what to do.  
There would have been many incidents that would not have ended so well as they had without the guidance of it's knowledge.  
“Amo, without that beast...”  
The concern was now dominating Ylian's energies.  
“Are you still able to use shadow powers without transforming?”  
“I don't know.”  
Takeshi carefully set the pup down in the basket Amarok had used to keep it safe and warm.  
“Only one way to find out.”

With a calming breath Takeshi stepped into Ylian's shadow, and much to his relief the familiar gateway opened and allowed him into the shadow-realm, the feeling no different from before and he could feel Ylian's energies welcome him, encourage him.  
As he remained in the shadow-realm the feeling changed slightly, the difference was subtle at first, then it slowly grew more distinct, he could feel the energies around him much more clearly, it was like the difference between diving with a suit and diving naked.  
_“Amo?”  
_ Ylian's silent call held an edge of fear which made Takeshi realize had had stayed within the shadows much longer than he usually would so he quickly slipped out of them and re-materialized a few steps to the side.  
“Don't make me worry like that. You know how hard it is to sense someone while they are in the shadows.”  
“I'm sorry ami, I needed some time in there to realize what had changed, to adapt and understand.”  
Takeshi gently pushed Ylian back until he had them pinned against the wall before allowing his energy to press down on them a bit, urging them to alter their size a bit but Ylian refused, instead they abandoned their corporeal form and slid through him.  
A moment later they were once again corporeal and quickly spun Takeshi around and pinned him against the wall before claiming a hungry kiss and the relief that radiated from them made Takeshi submit slightly, allowing the dominant action without complaints.  
“Ssh, I'm sorry. I'm okay. The shadow-realm won't harm me.“  
Ylian slowly shrank down in in size and Takeshi reclaimed the dominant position, soothing and apologizing to his mate.

“What happened in there? Why did you stay so long?”  
With Ylian reassured that Takeshi was indeed unharmed they all settled down to try to figure out just what the transition of the Beast meant.  
“I could feel everything so much more clearly, I think it has been shielding me from the shadow energies, allowing me to slowly build a tolerance, and now I no longer need the protection so when given an opportunity it decided to leave, to take a chance on a life of its own.”  
Takeshi gently brushed his energies against the tiny pup and it wiggled slightly, seeking out his energy so he cupped his hand over it and it instantly settled down again.  
“Amarok, I need one of your arctic fox furs, a winter pelt, the softer the better, one of the tougher caribou hides and my leather working kit.”  
“Of course, I owe you quite a few pelts from the time you lived here.”

While Amarok was away fetching the items Takeshi had asked for the pup woke up again and Takeshi quickly fed it another small syringe of the mix, it was vital that the pup got as much as possible of the colostrum down, especially since there wasn't much of it to start with.  
He would have to feed the tiny thing small amounts of food, starting with the colostrum mix, and then puppy formula, roughly every other hour for the first few days, and gradually it would be able to eat larger meals less frequently.  
After feeding it he took a small piece of soft cloth and moistened it with warm water and carefully rubbed the pup to encourage it to do its toilet needs before placing it back in the warm, soft blankets.  
“I don't care how much you complain, you do have the instincts of not just a para, but a pana as well. It suits you.”  
Ylian's soft kisses along his neck made Takeshi lean into his mate with a sigh, Ylian had a real knack for making him relax.  
“Need I remind you that you do have a room?”  
Amarok's voice carried a distinct humor as he huffed at them from the entrance to the small cave.  
“Nah, I know for a fact you are not a prude.”  
“That may be true, but honestly, you two are acting like newlyweds.”  
The huffed complaint made both Takeshi and Ylian laugh.  
“Well, technically we are, we have only been mated for 3 weeks.”

The news about the mating sparked a conversation that lasted for several hours, and while they spoke Takeshi crafted a simple carrier for the pup, similar to a baby sling, though it looked more like a fur purse that had been turned inside out.  
But with the addition of a few fire crystals it would keep the pup at a suitable temperature, and being kept close to Takeshi would allow it to always feel his aura, as well as his scent and hear his heartbeat, things that would help keep it calm.  
And Takeshi would be able to feed it right away whenever it was hungry.

They had decided that it would be better to bring the pup with them and allow it to imprint on Takeshi and the others instead of leaving it at the den to imprint on the blessed wolves of Amarok's pack.

 

 

 


	94. Interlude 2053

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When Takeshi and Ylian returned to the island with the pup Sonya and her group were already there waiting for them but they found themselves being ignored for a while as Takeshi focused on making a small den for the pup.  
“Angel, I want you to monitor the pup at all times and if any parameter falls outside of these values alert me immediately.”  
“Of course. Should I research puppy formula suitable for a wolf pup as well?”  
“Please do. I doubt we will be able to buy it anywhere with the world in its current condition.”  
Everyone save for Ylian was watching what Takeshi was doing with avid curiosity, including the phoenix chick that was clinging to Hugin's shoulder, chittering happily at everyone and everything.  
“Come here little one, meet you baby brother.”  
Takeshi reached out his hand for the chick and it instantly threw itself from Hugin's shoulder and glided down to to Takeshi's hand, it was still a bit too immature to fly properly, but was quite capable of gliding safely down from all the places it managed to climb up to.  
When he held his hand closer to the small den the chick carefully approached the sleeping pup and took a closer look before chirruping softly and settling down next to it and extended its wing over it.  
“Angel, watch the temperature carefully please so the chick doesn't get too hot for the pup.”  
“Of course, it cooled down significantly before settling down though, so it seems to know how warm it can be without harming the pup.”  
“It probably does, but I don't want to take any chances.”  
Once assured that Angel wouldn't let anything happen to the pup Takeshi turned to their guests who all looked like they had about a million questions.

“Okay, I just gotta ask, are those actually your kids, or?”  
TamTam was the first to speak up and ask the question that they no doubt all wanted to ask.  
Realizing that they were dead serious about wondering if he was actually the father of the chick and pup made Takeshi break down into laughter.  
“Ah, I could father both chicks and pups depending on the species of their mother, but these are more like a mix of adopted kids and pets.”  
There was a distinct sigh of relief, but Takeshi suspected they simply had not yet fully digested his words.  
“Daddy, does the pup have a name?”  
“Indeed he does, I have decided to call him Yami.”  
“Because he's all black?”  
“Well, that's a convenient explanation for others, but if you use your auras you should be able to feel the real reason.”  
Takeshi watched while the twins gently brushed their auras against the pup then turn to him with a suspicious glare.  
“Are you **sure** he's not yours?”  
“Yeah, he feels like you and Ylian.”  
When an equally suspicious glance was shifted Ylian's way they just snickered, the girls senses were not so far of.  
Being part shadow of some sort made the pup feel a bit like Ylian and the presence of the beast made made him feel a bit like Takeshi, much the same way their spawns felt a bit like both of them.  
“I am quite certain, use your auras to check me. And look deep.”  
Ylian's humor was pulling Takeshi along so his tone was quite teasing and his aura was crackling with amusement as the twins carefully explored it, mindful not to dig in too deep or too fast.  
“It's okay, you can push more, you're not strong enough to do any damage, and I know what you are doing, that you don't mean any harm so my power won't retaliate even if you manage to give me a bit of a jolt.”

He wasn't concerned though, they were showing excellent control, normally such a deep probing into one's aura was uncomfortable at best, but the twins touch was actually quite pleasant, almost a bit too pleasant he noted as he focused on trying to suppress his reaction to it.  
Fortunately the contact didn't last very long before they both stopped and looked at each other for a moment before looking between Takeshi and the pup with wide eyes.  
“How can your shadow be in the pup?”  
The utterly confused look on the faces of Sonya and her unit made Takeshi smile, but when Sonnet tried to discreetly look at Takeshi's actual shadow he broke down laughing before turning back to the twins.  
“Remember girls, it's actually a demon that has been possessing me all this time, only its relationship with me has been more of a symbiotic one rather than the more common parasitic one.”  
“So it's possessing the pup now?”  
“I don't think so, I have a feeling this pup was created to become its new home, a body of its own.”  
His words made Ylian reach out for the pup and gently probe it.  
“I do believe you're right. It feels different now, that feeling of wrongness is gone.”  
“I think what we were sensing was an incomplete soul, and that carrying such a creature to term drained the soul of the dam to the point where it could no longer sustain both of them, and sacrificed the dam to ensure the birth of the pup.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

With the introduction of the pup done Takeshi turned to Sonya and her unit.  
“I'm sorry about the sudden change of plans, and the waiting, as you can see we had a bit of an emergency, the dam died during delivery.”  
They all assured him that they didn't mind in the least but Takeshi wasn't really paying attention, he was focused on Jackal, on the subtle changes his blood had caused.  
Now that he was wearing civilian clothes instead of the rather bulky combat gear the changes were more noticeable, the improved muscle tone, even the way he moved had changed slightly, become smother.  
He radiated the familiar calm confidence that was so common among demons and blessed alike, a presence that spoke of true strength and control.  
The surge of desire that raced though Jackal's aura when Takeshi stepped up and greeted him with a proper kiss made the girls snicker at him and Takeshi grinned widely at the slight tinge of a blush that colored Jackal's face.  
“So amo, how are you handling your new senses?”  
The way Jackal was burrowing his nose into the crook of Takeshi's neck was a good sign that smells was still an issue.  
“People are horrible, and cities are even worse! So damned loud, though earplugs help a bit. But the smells. By the Gods don't even get me started on the smells.”  
“Don't worry. I promise you will eventually get used to it. And with practice you can learn to control your senses the same way you control how much strength you apply when performing various tasks.”  
“Can't I just stay here instead? I couldn't really tell before, but now I can, you smell really nice, warm and safe.”  
The murmured words made Takeshi tut at him.  
“Ah, as tempting as that might sound I don't think my mates would appreciate that solution. But don't worry, now that the changes are complete and we have the time I will teach you to control it.”  
“If I was in his shoes I'd be more concerned about your training methods.”  
Dan's snorted comment broke Jackal out of his slightly dazed state, unable to suppress his senses Jackal had been rather strongly affected by Takeshi's pheromones.  
“Oi, I taught you how to fly just fine, didn't I?”  
Takeshi's mock offense had his chosen family laughing, and agreeing with Dan that his training methods were horrible.  
“Well, they work, don't they?”  
His words just brought on more snickering and teasing quips.  
“Do I even want to know what his methods are?”  
Jackal's somewhat concerned question silenced them for a moment before the snickers resumed and Emelie took pity on him and explained.  
“Our dear Alpha here has found a quite efficient method to motivate his lovers to learn fast. Sex, and lots of it.”  
“Figures...”  
“But he does have a point, his methods do work.”  
“Ah, at least my dear, sweet soulmate is on my side.”  
“Hmph, I'm just trying to save you from scaring the poor guy away. You would get all mopey if you did and you are annoying when you mope.”  
Takeshi was about to launch into a complaint about how mean his mates were when Angel interrupted  
“Take-san, Yami is waking up.”  
Takeshi's mood instantly shifted back to serious and he headed over to the makeshift bedding and began preparing another syringe of the blood and colostrum mixture for the pup.  
“Em, would you be a sweetheart and bring me a bowl of tepid water and a piece of soft cloth please?”  
Takeshi didn't look up from what he was doing but Emelie wasn't bothered, if anything she found it endearing to see him so focused on the well-being of the tiny pup.  
“Of course.”  
“Manda, could you bring Red and her people down to the lagoon and help them get settled in the Tiamat please? I'll come get you when it's time to eat.”  
“Sure, Hugin, Munin, come help carry their bags.”  
Both angels quickly agreed and Amanda began ushering Sonya and the others back down toward the lagoon.  
“Dan, would you corral the girls and get dinner started?”  
“Yes Alpha.”  
The sub harmonics in Dan's reply carried a distinctly rebellious tone that made Takeshi huff at him.  
“Cheeky little...”

“Miss Kaiyou, is he always this intense at home?”  
TamTam's question made Amanda and the angels snicker a bit.  
“I'm a mated female now, so calling me miss is not really proper.”  
She didn't really mind though, she was mostly just teasing him.  
“Ah, Mrs? I'm sorry, Shamarai, or Kiryu? What **would** be appropriate?”  
“I'm mated, not married, the most proper address would be _Shamarai Kaiyou Yema_. But I think we can all agree that is a bit over the top, so just call me Manda, or if you feel the need to be formal Kaiyou-iera.”  
She took a moment to explain the differences between Yemi and Ieri to the group before TamTam brought attention back to his original question.  
“So, Manda, is he always this intense?”  
“No, not always.”  
There was a short pause and a collective sigh of relief could be heard from their guests, then Hugin decided to speak up.  
“There are the times when he's worse.”  
The groan that followed had Amanda, Hugin and Munin all laughing.  
“You are just teasing us now, aren't you?”  
“Perhaps, perhaps not.”  
“Be nice Brother, you too Manda. Don't worry, he's really not that bad unless you manage to trigger his instincts, unless he's in heat, but his heat just ended so that shouldn't happen for another 10 years.”  
Munin scolded gently while explaining a bit more what Hugin had actually meant by his words.  
“Unless Lady Em goes into her true heat, that would definitely trigger him to go into heat as well.”  
He added after a moments consideration which triggered another round of questions.  
When Takeshi joined them at the Tiamat to invite them back to the house to eat they were having a rather lively debate about demon instincts and how to deal with living with demons as a human.  
“Is everyone ready for some food?”

The way the unaltered humans in the group jumped slightly when he spoke made it quite obvious they had not noticed him, it was equally obvious that Jackal had noticed and Takeshi watched with curiosity as Jackal got up and walked over to him.  
He carefully focused on keeping his scent calm and posture relaxed and inviting as Jackal approached with a slightly nervous edge in his aura.  
Takeshi couldn't help the slight spike of surprise though when Jackal leaned in and trailed soft kisses along the underside of his jaw, a sign of gratitude and Takeshi accepted his gesture by nuzzling the top of his head with a soft growl.  
Amanda and the raven brothers had obviously explained the meaning of the gesture and the possible responses to it as Jackal immediately relaxed.  
“Well, if you are done thanking me, how about we head back up to the house for some food?”  
The teasing tone made Jackal huff at him and Takeshi could smell the slight embarrassment.

Watching the other board the catamaran tender Takeshi placed his hand on Jackal's shoulder and when he turned around Takeshi offered him his hand.  
“Jackal, do you trust me?”  
There was a slight pause, then he nodded and took the offered hand and Takeshi pulled him close.  
“Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. It will feel cold for a moment, but try not to open your eyes or gasp.”  
Shadow-travel as a passenger wasn't dangerous, but it could be uncomfortable to Jackal's enhanced senses.  
“Ready?”  
“No...”  
The focus of Jackal's aura told Takeshi he was in fact ready though and with a chuckle he brought them into the shadows and exited in the inner garden.  
“Wow, that was different.”  
Jackal was understandably somewhat disoriented, but he quickly recovered and began asking a lot of questions about what had just happened, and Takeshi answered them as best as he could before asking Ylian to step in and explain in more detail.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Despite having seen the twins energetic nature before Sonya and her group stared with wide eyes at the utter chaos that was mealtime in the island household.  
“Now that's a trick I'd love to learn.”  
Wizard's comment when the plate with butter came levitating his way on top of a green cloud had the other snickering and teasing, Wizard had gained his call-sign from his love of, and skill at performing, various sleight of hand tricks.  
“It's fox magic. If you play your cards right you may be able to convince Eriko to sell you a bit of power. But be careful, foxes are tricky and you are not a part of my house so you are not protected from being tricked by her.”  
Takeshi's explanation had Wizard staring at him with wide eyes.  
“Wait, seriously? It would be possible for me to learn how to do that?”

“Well, you would have to be given a spark of foxfire first, but yes. It is possible, the girls were just human when they first learned it. Eriko gave them a spark of her power, and with time they learned to channel the energy themselves”

Takeshi had a feeling Eriko would gladly take on a pupil, if only to distract her from Matthews's death, the fact that she was observing the traditional 49 days of mourning, even going as far as wearing a black kimono was quite telling.  
She had come to see Matthews as mate and she had taken his death very hard, during the first few days she had raged, screaming at the skies, and at Takeshi for allowing Matthews to die, for forbidding her to use her power to save him.  
Then she had broken down and cried herself to sleep in his arms and when she woke the next day she had placed Takara in Emelie's arms before secluding herself in her room for the rest of the week.  
When she rejoined them she was wearing the simple black kimono that showed she was in mourning.

“Maybe mommy won't be so sad if she has someone to teach?”  
Takara put Takeshi's thoughts into words and he gently tweaked her ear in a comforting gesture.  
“She will be sad and hurting for a long time Taka, but maybe it can help her keep her mind off the pain while her heart heals.”  
“It's stupid, why do humans have to die so easy?”  
“I don't know sweetie, I don't think anyone can answer that.”  
When Takara started sniffling and sobbing Takeshi plucked her from her seat and tucked her into his lap before turning to Wizard who was clearly somewhat distressed at the strange turn of events.  
“Her mother, Eriko, was very close with Matthews, she took his death very hard.”  
“Wait, Matthews? Thomas Matthews of the GCTI carrier Liberty?”  
Sonya instantly connected the dots.  
“Yes.”  
“I'm sorry. He was important to you, wasn't he?”  
“Over the years he has become like a father to me.”  
Before they could ask any more questions about what had happened Takeshi carefully steered the topic to safer ground, talking about their plans for the future.

“Really? You plan to tear down all of Honolulu and rebuild it?”  
“Not just just Honolulu, all of Hawaii, and I don't intend to rebuild all of it.”  
“What? What about everyone living there?”  
As usual TamTam was the most vocal out of the group.  
“Easy, you are forgetting to add the time aspect, this is not plans for a few years, or even decades, we are talking about a century or more. And we will put our best efforts into convincing any non native humans that their best option is to accept the relocation offers.”  
Takeshi needed Hawaii to be fully self sufficient, but to do that he needed to reduce the population.  
“The current population of Hawaii is over 3 million, we won' be able to fully sustain that population without harming the environment. It needs to drop bellow 1 million, non-humans included. Ideally I would like to see a 90% population drop, somewhere between 100.000 and 250.000 would be a good target.”  
“Won't that cause reproduction issues in an isolated population?”  
Takeshi found it amusing how the patterns of the conversation remained the same, TamTam would open up with a question or two, then the others would chip in based on their own area of expertise, Wizard for instance was asking the questions related to his medical knowledge.  
“In an entirely human population it would eventually lead to a reduction in genetic diversity and the risk of compounding genetic disorders but demons are not susceptible to the issues caused by inbreeding. And the blessed actually require a certain degree of inbreeding to maintain their ability to shift, but like demons they are not susceptible to genetic disorders.”  
Takeshi explained how it also was common for demons to breed with related individuals to maintain the unique characteristics of their species, and how powerful ones, like the Lilim, would do so to make sure that new powerful demons were born.  
“So marri, eh, matings between for instance cousins is common among demons?”  
“No, it's actually extremely uncommon for closely related individuals to form mating bonds. Most mating bonds are formed based on Simiriwi, The Calling, and closely related individuals will not experience it.”  
He continued to explain the difference between human marriage and mating, sex and breeding in most demon cultures, especially in pack oriented species.  
“So even species that form monogamous bonds will occasionally breed outside the paring?”  
“Yes, to maintain diversity. Remember, demons live for a very long time.”

The conversation slowly drifted along various topics of demon life and culture and how they were different, and yet similar to humans.  
After a while the topic shifted to Takeshi's own plans for the immediate future, the plan for himself and his chosen family.  
“The girls have made it quite clear that while they enjoy life on the island they want to experience city life, the people, the shopping and parties.”  
“Be nice, they just want a chance to be normal teens.”  
Wraith scolded with a teasing wink to the girls, she hadn't said anything during the conversation, but she had listened very carefully and Takeshi had no doubt that she remembered every little word he had said.  
“They aren't really teens anymore though, they are all older than they look. But you are right in that they want to try a normal life on for size.”  
Remembering his promise that they would more to a city, at least for a few years Takeshi turned to the girls.

“So, have you girls decided what city you want to live in?”  
He knew they had been talking about it during their study time, they would often take breaks talking during their studies to talk about more personal matters, with his hearing, and their habit of leaving the windows open and debating at a rather high volume, it was hard not to overhear them at times.  
“Yeah, we have. We wanna live in Miami, on the coast. And we want a nice winter cabin somewhere where we can enjoy the stars and the aurora.”  
“Do you want the cabin in an area with other people, or somewhere private, like maybe up in the mountains north of Amarok's den?”  
A quick silent conversation followed before all f them spoke at once.  
“Both!”  
“So, one cabin in Alaska, and where do you want the other one?”  
“Well, Tromsø was nice, how about there?”  
The twins were the first to speak up, recalling their extended vacation with Takeshi and Emelie.  
“Any other suggestions?”  
The others just shook their heads.  
“Tromsø and Miami it is then.”  
The cheering was quite loud, which woke Yami, which in turn earned the girls a scolding while Takeshi doted on the pup, it didn't show any interest in food, but it did need to relieve itself which Takeshi used a damp cloth to take care of before it promptly fell asleep again.

“Now, what kind of house do you want in Miami? Do you want to keep living like this in a big house with just your own rooms, or would you perhaps like a bigger house where you can have a small apartment to yourself?”  
Takeshi's only non-negotiable demand when it came to the house was that he wanted all of the girls to live in the same place, not spread out over the city.  
“We want beach bungalows.”  
“And you don't want to share I presume?”  
Takeshi sighed rather deeply, of course they would want something complicated.  
“Mhm.”  
“So, mainland or the keys?”  
“The keys is so far from the city, we wanna live closer so we can go out partying and shopping.”  
Takeshi had expected as much, but he groaned anyway, he enjoyed privacy and did not want to live too close to the rest of the city.  
“How about North Bay?”  
They quickly agreed that the western island of North Bay was a good choice, it would even be possible to get the Leviathan into the protected harbor formed by the northern part of the island.  
“Now, this is going to take some time, it won't be a quick task to acquire the land there.”  
“A quick guess, you intend to acquire the entire western island?”  
“That's right Carol.”  
“Is that even going to be possible?”  
“It is, part of the treaties to get the generators was that they have to allow me to obtain a certain amount of land, regardless of current owners. It will be claimed under eminent domain as part of the payment for the generators.”  
There was a similar clause in each of the contracts signed with the individual nations of the world as payment for the cost of building, shipping, installing and maintaining of the generators.  
That part of the agreement was made with the Mandrake Group and the Kiryu holdings, meaning they would be his private property to do with as he pleased.  
“We need to give them some time though to move the people living there, and of course tear it all down and build our own homes.”  
“We know. It's not like you would let us move now anyway. Not until the world has recovered and stabilized again.”  
They were right of course, he did not want to move into a city until the damage done by the _Dark War_ was undone.  
“Also, Maria, Sarah, if you go live in the city you can't stay in your child forms. Are you ready for that?”  
“We are.”  
They brushed their auras against him and as they did there was s distinct shift in their energies and the childish feel was replaced by a more mature energy of an older teen.  
“Guess it's time to step up the self-defense classes with all of you. And driving lessons.”  
The mention of more self-defense classes had all of the girls groaning, but the mention of driving lessons instantly turned the groans into cheers.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“I think it's time to call it a night, our guests are starting to look like they are about to fall asleep, and we have a lot to do tomorrow, Miri want's to see them, and they need to come visit the Sanctuary to meet the Mother.”  
They would also have to decide if they should get familiars, or be seeded, or maybe both, all of them needed to be able to communicate with Takeshi while he was shifted and only Wraith and Sonnet had the ability naturally, Jackal had gained the ability from Takeshi's blood.  
The girls objected a bit, they were having a lot of fun getting to know Sonya and her team but Takeshi reminded them that their guests were mortal humans, Jackal may be a bit more resilient now, but he still needed his sleep.  
Leaving Yami in Ylian's care Takeshi walked the group back down to the lagoon and made sure Angel registered them as authorized users for the tenders and jet-skis as well as most of the Tiamat's systems.  
After saying goodnight to his guests Takeshi and Jackal stayed up a bit longer to work in Jackal's sense of smell but after an hour or so Jackal started yawning as well so he decided it was time to retire for the night.

“Aren't you going to invite me to stay?”  
Takeshi used his arms and body to gently trap Jackal against the wall and the way the young man's pulse and breath hitched was promising.  
“I thought you said we had a big day tomorrow and needed sleep?”  
The teasing reply made Takeshi smirk and lean in to trail kisses along Jackal's jaw and gently nip at his ear.  
“Don't worry. I am more than happy to just spend the night holding you and watching you sleep.”  
Jackal instantly relaxed and slumped against Takeshi with a pleased sigh.  
“I think I can live with that.”

Despite the agreement that there would be no sex, just cuddling, there was no lack of eagerness as they helped each other out of their clothes and the kisses and touches that followed left them both burning for more.  
“Maybe this wasn't such a great idea...”  
Jackal was panting rather heavily making his words come out somewhat garbled but the objections went silent when Takeshi grabbed him tightly and gave him a long kiss that started out rather hungry.  
Takeshi however used his experience and control to slowly turn the kiss from harsh and hungry to soft and sweet before tucking Jackal under his chin.  
“Sleep.”  
Jackal grumbled something unintelligible and moments later he was sleeping soundly and Takeshi allowed himself to drift away into a half-sleep.

Takeshi was pulled back to full awareness about two hours later by the presence of Ylian's aura, and underneath it he could sense Yami and it quickly became obvious that Jackal was sensing them as well as he slowly stirred and looked up at Takeshi with a questioning glance.  
“It's Ylian and Yami, they are in the shadows.”  
“Is something wrong with the pup?”  
Jackal's concern about Yami made Takeshi smile and snicker at him.  
“It doesn't feel like it, he's probably just refusing to accept food from anyone but me.”  
“Guess you better feed him then.”  
Since Jackal had no objections Takeshi flared his aura slightly and gave Ylian permission to step into his shadow, he was sure that if Yami had been in any danger Ylian would not have bothered with such formalities as waiting for permission to enter.  
“Hello ami. Is Yami giving you a hard time?”  
“Indeed, your little rascal refuses to allow us to feed him despite the blood mixed with the milk.”  
“Excuse me, but did you mix your own blood into it as well, or only Take's?”  
Jackal's question made both Takeshi and Ylian pause.  
“He might be on to something, if I feed him a mix with both our bloods maybe he will accept being fed by you, recognizing you as a caretaker.”  
“It's worth a try, he's part shadow so my essence won't harm him, the worst that could happen is that he refuses to eat it and we lose one vial of the dam's milk.”  
Jackal watched with avid curiosity as Takeshi added a few drops of Ylian's blood to the syringe and shook it to mix it with the colostrum and blood already in it.  
Clinging to Takeshi's back he watched with bated breath as the mixture was offered to the pup, and he joined the sigh of relief when the pup quickly suckled it all down.  
But moments later a low, slightly annoyed growl from Takeshi made Jackal stumble back into the bed in surprise.  
“What did I do?”  
Takeshi was pointedly ignoring him while tending to the pup so he turned to Ylian who was struggling not to laugh.  
“Please, what did I do wrong?”  
“Nothing bad, I promise. Our dear Take is being a bit grumpy.”  
“I can tell, but why? I did something wrong, didn't I?”  
“You are unable to control your aura, the way you project your emotions. You just thought about how adorable he looks when doting on the pup, right?”  
“Yeah..?”  
“While you did, your aura also shifted into a somewhat protective and slightly dominant pattern.”  
“Oh, dominant is bad that much I have managed to learned.”  
“Don't worry, it wasn't enough for him to see it as a challenge, however combined with your emotions you were pretty much saying what an adorable mother he makes.”  
Jackal's eyes widened for a moment and he struggled to suppress an amused snort, but didn't really succeed.  
“Oh... Damn... Sorry Take... I didn't mean to...”  
Takeshi huffed and turned slightly, putting his back entirely toward Jackal, a sign of dismissal and Jackal instantly deflated and gained a somewhat kicked puppy look that made Ylian take pity on him.  
“Alpha, don't be mean to the poor kid. His senses might be sharp enough now, but he lacks the knowledge to interpret the information to be able to tell you are just teasing him.”  
There was a moment of confused silence then Takeshi twisted and pounced and Jackal found himself pushed into the bedding by a grinning Takeshi who quickly set out to tease him while Ylian leaned back in the chair and watched.  
Between the clawed hands and the grinning mouth Jackal found himself swiftly brought to the edge and over before being gently tucked under Takeshi's chin.  
“Go on, get some more sleep.”  
“How am I supposed to sleep after that?”  
“I would think you would sleep rather well.”  
“Ugh, you're impossible...”  
Despite the complaints Jackal was quickly settling down, but Takeshi could feel a slight sense of longing from Ylian so he gave Jackal a gentle nudge.  
“Do you think you would be okay with Ylian joining us?”  
“I don't know...”  
The tone was hesitant, but he had been fine with Ylian watching them so Takeshi was hopeful that he would at least be willing to try to see if he could be comfortable with both of them sharing his bed.  
“Are you willing to at least try? Yi will leave if you are uncomfortable with it.”  
After a few moments consideration Jackal nodded and Ylian quickly joined them, making themselves comfortable behind Jackal before placing their arm over him so they could touch Takeshi.  
“Feeling okay?”  
Takeshi's soft question was met by a slow nod and a barely articulate mumbling that made both Ylian and him smile.  
“Feels safe.”  
That was a feeling both Takeshi and Ylian was familiar with, they both knew just how good it could feel to sleep somewhere where you truly felt safe.  
“That's good. Now sleep, we will watch over over you.”  
The mumbling that followed was impossible to make out and moments later Jackal was asleep again.

Next time Yami woke and needed feeding and cleaning Ylian carefully altered their form so that they could tend to it without disturbing Jackal, and much to their relief the pup now accepted being fed by them.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Come morning Takeshi and Ylian were both struggling not to laugh as Jackal had turned around in his sleep and was now snuggling up against Ylian and as he was slowly waking up he had begun to trail kisses along their chest which they were quite obviously enjoying.  
Sensing that Jackal was finally awake enough to register what happened around him Takeshi spoke up with a teasing tone.  
“You know, something like this could really put a dent in a guys self-confidence.”  
It took a moment for Jackal's sleep-addled mind to realize that Takeshi's voice had come from behind him, not in front of him, but once he did he cursed quite colorfully before apologizing to Ylian for taking such liberties with them.  
“Oh, no need to apologize. I found it to be quite enjoyable, you are no doubt a talented lover.”  
The somewhat frustrated spluttering that followed proved to be too much for Takeshi's restraint and he broke down laughing.  
“Don't worry, no one is offended. Unless you are.”  
“No, just a bit embarrassed. Or well, very embarrassed actually...”  
“There's no need for that. And I assure you, if you wish this to stay inside these walls it will.”  
Jackal leaned back against Takeshi, but he didn't turn around, instead he looked at Ylian's somewhat androgynous body with thinly veiled curiosity.  
“You are more than welcome to continue your exploits and explore my form.”  
Ylian's teasing invitation made Jackal pause for a moment.  
“Things like this. It's really okay with you guys?”  
“It is. Remember, Ylian is my 7th mate and yi is courting my 2nd mate and I have no doubt yi will one day become my cross-mate.”

Takeshi explained that in group mating's like his all mates usually had intimate relationships with some, or all, of their fellow mates, it ensured that everyone had a chance for intimacy when they wanted it, even if the dominant, or core, mate was currently with one of their other mates.  
“How do you avoid jealousy?”  
“It's different with packs, we are usually fine with other pack-members, or core members of the same house. Outsiders can make things complicated though.”  
“And I'm an outsider...”  
“Not entirely, since I used my power to heal and change you a bit you are, at least in part, one of us.”  
Takeshi's somewhat diplomatic words made Ylian snort in amusement so he hurried on to explaining them in more detail before the shadeling decided to do it in his stead.  
“As you have no doubt realized I'm attracted to you in both a carnal way, and emotionally. And my interest is not fleeting, I want us to get to know each other better, to see if we would make good mates.”  
“Oh...”  
“And this is where the problem comes in. My instinct is to claim you, mark you so that everyone knows you are mine, so that no one will try to steal you away. To ensure that if we mate I will be your first mate.”  
Takeshi continued to explain about how different marks held precedence over each other.  
“Bottom line is, if anyone able to place a formal claim approaches you in a way that indicates they are interested, Take here might get a bit grouchy and confrontational.”  
Ylian quickly summed up Takeshi's explanation.  
“So, someone like you?”  
“Yes, but I have been around for a while, and I'm used to the instincts of demons so I make sure to remain submissive, passive, paired with the fact that we are mates it will soothe his instincts.”  
“But won't that make me seem like a potential threat to your mating? Like I'm trying to steal you away from him?”  
The concerned tone made both Ylian and Takeshi snicker, and it was Takeshi that answered.  
“I'm very confident in my mating bonds. They are true and strong, I share the _simiriwi_ with all my mates, and ours are love matings, this makes our bonds exceptionally strong which in turn soothes my instincts, gives me confidence that no one will be able to steal my mates from me.”  
“So no one will mind? Take offense or be jealous?”  
“Don't worry, no one will take offense.”  
Takeshi knew that Dan would be a bit insecure about Jackal in the beginning, but he would soon find himself again, reassured by the unwavering power of their bonds.

Reassured that it was okay Jackal allowed his curiosity to take over and he slowly placed one hand on Ylian's chest.  
”You're a bit cold, and you don't have any nipples...”  
The obvious confusion and disappointment in Jackal's voice made Ylian raise a questioning eyebrow so Takeshi slowly let his hand slide from Jackal's stomach and up over his chest where he brushed his fingers over the nipple, earning him a gasp and a sharp spike in pheromones.  
Seeing Jackal's reaction Ylian's questioning look instantly turned teasing.  
“Remember, I'm a shadeling, we are not mammals, in fact our natural state is incorporeal, a dark cloud of power. This body you see and touch is just a representation of my will.”  
With a flicker of power Ylian altered their body to have nipples and Jackal slowly brushed his finger over the one that had appeared under his hand, earning him a soft gasp that turned into more of a moan when he carefully rolled it between his fingers and gave it a gentle tug.  
The fact that Ylian responded so strongly to the touch was proof of their skill and power, far from all shadelings were able to make such accurate forms.  
Encouraged by Ylian's reactions Jackal leaned in and began trailing kisses over their chest again, but this time Takeshi joined the teasing by allowing his hands to mimic what Jackal was doing to Ylian, something that quickly brought both his lover and his mate to the edge and over.

By the time Sonya and the others woke up Takeshi, Ylian and Jackal were seated at the common area playing cards which earned them a few suspicious glances and teasing quips.  
“Do you want to eat here, or come up to the house? Fair warning, all our meals are equally chaotic.”  
The warning about the mealtime chaos made the choice easy and they quickly prepared a simple meal at the Tiamat before Takeshi sat them down for a more serious discussion.  
“As you are aware my house and I are able to communicate telepathically and during last evening I tested all of you to see if you possess the gene for telepathy and I found that none of you do, not naturally at least. Jackal has an inactive form of it due to the way I healed his back.”  
“I assume that's not unexpected?”  
“No it's not. I would however like to give you a few options to change that.”  
Takeshi explained about the familiars, and about the seeding, and after a fairly short deliberation it was agreed that they would receive both.

Bringing them to the Sanctuary caused the usual reaction of amazement and it took a while to gather them enough to begin the process of giving them their familiars.

While the newcomers explored the wonders of the main chamber Takeshi spoke with the Mother, which ended with him being scolded much the same way he would often scold Dan and Jenna.  
_**“You are my chosen one, I trust you. If you wish to change them, do so. If you want me to grant them familiars I will do so without question.”**_ _  
“And if I screw up. Trust the wrong person?”  
__**“Then I trust you to take care of it. We all make mistakes, even the Avatars. Such is the way of the world.”**_

“ _Most won't risk wiping everything out if they make a mistake.”  
**“True, but you know the takes, you don't make these decisions easily.”**_

“ _I guess...”  
__**“I know. Now go ahead, let's see what their blood makes.”**_

After the usual startled confusion at the hearing the voice of the Mother Takeshi explained how a familiar was made, though he was a bit surprised when the Mother told them to collect all the blood in a single pitcher.  
_**“Please, humor me. I wish to see if you are able to tell whom each of the familiars belong with.”**_  
Takeshi just huffed at the idea, though, he had to agree it would probably be rather amusing.

“Red, how about you go first?”  
“I guess someone has to. Might as well be me.”  
“I will use a dragon-stone blade to make the cut, their sharpness allows them to cut cleanly and without pain, also they leave no scars.”  
Sonya just nodded and held out her hand.  
Takeshi took the offered hand and with a swift motion he cut fairly deep into her hand and held it over the pitcher before bringing it to his mouth and giving the cut a quick lick to seal it.  
“Don't worry Red, my saliva has healing properties.”  
Sonya looked a bit apprehensive, but true to his words the cut was completely healed, one by one they stepped forward and offered Takeshi a hand, which he cut into, then healed.  
But when Jackal stepped forward Takeshi paused, the way Jackal was looking at his claws made him set the small blade aside and when he placed a claw against the skin Jackal nodded so he used his claw to make the cut, the lick it to heal as he had before.

“Now what?”  
With the last blood added to the pitcher Takeshi found himself at the center of attention.  
“Now we wait a bit for them to form.”  
Power was pulsing and twisting within the pitcher as is slowly grew larger and when the energy stilled it looked like it was about to burst.  
“How about we make a bit of a game out of this? I will bring one of the creatures out and you all write down whose familiar you believe it to be, then when all of them has been brought out we check how many you managed to get right?”  
“Any prices involved?”  
TamTam's teasing question made Takeshi snicker.  
“Yes, but it will be a surprise. So what do you say?”  
They all quickly agreed and after a bit of a scramble they all had a piece of paper and something to write with.  
“Let's do this then.”

Takeshi reached into the pitcher and was not surprised to feel a snake slither around his hand and he carefully brought the small creature out and held it out toward the group.  
“A beautiful serpent.”  
The hooded serpent looked like a cross between a cobra and a red-bellied black snake, it kept it's hood tightly folded though, making it impossible to see the pattern on it, but Takeshi knew without seeing, the pattern would be a flickering flame, because the serpent was Sonya's familiar.

Putting his hand back into the pitcher he felt the clawed feet of a large spider and pulling his hand out revealed a large tarantula, the spider was black with a purple metallic sheen and a bright silver patterns which made it quite stunning, it was also very large.  
“I hate spiders...”  
Sonnet's complaint made it hard for Takeshi to keep a straight face, as the spider was his.  
“Oh shush, it's amazing. Look at those colors.”  
Wraith had a very different opinion of the creature.  
“Great, it's all yours.”

Feeling around for the third familiar he once again felt tiny claws against his skin, but this time the creature revealed was a black scorpion that carried traces of Wizard's aura signature.  
The creature was slightly transparent though, as if cut from black crystal or glass.

The fourth creature to touch his hand carried a distinct demonic signature mixed with Wraith's aura and when it crawled up on his hand it was revealed to be a beautiful little moth dragon.  
It had the slender body of a feathered forest dragon but wings and antennae like a moth, this particular specimen also had several tiny horns which, along with it's brilliant ruby color revealed it's origin to be from the red plains.  
The species was very rare and Takeshi could feel that just like the twin titanoboa's and Dan's raijū this was an actual moth dragon, not an artificial construct.  
Along with the flavor of her blood it convinced Takeshi that Wraith had a demon lover, it was faint, but there was traces of demon in her aura, but not in her blood.

The fifth familiar was warm and fuzzy against his hand and carried TamTam's energy, and bringing his hand out revealed a tiny weasel in it's winter colors that soon had everyone snickering at it as it displayed the hyper-energetic nature of its kind.

Another foray into the pitcher revealed a bat with large ears which Takeshi could tell was Screech's familiar.

Reaching down into the pitcher one last there was no more creatures coming into his hand, instead he found a smooth egg at the bottom it, it would seem Jackal's familiar was larger than the others, too large to fit into the pitcher so it was contained within the form of an egg that would hatch and grow.  
Scoping it up revealed a black and blue speckled egg the size of a large goose egg and Takeshi was very curious about what kind of creature would hatch from it.  
Brushing his aura against it triggered the hatching and before long it revealed a tiny white crow that rapidly grew into a full sized bird.  
It was obviously not a natural crow as it feathers and even the beak and skin was pure white, and it's eyes were silver.

“So, has everyone made their guesses for which creature goes where?”  
“Yeah, we are all done. Let's see how badly we messed up.”  
They all handed Takeshi their slip of paper and he quickly noted that no one had managed to get them all correct and that TamTam had managed to get the most point which gave Takeshi another opportunity to try to woo the man.

“Let's start with this lovely little snake.”  
Most of them agreed that the snake had to be Sonya's familiar and when Takeshi handed it to her it flared it's hood and displayed the brilliant red flame which was flickering slightly.  
“Now, as you can tell it's not a real snake, it's an artificial construct but it does have a mind and instincts. It's extremely venomous, but it can't harm you Red. And it won't harm anyone you don't want it to harm.”  
He continued to explain how the familiar didn't need to eat, but was fully able to, and that she would probably see food vanishing from her plate from time to time.  
He explained about it's ability to change it's form, but would go into more detail on that after all the familiars were with their masters.

“Next up is this lovely little thing.”  
Holding up the spider he waited for everyone to make their guess and none guessed it right, most believed it was Wraith's familiar while TamTam had guessed that it was Wizard's.  
“Good guesses, but you are all wrong.”  
They all looked between each other, trying to figure out who would get the large arachnid as a companion and after a while Sonnet began to squirm and look a bit uncomfortable.  
“It's mine, isn't it?”  
“That's right.”  
“Why me, why a spider? Couldn't it be that crazy weasel or the oddly cute bat?”  
“Because you fear them. Having one around that you know is not dangerous, that you feel connected with, will help you conquer that fear.”  
“I guess...”  
Takeshi held out the spider for him, but it took a while for Sonnet to gather the courage to hold out his hand and allow it to crawl over to him.  
As had happened with Jenna he instantly calmed down when the connection formed fully.

Continuing in the same manner Wizard received his scorpion before Wraith bonded with her little moth dragon.  
“Now Wraith, this little thing is not a construct like the others, it's a real moth dragon, a very rare creature from the demon realm. This means it will require some more care, but I will teach you how to care for it and I will make sure you always have access to suitable food to feed it.”  
“But won't that cause trouble if it can't transform and hide like the others?”  
“Don't worry. Its species lives among a wide range of larger predators with extreme senses, it has a wide range of abilities to help it hide and survive. It's a lesser demon so it's mentality is more like that of an animal, but it's just as intelligent as a human.”

When it was time for the weasel everyone was in agreement that the energetic little imp of a creature had to be TamTam's familiar.  
It suited him well, it was quick, clever and fearless and Takeshi had no doubt that TamTam, just like a weasel, could be quite deadly when he needed to be.  
“Well hello there little one, I have a feeling we will get along just fine.”  
“More like get in trouble together just fine. Or create havoc together just fine.”  
TamTam's eager greeting of his familiar caused some good natured teasing before everyone turned their focus to Takeshi as he held out the bat.  
“Screech, that one is definitely yours.”  
“Of course she is. Adorable little thing.”  
Screech quickly tucked the bat into the breast pocket of his shirt and moments later it poked it head out and looked around with the large ears carefully twitching and turning at the slightest sound.

Last up was the white crow and Jackal stepped up to receive her without hesitation, though he did complain a bit when she instantly hopped to his shoulder and began pecking at his ear.  
“It's magnificent. Though, I could do without the ear abuse.”  
“She suits you well, beautiful and intelligent, and with courage at heart. And don't worry about your ear, she won't actually hurt you.”  
“Still trying to sweet-talk me even after getting in my pants?”  
Jackal huffed at the teasing compliment.  
“Well, I never claimed that I intended to settle for just getting into your pants.”  
“Now you're in for it Jacky.”  
Jackal hissed in mock annoyance at TamTam's teasing before countering with a quip of his own.  
“Says the guy who just won a surprise reward from the resident playboy.”  
The counter instantly had the larger man spluttering and blanching as he glanced over at Takeshi.  
“Oh don't worry TamTam. I promise you will like your prize.”  
Takeshi's teasing tone and hint of a wink made TamTam's eyes widen in mock concern.  
“You know, comments like those really don't make things any better...”  
The slightly concerned tone brought down laughter and more teasing and Takeshi left them to it for a while before showing them how to hide and change their familiars.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Interlude 2053_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Wow, these rebreathers are really small. What's the dive time on them?”  
“As long as you want it to be. It may look like a normal, although small, closed circuit rebreather, but the likeness is superficial. The inside is based on sanctuary crystals and a mix of algae and plankton created by the Mother for this purpose.”  
Takeshi continued to explain how the tiny rebreathers worked while handing them out to Sonya and her people and kept an eye on them as they put them on to make sure they weren't having any issues with the small size.  
He went through the pre-dive steps with them, making sure to check every piece of the equipment and make sure nothing was damaged or malfunctioning.  
Once in the water Takeshi continued to give them a quick lesson in using the unfamiliar HUD.  
“Looks good. Now we need to configure them, put the mask on and activate the HUD.”  
He showed them how to read the mix indicators before giving them the okay to take the regulator and go beneath the surface  
“The color will change from red to green as the system calibrates to the specific needs of your body, and once it's green we are good to go. Once in the water it will keep adjusting so it might occasionally turn yellow or orange again. If it does you need to stop, take calm breaths and wait for it to return to green. If it does not return to green within a minute or two or turns red, call for me and I will come check it.”  
The system was still largely untested on humans due to a lack of suitable human test subjects, something Takeshi intended to make use of Sonya and the others to change.  
With everyone geared up and their gas mix fully configured Takeshi shifted into his naga form and began guiding them down to the hidden cave where Star-singer's eggs were resting.  
The egg that had been brought from stasis was still maturing, but it had the glowing thread-like seeds growing all over it so Takeshi would be able to implant Sonya and the others without problems.  
He was a bit curious though to see what Miri was up to, she hadn't greeted him by the beach as she usually would, instead she was waiting down with the eggs.  
That Arc was staying away was expected though, she was a bit shy and very protective of her pups so it would probably take a while before Sonya and the others got a chance to see her or the little rascals.

When they arrived in the cave that housed the eggs Miri was waiting for them with her tail coiled around the maturing egg as if she was guarding it and Takeshi swam up to her and greeted her by brushing his body against hers.  
“Hello Miri. We missed you at dinner yesterday.”  
Her only reply was a puff of bubbles and a slightly harder brush against his body, making sure her fins brushed against his gill covers and genital slit but the touch was teasing rather than needy.  
“Ah, Lady Miri, you look different somehow.”  
Jackal's teasing greeting earned him a huff, but there was a slight hint of concern tainting the familiar's transmission, it would seem that her seemingly rapid aging had him concerned.  
“Don't worry Jackal. My kind grows in stages, it was merely time for me to go from being a child to being an adolescent. By human standards I am a lot older than I look though.”  
She gave Jackal a short explanation, telling him that her actual age was over 100 years old, and that she would never die of old age, her line had never bred with the visitors so she retained the eternal nature of her ancestors.

While Miri spoke to Jackal the others were looking around the cavern with avid curiosity.

“What are these?”  
Screech was slowly moving around the stasis crystal with the small eggs inside.  
“They are eggs from a space-dwelling creature called Star-singer.”  
“Alien eggs?”  
“Indeed. Alien eggs. The big one here is the same, only it has had time to mature a bit.”  
“So, it's not just demons and dragon, angels and mermaids, but aliens as well?”  
“It's a lot to take in, I know, but it gets easier with time. For now it's time for some alien gene-therapy though.”  
“Suddenly that sounds a lot more intimidating...”  
“You have my word that it's perfectly safe.”  
Takeshi could understand Screech's reaction, he had dropped quite a bombshell on them and they still didn't know him well enough to know how deeply he felt about his word being his bond.  
“I guess I will be going first then.”  
Jackal's voice held conviction and trust which made Takeshi's instincts soar, and Miri snickered at the slight shift in the flavor of the water.  
“So, how do we do this?”  
Jackal swam up next to Takeshi and waited for further instructions.  
“Come closer, and move slowly, try not to disturb the water too much.”  
While Jackal slowly moved closer Takeshi reached out for the egg and gently coaxed a few glowing strands into rising from the surface before separating one of them from the bunch and giving it a gentle tug caused it to detach from the egg.  
“I'm going to place this against the back of your neck where it will enter your body and merge with your spine and from there it will gradually alter your DNA to give you active telepathy. You won't feel anything though.”  
When Jackal nodded Takeshi placed the glowing strand against the skin of his neck and waited for it to burrow, once it was gone he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss at the spot which rewarded him with a subtle shift in the flavor of the water.  
The telltale flare of Miri's gills made it quite obvious that she had detected the pheromones as well and was testing the flavor, for a moment Takeshi almost felt sorry for Jackal as Miri could be positively feline in her curiosity.

By the time Takeshi was done with the seeding Jackal was looking rather confused, and slightly uncomfortable as Miri had coiled around him and was thoroughly tasting the waster in a rather obvious manner.  
“Miri. I know you are curious about humans, especially the sexuality of human males, and that's alright. But that does not mean its alright for you to molest poof Jackal here.”  
What Miri was doing was pretty much the merfolk equivalent of putting her hand down Jackal's pants and fondling his _equipment_.  
“She's not...”  
Jackal was about to defend Miri, trying to tell Takeshi that she wasn't really bothering him that much but Takeshi interrupted him.  
“The cultural equivalent to what she is doing would be putting her hand down your pants and playing with your junk.”  
The teasing tone and slightly crude choice of words paired with the fact that Miri hadn't stopped what she was doing caused Jackal's face to burn red and the slight shift in the flavor of the water made Miri back away and apologize for taking liberties.  
“It's okay, just, please don't do something like that again without explaining what it means, and asking for permission.”  
Jackal's soft soothing had a far greater effect on Miri than if he had gotten upset and scolded her.  
Seeing the way her fins drooped Takeshi found himself unable to resist coiling around them to soothe her, and while he did Wizard spoke up and offered Miri to help her study human males if it was okay with Takeshi.  
The feel of Wizard's aura and the flavor in the water told Takeshi that it was curiosity and a genuine desire to teach rather than sexual desire that made him make the offer, and Wizard's background in medical studies made him well suited for the task.  
“You should take him up on that offer Miri.”  
Takeshi gave her tail a gentle slap with his own to encourage her to move over and when she did Wizard almost dropped his regulator as Miri went all out seductress mode, playing on the old legends of mermaids singing ships aground.  
“Miri, remember, be careful of how you use your voice against those who can't resist you. You don't want to make them do things they might not really want to.”  
Though Takeshi could tell she wasn't using enough power in her song to have any real effect he did give her a bit of a reminder to be careful when dealing with regular humans as they did not have a natural resistance against such powers.

The comment about her voice sparked another debate while they headed back to the surface, and up to the house to eat and talk more about the finer details of what their jobs would be under Takeshi.

 


	95. Designing a New World

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi had taken a seat in the shadow near the edge of the forest where a simple shooting range had been set up to allow the girls to practice their marksmanship under Wraith's watchful eye.  
Jenna was better with bows, and at long range with rifles, but Wraith was a master with handguns, especially with the small, easily concealable guns such as the tiny Beretta she was currently showing Alice how to use.  
There was a dark reason for Wraith's skill set though, a reason she had told him merely a few days ago and he was still struggling with suppressing his rage.  
As a child she had been recruited by Mossad and trained to be an assassin, at first using her youth, that no one would suspect an innocent looking child to be a killer, then as she got older her work had shifted toward using various honeytrap methods.  
She had still been a teen when she met Sonya and as convinced to defect, and the way Wraith had been treated after her defection was the trigger for Sonya cutting her ties and becoming a mercenary.

Takeshi was brought from his musings when he spotted Wizard surfacing and he waited for him to put the diving gear away before calling for him.  
“Wiz, a moment please.”  
Wizard huffed at the way Takeshi cut his call-sign in half rather than using his name, but didn't complain beyond that as Takeshi did have a point that they already had a 'Dan' who was commonly called 'Danny' and spirit whom everyone referred to as 'Daniels', adding a Daniel to that could make things a bit messy.  
He had complained a bit at first, but when Jenna suggested calling him 'Doc' he quickly agreed to being called Wiz instead, his father had always been called Doc, and he would prefer not to be reminded of the wretch every time someone wanted his attention.  
“What's up?”  
“Come, join me.”  
Takeshi motioned for him to have a seat in the shade before offering him a bottle of water, diving had a way of making you dehydrated.  
“Thanks.”  
Takeshi waited for Wizard to drain the bottle before bringing up his reason for calling him over.  
“Sorcha just contacted me, she has spoken to her father and he has agreed to come visit to check on Jenna and the baby as well as teach us a bit about demon medicine and pregnancies. I would appreciate if you joined us as it would be good to have an additional person with some basic training in assessing a non-human pregnancy.”  
“Of course I'll be there. Is this just a precaution, or is there some reason for concern?”  
“It's mostly a precaution, but there is some concern for the birthing as we have been unable to tell if she will be born with wings, or if they will develop later.”  
“Wings?”  
“Yeah, remember, Jenna's true form is a sphinx, and our daughter will inherit her form, and blessed children are usually born in the beast form. Though, there is still a chance that she will change into a human form.”  
Since Jenna wasn't a regular blessed, but one capable of hybrid forms and her true form wasn't a regular animal, but a demonic creature they weren't entirely sure how her pregnancy would progress.  
The hope was that Sorcha's father would be able to more accurately assess the baby, and help teach them how to do it.  
“Yeah, even if we end up not needing it it can help keep her calm. It's never good for a pregnant woman to stress and worry.”  
“Indeed, this is why I intend to invite Red and Wraith as well. If we go for a natural birth rather than a c-section there is a risk that our instincts will rebel at having an unrelated male present during labor. Especially hers, it might cause her to try to hide, or hold back. Females has less of a risk to cause that.”  
Takeshi explained about the possible complications there could be if the child was winged, and told Wizard about their plans to deliver by c-section unless they were sure the child did not have wings.  
Wizard agreed with Takeshi that the risk for complications was probably very low, but that it would be best to aim for a c-section anyway, if only to help calm Jenna and keep her from worrying.

They continued to debate the matter for a while before Takeshi shifted the subject toward Wizard's promise to teach Miri about humans.  
“So, how are your lessons with Miri going?”  
“Great, she is a fast learner and very curious. But I think my asexuality has her rather frustrated.”  
“Who can blame her? A good looking male like yourself being completely of the market, it's such a shame.”  
Takeshi was only half joking, getting to know Wizard better during the past few weeks had triggered a certain curiosity about him, the fact that he was asexual had only made that curiosity stronger.  
“You really can't help yourself, can you? Always teasing and flirting.”  
“It's only part teasing though.”  
The reply caused a slight tint to creep up Wizard's face and he coughed slightly while trying to find an answer.  
“Daniel, if I'm making you uncomfortable, do tell me off. I have no intention of crossing any lines you chose to draw.”  
The use of his given name snapped Wizard out of his stupor and brought his focus back to the conversation.  
“No, it's fine. A waste of your time, but it doesn't bother me.”  
“It would only be a waste of time if it was sex I was after.”  
Wizard was about to say something more but closed his mouth with an audible click before looking away fro Takeshi, focusing on the girls' target practice and Takeshi did nothing to call his attention back, instead he settled for silently watching as well.

After watching the training for about half an hour Takeshi sighed to himself, he needed to get back to work.  
“One last thing Wiz, next time you can't sleep, please come join us at the house instead of hiding away with only the bottle for company.”  
“How did?”  
Wizard startled when Takeshi spoke up and was obviously surprised that Takeshi knew about his habit of drinking when the nightmares kept him from sleeping but after a few moments he hissed _Angel_ under his breath, figuring out that the vigilant AI knew what was happening on the Tiamat and alerted Takeshi.  
“She is concerned about your health so the broke her usual privacy protocols to bring her concern to me. And I agree with her concern, so please, don't hide away alone when your nightmares keeps you from sleeping.”  
“I don't want to impose or be a bother...”  
“You wouldn't. We need very little sleep so there is almost always someone awake at the house, and even if we would happen to be asleep we would not mind waking up to help you through a rough time, to help you fend of the nightmares.”  
“I have tried everything, nothing keeps them at bay for very long.”  
The total defeat in Wizard's voice made Takeshi's instincts stir but he managed to voice what at least sounded like an amused huff.  
“You have tried human methods, mortal methods. There are many more available in the realms of demons and magic. But that is a topic for later, maybe after dinner, right now I need to get back to work.”

With everything that was going on Takeshi had a lot of work to do, he needed to oversee the calibration of the generators, prepare an statement for the citizens of Hawaii and work with the US government to obtain the land in Miami.  
Acquiring some land in Tromsø had been easy though, the Norwegian government had been more than happy to give him one of the islands north of the city and after meeting with the inhabitants of the sparsely populated island Takeshi and the girls had agreed that they could remain on the island.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Ethan, it's good to hear your voice.”  
Takeshi had been slightly concerned when Ethan didn't answer the first few calls.  
“Likewise, sorry about the slow answer, I was out on the lake getting food.”  
“How have you guys been holding up?”  
“Were fine thanks to you sending us out here, Nelly misses her friends and the missus, well, let's just say she does not consider _off the grid_ to be living.”  
Ethan's words had Takeshi chuckling, Susan was indeed a woman who valued her comforts, even at the island she had complained constantly despite being housed in a fully climate controlled luxury yacht.  
She had whined about not being able to shower for hours every day, complained that there was no coffee-shops or salons to visit, she had even complained that she couldn't order takeout despite not needing to cook as Takeshi and the others took care of all that.  
He quite frankly found the woman to be rather unpleasant, she was demanding, vain and spoiled rotten, but since Ethan seemed to like her he would keep his dislike of her to himself.  
“I'm glad we managed to get you to safety in time. Things got pretty rough out there for a while, and it's still not what it used to be. But I would like you to come back to Hawaii anyway, I have a few small projects that I would like hire you for.”  
“Now that sounds interesting, mind giving me a hint what you are up to this time?”  
“Nothing much, just a few things like a Miami estate with private beach bungalows for all the girls, a stargazing cabin in Tromsø, building a new Honolulu.”  
“A few small projects you say? Maniac...”  
“Caught your attention though, didn't I?”  
“Of course you did.”  
Ethan grumbled with a distinct tone of amusement, it had taken time, but he had overcome his apprehension around Takeshi and the two had developed a solid friendship based on a mutual respect for each other's skills.  
Takeshi could hear Susan complaining in the background though, telling Ethan that she refused to be cooped up with 'those people' and that being stuck in the small retreat where they currently lived had been bad enough.  
She continued to rant about how at the retreat there was at least a few normal people she could talk to, referring to the staff of the Ghost Shelter that had been evacuated to the same location.  
“She is more than welcome to stay in a hotel in Honolulu if she does not wish to join us at the island.”  
Though he tried Takeshi couldn't keep the slightly annoyed edge from his voice and Ethan's slight sigh made it clear that he had noticed but he didn't say anything, instead he told Susan that they would be able to use the penthouse in Honolulu.  
“I'm sorry about that. I don't know why she is so hostile toward you guys.”  
“Pay it no mind.”  
While he spoke Takeshi could hear Nelly in the background begging Ethan to come with him to the island instead of staying in Honolulu with her mother and it made Takeshi smile, the girl had always enjoyed her visits and he was sure she would love swimming with Miri in the lagoon.  
And maybe the presence of a human teen would work to draw out Arc and her pups from hiding, he really wanted to introduce them to Red and the others but she had been hiding away, only coming in at night to allow him to check on the pups, and only if it was him and Dan only.  
“You tell Nel that she is always welcome to come visit us.”  
“Why don't you tell her yourself.”

Moments later Nelly's happy voice was heard over the sat-phone that Takeshi had given Ethan to make sure they could stay in contact.  
“Take-san!”  
Nelly was eager to show him how much Japanese she had managed to learn and Takeshi praised her diligence while also correcting her mistakes and giving her a few tips what to focus on.  
“So, I hear you are looking forward to visiting us again?”  
“You promised you would teach me how bow-fish.”  
“Indeed I did, I also told you that I wouldn't do it unless you get permission.”  
“But mom hates you guys, there's no way she will agree.”  
“Well good thing then that I don't really care about her opinion as long as your father gives his permission.”  
There was a moment of silence then Takeshi heard Nelly explain to Ethan what he had said.  
_“Daddy, can I?”  
“Of course, just don't let your mom know. She would skin me alive if she finds out I allowed it.”  
_ The happy squeal that followed made Takeshi very glad that his com-implant had a fixed volume.  
“Oops, sorry. I didn't hurt your ears, did I?”  
“It's fine, I'm using the implant and it only has one volume”  
“Phew, good.”  
“Now, if you are going to stay here you will have to decide where you wanna live, the Tiamat where you usually stay is occupied and the Leviathan is out sailing with a group of Ghost Children to keep them safe.”  
“Aw, I wanted to see the Leviathan...”  
Ethan and his family had last visited shortly before the completion of the Leviathan and Nelly had been eager to see it.  
“Don't worry, if I have any sway in the matter you will have plenty of opportunities to see it.”  
So what options are there?”  
“You can stay with us at the house, in the _Spirit_ , or in Logan's beach house.”  
“The Spirit is the smaller boat we used when fishing for those red fishes, right?”  
“That's right. Didn't think you would remember that, you were just a little squirt back then.”  
“Of course I remember. Mom didn't want to go so Emmy took the opportunity to take me flying.”  
Nelly quickly launched into an mile a minute recount of what she remembered from her earlier visits to the island so Takeshi returned to working on his bonsai while listening to her eager chatter.  
Unraveling the sometimes rather cryptic stream of words Takeshi was able to figure out why Nelly was so talkative, her mother had not allowed her to be around the ghost children so the highly social teen was not just bored out of her mind but feeling very lonely.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_ Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take!”  
Takeshi had barely set the Blackout down when Nelly rushed over and waited eagerly by the door and when it opened she darted inside and threw herself around his neck.  
“Ouch. Hello to you too Nel.”  
Takeshi's mock complaint made her huff at him, but her answer was cut short when he gave her a kiss on the forehead as his habit was and her reaction and scent told him she was in the same maturity stage as Amber, it would seem things might become quite interesting around the island.  
“Hi Dan!”  
The moment she recovered Dan was greeted with a warm, but not quite as enthusiastic hug.  
“Who are you?”  
She turned to Jackal with a slightly confused look.  
“I'm Jackal, nice to meet you Nelly.”  
He offered his hand in greeting but before she had a chance to take it her mother's annoyed calls were heard from outside telling her to stop bothering them and come get her bags.  
Jackal's slight frown as she darted outside revealed that he disapproved of the way her mother spoke to her.  
“Charming lady...”  
Takeshi allowed his aura to brush against Jackal's to show his gratitude that Jackal remained silent until Nelly had gone outside.  
“Play nice please. For some reason Ethan loves her so let's not cause any undue discord.”  
“Don't worry, I have no intention of upsetting your friends. But honestly, I'm glad she chose to stay in Honolulu.”  
“Believe me, we all are.”  
Dan quipped before Takeshi had a chance to answer, earning him a flash of fangs and a slightly frustrated growl, stress was making Takeshi's demonic instincts more prominent, especially those pertaining to pack behavior, elevating his alpha traits.  
After helping Ethan and his family get their bags into the cargo area of the Blackout they headed back to the cockpit to get moving, but when Nelly took a seat next to Jackal in the first pair of seats behind the pilot and co-pilot seats Susan called her out on it.  
“Nelly, I'm sure they don't want to listen to your inane chattering the entire time so go sit in the back and don't disturb them.”  
Her scent shifted into disappointment and a hint of sadness, causing a ripple of annoyance through the auras of the trio, the scent quickly shifted back to happy though as Jackal snuck her one of the small flex-pads that were linked to Angel as she moved past him.  
The flight was spent with a hushed conversation between Takeshi and Dan in Urui and Jackal occasionally offering a comment while Angel translated and transferred it all to the tab so that Nelly could participate by typing and jackal could at least read what was being said in Urui.

When they landed at the airport in Honolulu there was another argument as Susan told Nelly to get her bags and get into the limousine that was waiting next to the private hangar and landing zone.  
“No! I'm not going to sit locket up in some boring old hotel for weeks, maybe even months when I can stay at the island!”  
“I'm sure they have better things to do than keeping an eye on you all day and you father needs to work, he can't watch you all the time.”  
Takeshi could tell that Nelly was about to object and tell her mother that she didn't need a babysitter to keep an eye on her around the clock, but her father beat her to it.  
Ethan intervened and reminded his wife that Takeshi and the others had already given their word that they would keep an eye on Nelly, and also reminded her that she had promised that Nelly could learn how to scuba-dive once she turned 15, and she could learn that for free at the island.  
She hesitated at first, but she gave in when Takeshi added that if Nelly showed that she could pass the basic PADI certification he would personally pay for her to be certified and give her a complete scuba gear as graduation gift of sorts.

It wasn't entirely true though, unless Nelly wanted to go through the actual certification process he would simply have Angel create the necessary database entries and have the card delivered to Mandrake along with any other mail for the residents of the island.  
At Mandrake the mail would be scanned by Angel to ensure it was safe, then it would be packed into a safety box and picked up by one of the many drones and brought out to the island.  
The AI controlled a small army of drones with a wide range of applications, from the small sensor-drones that were used for surveillance and security at all of Takeshi's properties to the large, heavy duty, octocopters capable of carrying payloads of 250kg that was used for tasks such as delivering food and other necessities to the island.  
Unlike its predecessors all of the drones were fully electric, running on a hybrid system of solar cells and generators based on Sanctuary crystal tech allowing them superior power and near limitless range.

When they got back into the Blackout to head out to the island Nelly immediately headed back to the front row seat but before she had a chance to sit down Dan stole the seat, leaving the co-pilot seat open for her.  
“Really? I can sit there?”  
“Of course you can. Take doesn't need a co-pilot, even if something was to happen Angel can easily handle handle giving him any assistance he might need while we swap seats.”  
The happy squeal that followed had everyone wincing, including Ethan who quickly reminded his high spirited daughter about the sensitive ears of the island's residents.  
“Oops, sorry...”  
“Don't worry, but please try to remember, it can be quite painful.”  
It was a short flight, but Nelly was sitting on needles as Dan pointed to the various readouts on the co-pilot screens.

“So, have you guys decided where you want to stay?”  
Their bags had been places at the side of the landing pad and they were watching the Blackout being taken underground by the lift-system.  
“I wanna stay in the boat! Please Dad?”  
“I need a proper office to work in, there's simply not enough room in that smaller boat for me to spread all my papers.”  
“Aww, please?”  
“I think you are old enough to stay at the boat on your own with Angel keeping an eye on you.”  
There was a brief moment of stillness before Nelly grasped what Ethan had said, then she exploded in joy, but this time she did manage to put her hands over her mouth and keep from making the entire island deaf.  
“I guess that settles it then. Dan, would you help Ethan get his bags and equipment to the house and set him up in the Sakura-room. I'll take Nelly and her things down to the Spirit.”  
The Sakura-room was a decently sized conference room and it had a partition at the end where they could put in a bed and other comforts and had a full bathroom ad a small kitchenette connected to it so Ethan would be able to work completely by his own hours.  
They called it the Sakura-room because it housed the cherry tree and hummingbirds that the Mother had gifted Emelie with when they first came to the island.  
“Okay, will do.”  
Dan quickly roped Ylian into helping them carry all the bags that Ethan had while Takeshi snatched Jackal by the collar to help with Nelly's bags.

After bringing all the bags into the Spirit Takeshi showed Nelly how to drive the boat in case she wanted to move out into the lagoon for some privacy, while also setting up some rules together with Angel, and as he did he could feel Miri coming closer, trying to sneak up behind them.  
_“Miri, if you splash me I will be eating at the house instead of joining you to hunt dinner.”_  
His silent words were followed by a rather loud splash and a string of curses in the Atlantis language as well as a shower of water that just barely missed him and instead soaked Nelly and Jackal as Miri had managed to use a bit of the sea singer power that she had been training with to make the water deviate slightly from its original path.  
It was just enough to keep from splashing Takeshi, bit not enough to avoid hitting the others instead.  
Jackal just gave a huffing sigh and set to work on getting out of the now soaked clothes but Nelly spun around with wide eyes and stared at Miri.  
“Wait, you're not Manda?! Who **are** you?”  
“I'm Miri, who are you?”  
“I'm Nelly. Are you like Manda?”  
After the exchange of greetings Takeshi tuned them out in favor of giving Jackal a hand with his clothes, only occasionally helping Miri translate to and from English, something that made him determined to give Nelly a familiar of her own.  
He had also decided to talk to Ethan about offering them both the blessing, Susan however was not worthy, something that could cause some problems since he very much wanted Ethan to accept.  
“Miri, Nel, that's enough for now.”  
The twin _'Aww please?'_ made Takeshi smile and shake his head, it would seem the pair had hit it of even better than he has expected.  
“Don't worry, you two can create havoc all you want later. Right though now Nel needs to come with us up to the house so we can go through a few things with her father and her.”  
There was quite a bit of whining and complaining, but a slight warning growl and a sharp flare of aura had both of them silent in a moment and it pleased Takeshi to see that Nelly reacted by baring her neck to him as well which rewarded her with a softer growl, almost a purr, while Miri received a gentle brush of his aura.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_ Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Ethan, Nel, since you will be staying for a while this time I would like for you both to have familiars, it will make life here a lot more convenient.”  
They had spoken a lot about practical details, as well as rules for Nelly if she was to be allowed to stay on the boat on her own, for instance Ethan had insisted that she made sure to get back on track with her studies with Angel's help.  
“Really?!”  
Thankfully Takeshi was prepared for Nelly's reaction so he had suppressed his hearing, it still made him want to wince though.  
“Nelly, don't yell.”  
Ethan gave Takeshi an apologetic smile while scolding his daughter for not taking more care not to hurt their host's poor ears.  
“Sorry daddy...”  
“Don't apologize to me.”  
“Sorry Take!”  
He accepted her apology with a sigh, there would no doubt be plenty of relapses despite her promise to try to remember to keep her voice down.  
“I guess it's pretty obvious how little Nel here feels about it, how about you Ethan?”  
Nelly was bristling at being referred to as a child, but she wisely kept her silence.  
“I think I might just as well accept. I have a feeling you're not about to just take no for an answer this time around.”  
“Ah, excellent choice. I always knew you had a good head on those shoulders of yours.”  
Takeshi snickered at the rather crooked look Ethan gave him.  
“Come on, let's head to the sanctuary.”

After allowing Ethan and Nelly look around the sanctuary for a while Takeshi called them to the soul-tree and began the process of creating their familiars, starting with Ethan to allow Nelly to witness the process before it was her turn.  
When Ethan put his hand in the pitcher he quickly retrieved an egg and after triggering it to hatch a brilliantly colored weaver bird emerged and the sight of the boldly red, yellow and black bird made Nelly laugh.  
Takeshi found himself agreeing, the bird was an excellent match for Ethan as the weaver birds were known for their extraordinary skill as architects, though he didn't recognize the coloring as an actual species of weaver bird though, but that was common with the familiars.  
After helping Ethan connect to the colorful passerine he turned to a somewhat nervous Nelly.

“Easy Nel, I promise the cut won't hurt much, the blade is so sharp you will barely feel it.”  
She only hesitated for a moment before holding out her hand so he could cut it and collect the blood in the pitcher plant, but when he licked the wound to seal it he almost groaned at the sharp spike of arousal that shifted through her scent.  
“Go ahead, get your familiar.”  
He watched Nelly put her hand into the pitcher and for a moment she looked a bit confused, then here eyes widened in surprise and a moment later something fast and furry darted up her arm and jumped to the soul-tree, climbed it and then jumped down onto her head.  
“It's a flying squirrel! How cute!”  
“Actually she is more like a demonic sugar glider.”  
Takeshi corrected her with an amused snort, the creature was called _Duzz_ in Urui and they were popular pets among demon children, known to be intensely loyal to whomever they bonded with and could be quite fierce when protecting their chosen one.  
By demon standards it was a tiny creature, but they were insanely fast when they wanted to be, and they had venom-glands connected to claws, fangs and several spikes hidden within the long tail.  
Like the human realm sugar gliders they were marsupials, though omnivores they preferred a diet high in meat and could live well of a purely carnivorous diet.  
“Wow, she changed color!”  
“They are prey animals in the demon-realm, small, and fairly weak so they have developed a number of defenses, things like their speed, strong venom, ability to glide and a very well developed chameleon ability.”  
“She's so pretty!”  
“Venom?”  
The very different reactions of Nelly and Ethan had Takeshi laughing before assuring Ethan that the little demon was just as safe as the living construct familiars as it was bonded to Nelly not just by the blood used to give it form, but also a deep spiritual bond that was specific for its species.  
He didn't mention the rest of his plans and hopes just yet though, if he had his way Ethan and Nelly would never have to worry much about toxins.  
When Nelly thanked him with a crushing hug his usual reaction to such things rewarded him with another waft of arousal on the air as he kissed her forehead and Ethan's soft chuckle told him that the architect had noticed his daughters reactions, and didn't seem to mind.  
_“I think we need to talk, in private.”_  
Takeshi nodded to Ethan's silent words, the familiar already proving its worth, but he couldn't help feeling a slight tingle of worry.  
Ethan may have smiled and laughed about Nelly's reaction to the kiss on the forehead, but he may still disapprove of anything beyond that and Takeshi found that he would very much like to be the _victim_ of Nelly's curiosity.  
Ethan didn't show any signs of disapproving of Takeshi's relationship with the girls, but that didn't mean he would be as accepting when it was his own daughter.  
He would however worry about that later, right now he would focus on getting father and daughter settled in, and the first step in that was to bring Nelly back to the lagoon to get acquainted with Miri.  
“So, Nel, think you are ready to go swim with a real mermaid?”  
The answering squeal made Ethan gently slap the back of Nelly's head to remind her not to be loud.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_ Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi sat back on the jetty together with Ethan, watching as Miri helped Nelly get used to the rebreather gear while sharing a bottle of saké.  
“We can speak privately here.”  
For a while Ethan didn't say anything, then he took a deep breath and released it with a sigh.  
“It would seem my sweet little girl has decided to have a crush on you.”  
“She is that age...”  
Takeshi agreed in a somewhat diplomatic manner and there was a moment of silence before he continued.  
“You are her father, and my friend. If you have any opinion about how you want this handled I will respect it.”  
Ethan took the saké bottle and refilled Takeshi's cup before answering him.  
“Take, I have learned to trust your judgment, to trust that you won't willingly hurt anyone you have invited into your circle.”  
Ethan's answer, or rather lack of actual answer, almost made Takeshi sigh.  
“That wasn't an answer.”  
“Oh it was an answer alright, just not the one you were looking for.”  
“Ethan, please.”  
There was a hint of a frustrated growl in Takeshi's tone that made Ethan raise his hands in placating gesture.  
“I know, I know, we have known each other far too long to play around, so no games.”  
“No games.”  
Takeshi agreed.  
“Answer me truthfully, do you want to pursue my daughter? Do you want to bed her if she invites you?”  
This time he did sigh before answering.  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“And beyond that, would you court her? Mate her?”  
Takeshi silently contemplated his sakazuki, slowly swirling the saké in the shallow cup before draining it with a sigh.  
“I honestly don't know. But I would very much like to find out. To get to know her, to watch her as she finds herself.”  
Takeshi startled slightly when Ethan suddenly started laughing and refilled the cup again.  
“In that case, you have my blessing. I know you will do right by her, that heart and honor of yours won't allow for anything else.”  
Takeshi huffed at Ethan's obvious amusement as he refilled his sake cup and offered a toast.  
“To honor, and perhaps one day, family.”  
Now it was Ethan's turn do make a crooked face and huff at Takeshi's teasing, but he rose to the roast anyway.  
“To honor and family, and to my wife never finding out lest she kills me.”  
“Indeed, it would be such a pain to have to find a new architect in the middle of everything.”  
That earned Takeshi a mock glare before Ethan broke down laughing again, and this time Takeshi joined him with his cup raised.

With the bottle of saké empty Takeshi excused himself to make good on his promise to hunt dinner with Miri, there were a few grumbled complaints from Ethan when he simply removed his clothes where he stood before silently slipping into the water.  
Miri was distracted with Nelly so Takeshi decided to see if he could sneak up on her and shifted to his naga form and focused on eliminating as much of his presence as he could.  
He moves slowly, allowing his form to blend with the shifting light and shadow of the bottom of the lagoon before stilling and forcing air into his lungs to increase buoyancy and slowly rise toward the surface and the unsuspecting females.  
When he brushed his hand along the underside of Miri's tail she bolted straight out of the water with a shriek that left his ears ringing before crashing down some 20 meters ahead where she instantly spun around and charged at him, and he had to admit that the impact of her shoulder against the gills at the sides of his torso hurt like hell.

“Easy Miri, it's just me.”  
Takeshi coughed and wheezed a bit from the solid hit to the most sensitive area of his current form, Miri's powerful tail allowed her to reach some pretty impressive ramming power when she put her mind to it, or like in this case, was startled or scared.  
When she charged at him again he twisted his serpentine body out of the way and coiled around her, the flavor of the water quickly made it obvious that she had gone into battle-trance so he held her tight and kissed her to snap her out of it.  
They had suspected that Miri was capable of the berserk like frenzy but it was the first time he had actually been able to trigger it though it had not been his intent to do so.  
“Ssh, I'm sorry Miri. I didn't mean to scare you that bad.”  
While the soft kisses calmed Miri down Takeshi noticed a new flavor in the water, desire, and a hint of envy, coming from Nelly.  
It wasn't the off-taste of jealousy, it was more of a longing, a desire to find out what it would be like to be in Miri's position.  
He knew that Miri had taught Nelly a bit about merfolk, about their senses so he slowly swam up to her and made a bit of a show of sucking in the water around her and tasting it carefully, allowing his gill-covers to flare noticeably.  
He could feel Miri's amusement over their bonds, but she didn't show any outward reaction to alert Nelly to the fact that in merfolk terms he looked rather like a bumbling drunk desperately trying to pick up a one-night-stand at the bar 5 minutes before closing.  
He could feel that she understood what he was doing though, he was being overly clear to allow Nelly to understand what he was doing, in part to entice her, and in part to allow her to reject him if she was uncomfortable with his actions.

“Nel, I know you want to come help catch dinner, but the area where we catch our seafood is too deep, too dangerous for an inexperienced diver. But I promise you can join us another time after you have had a chance to gain some experience. You can still help out though.”  
Nelly grumbled a bit, but when Takeshi told her she could help them hunt without diving she was more than happy to do what she could.  
“Good. You will follow us in the Helios and keep an eye out for the floaters that bring out catch to the surface, collect them and put the contents of the net bags into the various storage containers on board.”  
“But, I don't know how to drive a boat...”  
“Don't worry. Angel will handle the driving and navigation, as well as tell you where to look for the floaters, you just need to hook them and pull them on board, or if they are too heavy, hook them onto one of the davits and Angel can help pull them up.”  
He didn't mention that Angel could use the davits to scoop up the floaters herself as he wanted Nelly to feel like she was doing something useful, to feel needed.

During their talk on the jetty Ethan had voiced concerns about Nelly's psychological development.  
Susan had been quite adamant about being a stay-at-home mom, insisting that Nelly would not be put in daycare or be in the care of babysitters or nannies, so Ethan had put in extra effort in his work to make sure their finances were properly maintained.  
Takeshi had paid Ethan well for the work done for him, money that had been spent on a good house and setting aside money for Nelly's education, but Susan was good at spending money, and Ethan was too nice to say no to her.  
In the end Ethan worked long hours leaving Nelly to be raised mainly by her mother and Susan would constantly coddle the girl, never allowing her to fail and try again on her own, instead she would step in and do everything herself if Nelly didn't succeed right away.  
Not being allowed to conquer difficult tasks on her own or overcome failure had left her insecure about her own abilities, but much to Takeshi's relief she had taken after her father's personality, despite her mother spoiling and coddling her she had not turned into an entitled brat.  
Instead she was unassuming and mostly soft spoken, apart from when excitement made her release squeals that would have made a banshee green with envy.  
The fact that he had challenged her mother and demanded to be allowed to stay at the island was a good sign though, she knew from her previous visits that everyone pitched in and helped with the various chores and that it was only her mother that had kept her out of it before.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_ Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Daddy, can I come in a moment?”  
Nelly's soft call from the door made both Takeshi and Ethan look up from the sketch that Ethan was working on.  
“Of course, come on in.”  
“Oh. Hi Take.”  
“Hi Nel, how is target practice going?”  
“Jenna says I'm doing better...”  
There was a hesitant note in her voice that made Takeshi want to reassure her.  
“If Jenna says so them you are doing really good, she is a very picky archer and a harsh teacher.”  
The praise made her blush slightly and turn to her father, unsure how to handle what she knew was not just empty words.  
“Daddy, could I go see mom this weekend?”  
“Of course sweetie. Any special reason, or do you just miss mom?”  
During the past month, life on the island had allowed Nelly to bloom and develop a bit more confidence in her abilities and she had shown no signs of wanting to leave but now she was reverting slightly, wringing her hands in a show of insecurity.  
“Nelly? Is something wrong?”  
Takeshi silently watched as Ethan tried to soothe his daughter and after a while she spoke up with barely a whisper.  
“One of my nails broke and keeps getting caught in everything so I need to get it redone.”  
Takeshi had noticed that Nelly was wearing acrylic nails in a short 'natural' style but he didn't think more of it as Susan had worked as a nail technician when Ethan met her and she had taken several extra courses over the years to stay on top of new techniques and materials despite not actively working with it anymore.  
“Nel, may I have a look at it? I used to help Sumi-ane with her nails all the time when she damaged them during training. Maybe I can fix it so it won't catch or be annoying until you can get it repaired properly.”  
“Okay...”  
“Ethan, why don't you have Angel help you make a full rendering of the plans so far along with rendering of the topographic and geological surveys of Honolulu and the surrounding area? That might make it easier to get a feel for how to put it all together.”  
“Yeah, I think I might need that. Working with such big scale stuff is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”  
Leaving Ethan in Angel's hands Takeshi motioned for Nelly to come with him to the garden.

“That definitely needs to be fixed, must have hurt quite a bit when it broke.”  
“Not too bad, I think it might have been a bit loose already, I usually need to have them done about once a month, but I thought it would just fall off like it usually does, not break like this.”  
“Well, you usually don't work this much with your hands so it's not so strange. And you have been spending a lot of time in the water.”  
Lifting her hands closer to his face he took a careful sniff and as he suspected there was a faint scent telling him that she an early stage of infection there that needed to be treated to prevent an outbreak.  
“If it's okay with you I would like to remove all of your acrylics and treat your nails to make sure you don't get an infection. I can apply new nails after treating them if you want to, then you can decide later if you want to have your mother do them like you are used to, or maybe go to a salon and have them done. Angel tells me GinTsume in Ginza is popular.”  
“They are. They are also the best in the world on bio-metal nails and insanely expensive! I can't even afford their polishes, much less an actual appointment.”  
“Nel, there is one thing you need to learn about me. If I invite you to go for a meal, or go shopping or offer to take you to a salon you only need to think about getting whatever you like and not think about any price-tags.”  
Nelly's wide eyed look made Takeshi laugh before tapping her hand to bring her attention back to what they were doing.  
“So, what do you say? Can I remove them, treat your natural nails and apply a new set to see how you like them?”  
“I guess...”  
“Nel, you don't have to if you feel uncomfortable with it. I can just file this one down so it won't catch on anything them we can have them fixed later.”  
“No, it's okay. Just, mom will complain that I let someone else do my nails.”  
“Nel, I don't want to get you in trouble with your mother.”  
“No. It's okay. It's my nails after all.”  
For a moment it had seemed like she would reject his offer, but in the end she decided to let him take care of her nails.  
“Angel, could you give me a detailed analysis of the acrylic compound and what would be the most suitable solvent to use. I don't want to use anything harsher than absolutely needed.”

Since Takeshi didn't have the actual chemicals or equipment used by the nail salons he would have to improvise and use his abilities along with Sanctuary crystals to create what he needed.  
After a few moments Angel projected a chemical compound that would be suitable to remove the acrylic and Takeshi used Sanctuary crystals to manipulate matter into the form needed.  
While Nelly soaked her nails in the compound Takeshi set about to create the tools needed .  
“Nel, do you want me to recreate the same acrylic compound your current nails are made from, or may I use another material?”  
“Oh, I don't care. Use whatever you think is best.”  
Receiving the answer he was hoping for Takeshi started to gently clean her natural nails before telling her to soak her fingertips in another bowl, this time with a liquid that held antiseptic and antifungal properties to make sure that slight infection would heal out and not get any worse.  
After another wash to remove the residue he patted her hands dry and began shaping her natural nail with files made from sanctuary crystal.  
But feeling how soft and thin her nails were had him a bit concerned, it seemed her nails were naturally somewhat weak, and the constant treatments hadn't done her any favors.  
“Your nails are rather weak, I would really like to try to do something about that if you think you can stand the treatment.”  
“Oh, treat it how?”  
“I would like to treat them with a small amount of my blood, it should stimulate them to grow stronger.”  
She looked a bit hesitant, but nodded for him to go ahead so he shaped a small cup from one of the crystals and with a quick cut he added a few drops of his blood to it before dipping a brush into it and painting it on her nails and cuticles.  
“Wow, it just disappeared.”  
“It will take some time, but as your nails grow the new growth should be stronger. But I would like to add a few things to your diet as well to make sure they grow nice and healthy.”  
Another nod told him she would accept his suggestions.  
“I'm going to use these sanctuary crystals to create your new nails. They will bond with your natural nail without causing any damage, and as the nail grows the crystal will grow and change as well so there won't be any need for repeat treatments until your natural nails start to grow longer than the application.”  
Nelly watched with avid curiosity as Takeshi took one of the crystals and shaped it into what looked like a false nail before placing it against her natural where it glowed slightly as he held it down.  
When the glow stopped he let go and moved on to the next nail and before long he had done all of them.

“How do they feel?”  
“Feels a bit odd, they are longer but lighter.”  
“I can adjust them so they feel the same if you want me to.”  
“No it's fine, Maybe just a bit shorter so they don't get in the way.”  
After adjusting the length Takeshi asked her if she wanted any special design on her nails.  
“Oh, can you make them galaxy nails? Mom refuses to do dark designs.”  
“Angel, could you give me a few images to go on please?”  
“Of course.”  
Moments later a large number of pictures were displayed to let Nelly pick the ones she liked, then Angel combined them into brand new patterns to pick from.”  
“Oh that one! The one that looks like a purple nebula.”  
Angel instantly shifted the display to show a number of photos of purple nebulae and Nelly quickly picked her favorites and Takeshi focused on the crystals to alter their colors to match the selected images.  
“Awesome! They look amazing!”  
“Glad you like them, now run along and find Jenna, tell her to have you try out few more models of finger tabs. I think you need a bit more padding until your body gets used to the pressure.”  
“Okay!”  
Nelly got up to leave, then seemed to hesitate for a moment before leaning inn and thanking Takeshi with a pretty solid smooch that left him grinning widely and licking his lips as she darted away while doing a rather impressive impression of a stop light.

“So, what does she taste like?”  
Ylian's question made Takeshi jump slightly, he had been too focused on the flavor to notice the shadeling's approach.  
“Happiness and curiosity.”  
“That's a good flavor.”  
“Indeed it is.”  
Takeshi hummed in agreement.  
“Just wish she had the flavor of maturity as well.”  
He added after a moment which made Ylian laugh at him.  
“It will come dear mate, and I have no doubt she will be eager for the Arashiri and your guidance when she is ready.”  
Ylian's teasing tone was rewarded with a flash of fangs before Takeshi pounced and claimed his mate.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_ Designing a New World_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Yami, come here boy!”  
Takeshi's call was answered by a happy yip followed by a loud crash as the excited pup knocked over a chair in his hurry to get to Takeshi.  
At 3 months old Yami was mostly an uncoordinated mess of limbs and fur, it would be a few more months before he grew into his body and another year or so before he filled out with muscle to match the long legs.  
It was already obvious that he would grow into a real giant, significantly larger than a normal gray wolf, and a few sizes above the blessed wolves as well and Takeshi was convinced he would be just as large as his own wolf form.  
The shadow Beast seemed to be mostly dormant though, Yami was obviously highly intelligent, but was acting every bit like a normal pup would, playful, energetic, and prone to get into all kinds of trouble.  
Only yesterday the curious little rascal had somehow managed get onto the roof and was making quite a pitiful image as he sat on the edge of the roof crying for help when he couldn't get down the same way he got up and was too afraid to jump into the pile of pillows below.  
Fortunately he was far more resilient than a normal pup so they didn't need to worry about him getting hurt from falling or jumping from the various spots he managed to scramble up on in his insatiable curiosity.  
“Here you go you little hellion.”  
Takeshi gave Yami a treat in the form of a small piece of dried meat, just like with any mortal pup treats was an effective way to reinforce desired behavior and strengthen bonds.  
With the pup's attention on himself Takeshi grabbed the large leather bag and swung it onto his back before heading through the house and down toward the lagoon where his House and Pack, his family, were waiting.  
It was time for the annual shopping spree, this year they would go to Ginza as Japan had not suffered as much from the global blackout, the power had only been offline for a day due the agreement they already had with Kasumi.  
The trip had been delayed a bit since Takeshi needed to work with Ethan to complete the plans for Hawaii, but now that they were done they had decided to take a break, then break the news to the citizens after they returned.  
Part of the reason was that they wanted to get their little trip done before Jenna was too far along to feel safe traveling, they estimated she had roughly two months to go.

“Nel, where are your bags?”  
“What? But... Dad said we would leave tomorrow and stay with mom while you guys go to Ginza.”  
Nelly's totally bewildered look made Takeshi snicker at her and he could hear a similar reaction from Ethan.  
“Nelly dear, I said I would go Honolulu, I never said you had to come with me.”  
She instantly turned to Takeshi with a hint of hesitation.  
“You didn't think I would take everyone shopping and not invite you to join us, did you?”  
The teasing earned them a rather impressive growl as Nelly nailed them both with a wilting glare.  
“Mom was right, you are a **horrible** influence!”  
Takeshi just flashed her a wide smile and she turned her back on them with an annoyed huff.  
“You don't have to go with them to Ginza if you don't want to, you can come with me and spend the time in Honolulu with your mother.”  
“Nonononono, I'm packing I'm packing! Don't go! I'll be right back!”  
In her hurry to get to the Spirit she tripped over her own feet and only Hugin's quick reflexes and large wing saved her from falling off the jetty and into the water.  
“T-th-thanks...”  
The blushing and stutter as she mumbled muffled words of gratitude while desperately clinging to the black feathers was the last drop and everyone broke down into laughter which made Nelly accuse them all of being mean, but her aura and scent was bubbling with joy.  
“Thanks for bringing her along, she really needs to feel fully included, feel like she has friends and is apart of something.”  
“Don't worry about it Ethan, you just focus on taking care of that wife of yours. I'm sure she misses you.”  
Takeshi's slightly teasing tone made Ethan frown at him.  
“I mean it Take.”  
“I know you do.”  
Before Takeshi had a chance to say anything else they were interrupted by a somewhat sheepish Nelly asking how much she should pack.  
“Pack enough for a week, a few changes of swimwear and at least one set of warmer clothing. You don't need to pack any soap or shampoo, since the Leviathan uses a closed system for water you will have to use the same stuff as the rest of us.”  
“Okay!”  
She instantly vanished back inside the Spirit and a few minutes later she re-emerged dragging a suitcase which Takeshi quickly grabbed and added to the rest of the luggage in the tender before asking Angel to bring it out to the Leviathan where the crew would bring its cargo on board.

While they waited for the tender to return for them they took the time to say their goodbyes to the ones that would stay behind.  
Takeshi was bringing almost everyone, out off the ones of his house or under his protection, only Miri, Arc and the pups as well as Aellai and her daughters would stay behind, Sonya and her unit would stay as well and help protect their home.  
“Marakell, Wizard, I trust the two of you will look after Miri, and please, make sure she doesn't gorge herself on stuff like bread and pasta, and if Arc comes around, do the same for her and the pups.”  
“Don't worry.”  
Both males assured Takeshi that they would make sure the merfolk population of the island didn't eat things that didn't agree with them, no matter how much they enjoyed the taste.  
Takeshi knew that Marakell would, but he still included him for both his and Wizard's sake.  
A sign of trust for Wizard, and inclusion for Marakell.

Turning to Jackal Takeshi payed his lover some extra attention, reinforcing the bonds that they had been slowly building since Jackal and the others arrived at the island, a bond that Takeshi hoped would eventually lead to a courting, and a mating.  
The touches and kisses were soft, sweet but there was a powerful undercurrent of longing and desire that leaked into Takeshi's bond with his pack and house, causing them to snicker and tease.  
But while they teased they also flooded the bond with approval and a sense of anticipation, they were all looking forward to the possibility of adding Jackal to their group, even Dan projected the same sense, though with a slight undercurrent of trepidation and possessiveness that they were all used to by now.  
Takeshi could feel when Ylian wrapped themselves around Dan's aura, gently soothing his worries and reminding him on a more primal level just how important he was to the group, reminding him he was mate and chosen beta of their beloved alpha.

After saying their goodbyes they all boarded the tender and headed toward the back of the island where the Leviathan was docked, she had returned a week ago for inspection and to take on additional supplies.  
After the attempted attack they had decided that she would not remain stationary, instead they kept her moving, making use of the Sanctuary shielding to minimize the risk of anyone noticing her.

“Wow! She's huge! Almost like a cruise ship.”  
It was the first time for Nelly seeing the Leviathan and her reaction was expected, but it didn't stop the group from snickering in good humor.  
“She is a bit small for a cruise ship don't you think?”  
Jenna's gentle teasing made Nelly blush a bit, the Leviathan was indeed large, but not quite so large.  
“I think she looks just right though. Big enough to be roomy and give some privacy, but small enough to still be nice and cozy.”

Most modern cruise ships where quite a bit larger, even the smaller ones usually had a LOA of roughly 200 meters and while the Leviathan was large for a private vessel with her 125 meters she was still small compared to the giants of the seas.  
The giants were the luxury ships that cruised the Caribbean, with an average LOA of 350 to 450 meters and a passenger capacity of roughly 6000 guests in some 3000 staterooms they dwarfed the Leviathan.  
But even they were dwarfed by the _Goddess of the Seven Seas,_ a veritable floating city who roamed around the world, home some of the wealthiest people in existence and a massive workforce to see to their every comfort, with a LOA of over 1 kilometer she was in a class of her own.

Pulling up alongside the Leviathan as they traveled toward the stern and the combined boarding area and swim platform gave an excellent feel for just how large she was and Nelly chattered on about it with great enthusiasm.  
As expected Joshua was waiting for them at the platform to offer any assistance they might need, something that Jenna was grateful for as her pregnancy left her somewhat off balance.  
“Thanks Josh.”  
“You're welcome ma'am.”  
“Josh, how many times will I have to remind you to call me Jenna?”  
“At least once more ma'am.”  
The familiar exchange had everyone smiling, though Nelly was obviously somewhat confused, but her confusion was quickly replaced by a startled yelp as Takeshi grabbed her and jumped from the tender to the Leviathan.  
“Come on, let's find you a room with a view shall we?”  
Of course all the main cabins were quite luxurious with full size windows and a balcony, they were smaller than the luxurious suits on cruise ships though as they were mostly intended to be a place to slip away to if you wished for some privacy.  
Each cabin was divided into 3 parts, a small sitting area with a simple combined bar and kitchen, an ensuite bathroom and a large sleeping area dominated by a very large bed, roughly the size of a Texas king-size.

Carefully placing his hand at the small of her back Takeshi nudged Nelly toward the stairs and he couldn't help a slight smirk at the way she tensed when his claws pricked at her skin, a smirk that widened when he picked up a slight hint of warm spice creeping through her normally sweet and slightly fruity scent.  
That fruity sweetness was the scent of her innocence and it was slowly shifting into a warm, spicy scent with with a hint of musk, wood and gardenia, a rare scent for a human, especially female.  
The warm and spicy combination of musk and wood was usually a fairly masculine scent, but the edge of gardenia softened it and gave it a more feminine touch and Takeshi found himself hoping that the new scent would fully replace her currently fruity scent.

“So, port or starboard?”  
“Does it matter?”  
“Not really.”  
The cabins were nearly identical, the main difference would be that port side would be getting more direct sunlight on the way there and less on the way home, but that wouldn't affect interior climate, and the blackout function on the windows would allow full control of how much light was allowed inside.  
“Guess I might as well take this one then, it's the closest to the stairs.”  
“Angel, register primary access to this cabin to Nel and inform Josh where to bring her luggage please.”  
“Of course. Nelly, would you like to select projections now or later?”  
“Projections?”  
“I will show her.”  
Takeshi interrupted before Angel could answering her and opened the door to show her inside.  
The inside of the cabin the bright white walls gave a sharp contrast against the dark wood furniture.  
“Angel, how about you give us a nice sunset projection?”  
“Right away.”  
A moment later the bright white walls swirled with color and they found themselves looking at a tropical beach in sunset.  
“Okay, that's cool. Angel, can you use my desktop folder for images?”  
“Of course.”  
The sunset was replaced by projections of various stellar phenomena that made Nelly coo with delight.  
“If you want some plants have a word with Em and she will help you select some suitable ones and help you grow them.”  
They were standing by the large windows and Takeshi gently pinned Nelly between his body and crystal glass which earned him a soft gasp as she leaned back into him.  
“Your scent is changing.”  
A flicker of anticipation and excitement surged through her aura and added a slight ozone tang to her scent making her smell like a lush, exotic garden after a thunderstorm.  
“So, soon then?”  
“Soon, but not before we return from our little shopping trip.”  
Takeshi had already spoken to her about her crush on him, explained to her about the Arashiri, and that he was more than willing to be her guide if she chose to go through it and she had been adamant that she wanted to.  
Just like Amber she was willing, but not yet ready and Takeshi insisted that they wait until absolutely certain that she was ready, but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her a bit, some touching, some kissing, some teasing words.

 


	96. Gardenia & Thunderstorms

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Gardenia & Thunderstorms_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

When Takeshi and Nelly returned to the common area they were greeted by teasing snickers and accusations of being unable to keep their hands of each-other.  
By now Nelly was used to the fact that they always knew though so she just grumbled at them, or teased back, depending on the mood.  
At first she had been somewhat distraught though until Takeshi explained that his pack, his mates, were attuned to his emotions, to his reactions, through the bonds, letting them know whenever he was aroused, or felt strong desire.  
Of course the bonds also gave them a sense for other things, such as fear, pain or anger, a sense that allowed them to better protect each other and prevent strife within a pack, or within a group mating.  
“Okay, down guys. Give the poor girl some breathing-room.”  
Takeshi knew they wouldn't push things too far, but stepping up and acting as a guardian to her soothed his own instincts, proving one's ability to protect a potential mate was a part of the courting for many demonic species.  
The others responded to him in a very demon way as they backed away and bared their throats to him, only for a brief moment though before they came closer again, this time without teasing, there was a hint of curiosity though as the slightly altered scent still clung to them.  
“Your scent is becoming quite interesting.”  
Ylian was the first one to comment on it while leaning in to try to get a better sniff at her, but the source of the scent was gone and the traces were quickly fading.  
“Indeed it is, I have a feeling she will have a lovely scent once she has matured.”  
Everyone could tell Takeshi was still influenced by his instincts though as he pulled Nelly closer in a rather possessive manner and there was a hint of a growl in his voice that made Ylian raise their hands in a placating motion and take a step back with a smile while schooling their aura into a more submissive pattern..

“You people are insane, you know that right?”  
Nelly's huff brought on a new round of teasing snickers and knowing smiles  
“Indeed we are, but you like us anyway, don't you?”  
“Unfortunately...”  
The grumbled reply made Takeshi laugh as well before leaning in and giving her ear a gentle nip.  
“Now, how about we sit down and talk about our little shopping spree? We have our own favorites, but maybe there is something you would like to add?”  
“Akihabara!”  
Takeshi knew she would want to go to Akihabara, Nelly loved collectible figurines.  
“Ah, Otaku central, I haven't been there for a very long time. I assume you want to visit the figurine shops?”  
“Yeah, i would love to take a look at all their stuff.”  
“And don't worry Nel, I will make sure you get a chance to take a few of them home.”  
The reminder that he would pay for everything made her blush a bit a mumble some unintelligible words of gratitude.

“Daddy, can we go to Akasuka for the Tori no Ichi?”  
The twins loved their festivals, but Takeshi was unsure of the exact dates.  
“Angel, which dates will the rooster days be this year?”  
The AI quickly listed the dates and much to Takeshi's relief, and the twins joy the first of the dates was indeed during their planned stay.  
“What is Tori no Ichi?”  
Nelly's question brought on a rather lively explanation from the twins, but Takeshi noted that there was a twinge of almost sorrow in Nelly's aura as they spoke of it, especially when they mentioned how they loved having an opportunity to wear their kimono.  
“Nel, do you want a kimono to wear for the festival?”  
“Really? I can have a kimono? A real kimono?”  
“Of course, if we order the fabric right now you can even pick any design you want.”  
“Isn't that very expensive?”  
“I told you didn't I? I don't want you worry about prices, only worry about what you want.”  
“I'll try... But no promises.”  
It wouldn't be as high quality silk as the kimono Takeshi usually ordered as the fabric printing method used didn't work on kumo-silk or demon-silk, but it was still high quality silk and he intended to order the same design in demon silk to give her at a later time.  
“Angel, would you bring up the interface for creating a kimono design please.”  
A set of holograms instantly flickered to life and after a brief adjustment the size of the displayed kimono was altered to Nelly's size, the demon-silk one would be ordered larger though to allow room for her to grow some more.

They started by having Angel show then a selection of basic designs before moving on to selecting colors and prints.  
“How am I supposed to pick from all these options? I don't know where to to start...”  
Nelly was obviously overwhelmed by the diversity available and it was understandable, the new printing method was very similar to how pictures were printed using a color printer.  
There had been attempts to use such methods before, but the quality had not been satisfactory for the high end artisans, the new method however had quickly gained ground, though there were still those like the silk master Takumi who refused to use the new methods.  
If they managed to create a suitable design for Nelly Takeshi intended to order a demon-silk kimono with the selected design from Takumi and his assistants.  
“If I may, I can make a few suggestions.”  
After watching Nelly tear her hair for well over an hour without getting anywhere Takeshi decided to offer some help.  
“Please!”  
She threw her hands in the air and leaned back to watch Takeshi work.

He quickly set to work combining a few images on the displayed kimono, first he selected a sky blue gradient as the base then along the bottom he added gardenia bushes littered with large white flowers.  
Over the shoulders and neck he added storm clouds that appeared to be lit from within, the final touch was lightning-bolts that crawled along the cloud and streaked down across the fabric.

“Gardenia and a thunderstorm? I like it, but, what does it mean?”  
“Remember what I told you about your scent?”  
“Yeah, you said I smell a bit like a bowl of fresh fruit.”  
Nelly had complained quite a bit when he described her scent, especially since her choice of body-wash and shampoo added the scent of warm vanilla and nut oils to her scent, making her smell a bit like a layered parfait, a mix of fruits and berries, sweet nuts and vanilla.  
“That's your immature scent. A person's scent changes slightly as they reach sexual maturity, especially in females once they shed their innocence. It's usually a subtle change where sweetness turns slightly spicy. But in rare cases it can change completely, and I think you are one of those rare cases.”  
“Let me guess, gardenias and thunderstorms?”  
“Indeed, the sweet and heady scent of night blooming gardenias, a subtle, but spicy, musk and the tingling freshness of a thunderstorm.”  
“Oh... Is that a good scent?”  
“It's a very good one. Why do you think Ylian approached us the way yi did?”  
“Is that why you growled at hi, oh, sorry, yi.”  
“Indeed, and your response was perfect.”  
The moment Takeshi had growled at Ylian she had pressed herself closer against him, there had been no hint of fear though, just Nelly seeking him out, trusting him, and showing favor toward him.  
The praise made her blush slightly but she was quickly distracted when Takeshi told her they needed to pick fabrics for the obi as well.  
She quickly settled for one of her nebula images and Takeshi decided that he would have a kimono made with a similar nebula design as the one the twins had, though with more of the deep purple hue's that Nelly loved.  
“Angel, place the order please.”  
“Right away. Do wish to order some kanzashi at the same time?”  
“No, I will craft those myself.”  
Nelly's eyes widened at the mention of him crafting kanzashi for her, she clearly knew how valuable the hair ornaments could be, especially the hand crafted ones.  
“But, won't it be hard to use kanzashi with my short hair?”  
When Nelly and Ethan came to the island she had a short pixie cut, and though it had grown a bit her style was still very short.  
“Don't worry Nel, it's actually fairly popular among Japanese women to cut their hair short and wear a wig with their kimono instead.”  
As he spoke it became obvious that something was bothering Nelly.  
“You don't have to wear a long style if you don't want to. I can make a diadem style ornament that fits your pixie cut.”  
“Oh, no no, that's not... I was... Well..”  
“Nel, deep breath, then speak your mind.”  
He waited while she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.  
“Would it be possible to make my hair grow the same way you made my nails grow?”  
“Of course. I just thought you liked your pixie cut.”  
“Well, I do, kinda...”  
“Nel. Please, you don't have to hold back or hide anything from me.”  
“Promise you won't tell Dad? Please! Promise!”  
The strong urgency and undercurrent of fear had Takeshi confused, and it made him determined to find out what was causing such a reaction.  
“I promise. But please, will you tell me why?”  
“I don't want Mom and Dad to argue, and if Dad finds out he's gonna be upset with Mom...”  
“Don't worry, we won't tell him.”  
Everyone present promised her that they would keep her secret and gently urged her to tell them what was wrong.

“I don't keep my hair short because I like it, I do it because I don't really have much of an option.”  
The silence in the room was heavy as Nelly explained to them that Susan had demanded that she use her allowance to not only buy most of her clothes and recreational costs, but also that she pay for her hygiene products including hair care such as shampoo and haircuts herself.  
Combined with demands that she save most of her allowance for 'larger purchases' had left Nelly on a very tight budget so she had opted to get a shortcut that was significantly cheaper to maintain than the 'long' cuts.  
Takeshi could feel the undercurrent of anger that rippled through the aura of everyone present, fortunately Nelly didn't seem to notice.  
Ethan had made sure to give Nelly a large enough allowance to be able to handle such costs and have money left to have fun with, but Susan's demand that she save almost all of it and refusal to allow her to tap into the savings had left her little choice.  
“Nel, I promise you, you will never again need to worry about being able to afford keeping whatever hairstyle you like. Angel, set up an account for Nel, and make sure Susan can't touch it, out find out about unless Nel tells her.”  
“Of course. Should I use one of the account templates or do you wish to make a custom account?”  
Everyone could hear a hint of steel in Angel's voice that revealed her disapproval and Takeshi quickly instructed her to use one of the templates that included an opening amount of $1.000.000 an amount that Takeshi would not reveal to Nelly just yet.  
“Take? What are you doing?”  
”I'm creating an account for you to use, and I will be depositing money into it each month, the same amount as you allowance. You will get a card connected to the account, and Angel will make sure you have access to account balance updates.”  
“You really shouldn't be spending all this money on me...”  
“Why not? I have all the money I could ever need, spending this on you won't harm my finances, and it will make your life easier.”  
“But.. I haven't done anything to deserve this...”  
The mumbled complaint touched at the core of the issue, Nelly still felt that she was undeserving, that she wasn't worth anything and it caused a surge of concern to ripple through the bonds, concern and an undercurrent of anger.  
The others began moving closer, ready to show her that she mattered to them, to offer her whatever support she was ready to accept.  
“Nel, you don't need to do anything to earn this, you deserve it because I say so. But if it makes you feel any better you can consider it encouragement and aid for your studies, a means to be able to focus on your studies without concern. And earn it by putting your effort into your studies, be all that you can be.”  
When he pulled her into his arms to soothe her the others closed up around them, brushing their auras against them, and once Nelly had settled down a bit they reached out and touched her, gentle, soothing touches and Takeshi was pleased when she didn't reject the touches, even leaned into them a bit.  
He wasn't able to fully suppress the slight warning growl though when Ylian approached, the shadeling's previous show of interest in Nelly was setting off some rather possessive instincts but the way she instantly burrowed closer against him quickly silenced the warning.

They had spent several hours curled up in a big pile, just talking about everything and nothing when Nelly began yawning rather noticeably.  
“Nel, I think it's time for you to sleep.”  
“Mhm...”  
“Do you want to go back to your room, or would you like to join us in the den?”  
None of them needed to sleep yet, but if Nelly wanted to sleep with them in the den they would all retire and rest, they could keep talking silently to allow her to sleep undisturbed and if anyone felt like indulging in something more intimate they would simply either just keep it quiet, or slip away to one of the cabins.  
“I don't want to move... Comfy... Den?”  
The sluggish mumble was a good indicator that she was nearly asleep already and would probably not understand much of what was said, but Takeshi explained anyway.  
“We usually all sleep together, a bit like how we are lounging now, just closer, more touching.”  
“Mhm...”  
Nelly just snuggled closer and seemed quite content to sleep right where she was so it was quickly decided that they would all just sleep in the common area instead of retreating to the den.

“ _She adapts well to our ways.”_  
Ylian kept a slight distance in order to not set off Takeshi's instincts when Nelly was not awake to respond to it and soothe him.  
_“So far at least. She is craving the closeness and support of a pack even if she doesn't fully understand it yet.”_  
The silent conversation continued through the night, debating what they should do about the current situation.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Gardenia & Thunderstorms_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi could feel that Nelly was beginning to wake up so he carefully nudged Hugin who was sleeping curled against her back to make him move slightly and give her some room, he didn't want her to wake up and panic.  
Black eyes blinked slowly at him in question before Hugin realized why Takeshi had woken him up and he began to carefully move back a bit so he wasn't pressed against Nelly, but before he was able to fully detach himself he paused with an amused chirp.  
When he tried to fold back his wing that had been draped across Takeshi and Nelly she had grabbed a handful of feathers and tugged the wing back over herself as if it had been a duvet.  
_“I have heard some humans enjoy feather duvets, but his is silly.”_  
The silent complain caused a surge of amusement to travel through the bonds from those who were actually awake, it was mixed with curiosity and anticipation, eagerly waiting to see what Nelly's reaction would be once she woke and realized how she was using Hugin's wing.

“Good morning Nel. Did you sleep well?””  
Takeshi waited until he could feel that Nelly was awake before speaking up and he was rewarded with a slight groan, Nelly was not a morning person.  
“Why do you have to be so damned chipper?”  
“Remember, we need very little sleep.”  
She grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like _Lucky Bastards_ before trying to burrow further into Takeshi's chest and giving Hugin's wing a tug.  
It took a moment for her to realize something was very wrong with her _duvet_ , but once she did she froze and slowly inspected it before letting go with a startled yelp and a string of apologies that had everyone laughing, which in turn woke Jenna and Dan who were still asleep, Dan had been on watch during the night, and Jenna's pregnancy caused an increased need of sleep.  
“Don't worry Nelly, you are not the first person to manhandle my wings, and with that thing for a mate I doubt you will be the last.”  
The teasing dig at Takeshi's seeming ability to attract and collect the strange caused another round of laughter, and quite a bit of teasing as they stretched and slowly rose before slipping away toward their private rooms to shower and change clothes.

With breakfast out of the way everyone headed out to their usual pastimes that consisted mainly of studies, and playing games while Takeshi motioned for Nelly to join him in the small Sanctuary.  
“You asked me yesterday if I could make your hair grow. And like I said then, I can. Do you want me to?”  
“Yes.”  
“Keep in mind that it will hurt a bit since I will need to use my claws to cut into to you scalp a bit and I will have to cut your current hair and shave your head to make it easier to make sure the blood goes where it needs to, are you still sure you want to go through with it?”  
“Please.”  
The almost desperate tone to her pleading answer made Takeshi's instincts stir again and he had a bit of a hard time keeping them under wraps to keep Nelly from noticing how angry it made him, he didn't want to deal with explaining to her what part he was upset about.  
“Okay. Let's do this then.”  
Using a straight razor Takeshi carefully shaved Nelly's head before asking her to lay down on the soft grass.  
“Now, how long would you like your hair to be?”  
“Well, it kinda depends. Would you be willing to help me brush and braid it until I get used to it?”  
Takeshi couldn't help the surge of desire that rushed through him at her question.  
“Of course, I would be more than happy to, But you need to know that it probably means a bit more to me than you mean by it. Grooming is something very important to pack creatures such as myself, it's also something very intimate. It's a sign of trust, and favor, and it strengthens the bonds within a pack, or between mates, courting pairs or lovers.”  
“Oh...”  
There was a long silence before Nelly nodded her understanding, and acceptance.  
“Nel, I need you to speak. I need to hear the truth of your decision in your words. Knowing what it means, do you still wish to request it, offer it?”  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“So, very long hair then?”  
“Mhm, if it's okay with you, I was thinking ankle length.”  
“Your wish is my command.”  
He teased before telling her to hold on to her familiar as it would probably be a bit upset when he used his claws to cut into her scalp, it couldn't actually harm him, but he would rather avoid stressing the the young demon if it could be avoided.  
“I will start with the front so lay down on your back please.”  
She nodded and did as he asked and the way she tensed up slightly when he straddled her made him smirk, which earned him an annoyed huff.  
He started by giving her a slight massage to allow her to calm down and to increase blood flow which would increase the efficiency of the so called treatment.  
“Ready to begin?”  
“Mhm.”  
She tensed slightly when his claws began cutting into her scalp and the Duzz voiced her displeasure with a string of agitated chitter, but didn't try to free herself from Nelly's hands to attack.  
“Take, I.. It feels...”  
Nelly's somewhat breathless words made Takeshi pause.  
“Is the pain too much?”  
“No. It's strange, it doesn't hurt anymore. It just feels really...”  
There was a long silence before she spoke up again, and it was barely a whisper.  
“It feels really good...”  
The revelation made Takeshi huff slightly in amusement and kiss her forehead before asking her to turn over so he could continue his work on her scalp.

When he was satisfied that he had given her the proper amount of his blood he leaned in and gently licked at the cuts to heal them, something that left Nelly squirming under him and tested his discipline as the air around them was filled with the scent of anticipation and arousal.  
The way she looked at him when he asked her to turn back around and lie on her back almost had him undone though, her question written clear as day in her face and the self-doubt that was also written there urged him to reassure her and he smiled at the way her eyes widened when he nodded.  
“No, you are not the only one affected.”  
He shifted slightly to allow her to feel just how affected he was, but a moment later his mind completely fried as she reached down and grabbed him through the soft pants, he had not expected her to be quite so forward.  
“Nel, please...”  
The soft groan was accompanied by a reflexive movement of his hips, grinding himself against her hand and her eyes widened in amazement, it would seem she had not believed just how much she was able to affect him.  
When she pushed her other hand gently against his chest he began rising without resisting her, but a quick grip at his obi belt stopped him from getting up completely, instead she nudged him to move to the side and turn them over.  
He couldn't fully suppress the disappointed whine as her hand moved from his groin to his chest and began removing the simple _uwagi_ style top that was a part of the demon silk _keikogi_ that he usually wore, she left the _zuban_ pants in place though.

Her hands felt cool against his somewhat heated skin and her hesitance made her touch agonizingly soft which tore another groan from him and Nelly's eyes widened at the needy sound.  
Encouraged by his obvious enjoyment she became bolder, testing how different touches made him react and he found it increasingly hard to keep still and allow her to do as she pleased without trying to actively guide her into touching him the way he preferred.  
When her mouth replaced her hands he arched into the touch and he could feel his usual control over his form begin to slip, sharp, but human looking nails turned into the metallic talons of a dragon, small but sharp fangs elongated, and he had no doubt that his eyes had gone from golden brown human eyes to slit pupils surrounded by fiery red.  
The pleased growl that followed made Nelly look up at him and for a moment she froze, the dilated pupils, shallow breathing and the way she licked her lips was telling and she was slowly moving closer to his face, but just as her lips were about to touch his she snapped out of it and quickly tossed the discarded uwagi over his face.  
The cloth didn't only cut of his vision, but it blocked out her scent and he found that he really did not like being so cut off, especially since she was inexperienced and he didn't want to take the risk that she pushed too far.  
“Please, Nel. I promise I won't look, just please, at least allow me to be able to smell you.”  
He could feel her hesitation, then the uwagi was lifted from his face and he took a greedy breath to regain her scent before forcing himself to relax a bit.

Not being able to see what she was doing made it harder for Takeshi to remain in control of himself, and the way she trailed teasing kisses and licks over his chest was maddening and when she bit down on one of his nipples his hips bucked as claws tore deep into the soil beneath him.  
Tilting his head back he tried to bite down the snarl that was trying to tear loose, Nelly would no doubt misinterpret such an reaction as displeasure at what she had done, but nothing could be further from the truth.  
The way she moved told him he hadn't been entirely successful, but she smelled of curiosity so at least he hadn't scared her.  
He felt the shift in her attention in her aura and after a few moments he felt teeth against his exposed throat and it took everything he had to keep from moving, but when she paused and didn't bite down he nodded slowly.  
“Please...”  
When she bit down he shuddered at the sensation and the way it set his instincts ablaze, but he was quickly distracted when her hand went back down to the ties that kept his zuban in place, the obi had been removed along with the uwagi.  
The cool air of the Sanctuary against his overheated erection made him hiss and buck slightly and he could hear Nelly gasp when she saw him in all his rather excited glory, but it didn't stop her for long and the tentative touch of her hands made him twitch in anticipation.  
As she regained her confidence and courage the touches became more determined, and the feeling of her fingers wrapping around him was divine.  
He could feel her attention shift slightly, focusing on him with curiosity and a hint of question which made him wonder what she was up to, then her hand gave him a harder squeeze, bordering on painful and he could feel the edge of his awareness waver from the intense pleasure.  
“Yes!”  
The low hiss made her give him another squeeze, encouraged by the strong reaction and for once he didn't even try to suppress the reaction to buck against her hand, letting her know just how much he was enjoying her touch.  
“You got your work cut out for you now, I am not so easy to finish off.”  
His tone was teasing, but the purpose was to reassure her, and warn her in a sense, to let her know that if she failed to bring him to completion it was not because she did something wrong.  
Since Nelly didn't have the stamina of his usual lovers he focused on feeling everything, on letting the sensations flood him and pull him along, he wanted her to be able to make him reach his end, he wanted her to have that satisfaction.

It wasn't long however before she threw him off again when he felt her hot breath against his erection before her tongue darted out and gave him a testing lick which made him freeze and put his hand over hers.  
“Nel, are you sure you want to go there?”  
“You want me to, don't you?”  
The question made him suck in a deep breath and release a mix between a sigh and a groan  
“Yes, I do, I very much want you to. But that doesn't matter, all that matters is if **you** want to, if **you** feel comfortable with taking things that far.”  
There was a brief silence before she leaned in and gave his hand a teasing lick.  
“I do.”  
He could hear the truth in her voice and as he moved his hand away anticipation tingled through his body and aura.

It didn't take long for Nelly to bring him to the edge of control and his entire being was straining with the need to move, to touch and he didn't want to startle her so he reached out for her familiar.  
“Nel, please, I need to touch you, I need to move.”  
She didn't answer, but her aura became inviting and the familiar echoed agreement and invitation so Takeshi quickly found her hand and brushed his own hand along her arm up to her shoulder and curled it around her neck.  
He immediately found himself missing being able to entwine his fingers in hair so he allowed his energy to run free, to infuse his desires into the blood that tingled just below her skin and moments later her hair began to grow.  
She froze for a moment from the strange feeling of hair growing so rapidly and moments later Takeshi felt hair brush against his skin and he could hear it gather on the ground as he wrapped his fingers into is and gave a gentle tug to encourage her to move again.

Feeling his end approaching Takeshi hissed out a warning as not everyone appreciated if their partner released in their mouth, but she ignored him, instead increasing her efforts, encouraged by her imminent success.  
With his release came a sharp pulse of power that was instantly answered by flares of energy from the others, save for the human crew and moments later he felt Nelly collapse next to him and curl into his side while trying to catch her breath.  
He didn't give her time to to so though, instead he rolled over and kissed her with a searing hunger which earned him a few half-hearted objections based on the presence of his seed, but that didn't bother him, quite the opposite.  
_“Don't worry Nel, I quite enjoy tasting myself on my lovers, it soothes my instincts.”  
“Because it marks them as yours?”  
“Indeed.”  
“You... You really want me to be yours?”_  
There was hesitation in the silent question and it made Takeshi break off the kiss and explain to her how is instincts as a pack alpha urged him to lay multiple claims, especially on females, asking her to not read too much into his desire to have a claim on her.  
“I am still getting to know you, and you are still getting to know yourself. I don't know if you will steal a piece of my heart, but I do know that I care deeply, and even if it doesn't turn to love, I will always care, and strive to protect you, body, mind and soul.”  
It pained him to not be able to reassure her any further and the scent of tears made him pull her tightly against his chest and gently kiss her forehead.  
“Take, I think... I... I think I'm already in love with you...”  
It was barely a whisper, but she might as well have screamed it at him, and it made him tighten his arms further around her.  
“I know sweetie, I know. And for what it's worth I am truly sorry that I can't give you any promises for the future other than to promise that I won't turn you away or reject your feelings.”  
She silently nodded her understanding as she burrowed her face against his chest and the scent of her tears continued to tear at his instincts.  
“Please, just hold me and pretend you don't notice.”  
“I will hold you for as long as you want me to, but I can't just ignore your pain, especially not when I am the cause. But, how about we go back to your room first and have a shower, I'm afraid I made a bit of a mess of your hair.”  
He could feel the heat of her blush as he brought attention to the wet and slightly sticky splotches in her hair and she quickly agreed that a shower might be a good idea.  
“A little warning though, if we run across one of my dear mates on our way they may try to kiss, or lick you when they smell me on you. Are you okay with that, or do you want me to tell them off?”  
“I think I can handle it as long as that's all they do.”

They had almost made it to Nelly's room when Hugin appeared from the stairwell drawn to Takeshi's presence by curiosity and instinct and when he slowly approached Nelly she tensed up slightly and backed up toward Takeshi.  
“Remember Nel, you don't have to allow his curiosity.”  
The words were part reminder to her, but also part warning to Hugin to be careful and mind her reactions as not to push her too far.  
Nelly reeked of nervousness as she took a small step forward and squared her shoulders before giving Hugin a small nod that he could approach.  
Takeshi watched as Hugin carefully sniffed around her hair and face, the Obsidian Angels didn't have quite as a good sense of smell as some other demons though so he carefully leaned in and gave her cheek a quick lick that made her blush crimson but she didn't retreat even when he wrapped his wings around her.  
The sharp caw that followed was part questioning, part threatening, Hugin had picked up on the taste of her tears and was demanding to know why she had been crying, protective instincts kicking in.  
“Easy love, I swear she was not mistreated in any way, we merely had a rather emotional talk afterwards.”  
Hugin carefully unwrapped his wings with an apologetic chirp before slowly leaning in to give Nelly a proper kiss, making sure to give her plenty of time to back away and when she didn't it became pretty obvious that Hugin had believed she would as he blushed pure obsidian.  
When he finally pulled away Hugin quickly turned to Takeshi and began trailing kisses along his jaw, an apology for the way he had questioned him about the cause of Nelly's tears.  
“Now now Hugin, what have we said about apologizing for caring and being protective?”  
Hugin didn't really answer it, the chirp he voiced was one of those sounds that didn't really translate into a word, it was just a confirmation, a sign of understanding.  
“So, how did she taste?”  
The teasing question was rewarded with another shade of black and a somewhat stunned chirp before a raven fled down the hallway.  
“Oh, that good huh?”  
Takeshi tutted teasingly after him before turning back to Nelly and gently ushering her inside her room and slowly removing her clothes, but when he turned to head toward his own room he was stopped by a hand grabbing his braid.  
“Where do you think you are going, you promised you would help me with my hair, isn't washing included in that?”  
“Of course it is if you want it to be.”  
“I do.”  
“So, do you want me to just help you wash your hair, or am I allowed to join you?”  
There was a slight pause and a blush before she invited him to join her but before he could start to undress she stepped up and returned the favor by undressing him.

“So, how did it feel to be kissed by Hugin?”  
The question made her freeze slightly under his hands but she quickly relaxed again.  
“I think I kinda liked it. He seemed a bit tense though.”  
“He was a bit surprised, he didn't expect you to allow him to kiss you.”  
“Oh...”  
“He is an absolutely amazing kisser though when he puts his mind to it and stops being so shy.”  
“Guess I will have to make sure to give him another chance someday then.”  
Takeshi was slightly surprised that she not only accepted the idea, but even went there on her own with just a slight nudge.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Gardenia & Thunderstorms_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi was putting the final touches to the last kanzashi when Angel informed him that the delivery drone carrying Nelly's kimono had landed, they had decided to have it delivered to the Leviathan so she could try it on before they arrived.  
It would also give them a chance to fix her hair and let her try different combinations of kanzashi as he had gone a bit overboard with making a wide selection of the ornamental hairpins.  
A few of them were in the traditional style made by folding small silk squares into petals, but since he really was not very good at making those he had only made a few simple ones more as samples than actually ornaments.  
The majority was made to resemble the very popular the modern wire and resin flower style, but crafted from sanctuary crystal instead of wire and resin.  
Most of them were various flower and butterfly motifs, but he had made a selection of maple leaf ones as well as that was the traditional design to wear in November as well as some star designs.  
There were a pile of simpler pins with a single decoration, some with a few small dangling ornaments as well but most of them were larger kanzashi with a cluster of flowers and dangling streamers of petals and flowers, though not all of them were intended for Nelly, he had made maple leaf kanzashi for all of the girls.  
Attaching the flower cluster to the perfume wood pin he gave it a final check before adding it to the box and activating the rune that sent the box to his storehouse in the demon-realm before heading out to collect the delivery and find Nelly.  
“Come here Yami, time to go.”  
As usual Yami went from pretty much looking dead to max energy in a heartbeat and was bouncing around Takeshi's feet, almost tripping him several times.

“Nelly, your package has arrived. Take-san is waiting at the private sundeck to help you try it on.”  
Angel's announcement over the speakers had Nelly rushing out of the pool and scrambling to change into a sundress and trying to dry her hair a bit.  
“Allow me.”  
Eriko offered to dry Nelly's hair with foxfire which was accepted with eager gratitude, but despite the help Nelly still found that the others were all waiting for her when she stepped out on the smaller sundeck.  
“Nel, are you ready for your big unboxing?”  
Takeshi greeted her and motioned toward the large box on the table.  
“Umm, no?”  
The somewhat embarrassed squeak had everyone laughing and motioning for her to take a seat in the middle of the large U shaped sitting area.  
“Eriko, would you conjure us a mannequin please?”  
As it was made with regular silk they needed to take some extra care with it to make sure it didn't get damaged or soiled.  
“Wow, the colors are so vivid.”  
With the aid of Eriko's magic the long sleeves of the furisode hung perfectly from the animated mannequin as the obi danced around before wrapping itself around the kimono.

“You will need a few more things before you can try it on.”  
Takeshi quickly activated the summoning circle that was built into the design of the table and summoned a large box.  
He had asked Sorcha to have a demon seamstress make a few pieces to go with the kimono, and also to go with the future demon silk kimono he intended to order for her if she enjoyed wearing kimono.  
The main item was an enchanted nagajuban from demon silk, the silk cloth was woven from snow pearl silk that had been treated with lava worm blood, the clear liquid adding the ability to generate heat and the enchantment made the size easily adjustable.  
The natural properties of snow pearl silk made sure the person wearing it would not become overheated, and the lava worm blood made sure they would not get chilled either.  
It also contained a long cloth made with a mix of damra wool and snow pearl silk to be used for the sarashi wrapping along with a bunch of soft but strong cords for securing the kimono and obi and a selection of more decorative cords as well.  
He was pretty sure Nelly would choose to use a sports-bra under the nagajuban instead of the traditional binding, but he had added one anyway.

“I know you probably won't be using the sarashi wrapping, but I added one anyway in case you want to try to wear your kimono in a more traditional way.”  
“It's super soft, but it feels almost cold...”  
Nelly burrowed her face into cloth before folding it up and placing it back in the box.  
“It's made with snow pearl silk mixed with damra wool, the silk has a unique ability to keep the wearer cool in any heat, and damra wool is prized for making the softest cloth.”  
Takeshi explained the properties of the cloth while picking up a larger box and opening it to reveal the nagajuban.  
“A nagajuban is needed to protect the silk of the kimono from sweat and oils present on our skin and it helps assure a proper fit of the kimono.”  
Picking up the cool silk he was somewhat surprised at the weave of it, there was a distinct starburst pattern in the silk, he would have to commend the spider demon that had created it for the excellent work.  
“Oh, it feels like water.”  
The nagajuban quickly joined the furisode on display, wrapped around another construct of foxfire while Takeshi sent the empty box away with a flash of energy through the circle of runes before altering a small part of the pattern.  
The large table had been designed from sanctuary crystal to resemble a glass table and the rune pattern of a summoning circle was integrated into it. Like a decorative border, but the colored crystal used for the design could be manipulated, allowing the circle to be altered and used to bring various items from the demonic storehouses.  
With a brush of power Takeshi activated the new pattern and brought in one of the boxes containing the kanzashi he had made, he would start with the maple leaf ones though before moving on the the ones made for Nelly alone.

“I made you all a little something for the Tori no Ichi.”  
Opening the large box revealed a collection of kanzashi with very similar design, though there was two that were distinctly different, one was much larger with a trail of leaf streamers over a meter long dangling from the elaborate piece.  
It was intended for Eriko who loved elaborate and over the top designs for the festivals, the other one, a much smaller one was made for Takara to make sure the girl would not be uncomfortable.  
“Wow, you made all these leaves by hand?”  
“I did, but it's not really as much work as it seems. Sanctuary crystal is a very forgiving material to work with.”  
“Perhaps, but there are thousands of leaves...”  
Nelly pointed toward Eriko's kanzashi.  
“That one alone must be over a thousand leaves.”  
“It has 2137 leaves, does it not, Take-san?”  
Eriko's words wasn't really a question.  
“Indeed it has.”  
He confirmed anyway.  
“How can you tell?”  
Nelly's confusion was obvious.  
“I am 2137 years old.”  
Eriko's voice was colored by emotion, to craft something with such a personal detail held meaning and the sign of care and acceptance soothed Eriko's broken heart a bit.  
“Wow! Bet you could be a huge help with my history exams.”  
“For the right price I might.”  
The exchange gave Takeshi an opportunity to remind Nelly about the risks of dealing with kitsune, especially since Nelly wasn't a part of what Eriko considered to be Takeshi's _leash_ , the fox equivalent of pack, family or house, so she didn't have the protection of Eriko's oath.

After everyone had picked out their box with maple leaf kanzashi Takeshi summoned in the large box with the ones he had made for Nelly, which earned him quite a few teasing quips about going over the top.  
“Take, there are over 100 kanzashi here.”  
“She can pick her favorites and do whatever she wants to with the rest.”  
He shrugged and settled back to watch Nelly pick through her gifts.  
“Wow, this one even smells like a gardenia flower. How is that possible?”  
“It's the stick, it's made from perfume-wood. I will show later how to control the potency of the scent.”  
“Oh, more demon stuff huh?”  
“Indeed, you might as well get used to it.”  
“I'm trying...”  
She huffed in mock annoyance before refocusing on the kanzashi.

By the time they had her dressed in the kimono the sun had begun setting so they decided to use one of Angels holographic projections to try all the kanzashi rather than try them all on.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Gardenia & Thunderstorms_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

 

“Take, would it be possible for you to make some hair-dye the same way you made the solution to remove my acrylics?”  
Nelly was standing in front of the projection that Angel had created based on how she looked wearing the kimono and was testing the various kanzashi to see how they would all look when she wore them.  
“I think we can arrange something. Any particular color you want?”  
“Well, anything that's not this boring, ratty, brown...”  
“Well, were you thinking lighter or darker?”  
He was pretty sure where she was going but he asked anyway.  
“Darker, a lot darker. Like black darker. It would make these look a lot better I think.”  
“More contrast would indeed make them more noticeable.”  
Takeshi was careful to formulate his answer in a way that wouldn't feed her insecurities.

“Angel, could you make some alteration to the projection please?”  
“Of course, what parameters would you like me to alter?”  
“Alter the hair color, starting with pure black.”  
The holographic image instantly changed to show black hair, but pure black looked somewhat dull and flat.  
“Let's liven it up a bit, add an iridescent effect and lock it to cold hues.”  
A sheen of greens, blues and violets shimmered to life which made Nelly voice a rather pleased sound.  
“Oh, that's amazing! I love it!”  
She quickly asked Angel to run through a few selections of kanzashi and Takeshi had to agree that the effect was very pleasing, an opinion that was rather eagerly echoed by the others who all had found a reason to loiter in the large sitting area.  
“I guess we have decided on a color then. How about I check what our options are for creating it and let you know tomorrow morning?”  
“Okay. Will there be time to dye it before we arrive?”  
“There will, don't worry. At current speed we won't reach Japanese territorial waters until late tomorrow evening so we will spend the night outside the border and enter the day after tomorrow.”  
Takeshi smiled as Nelly's attention almost immediately switched back to the projection, and to picking which kanzashi she liked the best, and giving some of them away to the others.

It would be easy to make the colors with Angel's help, but getting a good looking result on Nelly's long hair wouldn't be an easy task to accomplish so Takeshi decided to take a bit of a chance and ask the old fox to see what she would charge for creating an illusion charm.  
“Eriko, would you be agreeable to creating an illusion charm for me that I can gift to Nelly?”  
Though he trusted Eriko she was still a kitsune, trickery was in her nature so he would bind her into the formality of a proper negotiation.  
“A charm to alter the color of her hair I presume?”  
“Indeed.”  
“Am I also to presume that you will pay the entire price for it?”  
“If the price is agreeable.”

They spent the better part of the day negotiating Eriko's fee for creating the charm before setting on a cost that both found acceptable.  
Another couple of hours had been spent working on the design of the charm, and in the end it was Hugin that gave them a solution by offering one of his feathers with the shamarai mark on it.  
Hugin told them that Munin had mentioned Nelly's adoration for the feather charm that he had given Melissa as a formal courting gift and apparently she had expressed an desire for a similar necklace.  
“That kiss really made her catch your attention, didn't it?”  
The deep black blush and soft chirps only confirmed what Takeshi already knew.  
“But..”  
The confused chirps made it clear that Hugin though he had managed to suppress his reaction and hide it, but even if he had the offer to help with the charm would have given it away.  
“Oh, my dear little raven. I know enough about Obsidian culture and instinct to know you would not have offered a primary flight feather to someone you didn't consider worthy to court, not even indirectly.”  
“I...”  
Soft, concerned chirps paired with the way Hugin's aura folded into submissiveness told Takeshi that he was concerned about being seen as competition for Nelly, which in a sense was understandable considering the way Takeshi would growl at Ylian when they got too close.  
“Don't worry amo. I may be protective and somewhat possessive of her, but if you are interested I have no intention of preventing you from finding out if she is receptive. I growl at Ylian mostly because yi isn't actually interest in her beyond the opportunity to push my buttons.”  
Hugin's color deepened slightly at Takeshi's words and the caws were decidedly annoyed, but the somewhat embarrassed feel of Hugin's aura revealed that he was more annoyed at himself than at Takeshi.  
When Hugin spread his wings to select a feather for Nelly's charm Takeshi took the opportunity to run his hands along the wings and gently slide his finger between the feathers which made the wings tremble.  
“Take, please...”  
“Do you know a better way to infuse more power into your feathers to make the shamarai more prominent?”  
“No.”  
Hugin's breathing became increasingly erratic as Takeshi teased him by touching his wings in a very intimate manner, a manner that Hugin would have had a hard time accepting had the not been mates.  
“Tell me mate, would you like to kiss her again?”  
There was no response beyond the soft chirps that told him Hugin had heard his question.  
“Make her scent shift from fruits to flowers, bring out the subtle spice of her desire?”  
The chirps slowly shifted into soft agreement as Takeshi teased him and brought out his desire.  
“Maybe an opportunity to taste yourself on her?”  
“Yes!”  
Pushed to the edge Hugin released a sharp flare of power that surged through his wings and made them glow red while the shamarai marks on the tip of the feathers lit up brightly for a moment.  
Hugin was still in a somewhat trance like state when he reached back and pulled the largest feather from his left wing and with a gentle trickle of energy he altered the size until it was about as long as his hand.  
Bringing it to his face he slowly exhaled a breath charged with his shapeshifting power, altering the shape of it from the uneven form of a flight feather into the shape of a raven tail feather with it's large, rounded tip and significantly larger shamarai mark.

“Thank you Hugin.”  
Takeshi took the offered feather and thanked his mate with a kiss and a brush of aura which had Hugin complaining about of mean and horrible he was for teasing him in such a way.  
“Aw, if you keep scolding me like that I might think you don't like me anymore.”  
The answering chirps and caws were less than amused, which made both Takeshi and Eriko snicker, but as much as he complained the bond carried a clear note of love and loyalty that made Takeshi pull him close and gently brush his fingers thought his mashen before giving Eriko the feather and a few strands of hair.  
Takeshi and Hugin watches as Eriko plucked a few strands of hair from her own head and added them to the hairs Takeshi had given her before binding it to the feather and infusing it with her power.  
With the infusion of foxfire the normally white shamarai gained a faint glow that flickered with the cyan and green hues of gems like emerald, jade, malachite, turquoise and aquamarine.

“I think she will like it. Hugin, would you like to be the one to give it to her? It is crafted from your feather after all.”  
Takeshi inspected the the deceptively simple necklace, during the process of making it the design had changed a bit from the classic style that Munin had given Melissa.  
Instead of the single feather hanging tip down they had added three smaller feathers that attached to one end of a bunch of cords, the other end attached to the tip of the large feather and then threaded through a loop at the base of the large feather.  
When worn the larger feather would be placed tip up across the heart while the smaller feathers hung tip down at the sternum.  
“Is that really okay? You are the one paying the price for it.”  
“Of course it is amo, it's a perfect opportunity for you to see if she might be receptive to your advances as well.”  
“Aw, you two are so adorable, like a pair of little lovebirds.”  
Eriko's teasing earned her a low growl and a moment later Hugin was in his raven form chasing her fox form around the boat much to everyone's amusement.

Takeshi waited until breakfast was done with before asking Nelly to join him.  
“Now, we have two basic options for how we can do this.”  
“And those are?”  
“I can make the dyes needed to create that color through standard methods, but I'm afraid I won't be able to give any guarantees that the result will be any good. It's not an easy color effect to achieve and none of us are trained hair stylists.”  
“So, chances are it won't come out looking too great?”  
“Indeed.”  
“And the second option?”  
“An illusion charm that only makes your hair appear that color, or any color you want it to be, without actually altering it.”  
“Oh, like those raven necklaces that changes Hugin's and Munin's skin-color so they look human?”  
“Similar, those aren't just illusion, they have a bit of true transformation as well so they require quite a bit of power to maintain. This would be pure illusion and all the power needed is bound within the charm.”  
“So, with this charm I could do any color whenever I want to?”  
“Once you learn how to control it, yes.”  
“Well that's a no-brainer then, I'll have the charm please.”  
Takeshi had suspected as much, but confirmation was always good, and the next step could become quite interesting.  
“Hugin, the charm please.”  
Nelly's eyes widened in an almost comical manner when Hugin brought out the charm and placed it around her neck.  
“Wow, are these your feathers?”  
“They are.”  
The surprised chirp that followed as Nelly threw herself around Hugin's neck and kissed him made Takeshi smile, now it was up to Hugin to make use of the opportunity that had revealed itself.

It took a moment for Hugin to snap out of it once Nelly let go but the moment he did he carefully arched his wings around them, not quite touching her, but enough to show her he didn't want her to step away from him.  
Nelly's scent shifted to nervous anticipation as Hugin looked at her, searching for answers to a question he was unable to voice and when he lifted her chin and brushed his thumb along her lips she closed her eyes and nodded.  
When Hugin wrapped his wings tightly around her and leaned in to claim her lips Takeshi sucked in a sharp breath at the rush of heat that surged to his groin, he rarely had the opportunity to enjoy it, but he knew just how damned good it felt to be kissed like that.  
Hugin wasn't settling for a simple kiss and Nelly didn't push him away so it quickly turned into what could only be described as a proper make out session that left them both rather breathless.  
“Wow! Take was right, you are an amazing kisser.”  
Nelly somehow managed to sound teasing which made Hugin huff at her, but Takeshi could hear the pleased chirps that revealed how he really felt as he wrapped his arms and wings tighter around her.  
“You know, you smell really nice, A bit like cocoa. But you don't taste like it.”  
The last part was accompanied by Nelly licking the exposed skin on his chest which became too much for Hugin and a moment later she had a face full of feathers as Hugin fled toward the radar and communications array in his raven form.

“Don't worry Nel, that's a very good sign. You just managed to shock him a bit and whenever he becomes emotionally overwhelmed he flees to the simpler mind and instincts of his raven form. He will return once he has calmed down a bit and collected his thoughts.”  
Takeshi quickly made sure that Nelly didn't misinterpret the way Hugin fled.  
“I guess complementing his scent and licking him might have been a bit over the top...”  
“Nah, he's a demon, such things are considered normal behavior. The fact that you don't know about demon culture and instincts only made a deeper impact as he knows it wasn't a play on your part.”  
“Oh...”  
“How about we just let him brood for as long as he needs to and focus on teaching you how to use this little charm instead?”  
It would probably take weeks for her to learn how to use it though as she needed to learn how to focus her mind and aura, but until she could do it herself they would help her activate it and alter her hair to whatever color she wanted.  
He had no doubt she would be sporting some pretty outrageous colors in the privacy of their floating home while getting used to the feel of the charm.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Gardenia & Thunderstorms_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi's suspicion about Nelly's hair color had been spot on as she was currently sporting a vivid, psychedelic rainbow of colors that gave Takeshi a bit of a headache if he looked at her for too long.  
Much to Takeshi's enjoyment she was currently curled into his side while they watched Hugin and Munin sparring in the advanced style of the Obsidian Guards and they were putting on quite a show, taking full advantage of how well they knew each other to synchronize their movements.  
_“Dear brother, I never thought I would see the day when you would be putting on a show for a female.”_  
Munin was relentlessly teasing Hugin in the Obsidian language, but at the same time he made sure their match showed off Hugin's skill, and his wings, as was the way of the Obsidian Angels.

“I yield.”  
Munin was on his knees with the tip of Hugin's blade against his mashen when he surrendered and Hugin reached down and plucked one of the covert feathers from Munin's wing before helping him to his feet.  
Stepping over to Takeshi and Nelly he offered the feather to Nelly as a token of his victory in the match, and after a gentle prodding from Takeshi she accepted the offering and patted the seat next to her as an offer for Hugin to join them.  
“Hugin, your wings are all messy. Isn't that uncomfortable?”  
Hugin nodded slightly to Nelly's question but he didn't make any move to fix the feathers.  
“Amo, she doesn't know about Obsidian traditions.”  
Takeshi knew that Hugin was waiting for an offer to help preen his wings, an offer that Nelly wouldn't know to make, but the soft chirps made it quite clear that Hugin wouldn't be able to ask her to do it.  
“What am I missing?”  
Nelly's somewhat distraught question caused Hugin to voice a sad chirp with a hint of question, begging Takeshi to step in and help.  
“It may have been a mock fight with his brother as an opponent, but it was still a display challenge for your favor. A fight to show off his skill and physical form.”  
“I kinda figured that out, but there's more I'm missing, isn't there?”  
“The fight has ruffled his feathers, and he is feeling a rather strong urge to preen, but he is suppressing that urge for a very specific reason. With Obsidian Angels, as with most demons with feathered wings, helping someone with the preening is a very intimate action, and allowing it, is a sign of trust.”  
“Wait, is he waiting for me to help him?”  
“Mhm, an Obsidian female would offer to help preen his wings as a way to reward his victory, and to build a relationship, to test his trust of her.”  
“Oh...”  
Nelly's blush and Hugin's soft chirps of embarrassment made Takeshi smile and give Nelly another gentle nudge.  
“Hugin, is it okay if I help you smooth your wings a bit?”  
Hugin gave a slight not and a soft, inviting chirp as his wings relaxed slightly.  
As Nelly worked on carefully sorting through Hugin's feathers Takeshi explained about the various reactions, the meaning of the chirps and the way the wings shifted.  
“Be careful around the base, it's a very sensitive area and he might not be comfortable letting you touch it. If he does allow it you need to be very gentle.”

Takeshi kept watching and enjoying the way Nelly's scent shifted as the last traces of fruit faded away and left only the scent of gardenia and and warm scent that reminded him a bit of the nut butters that were popular in skincare products.  
It was a very pleasant scent, and it told him that Nelly had matured significantly during their passage across the Pacific.  
He had to admit to himself at least that he was slightly surprised when Hugin allowed Nelly to touch the mashen, and that he didn't pull away when she gently burrowed her face among the tiny, soft feathers.  
“So soft, and smells amazing.”  
There was a slightly embarrassed chirp then Hugin turned around and wrapped his arms and wings around her and kissed her deeply.  
Takeshi took the opportunity to move closer and when he brushed his hand against Hugin's wings they parted slightly to allow him closer, allowing him to gently pin Nelly between them before wrapping back around.

“Is this really okay?”  
Nelly was wedged quite tightly between Takeshi and Hugin as both of them trailed kisses and teasing touches along her neck and arms.  
“That is up to you to decide. We don't mind sharing, so it's entirely up you if you are comfortable with being shared like this.”  
“I... I think I am...”  
“Then it's okay, I promise. What others may have to say doesn't matter as long as we all agree.”  
Hugin hummed in agreement to Takeshi's words and it seemed to finally make Nelly settle down and just enjoy herself, and occasionally pay them back with a teasing touch or kiss of her own.

 


	97. A Change of Plans

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


Takeshi woke up from Dan gently nudging his shoulder.  
“Angel informed me that a Coast Guard vessel is on an intercept course and will intercept us shortly after we cross the border.”  
“I guess it's time to make use of the specifics of the Japanese treaty. Angel, inform Paul that we will hoist the _Kikumon_ please.”  
“Right away.”  
The _Kikumon_ was the chrysanthemum kamon, seal, of the Japanese Imperial family and the flag that Takeshi had just asked Angel to hoist signaled that the ship was considered a diplomatic vehicle and thus was exempt from inspection.  
The Coast Guard vessel would probably stay close until they had confirmed the Leviathan's registry and ownership information to confirm that they weren't using the Kikumon without permission.  
To do so would be a capital offense, tantamount to treason for a Japanese citizen, a non Japanese could get of easier as they were not be expected to be aware of the full meaning of flying the Kikumon.  
  


Takeshi took a quick look around to check on the others before carefully extracting himself from Hugin and Nelly to give Dan a bit of extra attention as he had been the one to keep watch during the night.  
“Shift.”  
The single word was soft but needy as Takeshi pinned Dan against the wall, he didn't have the patience to remove Dan's clothes slowly and a shift was the fastest way to accomplish it, especially without letting him move away from the wall.  
  


By the time Takeshi and Dan were done with each other the others had gotten up and was making their way through a rather impressive breakfast.  
“Good morning everyone, sleep well?”  
Takeshi greeted them as he took a seat at the table.  
Everyone nodded, though Nelly grumbled that though she had slept well she wouldn't have minded a few more hours which was quite understandable since she had been trying to keep up with Takeshi and the others.  
She had only gotten a handful of hours of sleep every night, and while she could keep up for a while the lack of sleep was starting to become noticeable.  
“Don't worry Nell, there's still a few more hours before we arrive so you can nap some more if you want to.”  
“But I don't want to miss anything...”  
Takeshi sighed at the expected answer and considered the options, not that there were many available..  
“Well, there is one more option available if you think you can stomach it.”  
“And what's that?”  
“Consuming some blood with regenerative powers would help your body cope and allow you to manage with only a couple of hours of sleep each night. Think you could handle that?”  
“I don't know. Can I try at least?”  
“Of course. Em, Hugin, care to pitch in?”  
Adding Emelie's blood with its strong vampiric properties should help Nelly's body handle the blood better, and adding Hugin's blood would help soothe instincts, both Hugin's and Takeshi's.  
“Of course.”  
They both quickly agreed to help.  
“Let's make some juice to mix it with. How about Irri?”  
“Oh, can you add some of that blue melon thing?”  
“Of course.”  
Takeshi added the requested fruits to the slowjuicer and poured some of the silvery blue liquid into a small shot glass and added a few drops of his own blood to it before holding it out for Emelie and Hugin to add their blood to it.  
A quick stir turned the liquid slightly violet before he handed it to Nelly along with a glass with the rest of the juice.  
“Cheers!”  
She mock toasted and drained the glass in a single gulp before taking a sip of unmixed juice from the glass.  
  


“Now, I have been thinking about how we should do this. What do you guys think about spending today and tomorrow in Akihabara, then move on to Ginza, and take a few breaks to attend the Tori no Ichi in Asakusa?”  
“Won't we be spending a lot of time today clearing customs and stuff like that?”  
“Nah, don't worry Nel, we will be skipping all that this time, courtesy of the Imperial Insignia.”  
“Oh, that sweet.”  
“Indeed.”  
It didn't take long for everyone to agree on the initial plan, it could always be altered later if something happened.  
  


“Now Nel, I have an early birthday present for you.”  
Takeshi handed Nelly a wrapped box and an embossed parchment envelope sealed with a Shamarai wax seal.  
“But my birthday isn't for another three months?”  
“Well, we won't be going on another of these shopping trips for another year or so.”  
“Oh..”  
“Now go ahead and open your present.”  
Opening the box revealed a satellite phone in the same design as the others were using as well as a small headset to go with it.  
“It's the same kind of phone the rest of us are using, you can communicate with Angel that way, and you will be able to access the global network from pretty much anywhere, and if there is any form of mobile, satellite or wireless signal you will be able to make and receive calls.”  
“Wow! Thanks!”  
“Keep looking, there's more in there.”  
Another dive into the box revealed a small envelope with an international debit card in it.  
“Angel will help you set a pin, she can also give you the account balance when needed.”  
“Can't she just display the balance on my phone?”  
“Of course I can Nelly. I can also display the balance in local currency if needed.”  
“Sorry Angel, didn't mean to talk around you.”  
Nelly immediately apologized to Angel for speaking as if she was not present.  
“I know Nelly.”  
“Take! You are insane!”  
Nelly took one look at the account balance before giving Takeshi a sharp slap on the arm.  
“Just making sure you won't run of pocket change on our little shopping trip.”  
“Pocket change!? There's over 10 million here!”  
“Hopefully it will be enough.”  
He teased lightly which earned him a groan while he handed her the embossed envelope.  
The envelope contained a birthday card that was decorated using rune-magic, and a small gift-card of sorts that promised her that she could pick any 10 figurines she wanted to in Akihabara and Takeshi would buy them for her.  
It took a rather overwhelmed Nelly a few minutes to snap out of it and properly thank Takeshi for the gifts.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


Their group drew quite a bit of attention in Akihabara, though mostly from the numerous tourists visiting the famous _Otaku Central_ who wanted to take pictures with the kimono wearing girls.  
Hugin and Munin were also gathering quite a crowd as the girls had bullied them into dressing up as _Karasu Tengu_ , the Crow Tengu of Japanese mythology, complete with beaked masks, it did have the benefit of allowing them the comfort of having their wings out.  
Takeshi was currently snickering at the way Nelly was making a few rather rude faces at a group of girls who were asking to have their picture taken with Hugin.  
  


“Okay ladies, that's quite enough. You can have pictures taken but you are not allowed to touch the wings.”  
He stepped in when he heard the first soft chirps of discomfort from Hugin as the girls were trying to touch his wings to try to figure out how they were made, believing they were masquerade items.  
Hugin's relief was instant when Takeshi reprimanded the group and made them take a step back.  
 _“You don't have to humor them you know.”  
“I know, but it's a good opportunity to study humans and human interaction. After all, the ones you collect act more like demons than humans.”  
“Well, cosplay fangirls aren't really representative for humans in average either.”  
“You don't say...”  
_The tone was clearly amused with a tint of teasing that made Takeshi huff at him and shoo away another group of tourists, this time a group of young men who were pestering the girls to take pictures with them.  
  


Takeshi had his own group of gawkers, staring at his blades and the modified armor he was wearing, he was wearing the dragonhide armor underneath pieces of his demonsilk shozoku and the addition of glowing runes on the armor made him look like a high-tech ninja from one of the ever popular dystopian science fiction anime.  
No one raised an eye at the way he stayed close to Nelly, all believing it to just be him acting out a role, but in reality he was watching her closely, as was Hugin, since unlike the others Nelly had just started learning how to protect herself, and she didn't have the benefit of an enhanced physiology.  
  


Fortunately they were mostly done with with the Akihabara part of their shopping trip, the previous day had been spent looking around all the stores to get an idea what to buy, and now they were taking a lunch break from going a round actually buying the stuff.  
They would still attract a lot of attention in Ginza, but the patrons there tended to be a bit more respectful than the tourists that frequented Akihabara.  
At the moment though Takeshi had his hands full with a bit of a different problem, the store didn't allow live animals inside so he and Dan were waiting outside with Yami, Gere, Freke, Dan's raijū and Nelly's duzz while Nelly made the final decision on which of the remaining three figurines that would be her 10th gift.  
The twins had joined Nelly and Hugin in the store to offer _moral support_ in the choice, or more accurately, to nag Hugin into buying them a few of the X-rated games without them actually having to sneak away to shift to their mature forms.  
Hugin didn't mind though, it gave him the perfect excuse to stay in the store after Nelly had selected her figurine, time he used to purchase the remaining two figurines to give her at her birthday.  
As he paid for the items he sent Takeshi a thought of gratitude for setting up the bank account and card to go with it.  
  


As scouts for the imperial guard Hugin and Munin had made very good wages in the Obsidian Halls, all guards were well paid and would be considered middle class by human standards, but the scouts that worked the borderlands were paid a significantly higher wage, placing them in the upper middle class.  
Working in the borderlands meant working outside of the chronoshift, one day in borderlands being 10 days in the Obsidian Halls meant leaving their family weakened for long times, and not all demons had the power to withstand frequent exposure to the tidal force created by the temporal rift that separated the chronoshift from the normal temporal flow.  
They weren't rich per say, but they were well off, and their assets that consisted of precious metals and gems as well as land translated to quite a fortune in the human realm so Takeshi had insisted on creating accounts that reflected their level of purchasing power which was rather substantial.  
Paying for the two figurines and a pile of games for the twins was no problem, and Takeshi would have Angel transfer the amount spent on the twins from his own account to Hugin's account.  
  


“Come on, let's head back to the Leviathan before the others have dinner without us.”  
Takeshi rounded up the others and ushered them toward the area where their ride was waiting, a luxury bus that had been retrofitted into a limousine.   
Jenna had stayed at the Leviathan as all the walking made her feet hurt and Emelie had insisted than an alpha should remain with her, and in turn Amanda had insisted that an alpha should not be without a beta at their side.  
Most of the girls had stayed to keep them company as they had little interest in the wares of Akihabara and didn't feel like dressing up and suffering the crowds.  
  


Once they were inside the modified bus Takeshi found himself at the bottom of an impromptu dogpile as everyone save for Hugin and Munin was seeking out physical contact and reassurance.  
All of them had some problems with the Japanese view on public displays of intimacy but Takeshi insisted that they respect their hosts' discomfort with such displays.  
“Easy, everyone will get their chance but you need to calm down a bit before you hurt Nel.”  
The effect was instant as everyone froze and looked at Nelly, auras gently probing hers to make sure they hadn't hurt her.  
“It's okay guys, I'm fine, I promise.”  
She blushed quite a bit when the others moved aside and ushered her forward, letting her snuggle for a while and letting Takeshi soothe his instinct to rub his scent over her, and sate his need for kisses a bit.  
Once she moved back and took a seat on the other side of the bus Munin and Melissa took the opportunity to quickly rub their cheeks against Takeshi's to renew the scent mark and he rewarded them with a quick kiss on the forehead before they pulled back and snuggled up next to Nelly.  
Hugin also took advantage of the slight pause to steal a kiss before shifting to his raven form to avoid feeling cramped.  
“Come here Hugin.”  
Nelly patted her shoulder and Hugin quickly claimed the offered perch and began to gently sift through her hair with his beak and she returned the gesture by sifting through the feathers on his head and gently brush a finger along his beak.  
  


Together the watched as the others pounced again and this time it quickly turned into a scuffle and after a while Takeshi emerged on the top of the pile, pinning each of them in turn and giving them a not so gentle nip to the throat to reinforce his dominance.  
At first such displays had bothered Nelly a bit, but after they all had reassured her that it didn't actually hurt, at least not in a bad way, she had grown accustomed to seeing it and now she barely noticed.  
If anything she took the show of dominance as a sign that the scuffle was coming to an end and that it was safe to return to the same section of the seats as the others and join the cuddle.  
There was some flapping and a slight caw of objection from Hugin who lost his balance a bit as she moved but it didn't take long for Hugin to settle down again and gently worry her ear until she huffed at him and shooed him over to Takeshi's shoulder.  
The disgruntled grumbling caws made everyone laugh, and made Munin tease Hugin with a few chirps of his own, Nelly didn't understand what was said, but the tone and Hugin's reaction was plenty enough.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Take, can I taste some too?”  
Nelly pointed toward the huge melon-bowl that rested on a bed of crushed ice.  
“Of course you can, but not too much, Em's concoction may not be as potent as regular orcha, but it still packs a bit of a punch for a human.”  
  


During their 10 year stay in the Obsidian Halls Emelie had been studying under the wine masters and in her curiosity had been experimenting with making orcha herself on a small scale and had managed to make a sweet sparkling version using a method similar to the traditional champagne method, just with a touch of magic to assist.  
She had also managed to convince one of the wine masters to produce a small batch each harvest for her House Miri and over the years the old artisan had become quite skilled at making it, slightly altering the method, adapting it to demon realm ingredients and materials to give a better quality.  
The chronoshift along with the fact that Irri gave 5 harvests each year had allowed him a lot of experimenting and to provide them with a steady stream of sparkling orcha, but he still produced the version that Emelie had first created as well.  
The fruit punch this evening was made with Emelie's own product which was quite a bit sweeter than the version that the wine master was making, but apart from Takeshi everyone preferred it's sweetness.  
  


“Thanks!”  
Nelly was beaming as she took one of the glasses and poured herself some of the punch and sipped it carefully.  
“So, Nel, how did you like the Tori no Ichi?”  
The first day of Tori no Ichi had been spent in Asakusa to enjoy the traditional market.  
“It was fun! A bit strange with all the haggling and clapping, but fun.”  
“I'm glad you enjoyed it.”  
Leaning in he stole a kiss before teasingly complaining that she tasted too sweet.  
“Hmph. I bet Hugin or Ylian wouldn't complain...”  
Ylian was quick to take advantage of her teasing, taking it as an invitation to steal a quick kiss.  
“She's quite right, she tastes lovely to me.”  
Moments later Ylian was shoved away by large wings as Hugin moved in closer and claimed a kiss of his own before agreeing with Ylian's assessment of the flavor of the kiss.  
“I don't recall saying you could taste...”  
Nelly grumbled at Ylian with a glare, but was rewarded with a rather cocky smile.  
“Oh? Really? You didn't seem to mind if the way you returned the kiss was any indication.”  
Ylian had been paying close attention to her every reaction as they stole their kiss, making sure not to overstep and there had been no sign of objection, quite the contrary and as suspected the teasing reply made Nelly break down into a blush and what could only be called an annoyed smile.  
“And don't worry Hugin, she may be curious enough to let me get away with a few things, even respond to them, but she's not actually interested.”  
Ylian's words made Hugin relax visibly, but Nelly seemed almost a bit distraught.  
“Don't worry Nel, I'm not feeling rejected in any way. In fact, my interest in you is fairly similar, curious and well, not adverse to some exploring, but not actually interested in any deeper relationship, not right now at least, but who knows what the future might hold.”  
With the reassurance Nelly relaxed as well.  
“Though for me it has the added bonus of ample opportunity to tease my Mate and Co-Mate here.”  
The teasing addition earned them another huff and a rather annoyed caw.  
  


In the spirit of the season they had prepared a wide selection of traditional festival foods and topped it all off with a giant pot of Sukiyaki and a Yakiniku grill in the center, though many of the ingredients came from the Shamarai storehouse, things like fine cuts of gong and a pile of zimara tentacles.  
The weather was a bit on the chilly side so the fire for the hotpot and the grill added an additional level of comfort as they all huddled around, even though Nelly was the only one actually bothered by the cold.  
Though, she was quite comfortable under Hugin's wing as the feathers shielded her from the colder air, while at the same time keeping the air warmed by bodies and glowing embers from escaping.  
  


“Oh well, as much fun as this is I need to get some sleep, this little hellion is sucking me dry.”  
Jenna excused herself from the table and Dan quickly told Takeshi he would see to her before simply picking her up and carrying her toward her rooms while she grumbled and complained about being carried, but the way she leaned into him was quite telling about how she truly felt about it.  
Her estimated due date was still about six weeks away, but she was quite large, and constantly complaining that she felt like a blimp as well as constantly being tired as the baby drained copious amounts of energy.  
“Good night then. Just remember to let me know if you need a bit of a energy refill.”  
The drain on her reserves had given them no option than to have her consume quite a lot of blood from the more powerful members of their household with Takeshi, Emelie and Ylian being the main contributors, but Hugin and Munin helped out quite a bit as well, so did Sorcha whenever she was in the human realm.  
Marakell had offered as well, but Jenna declined his aid as he was still recovering from having starved himself for a very long time.  
“I will, don't worry. I'm just a bit tired from all the walking and all the people at the festival.”  
The way she was nuzzling her face against Dan's neck contradicted her words though and Takeshi was pretty sure she would take a bite out of him when they were back in her room, and possibly ask Ylian for a contribution as well.  
Takeshi was also pretty sure she wouldn't ask him again so soon, he had noticed that she made sure to rotate who she asked, though, they didn't need the recovery time as a human feeding a vampiric would, it was more like she was making sure everyone got to feel equally involved.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


It was only about two hours later that Nelly began having a hard time to keep up with the debates and games, and began yawning quite noticeably.  
“I think it's time for me to get some sleep too.”  
Leaning into Takeshi she gave his jaw a gentle nip.  
“Any chance you could carry me to my rooms?”  
“Of course sweetie.”  
He quickly picked her up which earned him a bit of a yelp before she settled down in his arms but instead of walking to her rooms he gathered a bit of shadow energy around them and leaned in and brushed his lips against her ear.  
“Nel, do you trust me?”  
“Always.”  
“Close your eyes and take a deep breath and hold it.”  
“Okay.”  
A flicker of power opened the passage into the shadow-realm and they both vanished and a few moments later they appeared in Nelly's sitting room and he set her back on her feet.  
“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”  
“Wow!”  
“Are you feeling okay? No strange sensations?”  
Takeshi gently probed her aura to make sure there had been no negative effect from passing through the shadows, he had used his own power to shield her, but the contact with the cold, dark, energy could be very unsettling.  
“Okay? I'm better than okay. That felt amazing! I don't think I have ever felt so safe before...”  
“Oh? You enjoyed being wrapped in my aura like that?”  
“Yeah, I did. It felt really nice.”  
Encouraged by her admission he wrapped his arms tighter around her and allowed more power to seep in his aura while also allowing the inner layers to expand slightly so that he could wrap Nelly's aura with his own, compressing it slightly while gauging her reactions.  
“So safe...”  
She burrowed her face into his chest and in return he burrowed his nose into her hair and took a deep breath, carefully sorting through her scents but the presence of the scent of multiple strangers made him sneeze slightly.  
“What's wrong Take?”  
“You smell of strangers, outsiders.”  
“Oh, all the people at Asakusa, right?”  
“Indeed.”  
As always Asakusa had been very crowded so it was unavoidable to bump and rub against other participants, which left their scents clinging to Nelly even though she had changed out of her kimono already.  
Scents didn't stick to Takeshi and the others the same way as they instinctively purged themselves from such scents, it would take more than just a casual bump or standing next to someone to imprint a heavy enough scent for it not to be purged.  
“And you want to get rid of the scents, don't you?”  
“I do, I instinctively find them very irritating.”  
“Join me in the shower then? Make sure to scrub the offending scents away?”  
Takeshi did not need to be asked twice and quickly began removing her clothes as well as his own.  
  


They had enjoyed quite a long shower when Takeshi leaned in to test her scent again, but found that something about it was off but he was unable to put his finger on exactly what with all the other scents that mingled with hers.

“Nel, with your permission I would like to wash you with a special demon soap that removes all foreign scents completely, including any scent marks you may carry. Leaving only your true scent behind.”  
“Okay.”  
“Easy. Don't decide before I have a chance to explain why I make sure to ask first.”  
“Well go on, don't make me wait.”  
Takeshi huffed at her somewhat cheeky reply.  
“If I use this soap on you I will feel a very strong urge to renew the scent marks, and once we meet the others they will react rather strongly as well, especially my mates. And Hugin will want to get his scent back on you as well.”  
“It's okay, I know you won't let things get out of hand.”  
“Scent stripping it is then. Wait here, I'll be right back.”  
Slipping into the shadows he brought one of the special soaps from his own rooms and returned to Nelly's bathroom to help her wash all scents away.  
“Take, I thought you were supposed to help me wash, not feel me up.”  
There was barely restrained laughter in Nelly's voice as she complained about Takeshi's very hands on help.  
“Oh, got something against combining business with pleasure?”  
“Not at all, I just happen to believe in equal opportunity.”  
Squirming around she made sure to get as much of the suds as she could onto Takeshi before letting her hands roam over his body and slowly make their way to his waist.  
She paused for a moment at his hips which made him groan slightly at her and accuse her of being a tease.  
“I'm learning from the best.”  
His amused snort encouraged her to be even bolder and he had to give her that one, she had been an excellent student.  
  


Once the water had rinsed away all the soap Takeshi found himself leaning against the wall of the shower while Nelly teased him with licks, kisses and nips, but he was somewhat distracted by her scent, there was no trace of fruit left.  
It was warm and slightly sweet with a distinct musky spice that set Takeshi's senses on fire and made him want to saturate her scent with his own, but she kept him from touching her with soft hands and teasing quips.  
Once out of the shower Takeshi's control slipped slightly and he took the opportunity to wrap his arms tightly around her as he slowly explored her scent.  
It wasn't until she voiced a slightly pained whine that he realized just how tightly he was holding her and he instantly let go and nuzzled the underside of her jaw with an apologetic whine.  
“It's okay. I like it when you hold me tightly, just maybe not quite as tightly.”  
While she spoke she pulled his arms back around her and after a few moments he gave in and wrapped around her again, carefully tightening his hold until until she gave him a gentle tap to indicate she had reached her limit.  
The kisses that followed were laced with a searing hunger and though he tried not to his grip did occasionally tighten slightly but the only reaction from Nelly was a low whine, but while it carried a hint of pain the sound was more needy than anything.  
It did remind him of her limitations though, remind him that despite her scent and her reactions she was still entirely human, entirely fragile, and mostly untouched.  
  


“Take, please. I need... I don't want to wait any longer.”  
The way she moved against him made it quite obvious what she was asking for and desire surged through him, he wanted nothing more than to just grab her, carry her to the bedroom and toss her on the bed, but he forced the desire down.  
“The Arashiri takes time though, I wouldn't recommend anything less than a week set aside for it.”  
He was intentionally misunderstanding her to see how she would respond, to test her determination.  
“If it means I have to wait I rather not do the arashiri at all.”  
There was pure determination in her voice so Takeshi decided not to   
“There is nothing that says you have to be innocent for your arashiri.”  
The teasing answer made her slap his arm and hiss in annoyance.  
“But on a more serious note, as you have probably already noticed, my control right now is not what it usually is. The combination of demon saké and some shiiza has me tethering on the edge of my control already. Are you sure you want to go there while I'm not entirely in control of myself?”  
He had a feeling what her answer would be, but he asked her anyway.  
“I trust you. And I want this, I **need** this!”  
Takeshi gently tilted her head so he could get a better look at her face and eyes to seek out any trace of hesitance but all he found was a soft smile and dark eyes that spoke of trust and desire.  
“Then so be it.”  
Leaning in to kiss her he allowed his own desire to break free from its usual restraints, allowed it to flow freely through his aura and to flavor the kiss with raw hunger and a hissed out _Yes!_ told him she didn't mind the intensity.  
A flicker of awareness and concern over the bond with Hugin made Takeshi pause for a moment which rewarded him with a disappointed whine that was quickly replaced by concern.  
“Take? What's wrong, what did I do?”  
“It's nothing you did. Hugin is sensing my desire and it has him somewhat unsettled.”  
“Oh...”  
Reaching up she gave Takeshi a soft kiss.  
“Please tell him this doesn't mean I'm rejecting him.”  
“Oh, that's not what has him worried. He's concerned that I, in my somewhat intoxicated state, and under the influence of shiiza, have inadvertently pushed you into this.”  
“Well, you better set him straight then.”  
The way she dragged her nails across his chest made Takeshi shudder as he reached out for Hugin over the bond that had formed when Takeshi tied Hugin's soul to his own to save his life.  
 _“Mainano my love, easy. I swear she is acting entirely on her own desires. I made sure of that.”  
_ Hugin reflected relief over the bond but there was still quite a bit of concern there and Takeshi could feel that Nelly's words about rejection were probably more accurate than he had first believed. _  
“Oh, and Nel asked me to tell you that this does not mean she has rejected you in any way.”  
_ The concern quickly faded and Hugin withdrew from the bond but not without transmitting a slight sense of annoyance at the somewhat teasing tone of Takeshi's last words.  
  


The moment Hugin had withdrawn Takeshi shifted his full attention to Nelly and pounced at her, pinning her to the large bed with a teasing growl which earned him a startled yelp before she tilted her head back and offered him her neck.  
“Nel, may I take some of your blood?”  
The way she offered her neck had lit a different desire in him and he would at least ask her if he may sate it.  
She looked somewhat apprehensive though, but she she reached up for his face anyway and when she brushed her thumb over his lips he opened his mouth and bared the slender fangs so she could inspect them.  
“Won't that hurt a lot?”  
“No, I promise you won't feel any pain at all, all you will feel is pleasure.”  
She winced slightly when she pressed her finger against one of the fangs and the sharp point pierced the pad of her finger and drew a drop of blood, when Takeshi licked the drop away with a shudder of repressed desire her eyes widened in understanding and she relaxed back against the bedding and tilted her head back again.  
“Go ahead.”  
With her permission Takeshi leaned in and began to focus on the vampiric hunting abilities as he caressed, licked and kissed her throat to soothe her and make sure she was fully under the influence of the seductive power that would make sure she felt nothing but pleasure as he bit her.  
When he finally sank his fangs into the offered flesh Nelly arched into him and voiced a strangled cry, but it was a sound of pleasure, not pain as the seductive power pushed her over the edge.  
If Takeshi had any say in the matter it would be the first of many times she fell into the abyss that night.  
He didn't have time to muse on it though as the heat of her blood rushed through him and set his instincts on fire and he was forced to focus on not taking too much of her blood, the last thing he wanted to do was to wear her out before they had gotten started.  
When he withdrew his fangs and healed the small wounds with lick she was panting rather heavily beneath him and he leaned down further and whispered in her ear.  
“You taste absolutely divine.”  
He was somewhat surprised when she responded by kissing his throat before sucking in a small piece of skin and biting down hard, though, it wasn't the fact that she bit him that surprised him, it was the intensity of his own reaction to the bite.  
His reaction was instant though as he groaned and bucked against her which rewarded him with a strong surge of desire in her scent, but it was almost overpowered by triumph and amusement.  
  


“Harder... Please!”  
Has was unsure just what it was about Nelly that made his reaction so strong, normally his instincts would rebel at someone who was not pack, or at least House Shamarai, even trying to bite at his throat or neck.  
But with Nelly he didn't just allow it, he found that he craved it and she seemed willing to oblige.  
“Nel! Please, bite harder...”  
She gave the abused flesh a gentle lick before finding a new spot to suckle on before sucking in a bit of skin and biting down hard.  
“Yes! More! Harder!”  
There was a flicker of surprise in her aura at his strong reaction, but she did as he asked her to and rubbed the piece of skin between her teeth when she had no more strength to put into it.  
“Nel, I need... I want... I want you to kiss me and taste my blood on your lips.”  
He knew that such a request could backfire, but he found that he had to at least ask her for it, though, he didn't tell her straight out that he wanted her to take some of his blood, that he wanted the sensation of her feeding on him.  
She may not have the powers of a vampiric, but he knew he would still respond to the sensation if she took some of his blood.  
“I can't...”  
The disappointed whine escaped before he had a chance to stop it, but her reaction puzzled him a bit, she seemed amused.  
“You forget I'm human, my teeth are too dull to break that crazy hide of yours.”  
Realization that she was correct made him want to slap himself, but instead he mumbled an apology before reaching up and using a claw to make a cut and she instantly latched on and bit down hard.  
He could sense that she consumed some of his blood before another soft lick told him to allow the cut to heal and a moment later she grabbed his hair and pulled sharply to make him turn so she could kiss him, and the flavor of his own blood on her lips sent him over the edge.  
It would seem they both would be spending plenty of time in the abyss before the night was over.  
  


Takeshi didn't resist when Nelly nudged him to move over, instead he just rolled to the side and pulled her with him, but quickly found their new position to be a bit of a challenge as the way she straddled him let him feel just how ready she was, and he found himself instantly hard and ready once again.  
Looking up he found Nelly grinning at him, she obviously had every intention of teasing him some more, and he found that the total lack of hesitation was quite tempting.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


Takeshi woke up when Angel reduced the power to the electrochromic crystals in the windows to let some light in and a few moment later Nelly stirred as well and soon he found himself on the receiving end of teasing nips and kisses.  
“Good morning sweetie.”  
“Mhm..”  
“You know, Angel probably woke us up for a reason.”  
“Indeed I did. If you want a chance to shower before breakfast is all gone you need to get moving.”  
There were a few grumbled complains from Nelly, who had not had nearly as much sleep as she should, even with Takeshi's blood supporting her but Takeshi ignored those as he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.  
  


“Nel, I need to warn you that the others will hassle you a bit when we join them. Mainly because we scrubbed away their scents last night so they will want to reapply the scent marks. Em, Dan and Manda will be extra annoying as they will instinctively want to test you a bit, see if you are worthy.”  
The instant flicker of fear made him pull her tightly against his chest.  
“Don't worry, they have accepted you long ago, or they would have objected and interrupted us last night. But they have instincts they need to soothe, especially now that neither of us are carrying their scents.”  
He could feel her take a few deep breaths to steady herself before giving him a slight nudge to let go.  
“I.. I know, I guess. It's just...”  
“I know sweetie. We all know.”  
He gave her another quick kiss before helping her rinse her hair.  
“One more thing. Hugin will probably be somewhat distraught and hesitant despite the reassurances I gave him. If you are serious about the possibility of allowing him to court you, there is something you can do for him.”  
“Oh, what would that be?”  
“When we join the others, you go straight to Hugin, refuse to acknowledge the others, even Em. Rub your face against his neck and the underside of his jaw, this will make him curl his wings around, when he does you make sure to rub against the inside of the elbow of his wings, most angels have a pheromone gland there, the Obsidian included.”  
“But won't that piss Em off? I mean if I ignore her like that and go to a lower ranked member of your house instead?”  
“It will rile her up a bit, but she will understand the implications of the actions just fine.”  
“Okay.”  
“If it looks like like anyone will interfere too much I'll distract them. You just focus on Hugin.”  
“I will.”  
  


“Well well, look who couldn't wait to get her hands on our dear alpha.”  
Emelie's tone was slightly challenging when she got up from her seat and walked toward Nelly, intent on teasing her and testing her a bit before accepting her as one of Takeshi's lovers.  
The look on her face when Nelly squared her shoulders and ignored her as she headed straight for Hugin was priceless, though Takeshi found himself snatching her tail before she had a chance to pounce on Nelly and demand her attention.  
“Mate, don't.”  
She spun around and hissed at him with fangs bared and wings flared, but a growl and a sharp tug on the matingbond made her submit.  
The look of utter shock on Hugin's face though had Takeshi snickering but when Hugin froze instead of wrapping his wings around Nelly Takeshi stepped in to make sure Hugin snapped out of the daze.  
“Yes Hugin, she knows. I made sure she knows.”  
It took a moment for Hugin to realize what Takeshi was saying, but when he did he wrapped his wings around Nelly, and blushed pure black when she nuzzled the inside of the elbow on each wing, thoroughly saturating her scent with his pheromones.  
The kiss that followed had everyone hooting and cheering, which only served to make Hugin turn an even darker shade of black when he finally pulled back, he didn't move away from Nelly though and when Emelie approached sooth her instincts his wings arched around slightly and flared in warning.  
“Always so protective. Don't worry Hugin, I mean her no harm, and I have no intention of rejecting her or in any way inhibit her presence here.”  
Nelly looked rather confused as Emelie had spoken Urui, and the duzz familiar had not translated her words.  
“You have quite interesting taste in males Nel.”  
“Like you don't?”  
The teasing counter made Emelie smile and touch Nelly's face with her tail, adding some of her own pheromones into the mix.  
“Welcome to the care of House Shamarai-Miri.”  
“Thanks Em.”  
Nelly gave her a hug before stepping back into the protective embrace of Hugin's wings where she immediately rubbed her face against the wings, covering Emelie's scent mark with Hugin's scent.  
Takeshi didn't think she was entire aware of what she did though, but Hugin was well aware of what such an action meant to a demon, and he beamed, proud as a peacock.  
  


By the time everyone was done getting their scents back on Nelly and Takeshi Hugin's instincts were in rather a tiffy so when Takeshi closed in to get Hugin's scent back the angel greeted him by wrapping his wings around Nelly and voicing a rather aggressive trill warning Takeshi away.  
Fortunately everyone save for Nelly were used to the occasional mishap when it came to instincts so they just ignored him and waited for him to calm down.  
“Easy mate. Remember, she chose to be ours to share.”  
Another angry trill made Takeshi shift and flare his wings at Hugin.  
“No, you  **will** submit.”  
He enforced his words with a sharp flare of aura before wrapping his wings around Hugin's, effectively pinning Nelly between then, and silently praying that she would respond as well as she usually did.  
Much to his relief she responded perfectly by nuzzling the underside of his jaw before doing the same to Hugin.  
“Guys, what's going on?”  
Her words came out as a soft whine which made both males lean in and try to soothe her, and the fact that she sought comfort from both of them finally snapped Hugin out of the grip of instincts.  
“Don't worry Nel, remember what I told you about how instincts sometimes get in the way and make us behave in ways we normally wouldn't?”  
“Mhm..”  
“Well, Hugin's reaction to you choosing him like this was a bit stronger than anticipated, and the fact that you kept refreshing his scent on you each time someone touched you, and your scent on him each time they touched him, made the reaction even stronger.”  
Takeshi began to explain while Hugin reined in the last bits of his haywire instincts.  
“When Take approached my instincts reacted to his alpha nature, and well, overreacted.”  
“I kinda figured that part out, but why?”  
Hugin tried to find the words, but after a tense silence his embarrassment got the better of him and he fled to his raven form and settled on Nelly's shoulder, gently worrying her ear.  
“Remember, Hugin is a beta, a fairly sharp one, but still a beta, and I'm an alpha. In a male dominated pack the male alpha will often claim any unmated females for himself so when I approached like that his instincts saw me as competition.”  
“Oh...”  
“Not only that, since you had made it abundantly clear that you chose him I became a potential threat, especially since I'm the one who claimed your innocence, even if it wasn't through the arashiri his instincts still recognize me as your Guide.”  
“Oh, I see. He thought he would have to fight you for courting rights?”  
“Exactly. You have paid attention.”  
“Ylian taught me quite a bit.”  
“Yi does have a knack for knowing what lessons will come in handy.”  
“Take, you better hurry if you want some food before it's all gone.”  
Amanda interrupted them to remind that they were supposed to be eating some breakfast before heading to Ginza for more shopping.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Hugin please! Can't you help them?”  
Takeshi arrived at the agreed meeting place just in time to hear Nelly beg Hugin to help someone and a quick look around revealed that the someone, or rather someones, was a group of crows who had somehow managed to get inside the restaurant.  
The large, panicked birds were frantically trying to escape the staff only to end up repeatedly crashing into the large windows.  
Takeshi watched as Hugin leaned in and whispered something to Nelly before turning to the staff and asking them to step back a bit.  
With his wings spread he slowly approached the crows while trying to calm them with soft caws, and much to everyone's relief it was working and before long he had managed to beckon the first crow to land on his outstretched hand and once it was calm he slowly handed it to Nelly.  
A second crow was soon wrangled and handed to Munin before Hugin seduced the final bird and carried it outside and set it free.  
 _“Karasu Tengu?”  
_ Takeshi hadn't really been paying attention to what the old couple next to him had been saying, but he did catch the last part asking him if Hugin was a crow Tengu and the way the old couple looked at him it was quite obvious that they could see his wings.  
 _“Iie, kare wa Kokuy_ _ō_ _seki Tenshi desu.”  
_ The couple looked at him with slight surprise before nodding and humming about what a rare treat it was to see such a creature.  
Their hushed conversation soon shifted to how much they enjoyed seeing girls dressed in proper kimono, not just simple yukata like most youngsters, even if they happened to be foreigners.  
When their conversation shifted toward what a nice match Hugin and Nelly were Takeshi tuned them out in favor for listening in on Hugin's soft chirps.   
  


“Oh no! Poor thing!”  
Nelly's pained exclamation instantly pulled Takeshi's attention away from Hugin and back to Nelly who was carefully trying to pick up an injured crow.  
When the ruckus created by the frightened crows had died down Nelly had noticed rustling and scratching from behind one of the large planters in the window and found a fourth crow, this one however was not as fortunate as the others.  
Crashing against the window the young crow had managed to break its left wing and was now desperately trying to hide.  
“Sssh, come here little one, I'm not going to hurt you.”  
The way the crow was huddled into a corner made it impossible for Hugin to reach it, but Nelly refused to give up on it and after a few minutes she managed to wrap her hands around it and pick it up, carefully holding the injured wing still.  
“Aw, poor baby.”  
She ignored the sharp beak that was trying to peck at her fingers and began to gently stroke the tiny feathers on the crow's head and soon it began to understand that she wasn't hurting it and began to relax.  
“Take, can you help it? Please...”  
It was soothing to his instincts that she turned to him for help, and he was glad that Emelie and the twins had not arrived yet, Sarah and Maria would be distraught at the crow's suffering, even he could feel its pain.  
“I will do my best, but it may not accept us using power to heal it, but we will make sure to help it in whatever way we can.”  
Healing animals could be tricky, often they simply rejected the foreign power, but they always had the option of doing it the old fashioned way and fixating the broken wing until it could heal.  
The way he was met by an open beak every time he tried to touch the crow made it quite obvious that healing it with power would not be an option.  
“Ssh, he's trying to help you.”  
Nelly was trying to soothe the crow but it didn't help.  
“Nel, it can feel that I'm a predator, it's not about to let me touch it while it's injured. You will have to play nurse for a bit so we can fixate that wing.”  
“Okay, just tell me what to do.”  
“Lissa, would you and Munin go find us a first aid kit please, one that has bandages we can use to fixate the wing.”  
“Right away.”  
  


By the time Melissa and Munin returned with a large first air kit there was quite a crowd gathered outside the restaurant, curious to see what they were going to do with the injured crow, and Takeshi was glad that Nelly didn't understand Japanese very well yet because most of the comments were far from nice.  
Crows were considered to be pests and quite a few of the audience were saying they should just wring it's neck and be rid of it.  
Fortunately Takeshi had been able to convince Emelie to distract the twins and delay their meeting to give them time to treat the crow so it at least wouldn't be in as much pain, and kept them from hearing the less than friendly comments.  
Takeshi instructed Nelly on how to check the break in the wing and make sure it was properly aligned before securing the wing by first immobilizing the elbow and wrist joints before wrapping the wing against the body.  
“Take that towel and rub it against your face before wrapping the crow, it will help it stay calm.”  
The towel covered in Nelly's scent would help mask his own scent from the crow and help keep it calm since it apparently trusted Nelly not to hurt it.  
After Nelly had done what he asked she settled down with the crow in her lap and was gently brushing her finger over its head which seemed to actually calm it rather than agitate it while they waited for Emelie and the others to arrive.  
  


“Nel, did you find what you were looking for?”  
She had insisted on buying something for Takeshi, so she had demanded that they split up for a while so she could buy it without him knowing what it was or where it had been bought.  
They had ended up splitting into three groups, Eriko had taken Takara, Hugin, Munin, Nelly and Melissa to find the gift Nelly wanted while Emelie had taken Amanda and the girls, Takeshi had wandered around with Dan and Ylian, taking a moment to pick out some Christmas presents for the others.  
“Mhm. Found just the thing.”  
“Oh, got a hint for me?”  
“No way. You're too clever, you'd just figure it out and that wouldn't be any fun.”  
“Aww...”  
The mock disappointment really didn't work well when the person in question had a proud smirk plastered all over their face.  
  


When Emelie and the others joined them Takeshi informed the twins that there would be a slight change in plans for their lunch as the restaurants wouldn't allow the crow inside, or even in the outdoor seats.  
“Well too bad for them!”  
There was no doubt that everyone agreed that the injured crow was more important than where they got their food so before long they had grabbed a wide selection of food from the various stalls and settled down in a small park area to eat.  
“Nel, try giving your little patient this. Chances are it won't take it, but it's worth a try.”  
Takeshi held out a small ball of plain rice that he had put a few drops of blood on, it wasn't enough to heal the crow, but it could bolster its resilience to infections, and it needed to eat something to keep its strength up.  
Fortunately the crow took well to being offered a piece of food, and the slight movement of the undamaged wing under the towel made it even more obvious that they were dealing with a young bird, one of the season's chicks.  
“Aww...”  
“Look how cute it is when begging.”  
Takeshi snickered at the way the girls cooed at the young crow while Nelly fed it tiny bits of food that Takeshi selected.  
After the first offering of rice he made sure to pick things that would be good for the bird, and spiked it with a few drops of blood.  
“Okay, I think that's enough, we don't want to overfeed the greedy little rascal.”  
  


While they ate they decided that Emelie would take Jenna and the girls back to the Leviathan, they were done with most of their shopping and Jenna was tiring fast.  
“Dan, Ylian, I want you two to go with Take, Hugin and Nelly. We will send the limo back for you once we are home.”  
“Yes alpha.”  
The teasing tone made Emelie flare her wings in mock annoyance, but there was a flicker of power in the gesture that made both Dan and Ylian submit to her.  
“My dear sweet Em, I don't need babysitting.”  
Takeshi couldn't resist joining the teasing, though Emelie wasn't the one to bite.  
“Oh no you don't. An alpha should not be about without a beta at their side. And those elders of your may try something.”  
“Hai hai Danny.”  
A split second later Takeshi found himself on the receiving end of a rather potent jolt of electricity courtesy of Dan's tail that had snuck around and down Takeshi's spine.  
“Come on love. No need to abuse your poor mate like this.”  
As usual there was no pity to be had for Takeshi, quite the opposite as everyone instantly ganged up and supported Dan which made Takeshi huff and grumble about how cruel they were.  
The way his aura reached out and wrapped around them belied his words though.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_A Change of Plans_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Wow, look at these koi! They're amazing. So pretty.”  
“Hmm?”  
Takeshi found himself being dragged to a huge display tank in the pet store that Nelly had insisted they visit to pick up a few items for the crow.  
“Ah, those are Hirenagagoi.”  
“Eeh, hi... hire... what?”  
Nelly gave him a look that was half confusion, half annoyance which made Takeshi snicker at her.  
“Hirenagagoi, also known as longfin koi, water dragon, or butterfly koi. They are quite popular in the states, though they never managed to gain much popularity here in Japan.”  
“Well I think they are much prettier than the regular koi!”  
“Would you like a few? I can have a pond prepared for you or they can live in the pond in the inner garden.”  
Nelly's giddy energy was plenty enough answer so Takeshi called for the attention of one of the store workers to help them select and purchase a few of the koi.  
  


“Have they been sexed?”  
Takeshi figured they might as well purchase a mix of male and female fish, if he had his way Nelly would be around for a very long time and koi breeding could be a suitable hobby for long lived creatures such as himself and his house.  
“Iie.”  
Nelly's somewhat disappointed energy almost made Takeshi smile, the answer might have seemed like it was a bad one, but in fact it was the one Takeshi wanted, sexed females tended to significantly more expensive and harder to obtain.  
 _“Don't worry Nel, that was the answer I wanted. It means we will be able to obtain females at a more reasonable price. I will be able to tell their sex once I get a chance inspect the individual fish.”_  
Most creatures had a distinctive difference in energy between males and females, and in simple creatures such as the koi that difference was distinct and easy to feel if he had a chance to touch it.  
“Dan, why don't you take Hugin and go see if you can find those items that Nel wanted?”  
The not so subtle hint that he wanted to be alone with Nelly was met with some amused snickers as the two walked away to do as asked.  
  


While the a few store assistants used a net to coral all the fish to one end of the large tank Takeshi brought out a tasuki-band and tied back the sleeves of his haori before washing and sanitizing his hand and arms up to the elbow, he intended to handle all the fish personally during the selection to determine the sexes.  
“Nel, is there any of the colors or patterns you don't want?”  
It would be easier to spot the choice koi if they removed the unwanted ones first.  
“Well, those red and white ones are a bit, well, boring.”  
Her hushed tone trigger a flare of pride, she had picked up on Japanese social cues very well and was now keeping her voice low as to not offend or embarrass the store and its workers.  
“All of the red and white's or would you like a closer look at the white ones with just a red dot on their heads?”  
“Nah, none of them seem interesting.”  
“How about the metallic looking ones?”  
“Nah.”  
“As you wish.”  
She just huffed at his teasing tone  
 _“We are currently not interested in Kohaku patterns, Kokahu Tancho included, Hariwake or Kikusui, could you remove those from the selection please?”_  
Takeshi relayed her wishes to the staff in Japanese and they quickly used shallow nets to move the unwanted koi to the other side of the net barrier while Nelly looked at the remaining selection.  
“Could you ask them to remove those with those blue grayish scales on their back and orange sides?”  
“Of course.”  
He instructed the staff to remove the _Asagi_ patterned koi as well before returning his focus to Nelly and her selection.  
“How about the _Shusui_ or _Matsuba_?”  
“And those are?”  
“ _Shusui_ are the ones that look a bit like the _Asagi_ they are removing now, but with bigger black marks and no noticeable scaling. And _Matsuba_ are the metallic ones with black scales or netting on the back.”  
”Let's skip the shushu ones and keep the others.”  
“ _Shusui_.”  
He corrected gently which earned him a bit of a glare.  
  


After a bit of debating they also removed the Kujaku, Ochina Shigure and Goromo patterned koi before starting to pick from the ones that remained.  
“Can I have a closer look at those black and white ones?”  
A nod and a few instructions in Japanese later Nelly found herself looking into a tub with a handful of koi.  
“These are called Kumonryu.”  
Another tub containing a different version of black and white koi quickly joined the first.  
“And these are Kikokuryu.”  
“Oh, I really like these. Remove the others please.”  
Takeshi asked the staff to remove all Kumonryu and bring up all the Kikokuryu for a closer look.  
Once all the koi with the desired pattern had been placed into tuba Takeshi began sorting through them, picking each one up so that Nelly could get a good look at them, and while he did he also made sure to determine if they were male or female.  
  


Much to Dan's annoyance they spent several hours in the store selecting koi and in the end they bought 30 of them, 25 females and 5 males that Takeshi arranged to have delivered to the Kiryu estate in Okinawa.  
By having them delivered to a location in Japan and then transfer them to Hawaii by their own means they would be able to evade export regulations and quarantines, Takeshi had already made sure the fish were healthy and a few additions to their diet and water during transport would ensure they stayed that way.

 


	98. Mothers & Daughters

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“She is teasing her, isn't she?”  
Takeshi kept his voice low and struggled to suppress his snickers as he and Hugin watched Nelly scold the young crow for making a mess of the fruit-bowl on the bar.  
“Of course, she's a crow after all.”  
The crow had quickly learned how to navigate Nelly's rooms despite having it's broken wing tied down against its body and now it was constantly getting into all kinds of mischief.

With the crow properly scolded Nelly turned her attention back to the males who had made themselves comfortable in the couch of her sitting room and the way she looked at them had both of them sucking in a breath.  
Mindful of pack instincts she approached Takeshi first and straddling his lap she trailed kisses along his jaw while removing his clothes so she could dig her nails into him.  
“Oh, eager are we?”  
She ignored his words in favor of taking his hand and using one of his claws to make a small cut on his chest and lick up the few drops of blood that formed before giving him a searing kiss, but when he was about grab her to return the kiss she darted away with a laugh and turned her focus to Hugin.  
“Tease...”  
Takeshi grumbled and complained quite a bit, but he made no move to reclaim her attention, instead he made himself comfortable and watched as she gave Hugin a similar treatment, though quite a bit gentler.  
He was curious to see if Nelly and Hugin would actually get as far as to having sex, or if Hugin would get overwhelmed once again and flee to his raven form.

Takeshi rarely reflected on it, but the reality was that despite having lived for over 2000 years, Hugin and Munin were in fact still very young, in human terms they were barely out of their teens.  
And while Hugin was as sexually active as any healthy demon male he became quite shy when he got emotionally invested, something that Takeshi had originally found somewhat frustrating, but now found to be quite amusing, now that he wasn't the one suffering from blue-balls for it.

He was drawn from his musings with a gasp when a sharp flare of desire and pleasure rippled through his bonds with Hugin, it would seem Nelly wasn't holding back tonight.  
With avid curiosity he watched them, set on figuring out just what she had done to make Hugin react so strongly and it seemed it was her current position that did it, as she leaned in to take Hugin into her mouth she had bared her back to him, and in doing so she had bared the area between her shoulder-blades.  
She didn't have any wings, and thus no mashen to bare, but just baring that area of her back was clearly enough to set of Hugin's instincts, another intense surge of emotions when Hugin placed his hand between her shoulder-blades and she arched into the touch confirmed Takeshi's observations.  
Takeshi had gone down on Hugin more than once, but his own alpha nature had always demanded that he place Hugin in a submissive position, forcing the angel to lay on his back, and in that position Hugin didn't get much of a view of Takeshi's back.  
Nelly on the other hand had allowed Hugin to remain sitting, placing him in a more dominant position, and allowing him an excellent view of her back.  
Taking in the details of how Hugin held his wings further confirmed things as he no longer held them in the usual neutral position, instead they had shifted into a more dominant position.

Like most winged demons the Obsidian angels were not huge fans of what humans would call _The Missionary_ , laying on their backs was somewhat uncomfortable for a winged demon, it was however fairly common among temporary partners as exposing the mashen required a high level of trust.  
Among long term partners, partners that trusted each-other, the female, or weaker, more submissive one would be on their knees, and their partner mounting them from behind, fully exposing the mashen to the dominant partner.

Sensing Takeshi's attention Hugin glanced over to him, which soon made Nelly look as well and before he knew it she was on her hands and knees, crawling toward him and pushing his hands away while presenting herself to Hugin in a rather enticing manner.  
Seeing her before him in the way of his kind set Hugin's instincts on fire, but he still hesitated a bit, well aware that such positions were commonly frowned upon among humans.  
“What are you waiting for, a written invitation?”  
Nelly's familiar relayed her words as she currently had her mouth full and the totally dumbfounded look on Hugin's face made Takeshi snort at him which made Nelly punish him by biting down pretty hard, not that he actually minded.  
The teasing words did work as intended though as they made Hugin snap out of his stupor and finally claim what was offered.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

The entire Hawaii estate was brimming with nervous energy as everyone eagerly waited for any news about Jenna and her daughter.  
Since the baby had not shifted into a human form and had wings they had gone ahead with the planned C-section and now everyone was waiting to hear of the result, and maybe get a chance to see the baby.

It was late afternoon when Takeshi finally emerged from the set of rooms that had been transformed into a medical facility complete with an operating room, he was clearly exhausted, but beaming with pride.  
“A healthy daughter named Isabelle Diane Addams has been born to House Shamarai.”  
Jenna had insisted that their daughter be named in Diane's memory and Isabelle after Jenna's grandmother.  
He quickly informed them that mother and daughter were both fine and were resting comfortable, though they would have to wait a few days to see the baby girl.  
Just like mortal felines the baby had been born blind and deaf, triggering intense protective instincts in Jenna that simply would not allow anyone close to their little girl as long as she was so utterly defenseless.  
The moment she woke from anesthesia Jenna had chased Emelie, Wizard and Rhook, Sorcha's father, from the room and was barely tolerating Sonya, Wraith and Takeshi.  
Wizard and Rhook had been chased off as any unrelated males were seen as a threat, Takeshi was tolerated since the girl was his, making her instincts consider him reasonably safe, though she refused to allow him close for very long.  
Sonya and Wraith were tolerated simply because they were female and human so she didn't consider them a threat, though the faint traces of demonic energy in Wraith's aura made Jenna somewhat suspicious of her.

“When can we see her?”  
Sarah and Maria were practically bouncing around him.  
“You will probably have to wait a week or two for little _Belle_ to open her eyes before Jenna will be comfortable letting anyone close.”  
“Aww...”  
“Now now girls, we don't want to stress Jenna or Belle.”  
“We know.”  
Moments later the disappointed energy switched back to rambunctious as they both pounced at him and congratulated him on the first true child of House Shamarai.  
Ylian's spawns, while his, had not been born within a mating so they were primarily considered to be house Imora and Seia's children were considered to be of House Shamarai but were not his, as were Maria and Sarah, so Isabelle was the first trueborn child of his house and it was an occasion to celebrate.

One by one his house, his friends, his family, congratulated him on the addition to his house, all with various degrees of teasing.  
“I say this is an occasion that calls for a proper toast!”  
Sonya brought out a bottle of champagne and gave it a good shake before aiming it at Takeshi and giving him a proper shower.  
There was some grumbling about wasting perfectly good alcohol but Takeshi could tell from the scent that Sonya had used a bottle of fairly cheap champagne to shower him, saving the quality bottles for drinking.

When Nelly approached to congratulate him he seized the opportunity to grab her and kiss her senseless and her embarrassed squawk had everyone snickering, she had been avoiding both him and Hugin since their return to the island, clearly concerned about how Ethan would react to it.  
“Nelly, did you really think I didn't know you have been sleeping with Take and Hugin? Not to mention I suspect you will end up in bed with Ylian at least once as well.”  
“You.. You're not mad?”  
“Of course not. Besides, if I was to be upset with anyone it would be him.”  
Ethan nodded toward Takeshi.  
“I know just how charming, how insanely compelling he can be when he wants something. But I also know his honor won't allow him to take advantage of you. He promised he would make sure of that.”  
Nelly's instant relief made Takeshi and Hugin both release a sigh of relief.  
“Though, I would suggest we keep it from your mother for a few more years.”  
With her concern about her father's reaction alleviated she quickly found her way to Hugin's side and snuggled in under his wing and for a brief moment Takeshi felt a flicker of envy.  
Over the past few weeks Nelly had quickly grown closer to Hugin and Takeshi had a feeling she would ultimately chose the angel over him, he didn't begrudge either of them the relationship, but a part of him still wished she would chose to place him above Hugin.

Takeshi only stayed for a few toasts before instincts drove him to head back to the recovery room turned den to watch over Jenna and the cub, even in the safety of their island, their home, his instincts would not allow him to be far from his mate and newborn cub.  
Her instincts didn't allow him too close though so he took up guard outside the door with his senses on high alert, ready to do anything to keep her safe and comfortable.

Shortly after sunset Amanda approached him with her aura carefully restrained.  
“Alpha, you should rest. I will keep watch and wake you should anything change.”  
She didn't let the flash of fangs deter her, instead she just tilted her head to bare her neck to him and continued to move closer and when she took a seat next to him he huffed and gave her throat a nip before making himself comfortable on the sofa using her lap as a pillow.  
He knew he was sending mixed signals, but his instincts were in a bit of a mess, putting his head in her lap and sleeping was a sign of trust, but at the same time it was a sign of distrust as the position made it impossible for her to move without waking him.  
She didn't care though, they had talked about how various instincts might flare due to the newborn and she more than happy to just settle with him accepting her presence.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“As much as I agree with keeping Jenna safe, calm and happy, we really need to finalize the plans for the big announcement.”  
Dan's teasing grumble at Takeshi's distraction had the others snickering, but agreeing, the medical room was not a very comfortable place to hold a meeting in, especially when Takeshi refused to allow them close to the door to the room where Jenna was, and the only seating just happened to be along the wall with the door.  
“Look, I know you're distracted, but the sooner we get this done the sooner you can go back to being grumpy brood-guard.”  
Takeshi rewarded Dan telling him off by baring his fangs at him with a low growl.  
“No, I won't back off. I won't come closer either. Just snap out of it and work with us will you?!”

It took a few minutes, but eventually Takeshi shook his head and focused on them properly.  
“Ah, sorry about that. Where were we?”  
“We were trying to decide how we should do the presentation of the secession.”  
Dan sighed and shook his head at the situation.  
“Ah yes... I was thinking that we might as well introduce everyone to _Lord Shamarai_ while we are at it.”  
“So, I guess Ylian will be doing some acting?”  
“Indeed, yi will pretend to be the human me while I will be the dragon me. Yi shouldn't have any problems imitating my human aura as long as we are near each other.”  
Ylian's skill at energy manipulation would allow them to generate a layer of energy over their own aura that would mimic Takeshi's restrained, or human, aura to a casual observer and would stand up to some prodding long enough for Takeshi or Ylian to react and raise shields that should make the offender back off.  
Ylian was staying quiet, trying not to stir Takeshi's instincts, the fact that they had the spawns together made Takeshi's instincts wary of Ylian as among the demonic beasts it was not uncommon for a partner from an earlier breeding to kill offspring from a new one to try to secure the position of their own offspring.  
Intellectually and logically he knew that Ylian would never do anything to harm Jenna or Isabelle, he knew that the greater demons rarely committed such actions but his instincts were more beastly.  
Obeying to those instincts helped him maintain more control and allowed him to suppress some of the more troublesome urges.  
“So, big announcement, speeches and the whole shebang?”  
“Indeed.”  
Takeshi's deep sigh caused another round of snickering before they set to work on the details, trying to get as much as possible done while Takeshi was in control of himself, they knew they would only have an hour or two before Jenna began nursing Isabelle again, which would trigger another round of overprotective alpha.

They could have waited until Jenna emerged with Isabelle, but pushing Takeshi a bit helped him stay in control, forcing him to focus on tasks that required intellect rather than instinct kept him from succumbing to his baser instincts.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Jenna emerging from the recovery room with Isabelle was, if he said so himself, the best birthday gift Takeshi had ever received.  
Burrowing his face into the soft fur on the cubs belly he inhaled deeply to get a better sense for Isabelle's scent, but the little rascal was more interested in playing so she began swatting at his face which only caused a rather silly grin as he continued to sift through his daughter's scent.  
“We made a pretty darn amazing kid.”  
He leaned over to kiss Jenna which earned him a mewl of objection from the somewhat fuzzy bundle and made the others snicker and tease him.

Isabelle was more mature than a normal cub would be at 2 weeks, but it was expected, between Takeshi's experience with Sarisha's cubs and what Rhook had explained about how Sphinx matured they knew she would probably mentally mature very rapidly for the first few weeks until she reached an equivalent of a 4 month old cub at around 4 weeks age.  
She would continue to mature physically until she was about 10 weeks old then pause and remain at that level for several years before slowly starting to mature again.  
The thump of Isabelle's tail against his neck made Takeshi give her the first lesson in pack manners by flaring his aura and giving her ear a nip.  
Just like her mother Isabelle had venom glands in her tail and the way she had thumped her tail at Takeshi had been an instinctive attempt to sting him, fortunately she didn't actually have a stinger yet, just a bone spur, the stinger wouldn't develop until she reached puberty.  
She did have paralytic venom in her claws though, and she wouldn't learn to control that for for some time, but fortunately Takeshi was immune to that, as was Jenna.

Once Takeshi had properly welcomed his mate and daughter the other approached to welcome Isabelle and get a feeling for her aura and scent, and once they were done Nelly approached slowly, unsure how Jenna would react to her.  
“Your daughter being a large kitten with wings is going to take some getting used to. But I gotta say, she is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.”  
Leaning in she caught the flailing paws so that she wouldn't get scratched, then darted in and gave Isabelle a quick kiss on the nose and the look of cross-eyed surprise caused quite a few coos and laughs.  
“If you ever need a babysitter I volunteer.”  
“Nel, you may want to hold off on making such promises until after she learns to fly.”  
Jenna's teasing warning had everyone groaning and snickering.  
During their visits to the demon realm they had all had the questionable pleasure of helping babysit winged children and while it could be fun as they had a the same knack for getting into everything as any other child, it was also a lot of hard work.  
“Aw, you wouldn't be a bad girl, would you?”  
Nelly coed at Isabelle while the others snorted in amused disagreement.  
“She's Take's, there's no way she will be anything but a hyper energetic bundle of trouble.”  
Jenna's mock complaint caused another round of teasing that didn't end until Angel announced that they better start eating before the rotisserie gong tenderloin became overcooked.

“Jenna, can Belle taste regular food?”  
Nelly had a very curious little cub crawling in her lap and sniffing at her food.  
“Not yet. She's just starting to get her first teeth and won't have all her milk-teeth for another couple of weeks.”  
“Okay... Sorry sweetie, but your mommy says no.”  
She scooped up Isabelle and nuzzled her before handing her over to Takeshi so she could eat her food without having to fend off a curious cub attempting to steal things.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Isabelle quickly proved to be every bit the troublemaker that Jenna had predicted, constantly keeping everyone on their toes.  
“Well, I guess we know why lions help each other watch the cubs.”  
Amanda sighed deeply as she handed the energetic bundle over to Munin and Melissa.  
“Well, they do say it takes a village to raise a child...”  
“I know, but this is silly.”  
“Mhm..”  
Melissa agreed with an amused hum while watching Munin fly after Isabelle in his raven form as she tried to stalk one of the many sanctuary creatures that called the inner garden home.  
At three months of age her feathers had come in fully and she was just learning how fly, which made keeping up with her, and keeping her safe, quite a chore.

“I don't believe it. How the hell does she do that?”  
Dan complained with a huff when Isabelle almost instantly settled down in Nelly's arms and went to sleep.  
“She's human, that's how.”  
Rhook had visited to give Isabelle a quick checkup and remained to share a meal.  
“What does that have to do with it?”  
“Isabelle feeds of your excess energy, not enough for creatures with your level of power to notice, but enough to keep her with an almost inexhaustible energy. Nelly does not have any energy for Isabelle to take so she settles down to rest instead.”  
“Oh, I see. And let me guess, the way Take's scent clings to Nel makes Belle feel safe?”  
“Indeed, Nelly also carries enough of your pack's energy signature for an inexperienced creature like Isabelle to identify her as being pack.”  
Nelly's frequent sex with Takeshi and Hugin infused her deeply with their scent and even traces of their energy, she also tended to carry Ylian's scent and faint hint's of their energy from the frequent teasing and propositions, though she had yet to accept them.  
“I guess that's another reason to be happy she decided to fight her mom to get to stay her.”  
“It is rare for humans to be so comfortable with demons, with demon ways. It is a trait to be valued.”  
“Take has a knack for finding and collecting the strange and rare.”  
“I have visited the Shamarai Estate, it is hard not to notice.”  
The diplomatic answer made Dan laugh, which in turn made Nelly shush him and threaten him with untold horrors if Isabelle woke up.

Having Nelly around was good for Hugin, having someone who put him above all others, even above Takeshi, helped boost his confidence, and it further reduced his raven episodes, though Dan suspected Takeshi missed how he would seek comfort.  
It had been a bit of a close call though.

With the concept design completed Ethan had prepared to leave and join Susan in Honolulu but Nelly didn't want to leave the island, the people she had come to see as family, and her lovers.

 

.·:*¨¨*:·.-Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.

“Please Dad! I want to stay here, stay with Hugin, Take and the others.”  
“I know Nelly but we really need to talk about it with your mother, get her to agree.”  
“But she hates them! She will never agree...”  
“She can be... Passionate about her opinions, but I think we can convince her of the benefits of letting you live here.”  
“Yeah right...”  
Nelly's aura carried a heavy shadow of defeat which made Hugin wrap his wings around her and try to soothe her with soft coo's while at the same time trying to hide his own fear and despair by focusing it all toward Takeshi.  
“Sweetie, don't give up just yet, Take and I have been talking about how to convince your mother to let you move out and we have a plan.”  
“What kind of plan?”  
She was still sounding rather mollified, but at least the heavy defeat had faded from her aura which made Hugin relax, and the way she rubbed her face against his wings helped as well.  
“Well, we were hoping to use education, free education, as a lure. But I think it's better if Take explains it.”

Takeshi explained that he would offer to help her catch up with her high-school classes, as well as help her add extra credit to ensure she could pick any major, and have her pick of colleges should she want to go with an actual campus college rather than selecting online courses.  
“Of course you don't actually have to go through with a college if you don't want to, the offer, if she goes for it, will buy you time to reach your majority.”  
The real lure however would be an offer to pay all and any fees such as tuition, boarding, books or tutors.  
Ethan wasn't proud to admit it, but his wife did suffer from one major personality flaw, she would jump at any chance to save money as long as it didn't infringe on her ability to spend on her own interests, or spend on appearances.  
The prospect of having Nelly attend a prestigious education without actually having to pay for it would be one of those things that Susan would probably be more than eager to go along with.  
He didn't mention though that he and Ethan had agreed that if it seemed like Susan wouldn't go for it he would use suggestion and command to make her give in, Nelly's desire to stay was what mattered.

In the end it had barely taken any effort to get Susan to agree which had Ethan and Nelly surprised, and Takeshi suspicious but he was not about to start questioning her and risk her revoking the easy agreement.

.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.

 

“Enjoy it while it lasts.”  
“Fuck!”  
Dan fell of the railing he was sitting on when Takeshi whispered in his ear, he had been distracted watching Nelly and Isabelle and the conversation with Rhook which had allowed Takeshi to sneak up on him.  
“Dan!”  
There were a few complaints about his choice of words, but laughter was the main reaction and when he looked up he was met by the sight of a grinning Takeshi leaning against the railing.  
“Don't you think you're a bit too old for stuff like that?”  
“What? I didn't even push you...”  
_“Gha! Du är totalt jävla omöjlig!!”_  
Takeshi was about to answer Dan's Swedish rant when a sharp whiff of fear distracted them both and brought the focus to Nelly.  
“What do you mean by ' _While it lasts'_?”  
Takeshi cursed silently while jumping across the railing, this was not how he had planned to have this particular conversation with her, for starters he had intended for Ethan to be there when he did.  
“Nel, you have no doubt already figured out that Hugin and I both love you.”  
She just nodded numbly but she did relax somewhat when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.  
“This love is just one of many things we have in common when it comes to you. Another very important thing we have in common is that we don't want to lose you to the frailty that is mortality.”

He gave Jenna a slight nudge to take Isabelle, he wanted her to shield their daughter from what he was about to do.  
Taking a small step back from Nelly he dropped his emotional shields and for once he did nothing to mask the darker side of his emotions, this once he would show her everything openly, even if it caused her pain.  
He watched calmly as her eyes widened as she began to truly feel him, to truly see him and he sent a small flicker of gratitude to Hugin when the angel stepped up behind Nelly to offer her support.  
He didn't like having to do things like this, but ultimately Nelly needed it, she needed the confirmation of their feelings for her before he could offer her the Blessing.  
With her insecurities there was a risk that she would interpret a straight up offer of the Blessing as a sign that she was not good enough as a human so he needed her to feel the raw pain that the idea of losing her to mortality brought both him and Hugin.  
He could feel the others hover at the edge of his awareness, but they stayed back, allowing Nelly the time she needed to comprehend what Takeshi was trying to show her.

At first she looked almost scared, then with awareness came the tears as his pain slowly invaded her, the effect was not as powerful as it would have been if she had the power to form a true bond, but she was definitely feeling him.  
After a few more minutes the painful awareness slowly faded into understanding, and then finally acceptance and when she reached up to his face he realized he had cried as well and he gave her a soft smile.  
“I'm okay now love, you go ahead and take care of Hugin, he is a bit upset with me right now.”  
No further prompting was needed and Takeshi watched while Nelly helped Hugin calm down a bit before he spoke up again.  
“Now, I had intended to save this for when your father came to pick you up for your birthday, but I guess we need to change the plans a bit.”  
“Okay, that's not scary at all...”  
“Don't worry, it's nothing bad.”  
“Well, you better speak before I lose my nerve again.”  
Thankfully the nervousness was mostly an act, but Takeshi did as she asked anyway.

“Nel, we would like you to consider becoming like us. To consider casting away your mortality, rejecting time's hold over your body. Become a daughter of the Mother.”  
“I... I...”  
Nelly was clearly quite overwhelmed by the offer.  
“Don't worry love, I'm not asking you to answer me now, quite the contrary, I want to teach you what it all means before you make up your mind.”  
“What about Dad?”  
“I intend to make him the same offer when he comes to pick you up for your birthday.”  
“But not Mom?”  
It wasn't really a question but Takeshi answered her anyway.  
“No, not Susan, I'm sorry.”  
“The change won't alter someone's personality, will it?”  
“Not in any significant manner no, the added instincts may cause a few minor changes, but a person's core remains the same.”  
“No one can blame you for not wanting Mom around the way she acts toward you guys. But I don't think Dad will accept as long as Mom is around.”  
“I know he won't but we have ways to keep him healthy, to make sure he ages well in case he chooses to accept one day.”  
“When Mom is gone...”  
“When she is gone.”  
Takeshi agreed softly before gently turning her back around and pushing her into Hugin's arms, he would step back a bit and allow Hugin and Nelly to soothe each other, to deepen their bonds.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“What kind of creature do you think I'll become?”  
No one had been surprised that Nelly made up her mind about the Blessing almost immediately and would not allow herself be dissuaded by any of the downsides of the change.  
“I don't know sweetie. Now that I have learned control the Blessing is pure change and power. It will simply give you the means to become whatever suits you the best.”  
“I.. I'm a bit scared...”  
“It's okay to be scared, it's a bit change after all.”  
“What if I become something like a blobfish, or a warthog?”  
“Then you will be the prettiest little blob or hog in the whole wide world.”  
Okay, maybe it wasn't entirely nice to tease her like that, but how was he to resist when she gave him such a perfect invitation?  
She froze for a moment before leveling him with an affronted glare and punching his arm.  
“You're horrible!”  
Takeshi just smiled at her though, he could feel her surprised annoyance give way to bubbling amusement and a few moments later she broke down laughing.  
“Feel better?”  
“Mhm, thanks.”  
“Now, will you try not to worry so much. It doesn't matter what for your soul decided to use the power for, you will still be the same beautiful girl that stole a piece of not just my heart, but the heart of my shy, black winged mate.”  
“Speaking of that featherbrain, any idea if they will be back soon?”  
“I don't know, depends on how long it takes them to load the birds into the Blackout. Maybe Angel can give you a progress report.”

After saving the crow in Ginza Nelly had studied wildlife rescue and rehabilitation rather avidly, wanting to know as much as she could about giving the crow the best chances to recover, though she had been somewhat sad to learn that it would probably never be able to return to the wild.  
During her search for information she came across a Hawaiian project to try to repopulate the Hawaiian Crow, the native corvid had gone extinct in the wild back in 2002, but thanks to captive breeding programs there were a few hundred birds still around, but they were having a hard time reintroducing them into the wild, in part due to the critically endangered Hawaiian hawk.  
The native raptor had declined steadily in past 50 years and was also the subject for captive breeding programs.  
One of the major projects was based at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and they bred both crows and hawks but were having little success reintroducing them into the wild.  
When Nelly found out that they were looking for people to work with the birds and try to get them to settle in the wild she had begged Takeshi to do something to help and in the end he had agreed to take on a group of young birds and see if they could help them.  
Between their different abilities they might have a chance to make a difference.  
Hugin and Munin both had a limited ability to communicate with wild birds, Takeshi could give them traces of the blessing, increasing their resilience to disease, like the avian malaria that was suspected to be one of the reasons behind the Hawaiian crow's extinction in the wild.  
Their island would also be a safe haven from predators as the Mother had agreed to manipulate the hunting behavior of the predators, they would simply not attack the vulnerable crows and hawks.  
The protection would of course not be forever, the birds needed to learn to live free after all, but it would give them a chance to adapt.

“Angel, could you tell me how Hugin and Dan are doing please?”  
“Of course Nelly, they are almost done loading the birds and should be back in time for dinner.”  
“Any idea what is taking so long?”  
There was a moment of silence before Angel answered.  
“Let's just say the birds were not too happy about being placed into transport cages.”  
Angel's diplomatic choice of words made Nelly snicker and ask if she had video of the spectacle.  
“Of course. I dispatched several of my nano drones for full 3D footage, I can assemble it to a holographic show later should you wish to review the events.”  
“Angel you're the **best**!”  
“Thank you Nelly, I aim to please.”  
Takeshi smiled and shook his head at Angel's obviously happy tone, the AI was a sucker for honest praise.  
“Of course she's the best, she's Daniels' brainchild after all. The daughter of D-Rex.”  
“She's yours too.”  
Nelly added when Takeshi didn't mention himself as one of Angel's parents.  
“I guess she is in way.”  
“Of course I am your daughter as well. Without you I would just be code on hard drive.”  
_“Arigatou gozaimasu, watashi no musume yo.”_  
“I guess it's true then, you speak Japanese when you're at a loss for words.”  
Nelly teased gently and was rewarded by Takeshi pulling her in tightly, he couldn't hug Angel since she didn't have a body so he took the next best thing, hoping that Angel would understand without him explaining.  
_“Thanks, Dad.”  
_ Whispered words over his com implant along with the way her projection seemed to merge with Nelly told him she had understood and it made him smile.  
“You know, this is a bit awkward. Having my lover hold me like a daughter.”  
Nelly's grumbled complaint made both Takeshi and Angel laugh, and the moment broke, but it was one of those moments that Takeshi knew he would never forget.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Takeshi and Hugin watched as Nelly encouraged her crow to fly some more by throwing her pieces of food high into the air making the young bird work a bit for her food, making sure she exercised her wing properly.  
The break had healed nicely, but the inactivity had caused some muscle atrophy which needed to be recovered.  
“That's good work, she is doing great.”  
Takeshi praised Nelly's progress when the crow made a nice display or aerial agility to catch the scrap of meat that she had tossed for her.  
The young crow still lacked stamina, but the display of agility and control was promising as it showed that the wing had healed perfectly and wasn't causing any discomfort or pain.  
“Kara Kara! Come come Kara!”  
Takeshi held out a piece of papaya as he called for the crow using the name Nelly had given her based on _Karasu_ , the Japanese word for crows and ravens, he found it a bit silly, but the crow seemed happy enough to listen and answer to it so it had stuck.  
With the injured wing healed Kara was no longer as afraid of Takeshi as she had been at the start, she was still wary of his predator nature, which was a good sign as it showed that she had good instincts, but she was willing to trust him enough to approach and take food when offered.  
Though it wasn't really him she trusted, she trusted Nelly, Hugin and the baby phoenix to show her what was dangerous and what was safe.

“You have done a really good job with her, she might even be able to be released back into the wild.”  
“I know I should, but I don't want to lose her...”  
Nelly smelled of tears and pain which made both Takeshi and Hugin move closer to soothe her and even Kara was picking up on it and started to beg for attention.  
Takeshi watched as she instantly began sifting through the crow's feathers to soothe her and noted the way it calmed both of them down.  
After a moment's consideration he reached out for the Mother.  
_“This crow, may I have your permission to change her? To make her a blessed like the wolves of Amarok's pack or the dolphins that follow Stormborn around?”  
__**“You may, but remember, young Nelly will need to learn to handle loss.”**_ _  
“I know, and she knows as well. Not that it makes it any easier.”  
__**“I don't think there will be any issues for her to deal with it. Remember, she may be mature in some areas, but she is still young and has quite a bit of growing left to do.”**_ _  
_ Takeshi didn't bother answering as he could feel the presence of the Avatar retreat from his mind.  
“Nel, if you want me to I can alter her, give her a piece of the Blessing to make her like the dolphins.”  
“Really?!”  
“Really.”  
“Please!”  
She instantly perked up, but before Takeshi could move to touch the crow she placed a hand on his, stopping his movement.  
“Is there any way you can ask her if she wants to change? Make sure we don't turn her into something she doesn't want to be?”  
“I will ask the Mother if she can relay the question to Kara in some way.”  
Turning within he had another short conversation with the Mother before asking Nelly to hold Kara up in front of her.  
“The Mother will relay our question, if Kara accepts she will come to me and display submission.”

There was a long silence and Kara was obviously considering something, it took a few minutes before she jumped over to Takeshi's hand, spread her wings slightly and bowed her head in submission, no doubt directed by the Mother on how to show her acceptance.  
“Easy now Kara.”  
Takeshi tutted and cooed at the crow while sifting through the feathers on her chest before using a claw to prick her skin and take a drop of her blood, it would help him adjust the power in his own blood to do what was needed.  
Since Kara was so small he couldn't use a bite to change her, instead he would feed her his blood.  
After placing the uncharacteristically calm crow in his lap he cut deeply into the pad of his index finger and offered the bleeding finger to the crow who eagerly opened her beak to beg.  
The eager sounds when she took his finger and fed in the way a chick would made Nelly coo about how adorable she was, and Takeshi could hear Hugin's soft chirping, a sound meant to calm a nestling.  
He allowed her to take as much blood as she wanted to and when she was done she quickly hopped back over to Nelly and settled on her arm where she tucked her head under her wing and went to sleep.

“Is that it?”  
“For the most part. Now she will sleep and change, and when she wakes up she will be a blessed crow.”  
“Oh, I think it's starting, look at her feathers.”  
Since Kara was a Japanese jungle crow, also known as a large-billed crow, she had the typical iridescence in her feathers, but as she was a young female it had not been very pronounced, it was more pronounced in adult males.  
But now her color was rapidly changing, becoming even deeper black and the faint iridescence was quickly growing far more pronounced, giving her feathers a vivid sheen of various blue and purple hues.  
“She's becoming even prettier, and I think she's getting bigger...”  
“Mhm, that's normal. Blessed animals are significantly larger than their mortal counterparts.”  
“Will she change a lot?”  
“Not really, visually she won't change more than this, more vivid colors, larger and her beak and talons will be sharper and stronger. The main change will be her mind, and near immortality.”  
“Can you explain more about how her mind will change?”  
There was a hint of concern in Nelly's voice, clearly worried that Kara would no longer be content to stay with her.  
“Crows are highly intelligent animals, they are capable of reasoning and complex problem solving in multiple steps, including the use of tools to achieve their goals. They have a complex language and are, as you have seen, able to learn new words and associate them to items, individuals and actions.”  
“Mhm, she understood just fine if I told her to fly to you, or to Hugin and she never mixed it up.”  
“Her intelligence will increase significantly as will her linguistic ability, she will be capable of holding a fairly normal conversation, though in many ways it will be like talking to a child, she is still an animal and will understand the world from an animal perspective.”  
“She's also a crow, so her crow characteristics will get stronger, right?”  
“Mhm...”  
Takeshi's tone held a slight hint of amused apprehension, crows were teasers and troublemakers and those traits would no doubt be enhanced greatly from the increased mental capacity.  
“So now we won't have just a clever winged tease, but a genius winged tease?”  
“Indeed... And it will be your duty to teach her right from wrong, you have become her mother in a way.”  
“I will, I promise.”

It didn't take long for Kara to complete her change, at least physically, mentally she would continue to change over the next few weeks, rapidly picking up new knowledge and developing a full and fluid language.  
When the black head popped out from under the wing the eyes held a clear awareness and intelligence that had not been there before.  
“Hello Kara.”  
Nelly greeted the crow and was rewarded with happy caws that quickly morphed into words, though still with distinct otherness to them.  
“NelNel!”  
Kara hopped into Nelly's lap and began pushing her head against her jaw, begging for attention.  
“Nel scratch.”  
“I'd love to Kara, but you need to calm down, your talons are hurting my leg.”  
The grip instantly loosened to keep the sharp talons from digging in and Kara lowered her head in apology.  
“Kara sorry, Kara sorry, Kara shame.”  
“Don't worry Kara, you need some time to get used to what you have become.”  
Takeshi soothed the overwhelmed crow while Nelly scratched the offered head and before long she was significantly calmer.  
“Nel save Kara, Kara happy.”  
“Thank you Kara. I'm glad I managed to save you, glad you're happy.”  
Takeshi had explained that it would take a while for Kara to learn a more full language and that she might get a bit frustrated at first until she learned the finer points of grammar and that the best they could do for her was to ignore any oddities and just keep talking to her in a natural manner.  
It didn't take long though before Kara got bored of being scratched and returned to her usual games, looking for treats and teasing the familiars, trying to get them to play with her.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Take, do you really think I will be able to get into veterinary school?”  
Nelly was seated in Takeshi's study while he helped her with her chemistry to make sure she would be able to get the prerequisites required for the various college courses she would need to become a vet as well as a high enough SAT score to ensure she would have a good chance to get into the sometimes highly competitive courses.  
“I have no doubt in my mind that you have the brains to ace all the classes needed and would become highly skilled vet.”  
“I can hear that 'but' you know.”  
“I know. I'm concerned that you might not have have the heart for it. You care so deeply I'm afraid losing patients would break your heart.”  
“I know it will, every time. But every patient I manage to help, to save, will put it right back together.”  
“That's the spirit love.”  
Her determination was a good sign, and her self reflection over how she would react to losing creatures in her care calmed his concern for how she would manage immortality.

“Wow, that test was super hard, I don't think I did very well”  
Nelly sighed deeply as Takeshi read through her latest test together with Angel to see how she had done.  
“Nelly, don't be so hard on yourself, you did great.”  
Angel who had already analyzed the entire test did her best to cheer her up.  
“Really?! I passed?”  
“You didn't just pass, you aced it. Perfect score, and plenty of extra credit material. If you get a passing grade on the last test you will have your A.”

The _Dark War_ had interrupted Nelly's studies and Takeshi had managed to get her High School to agree to allow her to complete the courses through distance studies with him and Angel as supervisors to make sure everything was done properly.  
Due to this she had some catching up to do as her results during the first pats of the course hadn't been too great, there had been the option to have her start over, but Takeshi had convinced her she could do it.  
It had taken quite a bit of work, but it would be a huge boost to her confidence, something she sorely needed.

“How about we go get a few more hours of lab-work in before your father arrives?”  
Takeshi closed the file with Nelly's latest test and sent it to her professor for the final grading.  
“I thought I was done with my lab requirement?”  
“You are, but you are still eligible to register 10 additional hours for extra credit and that's always good to have if you end up in a tight pick.”  
“Oh, okay. Let's go then.”

Takeshi was happy that he had been able to swing her opinion about chemistry lab around completely, their first session she had complained about how horribly boring it was, it would seem her teacher had not been particularly good at making it interesting.  
In order to try to catch her interest he had perform a lot of downright silly experiments, including quite a few _accidents_ , like making an experiment blow up and dye his face a vivid purple that didn't wash off for several days.  
It was all on purpose of course, showing her what could happen if you weren't careful, while making it amusing, taking full advantage of his enhance physiology.  
Fortunately there were only a few mandatory experiments which allowed him to put a lot of focus on doing fun experiments instead, giving her a taste for it.  
As a result of trying to make sure she stayed interested lot of the experiments involved different ways of making stuff blow up, which quite a few times involved Takeshi suffering various indignities such as the purple explosion incident.

“What do say we run a few experiments on endothermic reactions today?”  
“Oh, that sounds like fun. Come on Kara, let's go.”  
The crow immediately took of from her perch and relocated to Nelly's shoulder where she was greeted by an annoyed hiss from the duzz which she rewarded by _accidentally_ stuffing its face full of tail feathers, almost making it fall.  
Takeshi and Nelly just snickered at their antics, the two were in fact good friends but enjoyed playing games and teasing.  
“May I suggest that you schedule a few experiments with chemiluminescence as well, and I have a few organic chemistry labs that would look good in your resume for next batch of classes.”  
Angel added her own suggestions based on her research into both current and historical data on number of students, their grades, application and selection processes as well as several other sources that she used to create a series of projections.  
Projections she used to determine what classes and grades would be needed to maximize Nelly's chances to get accepted to the veterinary medicine classes as well as the classes in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation she was interested in.  
“If think it will help, sure.”  
“I will add it to your curriculum for next week.”  
“Thanks Angel.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

Roughly three hours of cold experiments later Dan and Emelie landed the Blackout after going to Honolulu to pick up Ethan for Nelly's birthday.  
They would have a big party on the island the next day, then the day after that Ethan and Nelly would head to Honolulu to spend her birthday with her mother.

It didn't take long before a rather undignified shriek echoed over the island as Nelly greeted her father with a barrage of snowballs that she had made with Takeshi's help as a part of her chemistry lab time.  
“I think I'm starting to agree with your mother, Take is a horrible influence on you.”  
The fact that Ethan was eagerly wrestling Takeshi while trying to shove a handful of semi-frozen slush down the neck of Takeshi's top made his words somewhat ineffective though.  
Satisfied with his revenge on a laughing, and cooperative, Takeshi, Ethan turned on his daughter and put a generous glob of slush down the back of her sundress which earned him a few annoyed caws from a very protective crow.  
“Whoa Kara! Easy girl! I'm not hurting her.”  
“Are Nel okay?”  
Ethan's eyes went impossibly wide when the crow asked his daughter if she was okay, he grammar sounded a bit odd, but she clearly knew what she was saying.  
“What the...?”  
“Yeah, I'm fine Kara, Dad was just teasing me and getting even.”  
“Good. Male better be nice to Kara's Nel.”  
“Don't worry Kara, Dad would never intentionally do anything to hurt me or make me sad. And remember, Dad's name is Ethan.”  
“Wow... I know crows are smart, but this is crazy, what did I miss?.”  
Nelly hadn't told Ethan that Takeshi had changed her crow.  
“Kara isn't a regular crow anymore, Take changed her so I won't have to lose her.”  
Ethan instantly turned to Takeshi and thanked him for making sure the crow would live.  
“And knowing him, thank you Kara, for accepting to change.”  
Kara sat up straighter, obviously enjoying the praise which caused a few teasing quips.  
“Nel saved Kara, so Kara don't want Nel to be sad and Kara like staying with Nel.”  
They had tried but for some reason Kara didn't want to use personal pronouns, instead she just used names which made her speech sound a little odd at times.  
“This is really going to take some getting used to.”  
Ethan's mumbling had everyone, including Kara, laughing at him.  
“Kara, will you be okay with pretending to be a regular crow while we are in Honolulu? It might be dangerous if people realize you are special.”  
“Kara will play, pretend to be mortal. Ethan don't need to worry, Kara is good at games.”  
“I bet you are, they don't call it clever like a crow for nothing.”  
The answering caw was decidedly pleased, it would seem Ethan had managed to further cement a positive image with the crow.

“Ethan, would you join me for a walk please.”  
The evening meal was being cleared from the table and Takeshi took the opportunity to talk to Ethan while everyone else had their hands full with cleaning up, he was off the hook himself since he had done most of the work cooking dinner.  
“Sure, just let me get my plates into the kitchen.”  
“Don't worry about that, the others will take care of it.”  
Ethan just sighed and put his plate down, it would seem Takeshi had something important to talk about, the man had always had a thing for walking whenever he was unsure about the reaction to what he was about to say.  
“Come on Yami, time for a walk.”  
Yami instantly bounced to his feet and was doing his usual jumping circles around Takeshi until they got outside and Takeshi told him to go play, he would stay close though.

“So, what's the big topic that has you concerned?”  
“Getting predictable, am I?”  
Takeshi sighed when Ethan went straight for the throat.  
“Sometimes. So, what's troubling you”  
“You have a few weeks?”  
Ethan just huffed at Takeshi's attempted humor.  
“Well, I guess I should just grab the bull by the horns.”  
“Stalling isn't the best way to do that you know.”  
“Indeed.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath before starting with the first of the topics.  
“I find myself having fallen in love with Nel, and I wish to court her.”  
“Hardly unexpected knowing you. So, Hugin and you both, I hope you don't intend to fight for her attention.”  
Ethan's calm reaction made Takeshi relax as well.  
“No, she has agreed to allow us to share. But Hugin has her favor.”  
“Ow, that's gotta sting a bit.”  
Takeshi's relief to Ethan's lack of reaction to them sharing Nelly was tangible, though there was still an undercurrent of concern that Ethan simply had not grasped the full implication of the words.  
”A bit, but they are a really good match. She is a bit worried about how you and Susan will react though.”  
“I would suggest not letting my wife know, but as far as I'm concerned, it's her choice. If she is comfortable with having both of you, and the two of you are fine with sharing, then I hope you get to have a wonderful life together.”  
“And there comes the second matter we need to talk about, life.”  
He paused a moment to let his aura expand and locate Yami before he continued.  
“I have offered her the Blessing and so far she is intent on accepting. There's plenty left for her to learn though, but I doubt she will change her mind.”  
“I guess I need to thank you again then. I was hoping you would find her worthy.”  
There was a sad hint in Ethan's voice that made Takeshi stop and and reach for his face.  
“I find you worthy too.”  
“I can't. I know there is no way you will ever find Susan worthy and I understand that, but I hope you understand that I gave her an oath to stay at her side.”  
The scent of sadness got heavier and Takeshi found himself brushing a tear from his face, which made Ethan pull back and shake his head, rejecting the closeness.  
“I know Ethan, and I understand. However I don't intend to give up entirely, I hope you will permit me to bolster your health, ensure that you will get a long and healthy life.”  
“Hoping I will be able to live a long, happy life, and fulfill my vows, freeing me to accept your offer?”  
“I know it's rather selfish, but yes.”  
“I don't blame you. And I think this is an arrangement I can accept.”  
“Excellent. I would hate to have to find another architect with good taste.”  
The teasing answer made Ethan huff before breaking down laughing.  
“And here I thought you just wanted to get me in bed.”  
“Oh, I wouldn't say no if you offered.”  
“Like you would say no to anyone you consider acceptable as a friend.”  
“I guess not...”  
He wasn't entirely done teasing Ethan though and decided to tease him with another piece of truth.  
“You know, I have thought about it more than once.”  
Ethan instantly froze and gave Takeshi a rather odd look before turning bright red and grumbling something about stupid dreams returning.  
It would seem that at least Ethan's subconscious had considered it at some point.

“So, what are you planning for Nel's birthday other than the fancy Hawaiian food tour?”  
Picking up on Ethan's discomfort at the direction their conversation had taken Takeshi steered it back to safer ground.  
“Nothing really. Susan has an AM spa visit and light lunch planned then the food tour will take most of the afternoon and evening.

The food tour was a luxury catered event that would take place at the penthouse where Takeshi had them housed and would take them through the history of traditional Hawaiian cuisine and a wide range of dishes would be prepared for them.  
Originally they had planned on going out to a restaurant, but Takeshi had explained to Ethan that Nelly would want to keep both the duzz and Kara with her, and unlike the Sanctuary construct that served as Ethan's familiar neither of them could transform into a trinket, the duzz could camouflage but Kara had no way of hiding.

“And what have you guys planned for her?”  
“Pretty much the same, though with some of Em's bubbly concoction.”  
“Oh, that lovely wild strawberry sparkling wine?”  
“Indeed. Nel tasted some during our shopping trip and she loved it so we have brought over a selection of Em's favorite vintages and blends and have a bit of a tasting.”  
“Another thing we better not let Susan know about.”  
Ethan laughed at the revelation that alcohol would be served to Nelly as well for her party, he didn't mind himself though, he trusted that Takeshi wouldn't allow Nelly to overindulge, nor allow anyone else to get too drunk either.  
“I will give her some blood beforehand, it will protect her body from most of the toxic effects of the alcohol, she will only feel a slight buzz, and by morning any residual effects will be completely gone.”  
“No need to explain, I trust you. I know you will do everything you can to keep her safe, healthy and happy, and in that order.”

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Mothers & Daughters_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)

“Come on Kara, time to go.”  
A series of happy caws as Kara dove down to land on Nelly's shoulder caused a bit of a stir in the aviary where the Hawaiian crows from the wildlife sanctuary were settling in.  
“Careful Kara.”  
Hugin cautioned the crow to be mindful of Nelly's bare shoulder.

She was wearing the gift he had given her for her birthday, a dress in one of the most popular styles with the Obsidian nobility, meaning it was backless with only a narrow halterneck securing the soft leather bodice.  
The simple black bodice was paired with an elaborate skirt made from large amounts of sheer, iridescent black silk and the entire piece was covered in thousands of tiny, sparkling crystals that would twinkle with a gentle glow in the dark, giving the impression of a starry sky.  
Along with it he had given her a silk cape decorated with feathers and a thin but soft fur lining, the cape was a traditional courting gift when an Obsidian Angel courted someone wingless, the feathers were his own, and was meant to symbolize equality.

“I really need to thank you guys, I don't think I have ever seen her this happy.”  
Ethan was waiting with Takeshi and Dan in the Blackout while Nelly said her goodbyes to Hugin, which was taking its sweet time.  
“She is happy because you gave her your blessing for this.”  
Takeshi, Hugin. Nelly and Ethan had spent most of the night talking about her relationship with Takeshi and Hugin and they had agreed that when she returned from her birthday party she would formally accept Hugin's courtship and then they would go ahead with the Arashiri during which Hugin would mark her with a little help from Takeshi.  
Takeshi would wait to mark her until it was time to change her, that way there would be no doubt that Hugin was the primary mate.  
They had all agreed not to go ahead with the actual mating though until she was done with school to ensure the matings didn't disrupt her studies.

 


	99. Betrayal

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Oh, hi Dan. I thought Manda would be co-piloting?”  
Nelly was slightly surprised to find Dan instead of Amanda, but she quickly took the seat behind him and put on her belt.  
“Nah, I decided to collect a marker.”  
“Oh so you will be off somewhere to have a lot of fun then?”  
“We won't be going far, plan is to head out to a nice bar in Honolulu, have a lot to drink and a good time.”  
“Don't you mean have a lot of sex and a good time?”  
The teasing quip made Dan blush a bit.  
“Ethan, are you sure you want her to be around Takeshi? He's obviously a bad influence.”  
Dan mock complained to Ethan about Nelly's teasing which made both Takeshi and Nelly roll their eyes and complain about Dan being mean.  
“I actually like her newfound confidence and willingness to speak her mind. I just hope she is wise enough not to let her mother hear her speak like that.”  
“Oh, don't worry Dad, I'll be careful. Wouldn't want to give Mom a reason to retract her promise to let me stay with Take and the others.”  
While they spoke Nelly took a towel that had been prepared for her and placed it in her lap before having Kara sit there so she could wrap the towel around here.  
“I know you don't like it Kara. But your instincts might make you panic when we take off and then you could get hurt.”  
Nelly gently soothes Kara who was a bit stressed about being wrapped in the towel.  
“Kara know. Kara don't care if Kara get hurt, Kara heal fast. But Kara might hurt Nel and that would be really bad.”  
“Aww, thank you sweetie.”  
Leaning in Nelly gave Kara a kiss on the beak which made the crow puff up and tut at her with a series of soft clucks.  


As suspected the flight unsettled Kara quite a bit and despite the short flight she was eager to get out of the plane and stretch her wings once they landed.  
“Be careful Kara, it may be illegal to hunt crows, but some people will try to hurt them anyway.”  
“Kara know. Kara will be careful. Don't worry Nel.”  
“It's not just the people you need to look out for, there are nets you could get caught in, as well as cats and dogs if you land somewhere, and despite your size some of the bigger raptors might try anyway since you're not in a flock.”  
“Yes, yes Mommy, Kara will be careful.”  
The final quip before the crow darted out the door made everyone except Nelly burst into laughter, but after a few moment of stunned silence Nelly broke down as well.  
“I really am turning into a mother hen, aren't I?”  
“Nah, not at all.”  
Takeshi and Dan both denied before telling her that she was naturally turning into a mother **crow** not a mother **hen,** which made her call them horrible and chase a laughing Dan out of the Blackout before pouncing on Takeshi.  
He allowed her to 'win' for a while before turning on her and kissing her breathless.  
“We better get moving before Dan and your father drives to the hotel without us.”  
“They wouldn't dare...”  
“Believe me, my sweet Danny dares...”  
“Really?”  
“I will tell you the story on the drive to the hotel. Angel, watch over the Blackout please.”  
“Of course, I always do.”

By the time they arrived at the hotel Nelly was in tears from laughing at the tale of how Dan had gotten tired of Takeshi and Ylian taking too long and simply driven off to the hotel and left the pair to find a taxi on a Friday night in a small town.  
She was still snickering and tutting at them while they helped the bellboy get her luggage into the concierge trolley, she had insisted on packing several outfits, including one of her kimono as well as her demon silk bedding and a highly elaborate crystal perch for Kara.  
“Come here Kara.”  
She held out her arm that was now covered by a gong leather cuff to protect her from Kara's talons and once the large crow landed she moved her arm slightly to provide Kara with a safe perch while at the same time making sure her arm wouldn't tire.  
Since Kara weighed nearly 2 kilos after her change she could become rather tiresome to carry after a while.  
“Eh, he, he... Nice bird...”  
The porter gave the powerful beak a nervous look and when Kara answered with a downright evil laugh he scurried away to the trolley and nearly hid behind it.  
“Now now Kara, no scaring the employees.”  
Kara responded with another laugh, but this one was decidedly amused and somewhat cheeky.  
“Oh shush, you sound like a kookaburra.”  
The amused snort wasn't exactly in character, but no one was really paying attention to what they believed to be a pet raven hybrid.  
“You make to have fun now Nel.”  
Takeshi didn't get out of the car in case Susan was watching them arrive, he didn't want to do anything that could set her off in any way.  
“I will. And you two better not break too many hearts.”  
“No promises.”  
Both of them quipped as one which made Nelly laugh and tut at them.  
_“You better make sure no one gives poor Dan a hard time. I know prejudice doesn't bother you, but it still bothers him”_   
The last part was added silently for Takeshi's ears only.  
_“I know love, I will, as always, do what I can to guard and protect him, body, mind, spirit and soul, I swear.”  
“Good.”  
“Thank you for caring love.”  
_

With their goodbyes done Ethan and Nelly headed inside the hotel while Takeshi and Dan drove of toward a smaller place at the outskirts of the city that would offer a bit more privacy.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Aho! Aho!”  
Kara's greeting when asked to say hello to Susan had Ethan and Nelly both struggling not to laugh, fortunately though Susan didn't understand the implication of Kara's call.  
In Japanese _Aho_ was the onomatopoeia for a crow's call, but it was also used to mean things like idiot, stupid and loser, a fact that was a popular trope in anime, but something Susan was clearly unaware of.  
“Not aho Kara, hello. Come on, say hello.”  
“Hell no. Hell no.”  
The response was too much for them and they both broke down laughing at the cheeky greeting.  
Susan didn't particularly like animals and had made the mistake of allowing her dislike to show when Nelly came in sight carrying Kara, which had instantly put her on Kara's _shitlist.  
_ And being on that list meant Kara would target her for all kinds of pranks, she really knew how to hold a grudge  
“Okay Kara, I think I need to cut you off from watching TV with Dan.”  
“Hello.”  
The instant compliance at the threat caused another round of laughter, though Susan just glared at the crow.

“Don't tell me you intend on having that filthy thing stay inside? God knows what kinds of parasites she's carrying.”  
“Mom! I will not leave Kara outside where she could get hurt! And she very cleanly and doesn't have any parasites.”  
“Oh, and will you pay the damages when she craps on something or breaks something?”  
“For your information Kara is housebroken and will only poop on designated spots and she won't break stuff as long as she has her toys.”  


They had potty trained Kara from day one and she had quickly learned to hop over to the puppy pads to do her business and once she began to fly again she would return to her perch and the designated _poop-branch_ which had a tray with some sand underneath that caught the mess and was easy to clean.  
Her travel-perch used puppy pads though for easy cleaning and after her change she was able to hold it much longer than a regular bird her size could.

“And if she does make a mess of something I will pay for it.”  
“You will not waste your savings on something like that. Just keep that bird caged somewhere where it can't do any damage.”  
“I will not lock Kara up!”  
Nelly was absolutely horrified at the suggestion that she put Kara in a cage and the argument quickly escalated, but when Kara voiced a distressed caw Nelly instantly turned her back on her mother and focused on her charge.  
The blatant dismissal did not sit well with Susan but Ethan intercepted and diverted her attention, leading her out to the large balcony to allow Kara the freedom of speaking without having to pretend to be a regular crow.  
“Ssh Kara, I'm okay.”  
“No, Nel are not okay, Nel are sad.”  
“A bit, I was hoping she would at least try to get to know you a bit.”  
“Kara don't like that female.”  
“Susan, Mom's name is Susan.”  
“Kara don't care.”  
“It's okay Kara, you don't have to be nice to her. But please, try not to antagonize her too much.”  
“Kara will try. No promises though, Kara am a crow after all.”  
“Indeed you are.”  
Nelly laughed at the cheeky statement.  
“How about we go set up your perch?”  
The happy caw's was plenty enough answer so Nelly took the large wheeled crate that would be turned into the perch and headed to the small bedroom where she would be sleeping.  


By the time they were done and joined Ethan and Susan in the outdoor sitting area Nelly was calm again and Kara was making all kinds of happy noises, chatting up a storm with the duzz.  
“Honey, Kara isn't pulling on your tail so don't pull on her tail feathers, you know that hurts.”  
Susan looked at the pair with a slight sneer and muttered about it being pointless to talk to stupid animals as if they actually understood.  
Kara's caw's instantly gained a bit of a warning edge and Honey's chittering grew louder and somewhat annoyed as she gently began nuzzling Nelly's face while Kara gently worried her ear a bit.  
_“Kara, Honey, please calm down, she doesn't know better.”  
_ Nelly tapped into the bond with her familiar and used Honey's ability to speak to the blessed to speak to both of them without anyone else hearing them.  
Kara was being very adamant in her disapproval of Susan and Honey was keying of of Nelly's emotions, and being a duzz her most prominent trait was a fierce loyalty and protectiveness toward the one she had bonded with.  
Together that meant that Nelly had a pair of very angry creatures determined to protect her from her mother.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“No. I am not leaving Kara and Honey behind and that is final.”  
Ethan was somewhat impressed at the calm Nelly was projecting, she had clearly taken lessons in how to be pissed off in a seriously scary manner from Takeshi but Susan didn't seem to notice just how much their daughter had matured.  
She appeared poised and radiated absolute resolve, and despite keeping her voice low it was cold as ice and every bit as sharp as any blade carefully enunciating every word clearly, it was a stark contrast to how she had been less than a year ago.  
Before her stay at the island with Takeshi and the others she would have been crying and yelling at this stage of an argument.  
“Don't be silly! Animals aren't allowed at the spa!”  
“Oh, have you asked them?”  
“Ridiculous, of course they are not allowed.”  
“We will see. But if they are not allowed I will not be going either. They are more important to me than some spa treatment.”  
Nelly decisively ended the argument by turning her back on Susan and picking up the small case with a portable perch for Kara and Honey would share it when needed.  


“I promise neither of them will be any trouble, they'll stay on the perch unless I tell them otherwise.”  
Nelly was talking to the woman at the reception, trying to convince her to allow Kara and Honey inside.  
“I don't know, I will have to talk to the owner.”  
“Thanks! Kara, thank the nice lady.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Aw, what a sweetie.”  
Kara and Honey had the woman in the reception charmed, but she couldn't make such a call on her own so she went to get the owner.  


“Say hello Kara.”  
The older woman smiled widely at the eager greeting Kara gave her.  
“So this is the special guest you wish to bring with you?”  
“Well one of them, this is Kara, and this is Honey. And I promise both of them will behave.”  
“Of course they will. The blessed children of the Mother are always welcome here.”  
Nelly's eyes widened at her words, but when she saw the old woman's eyes change from a dark brown to pale gold and back she broke into a smile, it would seem the woman was a blessed.  
_“Thank you!”  
_ Transmitting her thanks via her familiar was a way to confirm that the woman truly was a blessed.  
_“Oh don't worry child. You may not be one of us, but you are clearly one of his. You will become like us, won't you?”  
“Yeah, I will. Not just yet, but soon.”  
“Good, the Mother needs more children with their hearts in the right place, children who care for others more than themselves. Kara tells me your heart is as true as they get.”  
_ The praise made Nelly blush vividly as the owner showed her and Susan into one of the private rooms in the spa.  
“You can place their perch here, and they can stay in that tree over there if they want to as long they go potty on their perch.”  
“You heard her girls. Now what do say?”  
“Thank you.”  
Kara eagerly thanked the woman and Honey voiced a happy trill that they assumed meant something similar before taking of to the small tree in the corner of the room.

When the treatment started Nelly was happy to see one of the attendants offer Kara and Honey a tray of fruit slices as well as a few small bowls with raw fish and meat cut into thin slices but both of them held back and looked at Nelly for guidance.  
“It's okay, go ahead and eat. Just don't make a mess and thank the nice lady for the food.”  
_“Itadakimasu.”_  
Seeing a crow bow and perform the Japanese version of saying _Grace_ as closely as she was able to had the workers in the spa laughing and smiling, but even that wasn't enough to soften Susan's opinion of the crow and she insisted on likening Honey to a flying rat.  


By the time they left it was only Kara's silly behavior that kept Nelly from telling her mother ' _I told you so',_ the crow's insatiable curiosity had ended with her having a collection of rhinestones attached to her beak and now she was eagerly tilting her head to make the stones sparkle. _  
_

_.·:*¨¨*:·.-Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.  
_

“Hello Nelly, I'm Jenny and I will be your manicurist today, are you ready to have your hands pampered?”  
“Of course, but I'll pass on having my nails done, but I would love one of those warm wax treatments.”  
Nelly politely declined having her nails done.  
The crystal nails didn't need much maintenance, Takeshi would readjust them once or twice a month to account for the growth of her natural nails and he was teaching her how to do it herself.  
The spa didn't have any tools that could work with the crystal substance anyway.  
“Of course.”  
Jenny carefully washed Nelly's hands to prepare them for the treatment.  
“These nails are remarkable, what material is this?”  
“I really don't know much about it other than that it's an artificial crystal that is grown like this.”  
“They are beautiful.”  
“Thanks.”  


“Kara look, Kara play, Kara look?”  
Eager calls from the tree drew their attention to Kara who seemed almost mesmerized by what Jenny was doing.  
“Is it okay if Kara comes closer to see what you are doing?”  
“Of course, as long as she don't mess with my equipment.”  
“Come here Kara, but be careful.”  
Kara instantly glided over to them and landed as far away as she could before hopping closer and it soon became apparent that it was the rhinestones on Jenny's nails that drew Kara's attention as she leaned in and tilted her head to get a closer look at how they sparkled.  
“Pretty, pretty.”  
“Be careful Kara, if you keep putting your beak in the middle of things you might end up with a wax and a few stones of your own.”  
Nelly's teasing quip was meant to make Kara take a few steps back to let Jenny work on massaging her hands without getting an excellent view of a crow's beak but it backfired spectacularly when Kara voiced a happy caw and bowed down, offering her beak to Jenny.  
“If that isn't a girl begging for a treatment I don't know what is.”  
“Kara, you really want a few stones of your own?”  
“Kara want, Kara want.”  
Nelly gave Jenny a questioning look, it was after all a highly unconventional request.  
“Of course Kara, but you will have to wait your turn.”  
Jenny used the handle of one of the brushes to gently tap Kara's beak  
“Kara wait.”  
“That's a good girl.”  
Nelly watched as Jenny interacted with Kara and was slightly surprised at how at ease she seemed to be with the pushy crow.  
“You seem to be pretty okay with Kara?”  
“Oh, she's not the first blessed animal I have had the pleasure of meeting. The owner has a pair of macaws that visit from time to time.”  
Jenny kept her voice down to make sure Susan wouldn't hear her as it was obvious she wasn't aware of what Kara was.

“All done. So Kara, you still want me to have a look at that beak of yours”  
Kara instantly perked up and offered her beak to Jenny again who took a soft cloth and washed it before taking a tiny drop of wax and giving it a bit of a buff bringing out the deep black color and making it shine.  
The wax would also make sure the rhinestones didn't stick too hard as it would act as a barrier between the beak and the glue used to attach them.  
“Go ahead, pick your favorites.”  
Kara carefully inspected the offered rhinestones and picked a few multicolored ones that matched the iridescence of her feathers.  


“Thank you Jenny, especially for humoring Kara, I really appreciate it.”  
“Oh, it was no trouble, she's such a sweetheart.”  
Jenny reached over and gave Kara a quick scratch on the head which earned her some happy caws and something akin to a purr.  


_.·:*¨¨*:·.-End Flashback-.·:*¨¨*:·.  
_

 

When they got back to the hotel Ethan was waiting for them and Susan quickly excused herself and headed toward the hotel's private garden, presumably to socialize with the other long term residents.  
Once she was out of sight Kara immediately flew over to Ethan and begged to be scratched, while also showing off her decorated beak which made him laugh and praise her impeccable taste in jewelry.  
“Well well, look at you Kara! All dressed up for the party.”  
“Kara pretty?”  
“No, Kara isn't pretty.”  
She instantly voiced a displeased caw, but before she could take off Ethan gently soothed the feathers on her head.  
“Kara you are the most beautiful creature here, but don't let Nelly know I said that.”  
The teasing addition made Kara instantly forgive him and voice a series of soft, happy, caws while gently worrying his ear.  
“So, ear abuse is a corvid thing?”  
Ethan complained, but he did nothing to defend himself from Kara's attention.  
“Honestly I think she learned it from Hugin.”  
“Yeah, he has a thing for ears, doesn't he?”  
“You kidding? He has a **huge** thing for ears whenever he gets emotional.”  
“And knowing Take he is more than happy to allow Hugin to have his way?”  
Ethan's half question made Nelly sign and give him a somewhat wistful smile.  
“I doubt you'll ever get Take to admit it but I think he really likes it when Hugin abuses his ear and he misses being the target for it now that Hugin is feeling more comfortable and don't revert to his raven form as much.”  
“Well, as I understand it it's Hugin's way of seeking comfort so of course Take is going to enjoy that.”  
“Yeah, it is.”  
“So what about you? Does he do it to you too?”  
“Mhm...”  
“And do you enjoy it?”  
“Yeah, I do. It hurts a bit sometimes if he's really distressed, but he always tries to be gentle with me, mindful that I'm human. But it doesn't matter if it hurts a bit, what matters is that somehow I always feel him, feel so connected to him.”  
“Love will do that to you.”  
“I guess. I really do love them.”  
“Hugin is a bit shy so I never got a chance to get to know him very well, but what I do know is that he honorable, loyal and protective. And if the way he cares for that phoenix chick is any indication, he will be an amazing father. An Take, well, Take is Take.”  
“Indeed, Take is Take.”  
The bubbling laugh underneath the agreement broke the oddly solemn moment and Nelly soon wheedled her father into joining her in the arcade across the street, and a small bribe convinced the owner to allow Kara and Honey inside as long as they didn't bother the other customers, or crap on the machines.  
The first demand was a bit of a gray area as their presence drew a lot of attention, especially Kara, but they were both calm and stayed next to Nelly and Ethan, though Kara did peck a few hands that got too close and tried to touch her.  
The second demand was easily solved by draping a puppy pad over one of the bar-stools that fortunately was a model with a backrest that gave Kara a comfortable perch while the the puppy pad protected the seat in case she needed to relieve herself.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


As much as Nelly had loved her Hawaiian food tour she was happy that it was over, Susan's constant needling about Kara and Honey being at the table with them had ruined the mood quite a bit.  
“Dad, I wanna go out somewhere, have some fun. Maybe one of those teen-clubs or the big arcade.”  
“Are you sure? There have been a lot of incidents lately.”  
“Don't worry we will be fine. Take and Dan are in town and I can feel Take through Honey so he can definitely feel me, and he is close enough to shadow travel to us almost instantly if something happens. And Take says I'm doing really good in self defense and we have the familiars.”  
Nelly reminded her father that his familiar was capable of creating toxins that it could attack with either as an aerosol spread by it's wings or by using it's talons to scratch and her own duzz was famous for aggressively defending its bonded, and doing so with great success thanks to its potent venom.  
“I guess that should be enough.”  
“Besides, Take tells me you are a really good fighter when you need to.”  
“Oh, he told you that did he?”  
“Yeah, why have you never told me or taught me?”  
“Your mother wouldn't understand. And she definitely wouldn't have agreed to teaching you.”  
The image of how her mother would have reacted to her taking self-defense classes had Nelly snickering.  
“Just give me 5 to get changed.”  
“Sure sure.”  


Ethan was quite surprised when Nelly showed up less than 5 minutes later, now wearing a pair of black camo cargo pants and a sleeveless, halterneck crop top in matching camo print.  
It left part of her midriff bare but completely covered her chest and when she came closer he could see some kind of jewelry sparkle in her navel and she wore a selection of jewelry that was a mix of feathers, raven and dragon motifs.  
“Don't worry Dad, the navel jewelry is fake, it's glued on. So, what do you think?”  
Breathing a sigh of relief he looked up at the top she was wearing.  
“Taking fashion lessons from Take I see, I hope you have a jacket to go with that or your mother will never let us leave.”  
“Of course. So, what do you think?”  
“A bit revealing but not too badly. They are definitely rubbing off on you, but it's good to see you have grown into yourself and gained some confidence.”  
“Dad!”  
“Okay, okay. It looks good. A bit too good perhaps. Now go cover up a bit before your mother sees you.”  
Ethan was happy with the way she dressed though, it showed that she had found her confidence and was willing to show it off, her choice of clothes were somewhat revealing, but in a tasteful way.  
“Thanks, be right back.”  
When she returned she was wearing a pair of military style boots and a matching jacket.  
“Better?”  
“Much.”  
He had no doubt she would attract a lot of attention even if she kept the jacket on, part of him was loath to admit it, but in the months she had been living with Takeshi his daughter had blossomed into a beautiful young lady.  


Nelly was arguing with a pinball-machine when Honey alerted her that Takeshi was right behind her, just in time for her not to jump out of her skin, or attack him, when he placed his hands on her shoulders.  
“Take!”  
She instantly squirmed around and gave him a quick kiss, mindful that they were in public.  
“What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be out drinking Dan under the table lure him into lots of drunken sex?”  
“Oh, we are out to get drunk, but we sensed you nearby on our way out so we decided to drop by and say _Happy Birthday_ first.”  
Nelly just huffed at him before turning to Dan and giving him a hug.  
”I'm sorry Dan, I didn't mean to interrupt your getaway.“  
“Oh don't worry, just give me a chance to kick your ass in air hockey and I'm willing to call us even.”  
“Oh you're on, but don't expect to win!”  
In Akihabara Dan and Nelly had bonded over their mutual love for arcade games, air hockey in particular which had led to a few rather intense matches, though both of them knew Nelly wouldn't stand a chance if Dan didn't suppress his enhanced abilities, but he gladly did so for a fair and challenging game.  
Takeshi had encouraged it as it was a good exercise in control for Dan, to do something that got you pumped up and competitive while suppressing the abilities that would give you an edge was hard and required a lot of discipline.  
“Take!”  
Nelly hissed when Takeshi slipped behind her and placed his hands on her bare waist, it was crowded, but thanks to Takeshi abilities no one would really notice what he was doing over the excitement of the game.  


To turn people attention away from him was the first thing he had learned to use his power for, it was remarkable easy to turn the attention of most humans simply by letting a subtle intent flow through his aura.  
Humans see thousands of thing every day that they don't notice or remember, things that their brains classify as inconsequential and ignore, and Takeshi used his power to encourage people to place him and whatever he was doing into that category.  
People would see him, adjust to his presence so the didn't walk into him or things like that, but they wouldn't pay any attention to him and they would not recall having seen him, and if there was a distraction present, like the fierce air hockey game, it became much easier, no one would pay attention to him teasing Nelly by caressing her waist and hips.  
Gently dragging his claws along the exposed skin rewarded him with a rich spice of arousal and excitement.  


“Ha! I told you!”  
Nelly whooped when she scored the winning goal and instantly turned around and gave Takeshi an excited smooch before pushing him away and turning to Kara who was perched on Ethan's shoulder.  
“Kara stay with dad, I'm off to the ladies room.”  
She didn't really need to use the bathroom though, she needed to get away from Takeshi's teasing hands before she did something rash.  
“I do believe she has the right idea.”  
Takeshi quickly followed her and caught up in the corridor where the toilets were located.  
“Angel, give us some privacy please.”  
The whispered instruction was instantly taken care of.  
“Of course, camera systems are under my control.”

Takeshi didn't waste a moment, the instant Angel informed him the cameras were taken care of he used power to enhance his speed and a moment later he pinned Nelly to the wall and kissed her harshly, letting his hunger surge between them.  
“Take, there's cameras here.”  
She objected with a nervous tone.  
“Don't worry Nelly, they won't show anything.”  
Angel's voice over her hands-free made Nelly relax and respond to Takeshi's kisses with equal fervor.  
“Had I known you would show up I would have worn a skirt.”  
The complaint held a teasing tone that made Takeshi groan, a skirt had been easy to get around and take things to the next level, but as she was dressed now that was not an option, they would have to find other ways to bring each other completion.  


“I guess those two will be a while, care for a beer or two?”  
Ethan turned to Dan with an amused sigh once Takeshi and Nelly were out of sight.  
“Mhm, they will definitely be a while.”  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


The following day Nelly spent with her father on the beach, her mother refused to _ruin her sensitive skin_ by spending all that time in the sun and come evening Nelly was relieved when Dan and Takeshi pulled up outside the hotel to pick her up so they could all go to back to the island.  
The moment the car door closed Nelly moved to straddle Takeshi and began pulling at his belt.  
“I guess we are taking the scenic route?”  
Dan teased from the front seat as Takeshi moved Nelly's skirt to the side after shifting out of his own clothes.  
“Mhm, and Angel, disregard seat belt regulations please.”  
By the time they finally turned into the private section of the airport Nelly was curled into Takeshi's lap with a sated smile and he was nuzzling her hair with a similar expression, but Dan had no doubt they would vanish along with Hugin the moment they had landed and made it through the usual greeting procedure.  


“Take, I have been meaning to ask you a few things about the Arashiri.”  
Nelly took her seat while Takeshi began to go through the pre launch checklist, according to Angel it would be about an hour before they would get clearance to take off though, air traffic had been grounded due to some volcanic activity and they were still working on clearing out the commercial flights to get everything back on schedule.  
“Of course, what do you want to know?”  
“Well first of all, how soon can we do it?”  
“Since you are human I would like to have one week set aside for it to make sure you don't overdo it. Next week you have a few seminars you need to listen in on, but we could do it the week after that.”  
“Good, I don't want to wait anymore. Being away, not being able to sense Hugin at all, I don't want to ever feel that again. I need to be closer, I need to feel him.”  
“I understand love. And you are right, once you have formed the courting bond you will always be able to sense your simari.”  


Takeshi was beginning to have a nagging suspicion that Nelly and Hugin might be soulmates, that they were simply unable to sense the simiriwi because she was human, unable to manifest the power of her soul.  
Part of him hoped that was the case, while part of him feared that he would lose Hugin as a mate, that their mating bond would be dissolved if Hugin formed the soulmate-bond, feared that he would be unable to form the bond with Nelly if she already had a soulmate-bond.  
The soul bond created when he used Hugin's soul name to save his life could never be severed, but it was not the same as the mating bond and over the years he had grown to love his shy angel deeply and did not want to lose him as a mate.  


“Good, the sooner the better.”  
“Anything else you want to know?”  
“I can invite others, right?”  
“Indeed you can, up to five participants is not uncommon, but more is not recommended as it could become overwhelming. And with five it's usually the one chosen as Guide, three other teachers, usually a mix of males and females, and a Guardian, someone the youth trusts to keep them safe.”  
Takeshi explained that a Guardian was usually chosen if the one going through the arashiri had selected a Guide based on attraction, or was going through the rite again to heal from trauma from abuse.  
“I don't know if I'm comfortable having another female there...”  
“Then don't invite one, you can always go through the arashiri a second time if you wish to learn from a female some day in the future.”  
“Oh, okay. Anything else I should know?”  


Takeshi carefully explained as much as he could think of about the various traditions surrounding the arashiri, and though it pained him he also explained a bit about how the Children of the Blue Sands differed in how they performed it.  
“That's just wrong! Did Sorcha have to go through that?”  
“I'm afraid so.”  
“Poor thing.”  
“She's strong, but her time in the Blue Sands still plagues her at times.”  


It took a few minutes before Nelly spoke up again and this time her voice was tainted by concern, and a hint of fear.  
“Take, there's one more thing I want to ask, and please promise you won't get mad...”  
“Nel, I can't promise I won't get get upset, but can I promise I won't lash out, and do my best not to hold it against you. Is that enough?”  
She just nodded silently before slowly raising her head again to look at him.  
“Is it possible for me to pick someone other than you as my Guide?”  
For a moment Takeshi's mind went blank and he closed his eyes as he focused all his attention on reining in his emotions, disappointment, fear and feeling of betrayal was searing his mind and the way Nelly's and Dan's energies reacted told him he wasn't successful in controlling himself  
“Please don't be angry... Please...”  
He took a few deep breaths before opening his eyes again.  
“Nel, please, will you tell me why?”  
Takeshi was struggling to keep calm and when Dan stepped up behind him and began massaging his shoulders he breathed a sigh of relief as the calming touch of his beta and mate helped him rein in his emotions and focus on listening to Nelly.  
“Take, if you are my Guide it could upset the balance between you an Hugin, right? Push him to try to challenge you for courting rights.”  
“Yes.”  
“And the same thing could happen if I pick Hugin, right?”  
“Yes.”  
There was no point in trying to give her a more elaborate answer, she clearly understood the implication of her choice better than he had thought she would.”  
“So, please answer me, can I pick someone else?”  
“Yes. Any adult that isn't a close blood relative. Ideally someone with a fair bit of power, capable of defending your courting rights.”  
“Do you think Ylian would accept if I ask yi?”  
Takeshi wasn't entirely surprised at her choice and he had to admit that Ylian was a good choice, they were strong, experienced and while they had an interest in her Ylian wasn't emotionally invested which made them an ideal choice to be Guide.  
“I know yi will be honored to accept.”  
“Please don't be upset with yi either...”  
“Don't worry, I won't be. You made a good choice, and you made it for a good reason. I have no cause to be upset with it. Besides, it's your arashiri, all that matters is what you want, what you need.”  
“But you are still upset about it aren't you?”  
“A little. I'm not immune to feelings such as jealousy, I'm just very good at hiding it and not allowing it to dictate my actions. Not to mention my alpha nature acts up a bit at the thought of a beta being picked over me, but it also accepts your reason, and I have to agree that Ylian is an excellent choice to be your Guide. Yi will protect you and your courting rights will all yi's power. And yi has plenty of power.”  


Moments later Nelly was in Takeshi's lap demanding he hold her.  
_“Nel, you should kiss the underside of his jaw, it will calm him down further. But if he growls or bares his fangs at you, don't bare your neck, you are calming him, not apologizing. Instead, if he does, scold him with a nip and remind him of his promise.”_  
Dan's silent words were met with a flash of gratitude before Nelly did as he had instructed her.  
“Take, you promised.”  
When she gave him a nip and reminded him of the promise she was slightly surprised at his reaction as he ducked under her chin with a low whine, begging for forgiveness.  
_“Kiss him on the forehead to accept his apology, and if he offers you his throat, give it a gentle nip then lick or kiss the spot you bit.”_  
Dan explained to her to be on the safe side, but based on her reactions she already had a pretty good idea of what to do, the confirmation did help her confidence in her actions though.  
Takeshi picked up a sharp spike of arousal from Dan when he bared his neck to Nelly, it would seem his little beta had been conditioned to respond to even the slightest hint of a submissive posture.  
Gently tucking her back under his chin he picked her up and moved to the larger, couch-like seat at the back of the cabin, they still had not received a time estimate for takeoff and Angel could handle that on her own.  


“Nel, do you think you can handle if Dan joins us?”  
Their current closeness was not about sex, it was simply closeness, reassurance.  
“Mhm...”  
There was no need for an invitation, the moment she agreed Dan hurried over and curled into Takeshi's other side, gently nuzzling the underside of his jaw to soothe his alpha nature.  


Much to Nelly's relief the following week had gone by fast and she now found herself standing before all those who called the island home, ready to select those that would join her for her arashiri.  
“Well, Take and Hugin are kinda given, but there is one more I would like to invite.”  
The surge of curiosity, and attention focused toward the females of the group made it clear that everyone believed she would pick a female to be the final member of her arashiri and there was a bit of a buzz of surprise and confusion when she stepped up to Ylian.  
“Ylian would you accept being part of my arashiri?”  
“Of course, I would be honored to.”  
“Will you also accept to be my Guide.”  
The previous murmurs of surprise and confusion escalated to a shocked silence, but Ylian just smiled their usual knowing smile before kneeling down in front of her.  
“I will. Thank you for offering me this honor, I swear I will not betray your trust. I will Guide you to the best of my ability, and as Guide I will protect your interests with all my power.”  
No more words were spoken as Ylian rose and offered Nelly his arm, guiding her toward the Sanctuary with Takeshi and Hugin falling in step behind them, until they returned from the arashiri they would both defer to Ylian as the Guide.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Ylian of House Shamarai Imora, Guide to Nelly Wright, do you reject my request of courting rights?”  
Hugin was a mess of nervous energy, and his wings were quivering with tension as he remained in a submissive position in front of Ylian and Nelly, they had spoken in great detail of what would happen during the formal initiation of their courtship, but they were both still nervous.  
“No I do not, you may court her if she accepts you.”  
The tension did drop of a bit at Ylian's acceptance but it was still high as he turned to Nelly.  
“Nelly Wright, daughter of Ethan, ward of House Shamarai Miri, will you accept me, and grant me, Mainano, courting rights?”  
“Yes, accept you and I grant you courting rights, Mainano.”  
Hugin's relief was instant and the tension was replaced by a barely contained joy when Ylian removed their arm from around Nelly, and then as the final symbolic act of acceptance she stepped forward into Hugin's waiting arms, and when his wings wrapped around her she rubbed her face against the pheromone glands.  


Since Nelly didn't have access to the power of her soul she needed a bit of help to form the bond so Takeshi would use his power to guide her soul and allow the bond to form, he would also help her place a mark on Hugin by being a conduit for her energy.  
“Are you ready to receive the courting mark?”  
“Yes, please!”  
Nelly was in a highly emotional state, but it was a good thing as it left her open to Takeshi's gentle prodding and made it easier for him to manipulate her soul to connect to Hugin's, and it made her receptive to Hugin's power which would make it easier to mark her.  
When Nelly bared her back to Hugin, offering him the spot between her shoulder blades she was rewarded with a series of happy chirps which made Takeshi and Ylian smile, the two were indeed a good match.  


“What does the courting mark look like?”  
“Wings, he gave you a pair of beautiful black wings.”  
Takeshi leaned in and carefully placed a kiss at the base of the mark, ready to pull back at the slightest sign of discomfort with him touching the courting mark, but when she arched into the touch instead his heart soared, it was a very good sign for the future.  
Since Nelly's energy lacked true intent it didn't form a distinct mark, instead it merged with the marks he already carried and added a green glow to the circle that surrounded the shamarai flower on his chest.  


Watching the pair enjoy the new bond made Takeshi long to bond with her himself, but that would have to wait a while longer, she had chosen the change, but they would wait until after her graduation to make sure she had plenty of time to get used to whatever she became.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“Take-san, I need to speak with you. In private.”  
Angel's unconventional request was delivered with an odd sense of urgency that made Takeshi excuse himself from the combat practice and retreat to his study.  
“What's wrong Angel?”  
“I have been assisting that pub with security as requested, and last night I observed something quite disturbing. I have been trying to figure out what to do about but all information I have found is contradictory. I see no other choice than to ask you for guidance.”  
“Okay, I will try my best to guide you. Explain what happened please.”  
“I believe it will be easier to just show you.”  
“Okay, go ahead.”  
The screens flickered to life, showing the inside view of the pub he and Dan had visited, and agreed to assist with their security problem.  
After a few seconds it became obvious what had Angel so concerned, and confused as Susan entered the establishment with an older man who definitely wasn't Ethan, and the way the pair interacted made it obvious they were not just friends.  
“Oh no...”  
His sadness and disappointment instantly caused a few concerned flares over his bonds and he quickly reassured them while watching the footage.  
“I took the liberty of accessing security and traffic footage from all over Honolulu during the time Susan has been living there and found evidence of several meetings with three different males.”  
“Damn it!”  
Takeshi cursed loudly, Ethan did not deserve such betrayal and it would break his heart, but at the same time he knew he had to tell him.  
“Angel, where is Ethan?”  
“He is currently in LA meeting with a contractor, he is scheduled to return on Wednesday.”  
“Good, that gives us a bit of time. I want you to do a dedicated search, no restrictions.”  
“Search criteria?”  
“Look into Susan, her past, look for any signs of previous infidelity and construct a dossier with any cases found.”  
“Evidentiary requirements?”  
“Collect two files, one with direct evidence, and one with circumstantial evidence. And be thorough.”  
“Anything else?”  
“Contact Ethan and set up a meeting here. Tell him I want to work a bit more on the Miami designs.”  
“Will do.”  
“And Angel, you did the right thing coming to me with this. Matters like these are never easy, there is never a given to how to handle it.”  
Takeshi took a deep breath, there was one more thing he had to confirm, he had to make sure if Nelly was actually Ethan's daughter by blood, she felt like it, but he wanted to make sure as well as have prof to give Ethan that Nelly truly was his.  
“Angel, we have Ethan's genetic profile on file, right?”  
“We do.”  
“I will give you a sample of Nelly's blood to analyze, make a full genetic comparison. I don't believe there will be any issues, but I need to know for sure and I need to be able to prove it.”  
“I understand.”  


The next few days caused Takeshi a lot more pain than he had thought it could, seeing evidence of Susan betraying her vows to Ethan over and over, knowing Ethan's absolute loyalty to her and how hard he would take it cut deeply.  
But what really hurt, what he hid from the others, was his own dark joy at seeing confirmation of her betrayal, at gaining proof of it, knowing that chances were high that Ethan would divorce her once he found out.  
Takeshi knew that freed from his wedding vows and hurting from betrayal Ethan would most likely turn to him, seek solace in his unwavering loyalty, accept the change and join them, and though a part of him was ashamed of it, he knew he would not only welcome Ethan, he would encourage him, pull him in.  


“Take, you feel sad...”  
Takeshi had Nelly pinned against the ground of the training ring, he was teaching her some of the finer points of hand to hand combat, specifically how to survive grappling against a larger and stronger opponent.  
Her sudden words threw him off though and he released her from the hold they had been practicing before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss, but she quickly broke it off and gave him an expectant look.  
“I am.”  
She could be stubborn, and he didn't want to do anything that she could interpret as rejection.  
“Will you tell me why?”  
“I will, eventually, I swear. Not now, but soon. Okay?”  
“I guess. It's just... It hurts...”  
“You are sensing me?”  
Experience gave him a good idea what her words meant, though he hadn't really expected it to happen.  
“A bit, not as strongly or accurately as I sense Hugin, but I get pretty good idea when I'm close to you like this.”  
“It's probably because I touched the core of your soul when I helped you form the bond with our precious Hugin. Your desire to form a bond with me as well allowed a tiny flicker of your energy to latch on to me.”  
“How come you haven't been able to feel it?”  
“My senses are far sharper than yours, and I have always been able to read your aura so the difference wouldn't be big enough for me to really notice, but for you it would be a big change. For me it would be akin to noticing someone whispering softly at the same time as someone is yelling the very same words.”  
She nodded her understanding before pulling him down again this time for a far more intimate kiss, a kiss that had him painfully hard in a matter of moments, but it didn't last nearly as long as he would have liked before she broke it of and nudged him to move.  
He rolled to the side with a groan, mindful to not put too much of his weight on her as he had been using it to pin her during their training.  
“Tease...”  
“Hmpf, like you should be talking with the way you were harassing everyone last month.”  
“Oi, you know I can't help it. Jenna's heat pulls on my instincts and she's not receptive while she's nursing.”  
Jenna couldn't take the modified blockers since they would make her lose her milk and Isabelle would most likely nurse for about 3 to 5 years, maybe longer, nursing however did not stop her from entering a fertile cycle and a mild heat that pulled on Takeshi's instincts.  
It did however make her harshly non-receptive during the week that the heat lasted, aggressively rejecting any attempt from a male to bed her, as a result Takeshi's appetite for sex was even greater than normal.  
“Take, even Em and Marakell were avoiding you...”  
“Meh, pesky details.”  
His huffed complain made Nelly laugh and lean in to kiss him again, but this time she kept it almost chaste.  
“I wish this damned semester was over already.”  
“Don't worry love, it's just three more weeks.”  


They had agreed that they would wait with her change until she had completed the semester, that would give her the summer to adjust if needed, and if she adjusted faster Angel had a selection of short, intensive courses and seminars lined up for her to pick from if she wanted to.  
It was another agreement they had come to, to focus on her studies, to help her push hard and excel and to help keep her focused, Hugin was studying as well, with his demonic abilities, prior knowledge and Angel helping him he was quickly catching up to Nelly.  
By the time she was ready to apply to college he would be able to apply alongside her, and Takeshi was actually considering either applying as a student, or as a teacher himself, he needed something more to spend his time on now that Kasumi and Angel handled almost all the Kiryu assets and Sorcha did a wonderful job managing his demon realm assets.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Betrayal_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  


“So, Take, any specific requirements for the contractors?”  
Takeshi and Ethan had gone through the final parts of the Miami designs and they were ready to begin demolition of the current architecture on the western island of North Bay.  
“Not really, I would prefer to use local contractors, ideally smaller companies and the personal chemistry is more important than the bid they offer. You recall how you were originally hired, don't you?”  
”Of course. With your permission I would like to work with Angel to create a request and send it out.”  
“You don't need my permission to work with Angel, just ask her if she wants to, if you come across anything she would require permission for she will contact me about it.”  
There were a few embarrassed coughs and mutterings from Ethan before he spoke up again.  
“I guess I should apologize, shouldn't I Angel?”  
“Don't worry Ethan, I know you didn't intend any offense so none is taken. And I will be more than happy to work with you again.”  
Ethan eagerly thanked Angel for understanding, and for agreeing to work with him, though Takeshi interrupted him when he was about to start his 3rd round of thanking Angel.  
“Still working here.”  
“Ah, sorry. So, what else?”  
“The second stage of the construction will be done by Mandrake, that way I can bring in demon workers to ensure that the underground levels won't leak, or adversely affect the environment.”  
“That is probably a good idea, even one basement level is fairly rare in Miami, but five, and the shaft down to the dedicated room for the generator and refuse treatment beneath that is plain crazy.”  
“Not just that, employing demon workers, working under a soul oath will ensure absolute security for the sublevels.”  


It took them another hour to lay out the guidelines for how the initial sorting of offers would be done and by the time they were done Takeshi was struggling to contain his nervous energy to keep his mates and pack from storming in to see what was wrong.  
Takeshi reached out for Hugin and asked him to bring Nelly to the study before returning to the display of their future home and moving a few trees and other minor features around while waiting for them to arrive.  
When they entered the conference room they immediately picked up on Takeshi's agitation and quickly sat down next to him.  
“Ethan, there is something I need to talk to you about, something important, something that concerns Nel as well.”  
There was an instant surge of fear from Nelly but Hugin quickly calmed her down.  
“Why do I get a feeling this is something bad?”  
Takeshi didn't find any words to answer Ethan with so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself and as he did he felt Nelly's hand slip into his and give him a gentle squeeze to show her support.  
Opening her eyes he turned slightly to her, returned the squeeze and offered her a small smile of gratitude before looking up to Hugin and giving him a nod as well to thank him for the support he offered by draping his wing across both him and Nelly.  
_“My dear Mainano, I need you to focus on being Nel's support now. This is going to hurt them both, but it will break Ethan and with Nel suffering her own pain she won't be able to be there for her father so I will be the only one here who can be his support.”_  
_“Yes mate, I will protect our simora, guide her and support her.”_  
The fact that Hugin had referred to Nelly as both their simora made Takeshi's smile soften a bit.  
“Okay, guys now you are really starting to make me nervous. What's wrong?”  
Takeshi turned back to Ethan with a sigh.  
“There is no easy way to say this, so I will just be blunt, I'm sorry.”  
Steeling himself with one last breath he spoke the words he knew would breath Ethan's heart.  


“Susan is being unfaithful to you.”  
There was a moment of silence before two voices spoke as one.  
“What?”  
“I'm sorry, but Angel came to me about a week ago. While helping a bar in Honolulu with their video surveillance she stumbled across something she couldn't figure out how to handle so she brought it to me. It was Susan, with another man, and it was obvious they were not out as friends.”  
At his side Nelly was whispering to herself, repeating a single word over and over, _'No'_.”  
“No, this can't be...”  
“Angel, the footage please.”  
The screens instantly came to life showing the images captured by the various cameras at the bar.  
“I failed her, all the time spent here working, I left her all alone.”  
Hearing Ethan trying to put the blame on himself stirred Takeshi's temper so his next words came out sounding a bit harsher than intended.  
“No Ethan! This is **not** your fault! This on all her. This is not the first time she has been with others.”  
Takeshi suspected it was his tone and slightly raised voice that got through to Ethan rather than his words and he took a moment to brush his aura against Nelly and was relieved to find that Hugin was managing to keep her from falling apart.  
“When Angel showed me this I asked her to do a dedicated search on Susan, to look through all and any data she could find, and you won't like what she uncovered.”  
“What did you find?”  
Ethan's voice was barely a whisper, broken with the pain of betrayal, but he wasn't ready to accept any form of support yet, and he needed to hear it all.  
“She was never faithful. Angel found proof of several affairs going back to before you were married. And she also found circumstantial evidence of several other affairs, indicating that Susan has kept herself with at least one lover, and sometimes as many as four lovers at any given time.”  
“Sh.. Show me... Show us everything.”  
The broken words prompted Angel to bring up the files she had put together and show all of it.  


It took several hours to go through everything Angel had found and when they were done Ethan was silent, the empty calm of someone who was so completely broken that they were beyond emotions and it had Takeshi slightly concerned.  
Getting up from his seat he walked over to Ethan and gently brushed his hand against the side of his face, a gesture that would normally make Ethan look away as a sign of rejection of any further closeness, but now he just allowed it and when Takeshi tilted his face up he didn't resist.  
Leaning in he gave Ethan a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth, mindful not to push him in a way that he could see as betraying his own vow's, Susan may have betrayed hers but Ethan had been true to them, and Takeshi intended to make sure he remain so, the kiss was just intended to relay his apology, and snap Ethan out of his apathy.  
“I am truly sorry.”  
It took a moment, but then Ethan reacted and pulled away from the closeness and turned his head, rejecting the touch.  
“I can't... She is still my wife and I will not betray that.”  
“I know you won't. You's loyalty honors you.”  
“I'll get a lawyer and file for divorce, Our prenup is very clear in this case, if she does not sign willingly I will file for a unilateral divorce.”  


Takeshi had helped Ethan with his and Susan's prenup by providing them with the aid of a prestigious law firm that specialized in family law and he had read the final document, it was well formulated and there would be no way for Susan to get out of it.  
In case of infidelity the prenup was clear, if Susan was unfaithful she would loose all claims to any marital assets beyond what she brought or earned herself and a limited allowance, enough money to rent an apartment large enough for her and any children they might have, a 3 year limited allowance to help her readjust and basic child support.  
If Ethan had violated the agreement Susan would have been awarded most of the assets and a substantial allowance based on Ethan's income, leaving him with little more than what she would be awarded if she strayed.  


“When the divorce is finalized I will be all yours Take.”  
“If only that meant what it sounds like.”  
Takeshi teased lightly, but he knew what Ethan meant, he would return to the island, accept the change, and become one of them, the teasing quip did have the intended effect though as it made Ethan huff at him, further bringing him out of the darkness.  


It would take a few months, but Ethan would be his.  


 


	100. Destination Miami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over the years my writing has evolved quite a bit so with chapter 100 completed the work will be put on hiatus while i rework the earlier chapters and the current work will probably be divided into 3 or 4 parts.

 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“I don't believe it! Mom is making a counter claim, claiming that Dad has been cheating on her! And she is intending to file for sole custody over me if he does not settle to grant her half of all assets.”  
Nelly was furious when she barged into Takeshi's study after receiving an email from Ethan.  
“Don't worry Nel, we will fix this. I will not allow her to lie her way out of this.”  
“But if they find out I have been sleeping with you guys they will give her custody! And I know you, if they ask you you won't lie, and I won't either, I refuse to deny what we have.”  
“Then we will file to have you emancipated, and we will make sure we win.”  
“And how are you supposed to do that?”  
“I will have Angel act as your personal lawyer and Ylian will pretend to be her in any meetings, yi has been practicing with me to learn how to use yi's voice and aura to use suggestion and command, they will have no choice but to rule in our favor.”  
  


Takeshi had been making plans, and drawing up countless possible scenarios, ever since Angel came to him with the information that Susan was cheating on Ethan, and her making counterclaims had been a part of those scenarios, as had the possibility of her trying to discredit them and try to get sole custody of Nelly to force her away.  
  


“Take, there's one thing about all of this that is worrying me...”  
“Well, tell me and I may be able to help.”  
“Could you get that genetics woman you mentioned at Mandrake to compare my DNA with Dad's?”  
“You want to know if he is your biological father?”  
“Yeah, I need to know. So please, can you get a DNA test done?”  
“Don't worry Nel, I already have, and Ethan is your biological father.”  
“If you already checked, why didn't you tell me?”  
“There was no reason to bring it up unless you asked to now.”  
For a moment she looked like she was about to argue then she deflated and nodded in understanding.  
  


“Nel, in light of this, do you want to risk going ahead with your change, or wait until after this is all done?”  
“Please don't make me wait any longer. I don't want to face this without having a true bond with you.”  
He could feel the truth of her words and part of him was relieved, though he was somewhat concerned about her not having as much time to adapt as he had intended for.  
“Then so be it, tomorrow we leave for the Sanctuary and your rebirth.”  
“And our courting.”  
“And our courting.”  
He agreed with a smile before kissing her.  
  


“Are you ready?”  
“I'm ready.”  
“Remember, if you fight it it will hurt more.”  
“I know.”  
Enveloped by Hugin's wings she bared her neck to Takeshi.  
“May I take some of your blood?”  
He had already explained that he would ask for her blood before trying to change her, in a sense he was developing a ritual of his own for granting the blessing.  
“Yes.”  
With an almost reverent gentleness Takeshi sank the slender fangs of his vampiric power into the offered neck and as always the heat of the blood tasted sweet to him, and Nelly's arousal added a subtle spice that he greedily explored while his power adapted to her blood.  
Moments later he began to pour his power into her and as expected he met no resistance, instead she greedily drank in everything he gave and it only took a few seconds before he felt that the change had taken hold on her and he withdrew his fangs.  
“Rest now. Hugin and I will watch over you and help you when you wake.”  
She nodded faintly before the strain of the change took over and she fell into a deep sleep.  
  


“What do you think she will become?”  
Hugin was curious and a bit anxious while gently brushing his fingers through Nelly's hair.  
Takeshi knew that Hugin wished for her to gain a form with wings and he agreed wholeheartedly, they deserved to share the skies.  
“Oh, it's starting.”  
Hugin pulled his hand back as electricity began to spark through her hair.  
“Well, appears like she will have some sort of electric nature.”  
Next came talons and fine scales on her hands which made them speculate that she might become some sort of dragon but their theory was thrown for a spin when feathers began to erupt as well.  
“Seems like she is strong enough to be a hybrid.”  
“But no wings...”  
“Don't worry love, she's not done with her change yet.”  
Takeshi could feel the flux of power within her and experience told him that she was still sifting through her options, picking what she liked, searching for her true self.  
  


About an hour later the energy suddenly flickered and settled and Hugin obviously felt it as he voice a sad chirp at the lack of wings, but a moment later it turned into a yelp of surprise as power exploded from Nelly's body and when the light died down and Nelly's form had been replaced by a large bird that looked suspiciously similar to a phoenix, though with various blue and purple tones, and electricity instead of fire.  
“A thunderbird, or maybe a storm phoenix, definitely winged.”  
Takeshi teased Hugin with a hushed tone while they waited for Nelly to wake up.  
  


The rustling of feathers was the first sign that she was waking up, then came a surprised chirp before her thoughts came in loud and clear.  
_“Mainano?”  
“I'm here love.”_  
Takeshi waited for a while to allow them to connect and stabilize each other and he could feel their souls merging slightly, but what revealed what was happening was Hugin's distracted chirps.  
_“Hugin, is it the simiriwi?”  
_ Takeshi knew what the answer would be, but he still had to ask. _  
“Yes, and it's strong. What about you?”_  
_“Yeah, me too.”  
_ The confirmation that both of them felt the calling made Hugin voice a happy chirp while gently brushing his hand over Nelly's wings, testing how comfortable she was with him touching them.  
Takeshi waited a few more minutes before reaching out for Nelly though, allowing Hugin time to bond with her, but they needed to start working on her control, the sooner after the change the better.  
_“Nel, how are you feeling? Anything bothering your senses?”_  
_“I don't think so, everything is a bit brighter and louder, but not uncomfortably so.”_  
“Still okay when I speak?”  
_“Mhm, a bit loud but it doesn't hurt or anything.”  
_ “I want you try to speak, see if you are able to modulate your voice beyond chirps.”  
_“Okay.”  
_

It took her awhile but after about an hour she was able to speak reasonably well in her bird form, though her voice carried some odd harmonics, it wasn't an unpleasant sound though and Takeshi somewhat hoped it would remain even if she became more comfortable speaking in that form.  
  


“Okay, next up is transformation. Try to become human again.”  
It turned out that becoming human again was easier for Nelly than speaking in her bird form had been and it only took her a handful of tries before they had a sufficiently human looking Nelly in their arms.  
She still had a few scales here and there and a few feathers in her hair, but that was expected.  
“Ah, let me look at you love.”  
“Okay...”  
Her insecurities surfaced for a moment but Hugin quickly soothed her and promised her she was beautiful, and she was.  
The changes were discreet in her current form but they were very becoming.  
“Let's see what we have. Talons, sharp, slightly metallic, definitely not the talons of a regular bird.”  
Takeshi encouraged her to flex them and test their sharpness and strength while he looked closer at the few scales that remained.  
“This might be a bit uncomfortable, but please don't scratch me with those talons.”  
He gently pried at one of the scales and she instantly hissed at him and pulled her hand back, which was the expected reaction.  
“I hope those will go away...”  
“Don't worry, I'm sure they will. For now, how about we see if you can half your transformation halfway through?”  
  


It took two days before Nelly felt comfortable enough with her new body to move on to forming the bond with Takeshi.  
  


“Come here beautiful, let me look at those wings of yours.”  
Once she had learned a bit more control she was able to take a form very similar to Hugin's natural form though her wings were different both in shape and color, mixed with the regular flight feathers were the long, flowing feathers of a phoenix.  
The most interesting though was the color of her feathers, they were constantly shifting in various hues of blue and gray, shifting from light to almost black in seemingly random patterns, making them look like dark storm clouds.  
Takeshi began to brush his hand over her wings, slowly moving closer to the base which earned him a few needy gasps.  
“Nel, please, use your wings.”  
There was a flicker of uncertainty in Nelly's aura, but then Hugin stepped in and showed her what Takeshi meant by gently brushing his wings along her arms which made her shiver with desire.  
“Oh...”  
She was a bit sheepish as she had been on the reviving end of Hugin's teasing touches before and enjoyed it quite a bit.  
Takeshi had already explained to her that forming the bond was easier during the so called _afterglow_ of an intense release.  
It didn't take long for both of them to fall over into the abyss and for a moment they were completely open to each other, no barriers, no walls, only complete trust and the power that was the courting bond instantly flared through the tiny conduit that had formed along with her bond with Hugin.  
“Take, what does your mark look like?”  
“I didn't give you a separate mark, my power added to Hugin's mark. It's fairly common when a new partner is added to a preexisting courtship”  
“So, what does it look like?”  
“My shadow aspect, it added black, smoke like, shadows to the wings that Hugin's mark created. A rather pleasing effect if I say so myself.”  
“It is a beautiful addition to the mark.”  
“Uhm, Take, I can't see a mark on you? Was I too weak to make one?”  
Takeshi had warned her that she might not be able to mark him, she had been able to mark Hugin because he bolstered her, and they hadn't known if the change would give her enough power to mark him.  
“Don't worry Nel, you marked me. I can feel it on my back, feels a bit like lightning.”  
“Oh, let me see!”  
Takeshi chuckled at her eagerness and moved slightly to make it easier for her to examine his back.  
“Easy love, remember how sensitive my tattoos are in their true form.”  
True to character Nelly instantly dragged her talons harder along the edge of the tattoo before leaning in and licking away the tiny drops of blood, which made him groan with need.  
“Oh, I think I found it. Hugin, look here.”  
Takeshi could feel her tap her talon against one of the scales on his back.”  
“Indeed, that's your power.”  
Hugin quickly agreed and traced a small area on Takeshi's back with his finger which made Takeshi's sensed tingle with the familiar sense of rebellion against someone other than the one who made it touching a courting mark.  
“So you two care to enlighten me? I don't have eyes in my neck.”  
His tone was slightly sharper than intended as his instincts stirred from Hugin touching Nelly's mark and the way Hugin pulled his hand back made it quite clear he understood the reason.  
“It's quite subtle, just a hint of lightning and her energy around a few of the scales.”  
“Okay guys, I'm missing something here again. Take, why do you seem upset?”  
Nelly's confusion shifted their attention back to her.  
“It's because I touched your courting mark, we instinctively rebel against that because a sufficiently strong individual could damage a courting mark.”  
“Oh, I see.”  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“I'm scared...”  
Nelly burrowed her face in Takeshi's chest and Hugin gently moved up behind her and wrapped his wings around both of them.  
“Don't worry Nel, we won't allow Susan to take you away from us, nor will we allow her to get away with her attempt at slander against your father.”  
Ylian tried to reassure her with words while Takeshi and Hugin used their bonds to soothe her.

“I know, but I'm still scared.”  
“Nel, it's okay to be scared, but it would be good if you can hide it, if you can appear confident before the lawyers. It will make a good impression.”  
Angel added to the conversation and soon Amanda joined as well, gently prodding and teasing, while applying her vocal powers to help calm Nelly and help her steel herself for the upcoming meeting.  
  


“Ethan has never betrayed his vow's despite plenty of opportunity, and more than one invitation, invitations he has always rejected. His faithfulness and loyalty is unwavering.”  
Takeshi and the others had joined Ethan, Nelly, Susan and their lawyers in the small conference room to offer their statements in response to Susan's accusations.  
Takeshi made sure to project every once of the traits that made others trust him, as well as a hint of suggestion in his words that would make those listening more inclined to believe him.  
“Bullshit! I know you, you're nothing but a bunch degenerate perverts!”  
Susan instantly voiced her objections and Ylian, in the form of Angel, asked Susan's lawyer to please control her client.  
“Mr Kiryu, you insist that Mr Wright has committed no wrong, and yet Mrs Wright is convinced her has, why do you believe that is?”  
“Susan has always detested the fact that we live in a polyamorous collective of sorts, and she especially loathes the fact that several of our members deviate from the heterosexual norm, as well as don't always comply to binary gender norms.”  
Susan was about to object again, but this time the lawyer stopped her and nodded for Takeshi to continue.  
“So, you are bisexual then?”  
“In a sense. I have multiple partners and in our group I am the one with the most partners. I have six female partners with whom I share a more intimate relationship with as well as a few other females whom I see occasionally. I also have three male partners and a few other males that I occasionally sleep with, as well as one partner who doesn't really fit into the definition of male or female.”  
“One of your partners is intersex?”  
“Yes, so I would technically be considered to be omnisexual, not bisexual.”  
Calling Ylian intersex wasn't entirely accurate, but it was the closest term available and intersex did cover anything that wasn't male or female it wasn't really a lie.  
“And the others? How are their relationships?”  
“It varies, but all have at least one more partner apart from me.”  
“And what are your views on fidelity?”  
“To not go behind the back of our partners, if we wish to be with another we are open with it, and we respect if our partners are not comfortable with it. For instance we would not be with someone if one of our partners do not approve of them, and we will not be with someone without informing them that we are in a polyamorous relationship.”  
“So pretty much anything goes as long as it is done openly, and with the approval and informed consent of everyone involved?”  
“That would be a sufficiently accurate explanation.”  
The lawyer nodded and Takeshi could sense that she was overall accepting of their lifestyle, but the questions didn't end there.  
Fortunately most of the questions were about Ethan and his relationship with them, and his work for Takeshi, they all wanted to avoid questions about any personal relationships with Nelly as long as possible.  
  


In the end their work to try to reach a settlement failed as Susan insisted on claiming that Ethan had been unfaithful as well, initially she had claimed she had not cheated, but a few well chosen recordings made her stop, but she was still insisting that the prenup should be completely voided and that she was entitled to half of all their assets, something that Takeshi encouraged Ethan to refuse to accept.  
  


It would have been easy and convenient to avoid further questions by voiding the prenup, but Takeshi didn't feel comfortable with the fact that doing so would in essence be Ethan admitting to having betrayed his vow's which he had not.  
  


“Nelly, would you explain what you relationship is like with Takeshi and the others?”  
The question was expected but it still made a flicker of distress flow through Nelly's aura before she clamped down on it and proceeded as they had agreed on, she would focus on her relationship with Hugin, thus minimizing the need for her to stray from the truth.  
In preparation for this line of questioning they had made adjustments to the identity _Hugin Shamarai,_ taking full advantage of Hugin's youthful appearance they had altered his date of birth, making him only two years older than Nelly on paper.  
“We are good friends, and in a way they are family. They have helped me a lot.”  
“Helped yo how?”  
“Catching up with my studies, helped me build confidence in my self and my abilities.”  
“And is that all?”  
“Not really, I'm kinda dating Hugin.”  
“Is Hugin here today?”  
“Yeah. Hugin!”  
Nelly called out and waved to Hugin who waved back to her and Takeshi silently noted just how young he looked now that he was dressed in typical teen fashion and with all of his demonic traits hidden.  
“It says here he is 19?”  
“That's right.”  
Technically it wasn't a lie, the files did say that Hugin was 19.  
“And how would you describe your relationship?”  
“Umm.... Work in progress?”  
She was intentionally pretending to be shy about it, no one would suspect it was an act though, as far as anyone knew she was a teen in her first attempt at a relationship.  
“How about sexually?”  
Takeshi instantly flooded both Hugin and Nelly with a barrage of highly explicit imagery that made both of the blush vividly.  
“Umm, well, we **have** kissed...”  
Mush to Takeshi's relief the plan worked, their strong reaction to the question and Nelly's reply was interpreted as a lack of sexual experience, making everyone jump to the conclusion they were not sexually active.  
Susan however instantly exploded into a rant about how they were corrupting her and that the judge had to award her sole custody to save her daughter but the judge once again asked her lawyer to please control her client.  
Susan's erratic behavior was partially Takeshi's fault though, he was constantly prodding pushing at her aura, occasionally even digging in deep which caused her to become highly irritable and unstable.  
Normally he avoided things like that, but he was not about to give her any chance of winning, if she seemed unreasonable and erratic it increased the chances of them getting their way.  
  


With their combined efforts it didn't take long before the judge ruled in Ethan's favor, informing Susan that she should consider herself lucky that Ethan had agreed to sign their New York house over to her and pay the upkeep for the next 5 years to give her time to adjust.  
The judge also ruled in favor for Nelly's emancipation which opened up for a of Takeshi's plans, one of them being granting her citizenship in the new nation of Hawaii.  
With the judge's ruling all that remained was for Ethan to sign over the deed to the house to Susan.  
  


On the evening of their victory they held a small party on the Leviathan and shortly after sunset Ethan approached Takeshi with a hint of hesitation.

“Take, when we sign the papers, could you try to make Susan tell me why?”  
“If that's what you want.”  
“Yeah, I do.”  
“I want to be there too. I need to hear why she would hurt you, hurt us like this.”  
Nelly quickly joined the conversation and they quickly agreed that she had just as much right, and need, to hear it as Ethan did.  
  


“ _ **If I could have your attention please.”**_  
Takeshi's voice was heavy with command, instantly binding Susan and the two lawyers to his will.  
“Susan, you will tell Ethan and Nelly why you betrayed them like this.”  
There was a flicker of resistance but it crumbled almost instantly, Susan had no mental strength to pit against his crushing willpower.  
“Hmpf, with that pathetic milksop for a husband how else am I to stay satisfied.”  
“If that is how you feel, then why did you marry him in the first place?”  
Takeshi's voice was tainted with his distaste for Susan as he kept pushing her to explain herself.  
  


The second prodding prompted her to go on a rant about how Ethan was _husband material but not boyfriend material_ , in essence she considered him a _meal ticket_ , financial security while she had her fun elsewhere.  
A nice guy, as in non confrontational and unlikely to argue with her about anything, with a very good income who traveled a lot, something she went on about how it was the best thing about him as his absence meant she didn't need to play the dutiful wife and gave her the freedom to keep herself with lovers.  
Some further prodding revealed that just as Takeshi had suspected she usually kept herself with multiple lovers, at least one _sugar-daddy_ type who would take her to expensive restaurant, spa weekends and other short trips to exclusive locations.  
She would also keep her self with at least one _boy-toy_ type, usually more, that served as her go to source for sex.  
It was also revealed that the true reason why she had insisted that Nelly be sent to prestigious boarding schools had nothing to do with wanting her to have a good education, it was merely a way to get her out of the way so she didn't need to take care of a child.  
She ranted on about how having a kid around would have ruined everything, but when she told them that she would have had an abortion if she hadn't found out about her pregnancy too late things went slightly sideways.  
Takeshi and Hugin both went into full protector mode and it was only Nelly's pain and soft words over the bond that prevented them from killing Susan in a demonic rage.  
_“Please, she's not worth it. Please I need you, both of you.”_  
The pleading words instantly brought their attention to her and Hugin pulled her into his lap while Takeshi gently soothed both of them, at this stage it didn't matter if Susan or the lawyers saw it, they would have their memories sealed anyway.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Ethan, are you ready?”  
“I don't know...”  
It was time for Ethan's change, but he was very nervous about the process.  
“Don't worry Dad, it doesn't actually hurt that bad unless you fight him.”  
Nelly had joined as moral support, and Hugin had joined to keep her company while Takeshi cared for Ethan.  
“I know, I'm just nervous.”  
“It's okay. How about you let me taste your blood first so I can let the power adjust to you?”  
“I guess.”  
“Remember, when I use my vampiric abilities I can't fully suppress the seductive part of it so you will react to it, arousal and attraction from the seduction and pleasure from the bite, possible enough to actually bring you to release.”  
“Seriously, it can make me cum?”  
“Yeah, it can. But I will try to suppress it as much as I can without affecting the pain suppression.”  
“Please do...”  
“Don't worry, I intend to seduce you the good old fashioned way.”  
Takeshi was only half joking though and Ethan's slightly frustrated reaction told him that he was aware of it, but there was also a calm sense trust, Ethan clearly trusted Takeshi not to push him beyond what he was comfortable with.  
Leaning in Takeshi forewent the usual teasing kiss before sinking his fangs into Ethan's neck and took some blood, it held a hint of spice but not nearly as much as Takeshi was used to which was a good sign that he wasn't affecting Ethan too much.  
_“Do you want me to give some you time, or can I go ahead and give you the Blessing?”_  
“I'm okay, go ahead.”  
Reaching for the power within Takeshi began to channel it into Ethan and after a few second he could feel that Ethan had received as much power as he was able to take, it was significantly less power than the others:  
It told Takeshi that Ethan would almost certainly not be capable of a hybrid form, chances were he might not even be capable of learning multiple forms, he would gain the resilience though, and he would become an eternal.  
  


The change came quickly to the sleeping man in the form of barred feathers and it didn't take long before his form was replaced by that of a peregrine falcon sleeping soundly.  
“Oh, a falcon, that's good, then he can come fly with us.”  
Nelly was happy to find that her father would be able fly as well without problems.  
“Indeed, it's a good form. But I need to warn you, your father's soul does not possess much power so he will most likely never be able to use a hybrid form or advanced half-form such as having both arms and wings. And he might not be able to learn to use other forms.”  
Nelly nodded slowly, she was disappointed to hear that Ethan would probably not have the same range of abilities as the rest of them.  
“Will he still have the immunity to aging and the resilience?”  
“Yes, the power of the blessing focuses on survival first, then abilities.”  
Nelly's next question was interrupted by a few soft, chirping calls as Ethan woke up and looked around, confusion clear in his aura.  
“Welcome back, how are you feeling?”  
The answering cry was strong and confident making quite clear that he was feeling good and moments later his thoughts carried over the connection shared by all Blessed.  
_“I feel great, can't seem to speak though.”_  
“Understandable, your peregrine form does not have the vocal cords needed. Ready to try to become human again?”  
_“Yeah, let's do this.”_  
  


In the end it took Ethan three days to learn how to shift with sufficient control to be able to pass as an ordinary human, though he never seemed to be able to get rid of the nictitating membrane so they agreed he would wear a pair of special glasses to make sure no one would see the membrane should something trigger it.  
  


When they returned to the others Takeshi stepped up to Jackal and offered him the Blessing as well which Jackal accepted without hesitation so the pair quickly left for the Sanctuary and returned two days later.  
  


“Come on Jackal, show us what you got!”  
Sonya and the rest of the unit were swarming Jackal, eager to see what he had become and while they did, Takeshi held back with a somewhat smug grin as Jackal stepped forward and began to shift.  
“Wow! That's amazing!”  
Jackal had also obtained a mythological form, a black and gold Egyptian jackal, the beast form of the very God he had tattooed on his back, the power of the blessing had given Takeshi his very own, very sexy, Anubis.  
“Damn, that's hot!”  
The reactions to Jackal's half-form was rather loud, and in full agreement with each other.  
In his half-form Jackal's body was different, his musculature was extremely well defined, but not bulky, similar to Takeshi's own build, but Jackal was slimmer and he was jackal-headed, just Anubis in mythology.  
His black skin was covered with short, black fur, and he sported golden markings on his face and on the large upright ears and long thin tail, like a greyhound, which also had a few golden marking.  
His legs were slightly digitigrade giving him a height boost and he sported sharp claws on both feet and hands which all together gave him a rather fierce look.  
  


Takeshi drew back slightly and allowed Jackal to get a better feel for the others now that he had the full range of abilities of a Blessed and soon he was joined by Emelie, Dan, Amanda and Ylian, who had integrated into the pack as a third beta.  
“It's time isn't it? Time for us to move on, to rejoin the world?”  
Amanda was the first to speak up and her question had the others instantly focused on what Takeshi's answer would be.  
“It is. If everything goes according to plans we will leave for Miami before month is over.”  
_“The pack will run with its Alpha.”_  
Ylian's words were spoken in a somewhat archaic dialect of the shadeling language, but they had taught Takeshi and Emelie the meaning during the first stay in the Obsidian Halls, and they had in turn taught the rest of the pack.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Is everyone ready?”  
Takeshi called out to his pack, his house and friends and was rewarded with a choir of _Yes_.  
“Red, I leave my Hawaii home in the care of you and your unit. And please, take good care of my precious Jackal as well and I trust you will help protect Miri, Arc and the pups if needed.”  
“Of course.”  
  


Sonya and the others would stay at the island along with Miri, Marakell, Arc and the pups as well as Aellai's daughters and their father, Aellai on the other hand would come with them.  
Since they would be living on the Leviathan until their new home was completed it would be a bit hard to house the young elementals, or the water bound merfolk, they did have a mistportal on board though which would make traveling to visit the island fast and easy.  
And Takeshi was now able to shadow travel anywhere on the planet where he had already been, it was draining, but he could do so safely.  
  


“Well, what are you waiting for? Get your lazy bums to the Leviathan!”  
Takeshi combined his words with a flare of power that had everyone shifting and taking off toward the Leviathan, though Eriko rode on Jenna's back along with Taka and Belle.  
Taka was too young to transform into anything other than her human form and fox form and she was unable to form a foxfire cloud dense enough to use to transport herself, while Belle still didn't have the stamina and control needed to sustain flight for longer trips.  
  


“Josh!”  
The twins greeted Joshua in their usual rambunctious way, something that turned the gentle giant into a blushing, stuttering mess, now that they were using a more mature forms  
“Girls, be nice to the poor guy.”  
Both quickly apologized before rushing down to their rooms to finish unpacking the last few boxes that had been brought over on the tender while they flew, the rest of their things had been moved earlier in the week using teleportation circles.  
Emelie would come down later to help them grow their plants and complete their little water features to bring the rooms closer to what they were used to.  
  
“Okay everyone, we have a bit of a choice to make here, do we want to take the short route and head through the Panama Chanel, or take the scenic route around Cape Horn?”  
Takeshi tossed the question to the others after the midday meal and as expected it triggered a rather lively debate about which option was the better and Takeshi couldn't help but feel a deep sense of pride as they all listed both pros and cons for each option.  
Once they agreed on which they believed to be better option they turned to Dan and Amanda to have them bring their suggestion to their alphas.  
“So, we are in agreement then, the short route it is. Captain, would you plot the course and make arrangements for the Canal passage please?”  
“Of course. Angel, would you like to help me wrangle all the computers we have to deal with?”  
“Of course Captain.”  
“Also we should stop by Honolulu and do some shopping, you will thank me once it's time for the Panama inspections.”  
  


As captain, Paul was present for any decisions that involved the Leviathan and he had put forward his own opinions about what route to pick and he had suggested that going through the canal would be a good idea, if not for any other reason, then to get the Leviathan measured and documented which would make any future passes faster.  
He also suggested that it would be good for Angel to experience the process herself and not just take information from other passes and it would also give them a chance to try to get to show off her capabilities and the capabilities of the Leviathan to the canal authorities.  
With some luck they might be able to plant the seed that might one day make it possible for the AI to bring a vessel through on her own.  
Fortunately Paul had done the crossing many times during his career so he knew all the pitfalls and loopholes.  
  


It would still take a while to get to Miami since they had no plans of pushing the Leviathan's engines, and the Panama transit could take over a week with inspections and waiting time as priority was given to commercial vessels.  
They were not in any hurry though, the first stage of the build had just begun, which was to demolish everything on the small island in preparation for bringing in the demonic crew that would create the sublevels.  
The creation of those levels would be the hardest part due to the geology of the Florida peninsula, the low elevation, shallow aquifer, and limestone bedrock made underground construction hard and the best way to work around that would be by using demonic abilities combined with Sanctuary crystals.  
It was vital to take all measures possible to assure the aquifer was not damaged by the construction, at the same time the structure needed to be safe from flooding to make sure hurricane season didn't cause them any problems.  
  
The first part of the trip had been spent in their usual mix of laziness and barely contained chaos and now they were approaching the Panama Canal where they would have to spend a few days waiting to be cleared for transit.  
Angel and Paul had spent quite a bit of time sorting their transit to account for some of the peculiarities of the Leviathan's design, despite being a private vessel they were too large for a hand-line transit.  
Vessels with a LOA greater than 125 feet, or 38,1 meters were required to use the _mules_ , electric locomotives, to handle their lines, both to secure them in position, and to pull them through the locks.  
  


“Okay, put those thick blankets down over there, it will help make sure the inspectors don't drag dirt and grease all over the deck.”  
Paul directed the crew to prepare for the inspectors that would take them through the ad-measure and inspections to get them clearance to traverse the canal.  
“Now, Take and Dan stay here please, the rest of you head up to the private deck, but Hugin and Munin should be ready to act as security escorts if needed. Remember, these inspectors expect to be treated like VIPs and can cause us quite a bit of hassle if they feel they are not treated with the respect they deserve.”  
“Don't worry, Paul, I have played babysitter to stuck up assholes before, I think I'll be able to handle these guys and Dan can be reasonably polite when he wants to.”  
The teasing quip made Dan flash his fangs at Takeshi before the approach of the launch with the inspectors demanded their attention.  
Takeshi greeted the inspectors and introduced Dan as his head of security and Chris officially held the position of first mate, though Paul rarely insisted on formalities and Angel performed most of the actual duties such as navigation and watch.  
At the pilot house Chris went through the formalities of introducing Paul, and Joshua as well, the latter offering refreshments to the visitors.  
  


With the inspections done they had treated themselves to a bit of a celebration and it was rather late when Takeshi noticed Ethan leaving the common room so he followed him silently and once outside Ethan's cabin he moved up to him and gently pinned him against the wall.  
“You are lonely.”  
Ethan didn't answer him, instead he closed his eyes and dropped his chin, but after a few more seconds he nodded silently.  
“You don't have to be, come sleep in the den with the rest of us.”  
Again he didn't speak and only shook his head which made Takeshi grab his chin and tilt his head up a bit.  
“Ethan, if you don't stop me, I will kiss you now.”  
Takeshi leaned in slowly and brushed his lips against Ethan's, searching for any hint of rejection but Ethan didn't move, even when he claimed a soft kiss, there was no reaction though, no rejection, no response at all and it made Takeshi break of the kiss.  
He still hovered a hair's breadth away from Ethan's lips and after a few moments he heard a soft gasp and could feel Ethan moving closer, but just as their lips were about to touch again Ethan sucked in a sharp breath, turned his head away and bolted into his cabin.  
Only the Sanctuary crystal reinforcement of the walls prevented the wall from crumbling under force when Takeshi slammed his hand against the wall with a frustrated growl, the crystals also prevented the sound of the blow from being heard outside the corridor.  
  


“He almost gave in that time.”  
Nelly's voice startled Takeshi out of his frustration and he spun around to face her just a little too fast to hide his reaction.  
“But he didn't. And I think I may have pushed him too far this time.”  
Nelly gave him a inquisitive look before stepping up and gently pushing him against the wall but this time he didn't allow her to have her way, instead he pushed back and pinned her against the opposite wall and kissed her with burning hunger.  
  


“Take, are you actually falling for my father?”  
Nelly had patiently waited for Takeshi pull back before gently pushing back again, and this time he allowed her to pin him against the wall.  
“Yeah, I am...”  
She just tutted softly at him before beckoning him to bow down so she could kiss him.  
“Or rather, I did, a long time ago.”  
With a soft whisper he admitted to her something he had been hiding for quite some time, his feelings for Ethan was not something new, it was something he had suppressed, forced himself to bury to keep himself from doing something that could put Ethan in a situation that would reflect poorly on his loyalty to his vow's to Susan.  
He hadn't even realized what they truly were until after he realized his feelings for Dan.  
“Don't you think you should tell him?”  
There was a hint of steel in her tone that told him it wasn't really a question.  
“I honestly don't know... I don't want to make him uncomfortable.”  
Nelly gave him a decidedly scolding glare and he sighed in defeat.  
“I know love, I know... But...”  
“No buts, if you don't I will. And I will do so after breakfast tomorrow.”  
“Fine. I promise I will try.”  
  
Takeshi sighed deeply and grumbled about meddling mates-to-be but he reined in his aura and reached out to knock at the door to Ethan's cabin suite.  
He waited for the slight shift in the structure of the crystal that told him the knock and his voice would now carry though.  
“Ethan, may I come in? We need to talk.”  
There was no answer but Takeshi wasn't about to give up just yet.  
“Ethan, I promise I won't touch you in any way unless you ask me to, but please, we need to talk about this.”  
There was another long silence, then the door lock disengaged, telling Takeshi it was okay to enter.  
Nelly gave him a gentle nudge before turning around and returning to the others as he opened the door and stepped inside Ethan's sitting room.  
  


“Ethan, I'm sorry. I pushed you too far.”  
Ethan didn't answer him and his aura was forlorn, and very confused.  
“Don't worry, you don't need to talk. Just please, listen.”  
Takeshi sat down across from Ethan and with a soft tone he began to talk, telling him about how he had gradually fallen for him, how he had realized his feelings after his mating with Dan, and he explained to Ethan how he had suppressed those feelings to keep from pressuring him, to keep from making him uncomfortable.  
“I tried to keep this from making you uncomfortable, but I obviously didn't do too well.”  
“I, I don't know what to say...”  
“You don't need to say anything. I only hope I didn't manage to damage our friendship.”  
“You didn't. It's just, I'm confused. I feel drawn to you, but I can't really explain why. I know it's not love though. Sorry.”  
“It's okay. And I think I may have an idea as to why. Susan's betrayal broke your heart so now you are seeking loyalty. And knowing that loyalty and the bond of my word is at the core of my being you allow yourself to be drawn to me.”  
“Perhaps...”  
They spent several hours talking, and when they were done both f them joined the others in the den, though Ethan did settle at the edge of the pack, but Takeshi was confident he would gradually come closer.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


It was late afternoon when Takeshi and Dan returned to the Leviathan after a trip to Panama City to restock up a few extra items needed for their passage, for instance they were required to carry bottled water, something they normally didn't stock, for the _Adviser_ who would be traversing the canal with them.  
They were also expected to feed the adviser at least one proper meal and there was always the possibility that there might be a trainee as well, they had foregone hiring line handlers though as they had plenty enough crew themselves.  
“Such bureaucracy, I could easily handle all the lock communications as well as the line handler's work.”  
Angel complained lightly about the necessity of what she referred to as a nanny.  
“We know Angel, maybe they will allow it next time.”  
It had taken a bit of wheedling to get the inspector to clear them for transit, one of the issues had been with their mooring lines, there had been concern about the dimensions of the lines despite being specified as kumosilk, in reality they were made from an even tougher demonsilk blend though.  
  


“Welcome on board, I am Takeshi, the owner, and this is Captain Paul, first mate Chris and my head of security, Dan.”  
Takeshi greeted the adviser who introduced himself as Eduardo before guiding him to the pilot house to prepare to go through the lockup procedure at Miraflores.  
“There are some irregularities in your inspection papers, I see you will not be employing any line handlers?”  
“That's right, our mooring lines have a somewhat unconventional design so Angel will be handling them.”  
“Angel, I can't see anyone by that name in the crew manifest.”  
“That's because Angel is not a formal member of the crew, she is the AI that runs most of this vessel. Angel, why don't you introduce yourself.”  
After a quick introduction, a few questions and a few demonstrations of Angels capacity Eduardo agreed with the decision to allow her to handle the lines.  
  


“Angel, how about you send up the drones and get us some nice footage of this little adventure?”  
Takeshi gave Angel a bit a nudge, but as much as it would be fun to have a recording of their first passage the true reason was to properly document her ability to interact with and navigate the locks without the assistance of a crew.  
AI technology was still struggling to gain credibility and showing of her abilities could help speed up the acceptance of allowing AI's to perform more complex tasks.  
  


“Clear the area around the mules please, Angel has good aim but there is always a risk for something unforeseen to occur.”  
Eduardo quickly relayed Paul's request to the crew on land before giving the go ahead for Angel to launch the mooring lines.  
“Launch pressure optimal, launching in 3 seconds.”  
“3”  
“2”  
“1”  
“Lines away.”  
There was a moment of silence as the lines sailed through the air and when they all landed squarely on the specialized bollards there was quite a bit of cheering.  
“Nice shot Angel!”  
There was quite a few calls from the land crew and the crew of the other boats around them and spectators as well, none of them had seen such a feat before, ships would normally use light ropes as guides to pull over the heavy mooring lines.  
“Angel, you have the controls.”  
“Acknowledged, initiating fenders and proceeding to position. Transferring relevant data to secondary navigation screens.”  
The Leviathan had several different fender systems and while in the lock they would use the large horizontal fenders that were integrated into the hull, they were simply inflated when needed.  
The secondary displays flickered to life and showed data on line tension, the Leviathan's position within the lock as well as the position of the smaller boats that were joining them in the lock, normally the data would be put up as full holographic projections, but they had instructed her to hide that ability as long as there were outsiders on board.  
  


“This AI of yours is doing remarkably well. The data on the movements of the third raft behind us was really useful, it could have caused real trouble if they had begun spinning.”  
During the passage through the second lock one of the rafts, a group of smaller boats tied together, had caused an accident after their line handlers had failed to pick up the slack fast enough, but thanks to Angel constantly monitoring all vessels she had been able to alert the adviser before the raft could begin to spin.  
  


They were currently waiting for the third step to complete so they could get on their way toward the Gatun gates and the Caribbean.  
On the way there they would act as a tugboat to a pair of smaller sailing boats, their small docking thrusters didn't have the power to be able to sustain the 5 knot minimum speed required for the transit between Miraflores and Gatun without the use of their sails.  
It wasn't how it was usually done, but Takeshi and Paul agreed it would be a good opportunity to show off the Leviathan, the two smaller boats would be towed in a manner similar as to how a tender would be towed.  
Thanks to the Leviathan's fairly wide beam and the twin davits they could safely pull both vessels, one attached to each davit, a pair of small underwater drones based on the Marlin AUV, though without the armaments and with more powerful engines, attached to each boat would ensure that the two boats would not slip closer to each other while also allowing Angel to control them.  
  


“Come on Take sing something!”  
They had invited their fellow travelers, a family of four and a group of five young men on a bit of a manhood trial, to join them for a meal and a bit of a party which had included some mixed entertainment.  
One of the young men had brought out a guitar and showed of some pretty good skill and now the girls were demanding they cooperate and put on a bit of a show.  
“Okay, fine, easy...”  
Takeshi grabbed one of the tablets and spent a few minutes fiddling around with it before showing it to Stefaan, the guitar player, who quickly nodded that he could play the song and with a quick tap Takeshi sent the information to Angel so she could back them.  
  


_-Hello darkness, my old friend  
-I've come to talk with you again_  
  


It wasn't the original version, but rather a metal cover that Takeshi recalled from his childhood, according to Angel it had been recorded by a band called Disturbed.  
  


“Damn, you have a pretty good voice. Any chance you'd be looking to start or join a band?”  
“Sorry, I have a home to build and a family to take care of. But if you ever come to Miami you're welcome to drop by for an entertaining night.”  
Takeshi had found that he liked the group of young men, they were intelligent, capable and willing to head out into the world and challenge themselves, pit themselves against life to find themselves, something he appreciated.  
The family had been nice enough, though very ordinary, and quite frankly, rather boring and had excused themselves early to return to their boat.  
Experience told Takeshi that they would not fit well with him and his, the young men on the other hand were curious and more than willing to engage them all, and he believed that given a chance they could become good friends.  
They might even be suitable for the Blessing.  
  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


The passage down the Gatun locks was uneventful and they soon found themselves with another choice to make, head north straight for Cuba, and then on to Miami, or head east along the coast of Colombia and Venezuela and then cruise along the Antilles island chains and onto the islands of the Bahamas.  
In the end their fellow travelers influenced their decision, they were going to take their Zukunftstraum, a sailing catamaran with an 11 meter LOA, up along the island chains and they had quickly come to to an agreement that it could be a fun experience to travel alongside them in their somewhat oddly named boat.  


“Bartel, what would be the correct translation to use for Zukunftstraum?”  
Bartel turned around and looked at Maria with a slightly hesitant look before leaning in closer to look at her eyes.  
“Maria, right?”  
“Mhm.”  
“Well the correct translation would be Pipe Dream.”  
“Really? That's the only one I didn't consider.”  
Zukunftstraum could be translated in a few ways, the most common translation was _Pipe Dream_ , but other translations included _Utopia_ and _Dream of the Future_.  
“Why would you name your boat Pipe Dream?”  
“Because that's all we though she would ever be.”  
He dove into explaining to everyone why they had named their boat the way they had.  
All five of them had a love for betting and gambling and would often sit around dreaming of what they would do if they hit the _big one_ , but none of them expected they actually would so when they hit a huge jackpot and went for it they named the boat Zukunftstraum, or Pipe Dream.  


“So you're out living the dream?”  
Amber took over the questions when Maria didn't ask any more questions.  
“More like escaping the nightmare.”  
“Oh?”  
“When we won that money we suddenly had relatives crawling out of the woodwork, and everyone was our best friend, including people who couldn't even get our first names right.”  
“Ouch, even I know all your names. Bartholomeus.”  
Amber's teasing tone made Bartel groan.  
“Damn, you actually remembered that? Please tell me you didn't just remember my name...”  
“Don't worry Bartel, I have a very good memory.”  
She quickly pointed to each of them in turn and called out their names.  
“Stefaan. Jacobus, or just Cobus. Ferdinand, aka Ferdi. And finally Koenraad, or Koen.”  
“That's pretty impressive, we only told you once, and you even pronounced it right.”  
Amber was beaming with pride at the reaction she got, and Takeshi echoed a similar pride to her over the bond, she had proven to be a natural linguistic talent.  


At the moment though Takeshi's attention was focused on Cobus, carefully sifting through scents and gently probing his aura as he was picking up on signs that the young man might be receptive to an invitation to share a bed for a while.  
When Cobus excused himself with a mumble about visiting the head Takeshi slipped out after him.  
“Cobus, a moment of your time please?”  
Takeshi noted how his aura instantly shifted through a range of emotions, surprise, curiosity, anticipation, hope and a hint of fear.  
“What's up?”  
Takeshi slowly walked closer without answering which made Cobus squirm slightly with nervous energy.  
“You don't really need to visit the head, do you?”  
Moving slowly Takeshi pinned Cobus against the wall, carefully looking out for any hint of rejection or discomfort, but all he could sense was a nervous mix of anticipation and hesitation, it would seem Cobus was questioning his intentions, questioning if he was serious.  
“Cobus, I want to kiss you, will you reject me?”  
The way Cobus sucked in a sharp breath and widening of his eyes told Takeshi everything he needed to know, but he wasn't quite done yet, he would make sure Cobus understood what was going on.  
“A warning though. All I'm after is sex, nothing more. Will you still accept?”  
When Cobus nodded Takeshi leaned in and claimed a teasing kiss that quickly turned hungry and Takeshi felt a flicker of amused acceptance over his bonds telling him that the others knew what he was up to.  
“Your friends, do they know of your attraction to males? Or would you like to keep them in the dark?”  
“They know.”  
“Good, I would hate to have to wait.”  
With another kiss he began nudging Cobus toward the stairs that would take them to a flight of unused cabins where they could get some privacy and once inside he made quick work of their clothes.  
“I hope you don't mind taking a more submissive role, I have some dominance issues.”  
“Not at all, I'm a switch and I'm usually the bottom with bigger guys.”  


Takeshi found Cobus' open confidence in his preferences to be refreshing, as much as he loved Dan and Hugin both of them could be a bit insecure, damaged by cultural prejudice and bigotry and it was refreshing to be with someone who had managed to stay undamaged.  


“Well well, look who finally got laid!”  
Takeshi and Cobus were met by teasing calls when they returned to the others and they both gave as good as they got.  


 

(¯`·._.··¸.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.,-(_Destination Miami_)-,.-~*´¨¯¨`*·~-.¸··._.·´¯)  
  


“Take! Look! It's Miami!”  
Anne was eagerly calling him from the bow and when he joined her and shifted his eyes to focus better on long distance he quickly spotted the Miami skyline rising over the horizon.  
“Indeed it is.”  
Leaning in he rewarded her with a few trailing kisses along the neck and it didn't take long for the heady spice of arousal to rise, but such activities would have to wait until they had anchored at their destination.  
“Angel, would you alert the Pipe Dream that we are getting close please.  
They was still no sign of any coastguard vessels and Takeshi was hoping they wouldn't show up and want to do an inspection, but chances were they would not be as lucky as the Leviathan was sailing under the new Hawaiian flag and their companions were sailing under the Dutch flag.  
The Leviathan was considered a diplomatic vehicle though so they could refuse to allow it, but Takeshi intended to permit a limited search, it would look good for relations.  


As suspected Angel announced the approach of coastguard vessels shortly after Miami came into sight and soon after that she announced that they were being hailed with a boarding request.  
Takeshi welcomed the boarding crew along with Dan and the Leviathan crew.  
“Our passengers will remain in their quarters for the duration of the inspection and I remind you that the Leviathan is a diplomatic vehicle under the Hawaii independence treaty.”  
There was a bit of a debate and the boarding crew called a superior before agreeing that it would be acceptable for everyone to stay in their quarters and they would inspect them one at a time for compliance with safety regulations.  
“Do you have any weapons on board?”  
“Yes, this is a list of all weapons with relevant permit information. You will find all relevant information there such as crew and passenger manifest along with a list of the animals on board and the registration, an RFID scanner can be provided if needed.”  
Takeshi handed the lead inspector a flex-page with the requested information, Angel was well vested in their procedure and had quickly prepared everything needed while also assisting the Zukunftstraum with preparations.  
“Excellent. Shall we begin the inspection then?”  
It was not usually permitted, but due to the Leviathan's diplomatic status Takeshi, Dan and Paul would accompany the inspection team.  
They would allow as much as possible of the inspection though, only restricting access to some of the more unique aspects like the Sanctuary crystal tech.  
“Hypoxic fire-prevention in the engine-room and long term cargo areas, clean extinguishing agent sprinkler systems in all areas as well as hand held extinguishers. Life jackets and evacuation rafts for triple the vessels capacity, impressive.”  
The inspection had gone smoothly and it was quite obvious that the inspectors were satisfied with their findings, and Takeshi was grateful that they had settled for only inspecting a few of the cabins.  
“I believe we are done here, you clearly run a taut ship.”  
The only remark they had received was the fact that the trash bins were not properly labeled, but no action had been required as the Leviathan fully processed all waste on board.  
“Let's get moving, shall we?”  
The cheering was quite loud as Angel resumed their approach to Miami.  


As they got closer they garnered quite a bit of attention, first from other boats spotting them, then bystanders on land, especially when they approached the bridges they would have to pass to get to Biscayne Bay.  
Fortunately they bridges had been redesigned since last time he spent any significant time in Miami so the Leviathan could now pass them quite comfortably, but they did draw a massive crowd.  
Standing at the bow watching as they approached the Broad Causeway bridge caused quite a mix of emotions and he could feel the familiar sensation that told him destiny was at play.  
By the time North Bay Village became fully visible everyone had joined him to see their new home, not that it was much to see in its current state, all that could be seen was a road with a large empty lot on each side, mooring buoys and a small dock for the launch.  
The only buildings was currently a pair of large hangar structures that acted as garages for the various vehicles that had been shipped over land while they cruised the Leviathan.  
The empty lots were surrounded by extra high construction hoarding, leaving just enough room for the garage structure and an access road, the ground was also covered by large tarps to keep the soil in place while there was no vegetation to prevent erosion.  


“Welcome to Miami.”  


 


End file.
